There is an elite group of individuals who walk the streets of our city each day after sacrificing their lives to protect the very land we sometimes take for granted. Now civilians, this population seeks to jump-start the education they postponed.

To help with this transition, Veterans Upward Bound (VUB), located on ASU's Tempe campus, offers veterans across Phoenix the opportunity to improve their academic skills in English, reading, math and computer literacy at no cost. The participants do not have to be current ASU students or have any prior post-secondary education to take advantage of the program that is funded directly by a grant from the U. S. Department of Education. Eligibility requirements simply ask that individuals qualify as low-income and have been honorably discharged from service.  Download Full Image

However, because VUB is located on campus, all participants receive an I.D. card that may be used to access the ASU Libraries, Sun Devil Fitness Complex, athletic events and more.  

“Most veterans want to do better than minimum wage jobs. The only way to do that is to get skilled,” said Marcus Wright, retention specialist at VUB. “We want vets to know there is a program here that will help them build and enhance their educational skills for free so they can go to college.”

The staff will first administer an assessment test to evaluate a student’s educational skills. This will, in turn, tell the staff which refresher classes the individual should begin taking. Based on the individuals desired career, the staff will work to get the vets at the entry level for that particular major. For those unsure of their career path, the center offers free career advising.

Refresher courses in mathematics range from basic math to pre-calculus, and are taught by United States Air Force veteran Frank Evans. Writing courses are also available to help students with essay writing and basic English competency, and are taught by Carole Lorenz, a former elementary school teacher.

But VUB is more than just a program or classes. Students enter into a support system – a family, if you will. As Lorenz explains, the small class sizes allow for group interaction in which everyone works together and no one is put on the spot. Each lesson is an open forum for honest discussion. Lorenz says that last year the VUB community even spent Thanksgiving together because of the bond they shared.

“This is the perfect place because the staff all come from different places in education and can offer different suggestions,” said Lorenz. “The vets share their lives, their loves, the good, the bad, etc. They take you into their confidence. I would never give that up.”

For more information, visit https://students.asu.edu/trio/vub.

Looking for information on ancient Buddhist traditions? Or, are you interested to learn more about Thailand?

Walk over to the Center for Asian Research, located inside of the School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies in Coor Hall on Arizona State University’s Tempe campus. Download Full Image

Established in 1966 by the Arizona Board of Regents, the center supports the Council for South Asia, the Council for East Asia and the Council for Southeast Asia. Together they unite over 70 faculty members from across the university to engage in research related to the study of Asia.

Faculty in Asian studies have been awarded prestigious fellowships and grants from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, Title VI grants from the U.S. Department of Education and the Henry Luce Foundation to name a few.

“It is great to work with internationally recognized colleagues who are deeply engaged in the study of Asia," said Juliane Schober, director of the Center for Asian Research and professor of religious studies in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. "In the 21st century, Asia’s role in global affairs will continue to grow and so will the need for our students to know about Asian cultures, histories and languages.”

Students also have found a home in the center by pursuing the Asia Studies major, which can be combined with many of the Asian language degrees offered via the School of International Literatures and Cultures. A new multidisciplinary course "Introduction to Asia" has also been recently added to the curriculum. It is just one of many courses on Asia offered at ASU.

The most alluring features of the center, however, can be found all over ASU’s campus. Over the years, a series of unique Asian cultural collections have made their way to the libraries and museums for the public to enjoy.  

Housed in the Hayden Library lives the Palgen photographic collection of images Angkor Wat, the ancient capital and Hindu-Buddhist temple complex in Cambodia.

Around the corner in the Special Collections area of the library is the Guardian of the Flame Collection of Sinhalese Buddhist palm leave manuscripts from Sri Lanka. Available to scholars to study, they contain information about ancient Buddhist traditions in South Asia.

The Museum of Anthropology in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change houses the Jane Hanks and William Sage collections of Southeast Asian textiles and jewelry.

“These are rare and curated collections that are unique to ASU,” Schober said.

Lining the walls outside of the center are framed monographs on Southeast Asia and East Asia published over the decades since the creation of the Center for Asian Research, a milestone the faculty members are very proud of.  

