A newsletter for ISS students, alumni, faculty, and staff.

Vol. 3, Issue 3 //  Summer Quarter 2020

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On June 14, 2020, ISS celebrated commencement for 82 graduates via a ZOOM ceremony meticulously and elegantly organized by ISS adviser, Daniel McConnell.  

ISS co-director Mel Wensel initiated the stream with a full-throated endorsement of the exquisite value of social science skills for navigating the challenging and uncomfortable terrain of a society in transition. She reinforced the driving mission of our program, which is to increase access to the rigors of social science training so that our students will have the necessary skill sets—especially those meta-reflective ones—to lead in a multitude of positive ways. The rousing account was deeply appreciated, as was the powerful and poignant literary figure she invoked: Scrooge’s pledge to commit to the lessons learned from the Spirits of the Past, Present, and Future, so that he may “sponge away the writing on this stone.”   

Beloved core team member and core lecturer, Dr. Sara Vaninni, was the event’s special guest speaker. After four years of stellar contributions to the development of ISS Core Curriculum, teaching the course courses, and guiding intellectual growth, Dr. Vaninni moves on this year to a new job opportunity at the University of Sheffield, from where she delivered her speech. Again, we heard compelling encouragement to use the skill sets acquired during the ISS intellectual journey to make positive contributions to your own lives and those around you. She spoke to the program’s orientation toward developing intellectual identities that can be conduits for critical and respectful engagement with today’s most pressing issues.  Her thoughts, shared with an attentive audience of over 60 attendees, eloquently articulated how the expanded learning patterns acquired in ISS can continue to guide action and thought beyond the academy.

These sentiments were brought center stage with videos and live stream appearances of students who chose to share some reflections with the audience.  All displayed grace and gratitude for the gift of intellectual growth and what it means for self-construal and future objectives.  Student remarks bore moving testimony about the support they received from family, friends, and ISS advisers while on this trajectory, and they expressed gratitude for the thematic faculty’s challenging coursework.  We were also able to honor every student who chose not to send in remarks, with a projection of each student’s name, read by adviser Bridget Norquist.

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The consistent acknowledgment of the role played by classmates in their intellectual growth was a testament to the capacity of online education to generate a deep sense of community. Such was the effect of this warmly produced celebration of the 2020 ISS graduates. CONGRATULATIONS!!

ISS Core Faculty, Fare Thee Well, and Welcome!

ISS core faculty, Professors William Buckingham and Sara Vaninni, will be moving on to new professional endeavors. Both have made indelible contributions to ISS core classes, which has strengthened our program. ISS is so very grateful for their sharp and incisive core class revision work, wit and generosity of pedagogical spirit, all of which has enhanced our program’s mission to increase access to high-quality online education.

After a national search, ISS is delighted to announce that we will welcome two Assistant Professors of Teaching who will begin instructing this autumn quarter. The teaching responsibilities include ISS core courses that are required to complete the ISS major: ISS 301, a social science theory and application survey course; ISS 302, a social science methodology survey course; and ISS 350, 355 and 401, a three-course sequence of portfolio studio classes, in which students curate the knowledge absorbed throughout their intellectual journey.

Rebakah Daro Minarchek, with a Ph.D. from Cornell University, comes with a deep background in interdisciplinary research, including an area studies focus on Southeast Asia, and research interests involving Indigenous land claims in Indonesia, as well as broader environmental issues. Janine Slater, comes to ISS with a Ph.D. from Michigan State, with a research focus on Media and Information Studies, as well as science and technology and ethnic studies. These research areas of expertise align with ISS’ commitment to building on our already formidable foundation of social science expertise, to fulfill our commitment to inclusion diversity, collaboration, and collegiality. Please join me in welcoming our new ISS core team faculty!

Student Voices: Alex Peder, Corrio, and H.O.P.E. 

ISS has always thrived because of the diversity of students and the richness of their experiences. This Integrator Voices column features an interview with Alex Peder, who entered the program in Spring 2019, and whose work involves integrating communication technologies to foster deeper connections among incarcerated people and family. He asserts that sustaining links between prisoners and family is key to developing bonds that support accountability, which itself is a “foundation of hope” for successful post-incarceration life strategies.

Alex speaks from first-hand experience, having recently reentered society after having served a sentence at the Washington Correctional Complex in Monroe (MCC). While incarcerated, Alex observed how prisoners were deprived of access to expressions of love and support from families and friends because of the lack of integration between phone systems “on the inside” and those “on the outside.” Recognizing the enormous positive power of facilitating such expressions, which can infuse joy into a prisoner’s day, and as a result, improving safety and security at the institution, Alex, along with creative and business partners, created Corrio, a voicemail service. Devised in stages where ideas were written and shared on napkins in the prison visiting room, Corrio allows families, friends and professionals (where law dictates no monitoring) to stay in touch with inmates in jails and prisons in a way more akin to how we interact on the outside.

This "game-changer" service has also been developed for Spanish speakers, initially funded by ICE to allow immigrant asylum seekers held in private detention camps. Corrio works in partnership with its non-profit fiscal sponsor, Social Good, thereby allowing donations into these programs to be tax-deductible.  It is offered free to attorneys representing detained individuals and their families and children, who could not otherwise connect with someone inside the detention center. Moreover, there is the possibility that Corrio could be a vehicle for delivering mental behavioral healthcare, allowing outside mentors, such as AA sponsors to leave encouraging messages for incarcerated subjects, which have the power to light up one's day. The transformative potential of this idea was acknowledged by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, who granted a multiple, non-provisional utility patent.

