Spring Lecture Series Draws Notable Alumni in Tech World

Posted on April 25, 2014 by Nate Bernitz

The annual spring PLATO Lecture Series, which highlights innovation in computing and technology, owes its origin to the work of John Aikin and Evergreen Students in the early 1980s. One of those students, Greg Starling ’78, went on to form Starling Consulting Inc., a technology consulting firm in Olympia. Aikin endowed royalties from the computer aided instruction (CAI) courses developed by himself and his students around 1985 to fund the PLATO Lecture Series and PLATO Technology Grants in perpetuity.

Disney Pixar Monsters University

Also called the Cutting Edge Symposium, the lecture series is coordinated by different faculty members every year. This year’s theme is “Greeners on the Cutting Edge,” featuring an extraordinary cast of Evergreen alumni involved with interesting and innovative technology research and development. Organized by faculty members Judy Cushing, Richard Weiss, Paul Pham, Rik Smoody, Sheryl Shulman, and Neal Nelson, the planning for this spring’s lecture series started over a year ago. Judy Cushing, currently offering “Student Originated Software” and “Undergraduate Research in Scientific Inquiry”, remarked that “people don’t think of Evergreen as a hot spot for technological innovation,” and that with this year’s alumni panel “we are hoping to change that perception”.

With a small annual budget to work with, panelists traditionally don’t receive an honorarium and often the speakers or their companies pay for travel. In addition, this year’s speakers aren’t coming to Evergreen’s Olympia campus simply to give a lecture; they provide reading for students in partnering academic programs and visiting their classrooms to participate in seminar or give a talk. After their lectures, many of this year’s speakers will stay on campus to work with students. Dylan Sisson ’94 from Pixar worked with students in the CCAM (Center for Creative and Applied Media) after his lecture on April 14. Select students have also had the opportunity to join the speakers and organizing faculty members for dinner after each lecture.

Notable speakers for the rest of the 2014 lecture series include Moishe Lettvin ‘03, an engineering manager at Etsy, and Lynda Weinman ‘76, Co-Founder and Executive Chair of lynda.com.

More information on the lecture series, speakers, and abstract materials can be found on Evergreen Lecture’s Blog.

Alex Becker Appointed to Seattle Human Rights Commission

Posted on March 5, 2014 by R.J. Burt

Alex Becker

“A distinctively dedicated and engaged student;” this is how Evergreen faculty member Lin Nelson describes her former student Alex Becker, ’11, who has just been named to the Seattle Human Rights Commission.

Alex is the community organizer for the social justice non-profit organization Real Change, and has been active in public service and social justice issues since 2005, according to Real Change News. Read the full article.

Writer Nick Mattos, ’06, Interviewed on LGBT Characters in Pop Culture

Posted on March 3, 2014 by R.J. Burt

Nick Mattos, ’06, is a freelance journalist and essayist.

Nick Mattos, ’06, is a freelance journalist and essayist living in Portland, OR. He turned up recently in The Guardian as one of three panelists discussing the evolution of LGBT characters in pop culture. Here is a sample:

The Guardian: The concept of the ‘gay sidekick’ is a classic mainstream exploration of the LGBT community in American pop culture. Have gay characters moved more to the center of the plot in recent years, and where does work still need to be done?

Nick: One great effect I’ve observed in recent representation of queer people in pop culture is the presence of queer characters whose sexuality is not the crux of their identity. A great example of this was the character of Mitch Downe in the excellent 2012 film Paranorman, who was arguably the first openly gay character in a mainstream children’s animated film. He wasn’t stereotyped at all – the revelation of his sexuality was actually a humorous but sensitively handled plot twist. [He] was instead a whole, integral character, whose personality grew organically through the course of the film. In terms of work that still needs to be done, there are still very few representations of queer people that don’t fit the mold of being affluent, white, and relatively heteronormative in expression.

Read the entire interview at The Guardian.

The Inkwell Project: Part of Evergreen’s Writing Culture

Posted on February 26, 2014 by Thane

Cover of the first Inkwell, 2006.

Editor’s Note: The Writing Center, located in the Library building just off Red Square, is the creative home of Inkwell, A Student Guide to Writing at Evergreen. In this interview, Writing Center publications editor Thane Fay, ’13 talks with Inkwell co-founders Shaun Johnson, ’07 and Victoria Larkin, ’07 about the history of this student publication.

This is the first of a series exploring the Inkwell project and how students, faculty, and alumni can benefit from its influence on Evergreen’s writing culture.

Inkwell cover 2012

Inkwell is written, edited, and designed entirely by Writing Center peer tutors, students dedicated to helping others find their voices through the writing process. Each year, authors discuss writing specific to Evergreen—such as seminar papers, evaluations, and academic statements—as well as exploring themes like developing a writing process, finding your voice as a student writer, and learning tools for academic and creative writing. With its emphasis on cultivating student voices and creating a culture of student empowerment in academics, Inkwell inspires student writers to think about how they write and invites them to become part of the Writing Center community

Inkwell cover 2008

Inkwell co-founder Shaun Johnson, ’07 reflected that “Evergreen puts incredible emphasis on writing in curriculums across disciplines, so it seemed especially appropriate to draw a map for students to navigate.” Inkwell was created to be this kind of map.