Complete information on the collections, degree offerings, faculty profiles, events and lectures put on by the center is all available on the newly launched website at car.clas.asu.edu or contact Asia@asu.edu.

The Center for Asian Research is a research unit in ASU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Arizona State University social scientist Sabina Low is the principal investigator in a multi-site study that addresses behavior such as bullying as part of an evaluation of the Second Step program that encourages positive social and emotional development as early as kindergarten.

“We know that bullying and disruptive behaviors are manifested very early on. Many teachers are seeing the genesis of this earlier and earlier,” said Low, assistant research professor in the ASU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences School of Social and Family Dynamics. “It’s important to establish foundational academic and social and emotional learning skills early on, given their interdependence.” Download Full Image

The two-year study that got under way this academic year in Mesa and Seattle schools evaluates the effectiveness of the “Second Step: Skills for Academic and Social Success” program for kindergarten students and first-graders. Next year, researchers will follow the students as they enter first and second grades. Low says she believes this study is the largest of its type for this age group.

“The idea is that social and emotional skills serve as the bridge between instruction and learning. The Second Step program focuses on skills such as learning empathy, problem-solving and brain-building exercises,” Low said.

The study, “Project Yes (Youth Engagement in Schools),” is currently under way in 20 Mesa schools and 41 schools in the Seattle metropolitan area. The co-principal investigator is Clay Cook of the University of Washington.

While the target outcome is academic engagement, the study also takes into consideration social and emotional behaviors and classroom management to give teachers skills to reinforce what the children are learning and ultimately improve classroom climate.

“Relationships matter,” Low said. “Healthy relationships allow for a host environment in which peer problems can be identified, discussed and solved effectively and respectfully.”

Early engagement in school could prove to be a protective factor for a variety of anti-social behaviors since working in collaboration with others and forming positive friendships are incompatible with bullying behavior, Low added.

The Mesa School District is excited to be part of the study since they already use the Steps to Respect curriculum for third- to fifth-graders in their schools. Second Step is widely recognized as one of the top research-based and best practices curriculum, said David Shuff, executive director of Student Support Services for Mesa School District.

“Principals who see what the program has to offer have been very excited. It’s very cutting edge,” Low said.

Mesa school officials say they want to proactively address behaviors such as bullying early to build control skills, empathy and respect for others. Less time spent on problem behaviors in the classroom also gives teachers more time for instruction, Shuff said.

“Teachers are looking for kids to have the ability to control their emotions, exhibit self-regulation skills and not strike out when they are angry,” he said.

ASU graduate students will record observations in Mesa classes for the study using an established coding system to document behaviors and academic engagement. Teachers are also engaged in results and surveying the children.

“The motivation behind the study is to build a relationship with the district to develop a vision for a systematic prevention program to address bullying, classroom climate and optimal learning environments," Low said. "Often times, so much emphasis is placed on initiating research studies with districts, and it’s important to put in the place the supports necessary for sustainability and fidelity after the study is over."

This week ASUtv will present a discussion panel on the popular PBS documentary “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide." 

The panel was hosted on Sept. 26 by ASU’s School of Social Transformation, an academic unit of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, in conjunction with Eight, Arizona PBS, and convened following a special screening of a 40-minute excerpt from “Half the Sky.”   Download Full Image

Viewers will have opportunities to see the panel discussion during a number of ASUtv lecture time slots on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. (Review the ASUtv Schedule to find a convenient viewing time.)

Oppression of women and girls through sex trafficking and forced prostitution, gender-based violence, and maternal mortality were the topics focused on in the screened excerpt discussed at ASU. The panel featured ASU faculty, international doctoral students and a clinical research affiliate – all of them experts in these areas. Following the 40-minute screening, the panelists talked about issues raised by the film and invited audience members to join the discussion.

Panelists for ASU’s “Half the Sky” event were:

Crista Johnson-Agbakwu, a clinical research affiliate with ASU’s Southwest Interdisciplinary Research Center (SIRC) and an obstetrician/gynecologist at the Maricopa Integrated Health System in Phoenix. At MIHS, she also serves as director of the Refugee Women’s Health Clinic.

