Does How Doctors Talk to us Affect our Health?

Jeffrey Robinson, Communciation Faculty

Can a doctor's bedside manner affect a cancer patient's recovery? Communication Professor Jeffrey Robinson, a Health Communication specialist, sees a link and now, thanks to a $340,000 grant from the National Cancer Institute, he can find out.

Read more about the ultimate goal of Robinson's research and his two year grant online.

Neighborhood Going to the...Coyotes?

Urban Coyote

Geography Professor Barbara Brower's work has followed her home. After a surprise encounter with a sunbathing coyote in her driveway, the NE Portland resident drew inspiration for a new research project.

Enlisting the help of her neighbor's second grade class, she hopes to encourage young learners while making some sense of the new wave of urban coyotes. Read the OregonLive article about the class project now.

From One Classroom to Another

Russian Flagship Students

Two Portland State programs teamed up to create a fun and engaging learning tool for Russian language students.

When demand suddenly grew for two students' Advanced Russian project, Ooligan Press transformed the simple booklet, "The Giant's Wealth", into a publishable book and into the hands of eager Portland Public School language teachers.

Read more about this creative collaboration here.

Calculating Optimum Strategies

Steven Bleiler, Math Faculty

What do Texas Hold 'Em and climate change have in common? Math professor Steven Bleiler for one thing. The self described "toolmaker" works with engineers, scientists, economists and others, to develop computational models to illuminate optimum strategies to resolve complex problems, including poker!

Continue learning about Bleiler's work and listen to the OPB piece on Bleiler's "Carbon Quants" here.

CLAS Events & Announcements

Veronica Dujon, Sociology Faculty

Can ecotourism support positive economic development? According to Sociology Professor and Chair Veronica Dujon's paper Social Sustainability and Ecotourism, it can be successful when local business owners are involved.

Dujon won the International Award for Excellence in Sustainability by Common Ground Publishing and will present at the annual conference in New Zealand this January.

Vern Rutsala & Paulann Petersen

Portland State's MFA in Creative Writing brings poetry to campus with a reading by Paulann Petersen, Oregon's new Poet Laureate, and Vern Rutsala, poet and Lewis & Clark professor emeritus.

The event takes place on Wednesday, December 15th at 7:00pm in Smith Memorial Studet Union, room 228. More event information available on the MFA Program's website.

Dr. Hayashi's "Democratizing the Enemy"

The Center for Japanese Studies presents the lecture Asian Americans in the American Spy Service in Asia by Dr. Brian Hayashi of Kyoto University on Wednesday, January 12th from 6:00pm - 7:30pm in the Smith Memorial Student Union, rooms 327/8.

Learn more about this and other upcoming Center for Japanese Studies events here.

New Books by JST Facutly

On Sunday January 16th, join the Judaic Studies Program in celebrating the recent publications of Professors Natan Meir's and Michael Wingrad's books. Joining the festivities will be Steven Zipperstein, the Koshland Professor in Jewish Culture and History at Stanford University, and a poetry reading by Robert Whitehill.

The event begins at 2:00pm in the Recital Hall of the newly renovated Lincoln Hall. Free with RSVP by January 7th to judaicst@pdx.edu.