This is also why the venture is getting serious attention, and why it was slated to be featured at the SXSW festival. The selection process by which Alex’s petition to introduce Corrio as a communication tool was chosen provided objective affirmation that this service met an important need.  Alex's commitment to expanding opportunities for incarcerated people to connect with the outside world extends to the realm of online education as well, through the organization Huskies for Opportunities in Prison Education (H.O.P.E.). 

Please click here to read the remainder of this article, as well as an interview with Alex. 

2019-2020 ISS Portfolio Awards

Four students, Alexandra Van Belle, Arletta Rhoda, Jessica Love, and Aaron Chapman were recognized for exemplary portfolio's submitted during the 2019-2020 academic year in ISS 401. The winning portfolios, which represent the culmination of ISS core course objectives, were chosen by a faculty committee on the basis of how they demonstrate a refined capacity to compellingly synthesize and evaluate their broad and rich learning experiences. Congratulations to the winners!

ISS Jumps In When UW Went Remote

When UW abruptly moved its courses and operations online toward the end of Winter Quarter as a result of the coronavirus, ISS students, staff, and faculty stepped up to support their on-campus community members. Early on, ISS students in our community Facebook page expressed a desire to support fellow students. When the Academic Support Programs sought to hire additional academic coaches to support undergraduate students, four ISS students were eventually hired - Jessica Love, Gracie Pakosz, Steven Posel, and Erica Slotkin.

At the program and course level, our co-directors, Deborah Porter and Mel Wensel offered the use of our ISS thematic courses to our partners in the Division of the Social Sciences. Many of our core and thematic faculty offered their expertise as seasoned online instructors to their colleagues moving newly to online instruction. Joe Hannah, ISS adviser with an affiliate faculty appointment in the Department of Geography supported Geography graduate students working with students online, and ISS Librarian participated on a panel discussion on asynchronous course design offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning.

Our advisers were also involved with supporting advising and other student support staff with their own transitions to online advising. Assistant Director of Academic Services Aimee Kelly offered Zoom training sessions, consultations, and developed a webpage with online advising resources, including a piece written by Bridget Norquist on working remotely. Aimee also organized a virtual graduation brainstorming session, at which ISS Adviser Daniel McConnell shared the work he was doing to plan our ISS Graduation Celebration. Though we wish the circumstances had been different, we are proud of the way our ISS students, faculty, and staff offered their support to help UW make the transition to an online learning and work environment.

Bulletin Board:

Calendar:

Here are some important dates, as well as a link to the UW academic calendar:

• Autumn registration is now open (period II)
• Summer quarter ends on Friday, August 21st
• ISS orientation will open for new ISS students on Wednesday, September 9th
• Autumn classes begin Wednesday, September 30th

Awesome Alumni: 

• Estelle Broyer graduated from UW this Spring with an MA in Geography. Her thesis title was "A New Campus in the City: Place-Making in South Lake Union." She will be moving to London, UK and plans to pursue a PhD.
• Angie Collins graduated from the Communication Leadership graduate program in the UW Dept of Communication this Spring.
• Martin Lau graduated with a Master of Education degree from Boston University’s Wheelock School of Education.
• Amy McIntyre will be the new executive director of the North Olympic History Center starting in August.
• Alexis Newman recently accepted a position as an Administrative Coordinator with UW Department of Housing and Food Services Conference Services Department. 
• Tom Pepe was awarded the Fulbright Fellowship English Teaching Assistant Grant in Colombia for the coming academic year.
• Tina Torres recently began her new position as Cybersecurity Officer for Abbott Diabetes Care (ADC) in Alameda, CA. This is an executive role to ensure cyber risks are prevented or mitigated and HIPAA and data privacy controls enacted for ADC patients and systems globally. 

Fantastic Faculty:

• ISS is delighted to recognize Professor Meg Spratt’s promotion to Associate Professor of Teaching! We are grateful for and celebrate Professor Spratt’s significant contributions to teaching, revising core course curriculum, and service to ISS and the UW. 
• JSIS and ISS faculty Tony Lucero received the UW Latinx faculty recognition honor this year by the UW Latino Center for Health. Congratulations, Tony!
• UW Communications and ISS Faculty Professor Ralina Joseph was recently interviewed by KING5's Margaret Larson about her work on "Radical Listening." 
• Sociology and ISS Faculty Professor Alexes Harris has recently written two op-ed in Newsweek: “Companies Can Keep Their Hollow Statements on Racism. We Need Real Change” and "Our Double Pandemic Does Not Need More Fines and Fees."

Standout Staff:

• A huge congratulations to ISS Assistant Director of Academic Services, Aimee Kelly, for being recognized for her extraordinary efforts leading the UW advising community this year!
  • In March, Aimee was selected by the UW Association of Professional Advisers and Counselors (APAC) as Advisor of the Month.
  • The UW Online Advising Group was April's APAC Advisor of the Month, of which Aimee is a founding member. 
  • In June, Aimee was recognized as one of a few to receive the UW APAC Adviser of the Year. 

Program Plans: 

• The ISS staff and core faculty have committed to complete, in full, the UW's Global Accessibility Challenge this year, in an effort to make our courses and websites more accessible for all.