Sarah Suhail, doctoral candidate in gender studies, School of Social Transformation, is a Fulbright Scholar from Pakistan with research interests in gender identity. She also has a law degree and experience advocating for transgender people in her home country.

Heather Switzer, assistant professor, School of Social Transformation, teaches classes on women and gender, girlhood and adolescence, and has published and presented on the schooling imperative and gender categories of Kenyan Maasai girls.

Yamrot Girma Teshome, doctoral candidate in gender studies, School of Social Transformation, is from Ethiopia with research interests in girls’ education and empowerment, masculinities and the effect of men’s socialization on reproductive health and power.

Charlie Zhang, doctoral candidate in gender studies, School of Social Transformation, is from China with research interests in gender and race, intersectionality, transnational feminism, masculinities and culture as a site of resistance and social justice.

Eight, Arizona PBS aired the four-hour documentary, “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide,“ on two nights, Oct. 1 and 2.

The PBS primetime special brought to life stories and issues raised by New York Times reporters and Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn in their best-selling book, “Half the Sky.” PBS viewers traveled with Kristof on an odyssey through Africa and Asia to meet extraordinary women confronting oppression with real and meaningful solutions through health care, education and economic empowerment for women and girls.

“The Women and Gender Studies Program was excited to partner with Eight in presenting a preview and panel discussion of the powerful PBS documentary, ‘Half the Sky,’” said ASU’s Georganne Scheiner Gillis, head of faculty and associate professor of Women and Gender Studies in the School of Social Transformation. “Both the film and the book on which it is based promote human rights for women and girls globally.

“The individual stories presented certainly pull at the heart in a visceral way, but as our panelists suggested in their discussion, Americans should also be interested in learning about the cultural, social and economic forces that create oppression,” she continued. “As Professor Heather Switzer noted in her remarks, ‘Social change is not just well-meaning people doing well-meaning things.’ Systemic structural changes are required to produce broad, long-term change.”

The School of International Letters and Cultures offered the first French and Italian language courses on the downtown campus in fall 2008 for journalism students in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and students in the Colleges of Public Programs and Health Solutions. The courses immediately filled to capacity.

Since then, the school has expanded its French and Italian course offerings every year, and has attracted students from the School of Letters and Sciences, the College of Nursing and Health Innovation, and the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, in addition to retaining strong student enrollments from Cronkite, Public Programs and Health Solutions. Download Full Image

This year, in order to meet the high demand from downtown students seeking Italian and French language courses, the school is offering even more beginning- and intermediate-level courses. Students now have options in Italian (ITA) 101, 102, 201 and 202, and French (FRE) 101, 102, 201 202. The school has plans to continue meeting the needs of downtown students by offering even more language and culture courses in the coming years.

In addition to the hundreds of students enrolled in Italian and French courses downtown, 23 downtown students have chosen to expand their professional opportunities by declaring a French or Italian minor through the School of International Letters and Cultures this year. 

“In addition to teaching language, we also teach culture and cultural awareness, which is the foundation of communication," says language professor Mariana Bahtchevanova. "In our French courses, students will learn more about France and the francophone world (the history, geography, contemporary culture, everyday life, the media, educational system, political system, etc). They will also gain insights into a different worldview.”

Because French is an official language in 54 countries for more than 200 million people, and is the official language of the United Nations, the EU, NATO, Interpol, WTO, FIFA, the Red Cross, and numerous other international organizations, students who speak French and understand French/francophone media sources, have a big advantage in any professional field in the world. 

Having foreign language experience is especially beneficial for journalism and health care students.

“Cultural awareness is central when journalists and health care providers interact with people from other cultures because people see, interpret and evaluate things in many different ways," Bahtchevanova says. "Students in our courses develop the ability to stand back from their own culture, and be aware of how their own values, beliefs and perceptions are informing their professional work. Developing cultural awareness is an important component of any professional training, but is crucial for journalists and health care providers.”

