Grain & Chaff

Coming attractions

Art History professor Walter Denny will deliver the plenary address Oct. 11 at a Georgetown University symposium celebrating the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Institute of Turkish Studies. Denny currently serves on the board of the institute, which is a major source of grant funding for U.S. scholars involved in every facet of Turkish studies. In the past, he notes, the institute funded library collection development at UMass Amherst. ... History professor Gerald McFarland will participate in a panel discussion on Greenwich Village sponsored by the New-York Historical Society in New York City on Oct. 30. McFarland's book, "Inside Greenwich Village: A New York City Neighborhood, 1898-1918," was published last year by the University of Massachusetts Press.

Environmental leader

Joanna Grand, a doctoral student in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, is one of 19 graduate students in the U.S. to be awarded fellowships by the Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation. Given annually, the Switzer Environmental Fellowships provide $13,000 to allow each recipient "to complete masters and doctoral level degrees to advance their skills and develop their expertise to address critical conservation challenges."

Grand's research focuses on methods for prioritizing the remaining pitch pine-scrub oak habitats of southeastern Massachusetts for biodiversity conservation. Her goal is to identify methods that are relevant for local-level planning.

In the news

Assistant professor of Political Science Ray LaRaja was quoted in a front page story in the Washington Post (Sept. 30) on how donor limits lead political supporters to find ways to circumvent campaign spending laws. LaRaja was also quoted by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Oct. 2) in a story about the lack of competitive races in Georgia despite high donor limits. LaRaja said competitive races draw more donations because people want to "concentrate their money on a race they think will make a difference." ... Economics professor Robert Pollin was quoted in the San Antonio Express-News (Sept. 29) about efforts to promote living-wage programs around the country. ... Mark Brenner, research assistant professor in Economics, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Sept. 24) that low wage workers aren't affected by the failing stock market since they never benefited from the earlier boom. ... Call center representatives at utility companies have difficult work lives, Labor Relations and Research Center director Tom Juravich told the Omaha World Herald (Sept. 23).