FACULTY NEWS

Rachel Havrelock

Biblical Scholar Rachel Havrelock Ponders "Who Was Jesus?" for the Discovery Channel

"I often rode cabs back and forth to the shoots and spoke Arabic with my cab drivers… Several cab drivers were shocked that I was a Jew staying in Palestinian East Jerusalem and this fact enabled some profound conversations about the conflict and possible alternatives. I felt that in certain ways I bridged the seam, at least through my own movements." READ ON

Laurie Schaffner

Formerly Homeless Professor Uses Fulbright Fellowship to Help Homeless Teens in Guadalajara

Once a homeless teen herself, Laurie Schaffner now focuses her work on kids in trouble. She is an associate professor of criminology, law and justice, who has recently returned from Mexico where she did research as a Fulbright scholar. "I was confronted, overwhelmed, by the sights of kids in poverty," Schaffner said. READ ON

STUDENT NEWS

Adam Kuranishi

Political Science Major Wins U.S. State Department Scholarship to Study Arabic in Morocco

As captain of his high school debate team, Adam Kuranishi was inspired by a debate topic on the issue of detaining individuals without probable cause for national security purposes. "I drew parallels between the post-9/11 Arab-American experiences with what my grandparents went through as Japanese-Americans with the internment camps as a result of Pearl Harbor." READ ON

Sara Nack

Germanic Studies Major Brings New Dimension to the Study Abroad Experience

Junior Sara Nack is among 75 Americans selected to spend the next academic year in Germany as part of the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals. "In the future, I plan on becoming a German teacher and, later on, working for a study abroad company where my knowledge of the German language and culture can be applied to improving study abroad programs." READ ON

ALUMNI NEWS

Emmett Reeb

One of the First Peace Corps Volunteers Stationed in Rwanda in 15 Years Blogs about his Mission

"I know it just sounds like more paperwork, but creating a Community Needs Assessment report is actually very interesting; it reminds me of what I was doing in my anthropology studies at UIC. Specifically, this report needs to outline everything about the community...and I mean EVERYTHING!" READ ON

LAS LIBRARY

Luis Alberto Urrea

New Novel Combines Humor, Feminism and The Magnificent Seven

"The bandidos came to the village at the worst possible time. Of course, everyone in Mexico would agree that there is no particularly good time for bad men to come to town." Thus begins Into the Beautiful North, the latest release from Luis Alberto Urrea, professor of English and creative writing. READ ON