Distinguished School of International Letters and Cultures alumnus Christopher Livesay is one example of the professional value of language and culture study. Livesay, who graduated from ASU in 2005 with degrees in Italian and art history, went on to earn his master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University in 2010. In his short career, Livesay has achieved great success by leveraging his language and culture degrees with his journalism degree into an international journalism career that has taken him to Rome, where he currently lives and reports across Europe, Mexico and the United States for PBS Frontline, BBC/PRI, and the NPR show “All Things Considered."

As Italian students, Laura Posteraro and Jesus Yanez-Reyes are also using their language and culture skills professionally by combining their love for Italian with their interest in broadcasting in an internship at KASC (The Blaze) AM radio station, where they offer a college radio alternative to the commercial stations in the area by broadcasting Italian news, culture and music with the show “Buongiorno Italia.” Reaching out to ASU students and the Italian community at 9 am, every Friday, beginning Oct. 5, the show promotes Italian language and culture in Arizona. (Listen for the show on station 1330 AM or online at www.blazeradioonline.com.)

In addition to offering courses, the School of International Letters and Cultures also organizes international humanities events on the downtown campus every semester in order to connect with and support the interests of downtown students. Most popular of the events are “Italian Movie Night,” dedicated to a recent, interesting Italian movie with English subtitles, and “Learn about Italian Day,” which is a student-run initiative geared toward students who want to learn more about the school and the advantages of studying Italian.

The School of International Letters and Cultures also provides exciting and prestigious French and Italian study abroad opportunities each summer. Founded in 1981, and directed by knowledgeable, world-class faculty, the programs provide students with the opportunity to experience and study international humanities and learn languages firsthand while earning credit toward their degree.

Included in this summer’s options are three programs in Italy, two programs in France, and one program focused on French language in Québec, Canada.

Students interested in study abroad programs in the School of International Letters and Cultures may contact Barbara Fleming at Barbara.Fleming@asu.edu, or attend the SILC Study Abroad Fair from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Feb. 5, 2013, on the Tempe campus in Old Main Carson Ballroom.

Students interested in Italian at the downtown campus may contact Antonella Dell’Anna at antonella.dellanna@asu.edu.

Students interested in French at the downtown campus may contact Shannon McHale at Shannon.McHale@asu.edu.

The School of International Letters and Cultures is an academic unit of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Arizona State University chemical engineer César Torres is the winner of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) 2012 Young Investigator Award. The honor recognizes his contributions to bioenergy research.

Torres is an assistant professor at the School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, one of ASU’s Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. His research is conducted in the Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology at ASU’s Biodesign Institute. Download Full Image

“We look at microorganisms to find ways to convert either biomass or solar energy into electricity or fuels,” Torres explains.

The focus has been on a bacterial group called anode-respiring bacteria. It is an emerging, interdisciplinary field that connects engineering with microbiology and electrochemistry. “For example, 10 years ago we didn’t know that these anode-respiring bacteria could produce electrical current, so it has been an exciting path of learning and discovery.”

Torres works closely with Swette Center director Bruce Rittmann, an ASU Regents’ Professor on the faculty of the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment. Rittmann nominated him for the SHPE award.

“In my view, César Torres is the world's most outstanding researcher of microbial electrochemical cells,” Rittmann says. “César is truly unique in that he has advanced the field in extracellular electron transport, proton transport and microbial ecology. He is appreciated by all the leaders of the field, and many of them are eager to collaborate with him.”

Torres’ research is funded by the Department of Defense, the National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research, and he’s working with a number of industrial partners.

He and Rittmann are embarking on a new project with ASU electrical engineering professor Konstantinos Tsakalis. Funded by the Department of Defense, they will explore a new form of water treatment for the military’s “forward operating bases” – military bases that are operational only for short periods of time.

“They need something small that doesn’t require experts on hand,” Torres explains. “Another problem is the need for consuming less energy and less water.” The three ASU engineers will work to develop a simple automated and efficient system to treat wastewater and collect energy using anode-respiring bacteria.

“Our technology with the bacteria would perform wastewater treatment while at the same time producing energy and hydrogen peroxide, a valuable water disinfectant,” he says.

Torres also recently began work with the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship: Solar Utilization Network, a program supported by the National Science Foundation that will train doctoral students in the solar-energy field.

Torres will receive his award during the annual SHPE National Conference Nov. 14-18, in Fort Worth, Texas. He will also give a presentation at the conference about his research.

The organization’s Young Investigator Award is given to researchers under the age of 36 who have “contributed in an outstanding and innovative way to the progress of research in any field of science and engineering.”

SHPE was established in 1974 to encourage Hispanic students to pursue careers in engineering and science. It now has a growing number of members in industry and academia across the United States and internationally. SHPE student chapters have been established throughout the country.

Torres says he’s honored to be recognized by an organization that shares his goal of providing role models to students in a group that is underrepresented in engineering and science fields.

Read more about Torres and his research.

Written by Natalie Pierce and Joe Kullman

The border regions of the United States have become an increasingly central part of economic, political and ethical debate. To create a platform to bring a diverse set of peoples and ideas together, the School of Transborder Studies kicks off a series of events in October that examine film and media, immigration and migration, voting and indigenous sovereignty with speakers and panelists from the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Of particularly note are two conferences: “Raising the Bar: New Thinking and Resolution to Issues of Mexican Migration,” scheduled to take place from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Oct. 11, at the Tempe Center for the Arts, and the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) Western Regional Conference, Oct. 25-27. Seating is limited and RSVP is required for both conferences. Download Full Image

Raising the bar

“Raising the Bar” brings together experts, thought leaders and the public to develop regional approaches to some of the challenges laid out in the report, “Not coming to America: Why the U.S. is falling behind in the global race for talent,” released by Michael R. Bloomberg, mayor of New York City, and Ricardo Salinas, a Mexican business leader, and others. The Salinas-Bloomberg report examines strategic approaches being used in other countries to boost their economies, including recruitment strategies, and outlines six recommendations for immigration reforms in the United States.

“This conference is designed to create a new narrative about Mexican migration on the North American continent,” said Carlos G. Vélez-Ibáñez, Regents’ and Presidential Motorola Professor and founding director of the School of Transborder Studies. Panelists and speakers for this event include Vélez-Ibáñez; Douglas Massey, Henry G. Bryan Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at Princeton University; and Francisco Lara-Valencia, an associate professor in the School of Transborder Studies at ASU. The conference will be moderated by Armando Guzmán, the Washington Bureau Chief for Azteca America.

Of special note is conference participant America Ferrera, an actress known to many as the lead character in the television series “Ugly Betty.” Ferrera is the co-chair of Voto Latino and the face of the America4American campaign. A non-partisan, nonprofit group, Voto Latino seeks to bring diverse voices into the political process and engage the public in conversations around voting, education and immigration. Voto Latino, Fundación Azteca America, the public outreach arm of Grupo Salinas, and the group’s Azteca America Network, which provides Spanish-language programming in the United States, are co-sponsors of this unique event.

To register for this free event, visit http://sts.asu.edu/RBregistration

To read the Salinas-Bloomberg report: http://www.renewoureconomy.org/sites/all/themes/pnae/not-coming-to-america.pdf

Crossing Learning Borders

Late October will bring members of the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) to the Tempe campus to work around the theme of “Crossing Learning Borders.” The Western Regional Conference, hosted by the school, Oct. 25-27, will bring students, researchers, scholars, professionals and members of the public together to discuss issues of citizenship, identities, school reform, immigrant migration, gender and race and various other topics.

The opening keynote speaker is Vélez-Ibáñez. He pioneered new territory in the social sciences through his dedication to the investigation of human rights violations and civil concerns, puling from the fields of urban, political and applied anthropology, with focus on applied research designed to bring about change in the diverse populations he studies.

“Spanish language politics and hegemony is a little known historical narrative of the manner in which Spanish was established and later removed by changes in political regimes. This narrative is crucial to understand the present foci on immigration and English-only movements,” said Vélez-Ibáñez.

The closing keynote will be given by Teresa L. McCarty, who is the Alice Wiley Snell Professor of Education Policy Studies and Applied Linguistics, and co-director of the Center for Indian Education at Arizona State University. An educational anthropologist, she has worked with indigenous education programs throughout North America and in New Zealand, Siberia and Mexico. Her books include “A Place to Be Navajo–Rough Rock and the Struggle for Self-Determination in Indigenous Schooling,” and “Language, Literacy, and Power in Schooling.” 

In addition to keynotes, the conference will have a series of concurrent, interactive sessions and presentations. To register for this event, visit http://sts.asu.edu/cies/registration

For more information including conference fees: http://sts.asu.edu/cies

To find out more about films, lectures and a full list of events being offered by the School of Transborder Studies, visit http://sts.asu.edu

Say the word “border” and images of migrants struggling through the desert, hoping to evade capture, come to mind – at least in America’s southern border states.

Add the words “immigration” and “race” to the conversation, and hackles start to go up. Download Full Image

Why are people so afraid of those words?

That is the question that will be addressed in a free forum titled “Race and the Border: At the Intersection of Fear, Immigration, and Justice” to take place at 6 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 9, in the Phoenix College Dome, 3110 N. 10th Ave., Phoenix.

The event, part of the Healing Racism Community Dialogue Series on Race Relations, is sponsored by ASU’s Center for the Study of Race and Democracy (CSRD). Panelists discussing issues related to U.S. immigration law, race and fear will be Todd Landfried, executive director, Arizona Employers for Immigration Reform; Tia Oso, Arizona organizer, Black Alliance for Just Immigration and co-chair of Black/Brown Coalition of Arizona; and Sarah "Amira" De la Garza, associate professor and Southwest Borderlands scholar and director, Innovative Inquiry Initiative in ASU’s Hugh Downs School of Human Communication.

“Americans are so afraid of the border because it represents a demarcation of struggle,” said Matthew Whitaker, director of CSRD and ASU Foundation Professor of History. “When people think of the border, they think of immigration, which is a very emotional and political issue – one that is imbibed with all sorts of ethnic, racial, classist, and even gendered notions of who is worthy of citizenship. When people think of those things, it engenders a lot of fear and apprehension.

“This event is to help dispel some myths about who immigrants are, why they’re coming here, what their lives are like when they get here, and their relationship to economy, education, and health care and more.”

Whitaker said immigration fears are often intensified when the economy is in a recession.

“When things get tight we start looking at the new guy on the block. It’s about access and money – historically speaking, it seems that’s when all of our bias and baggage comes out.”

The Healing Racism Community Dialogue Series on Race Relations, which now is one of the cornerstone programs of CSRD, grew out of various anti-racist events in Phoenix that were held between the spring of 2004 and the spring of 2005. Whitaker, the Rev. Phillip Rice, pastor of the Community of Hope Church in Phoenix, Lee Storey of Phoenix’s non-profit Ambassadors for Change, Godwin Out, of OTU Business Consulting, and Rory Gilbert, Senior Manager, HR Solutions Center, Inclusion, Maricopa Community Colleges, organized the first event, a forum titled “The Color of Fear.”

Since then, the dialogue series has included many more such events.

“We like to take on difficult, challenging and emotional issues and examine them in a civil, coherent and informed way,” Whitaker said. “The last time we had a forum on race and immigration was in 2006. At that event we had almost 200 people, including Minutemen, business leaders, health providers and others. When people arrived, you could feel the tension in the room. Many came for an informed and courteous conversation, but they feared that they would get another angry, belligerent confrontation. They were pleasantly surprised to be a part of a civil dialogue. Political and ideological enemies found themselves deep in passionate, but courteous discussion. It was revelatory and we proved that when people put our humanity first, even the toughest issues can be engaged constructively.”

One of the Healing Racism ground rules is that “We are there to have a civil conversation,” Whitaker said. “We’re not going to suppress any opinions, but we’re going to express all opinions respectfully.”

“People want a space where they are protected and where they feel comfortable enough to be vulnerable, not be attacked by someone who disagrees with them. Our mission is to help build an informed citizenry and more unified communities. We can only do that if we have some space where people can go and not be shouted down.”

CSRD sponsors events throughout the year. The next event that the CSRD will support after “Race and the Border” will be from 6 to 8:30 p.m., Monday, Oct. 15, at Scottsdale’s Civic Center Library, 3839 N. Drinkwater Blvd., Scottsdale, titled “Listen Up! A Community Conversation on Civility.” The event is co-sponsored by the Scottsdale Human Relations Commission and the Scottsdale Public Library.

Panelists will be Fred Duvall, board member, National Institute for Civil Discourse; Whitaker; Lisa Urias, regional expert on civil rights and communication; Chris Coppola, Scottsdale community editor for the Arizona Republic; and Cynthia Wenstrom, Scottsdale Leadership board of directors.

For more information about CSRD and all the events, go to csrd.asu.edu.

Socially embedded, use-inspired research that fuses intellectual disciplines, leverages place, and can move society forward has always defined the scholarship of Ruth Wilson Gilmore, who will be at Arizona State University on Monday, Oct. 1, to present the keynote lecture as part of the university’s third annual Ethnic Studies Week events.

Her address, titled “The Birth of Ethnic Studies,” will take place from 5 to 6:30 p.m., in the Memorial Union, Turquoise Room 220, on ASU’s Tempe campus. Download Full Image

Gilmore is professor of geography in the Earth and Environmental Studies doctoral program at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and a visiting professor at Maumaus School of Visual Arts in Lisbon. She works regularly with community groups and grassroots organizations and is known as a scholar whose research is broadly accessible.

Her wide-ranging research interests include race and gender, labor and social movements, uneven development, and the African diaspora.

Gilmore’s prize-winning 2007 book, “Golden Gulag: Prisons, Surplus, Crisis, and Opposition in Globalizing California,” examined how political and economic forces produced California’s prison boom. In its review, the San Francisco Chronicle said: "Now, if you want to understand why progressive California leads the Western world with its regressive system of punishment, Gilmore's ‘Golden Gulag’ is the first must-read book of the 21st century.”

Her work has been highly influential to social justice organizations that have successfully pressured the state of California to reduce its prison population, incarceration rates, and corrections costs while improving public safety.

Gilmore’s honors and awards reflect the impact she has had in the academy and in the greater community. They include a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Soros Justice Senior Fellowship, the James Blaut Award for Critical Geography, the Ralph Santiago Abascal Award for Economic and Environmental Justice, and the Lora Romero Best Book Prize, as well as honors from many community justice organizations, the California State Senate, the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors, and the State of Connecticut. Gilmore was president of the American Studies Association in 2010-2011.

Before joining the Graduate Center at CUNY, Gilmore was at the University of Southern California, where she taught courses in race and ethnicity, economic geography, and political geography, and was the founding chair of the Department of American Studies and Ethnicity.

“Ruth Wilson Gilmore is one of the most important theorists writing about racism, state violence, and organizing for social justice today,” observes Wendy Cheng, assistant professor of Asian Pacific American Studies and Justice and Social Inquiry, and an organizer of the week’s events. “Her work resonates not only with a wide range of scholars who are trying to puzzle out the ‘big’ questions – about power, politics, economics – but also with people who are living the hard realities of these questions in their everyday lives. Her lecture should be highly relevant and illuminating to the struggles we are currently facing in Arizona.”

ASU’s Ethnic Studies Week events will kick off earlier on Oct.1, with a screening and discussion of the film "Chunky: The Making of a Social Activist," from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., in the Memorial Union Alumni Room, on ASU’s Tempe campus. The documentary is a work in progress by Paul Espinosa, award-winning filmmaker and ASU professor of Transborder Studies. The film tells the story of Ramón “Chunky” Sanchez – a southern California musician, composer, and son of farm-working parents. The documentary examines how Sanchez’s personal development as an activist is interwoven with the broader history of the Chicana/o community in the United States and the unique cultural dynamics of the U.S.-Mexican border.

The film will be preceded by a presentation by Estevan César Azcona, adjunct assistant professor of Mexican American Studies at the University of Houston. It will be followed by a lunch and panel discussion in which Espinosa and Azcona will be joined by Luis Alvarez, associate professor of history at the University of California, San Diego, and Michelle Téllez, assistant professor, ASU’s New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences.

On Tuesday, Oct. 2, at 5 p.m., professor of English Lee Bebout will lead a screening of the 2006 HBO film “Walkout” in Bateman Physical Sciences Center H Wing, room 152. The film depicts the efforts by students and community members to achieve educational equality in Los Angeles in the late 1960s. In many ways, this film illustrates one of the key origin points for ethnic studies as a field today.

The Ethnic Studies Week events close on Thursday, Oct. 4, with a panel discussion titled “The Struggle for Educational Equality,” to take place at 5 p.m., in Coor Hall, room L1-20. Discussion will focus on the role of ethnic studies in public schools, strategies for its incorporation, and lessons and differences from past efforts. Panelists will be former teacher Sal Castro, who helped organize the efforts for educational reform depicted in the film "Walkout" (to be viewed on Oct. 2, as noted above), Sean Arce, an educator who is engaged in the struggle to reinstate Mexican American studies in Tucson Unified School District, and Kim Dominguez, a member of UNIDOS – a youth organization from Tucson working to protect educational human rights.

ASU’s Ethnic Studies Week events are co-sponsored by the School of Social Transformation, the School of Transborder Studies, the Department of English, and the Institute for Humanities Research – all units of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences – as well as the School of Letters and Sciences and the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences.

All of the week's events are free, but admission to the “Chunky” film screening requires registration and RSVP.

A team of recent Arizona State University graduates and current students is among finalists for Entrepreneur Magazine’s 2012 College Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Called Vantage Realized, the eight-member team is developing a customized wheelchair designed to prevent injuries and physical ailments that often afflict long-term manual wheelchair users. Download Full Image

The start-up venture has already earned the support of ASU Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative, and last year finished second in the ASU Innovation Challenge in which student entrepreneurial projects compete for support.

The co-founders of Vantage Realized are Gordon Freirich, who earned a degree in mechanical engineering from ASU’s Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering, JJ Tang, a finance graduate of ASU’s W. P. Carey School of Business, and Nick Gough, an industrial design major in the university’s Herberger Institute of Design and the Arts.

Other members are graduates Ami Bui (marketing) Teddy Lewis (visual communication design), Colin Ho (mechanical engineering), Kris Guiang (biomedical engineering) and graduate student Wade Gyllenhaal   (mechanical engineering).

Vantage Realized is refining a method of propelling wheelchairs with the use of levers that produces less stress on the joints of users, who often develop infirmities such as carpal tunnel syndrome and rotator cuff injuries due to the physical strenuousness of using conventional manual wheelchairs.

During the past summer the team built a prototype and worked with long-term wheelchair users to test its effectiveness.

“We performed research to confirm that a lever system was physically better for the body,” says team member Ho.

“Right now we are taking the feedback from our tests and developing a production-viable product,” Gyllenhaal says.

The next step is to refine the product and develop a manufacturing plan to either sell the parts of the wheelchair separately or to partner with a company to develop wheelchairs with the parts as factory add-ons.

Vantage Realized is one of five teams vying for the Entrepreneur Magazine Award. A winner is to be announced in January and will be featured in an issue of the magazine.

“We are confident in our project because it has a social value. It is not purely for profit,” Freirich says.

“It’s always nice to win competitions, but it is not the bigger picture. We are much more concerned about what we actually achieve,” he says.

The supportive environment of the Edson Initiative operations at SkySong, the ASU Innovation Center in Scottsdale, has helped boost Vantage Realized, Freirich says.

“When you first get into the program the money seems really important, but the real benefits are the resources – the mentorship and the connections you make at SkySong,” he says.

“It is a very open community. The other start-up companies are happy to share their connections and resources. We all work together,” he says.

Read more about Vantage Realized, the College Entrepreneur of the Year Award and the Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative.

Vist the Vantage Realized website.

Written by Natalie Pierce and Joe Kullman