The Writing Center distributes over a thousand free copies of Inkwell annually, both on campus and to the wider community. Inkwell co-founder Victoria Larkin ‘07 sees the publication as providing “a common ground, a jumping off place for conversations,” inspiring writers to “go into and beyond their preconceptions of the writing process, of writing in general, and of their own abilities.”

Learn more about The Writing Center. Read digital copies of past editions of Inkwell.

Continue reading →

Learning Opportunity on Campus: A Bee Fair – Where Are the Bees Going and Why Does it Matter?

Posted on February 24, 2014 by R.J. Burt

beee A Public Event at The Evergreen State College:
The Olympia Beekeepers Association and Evergreen Academic Programs present a Community Bee Fair, featuring “More than Honey,” an internationally acclaimed film describing the looming, world-wide crisis of disappearing bee colonies.
March 8, 2014, 6:00 – 10:00 pm
A Film, Community Bee Fair and Student Displays
The Evergreen State College, Lecture Hall 1 and Lecture Hall Rotunda
Program:

6:00 pm – Informational displays and student art show in the Rotunda.
7:00 pm – A short film, created by Evergreen students, on the bee crisis.
7:30 pm – A presentation of the “Pollinator Protector Award” will be given to local business owner Robert Thompson, Jr. of Lincoln Creek Lumber.

The feature film “More than Honey” will be followed by a Q & A with a panel of local bee experts and the filmmaker via Skype from Berlin.

Please Note:

Seating is limited.
Admission is free with Evergreen I.D.
For non-Evergreen attendees, tickets are $10 each, available at Traditions and Radiance in Olympia, Gordon’s Garden Center in Yelm.
For more information: www.olympiabeekeepers.org

Sponsored by:

The Olympia Beekeepers Association
Evergreen Student Groups: The Community Garden and The Bee Club
The Evergreen State College academic programs: Seeds, Beads, Bees and other Biodynamical Processes; Ecological Agriculture: The Science and Policy of Food Systems; Political Economy through Food, Culture and Social Movements.

Dever Kuni ’12 Takes on Statewide Leadership in Solar Power Advocacy

Posted on February 20, 2014 by R.J. Burt

From left to right: Bruce Hargrave, VP Dever Kuni '12, and President & Owner Kirk Haffner '88 -photo by South Sound Solar

Dever Kuni ’12 (center) with customer (left) and father and boss, Kirk Haffner ’88 ( right) – photo by South Sound Solar

Solar Installers of Washington, a trade association and solar power advocacy group, has named Dever Kuni its legislative and public policy committee chairwoman.

Kuni currently is vice president of South Sound Solar. Read the article in Bloomsberg Business Week.

Craig Danner ’85 Takes a Stand on Affordable Health Care

Posted on February 14, 2014 by R.J. Burt

Craig Danner in his Portland medical clinic.

Craig Danner ’85 is a physician’s assistant in Portland, OR. Last September, he opened Wilson Street Medical Clinic and he doesn’t take insurance. Sound exclusive? Just the opposite.

By avoiding all the administrative costs associated with medical insurance companies — pre-authorizations, billing, mandatory pricing — Craig says he can make a good living at about 1/3 the cost to his patients. Read more about how this Greener is bringing some humanity, sanity and common sense to one of the nation’s thorniest issues.

Evergreen Recognized as Spawning Ground for Creativity

Posted on February 11, 2014 by R.J. Burt

Carrie Brownstein ’98 in her Sleater-Kinney Days.

Thanks to the arts and culture blog “Dazed” for the Evergreen shout-out. Even if College’s name was slightly botched (missing “The” and further down “State”), many Greeners will agree, their alma mater inspires students to care, create and participate in their communities.

Excerpt:

E IS FOR EVERGREEN STATE COLLEGE
Forget Hogwarts. This exceptional school was the alt. place to be. The female-friendly liberal arts college spawned almost all the early movement big dogs, from Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein of Sleater-Kinney and Heavens to Betsy to Kathleen Hanna and Kathi Wilcox of Bikini Kill. Hanna studied photography. Brownstein was taking sociolinguistics. Tobi Vail was DJ of an Evergreen College radio show. Evergreen served as the environment that brought them together as likeminded individuals. While there, many of the grrrls volunteered or interned with SafePlace, a local shelter for women affected by domestic violence. This had a big impact on their blossoming movement.

Read the full article, an A-Z reflection on “grrrls who owned the 90s.”

Evergreen Provost Champions Liberal Arts Education

Posted on February 7, 2014 by R.J. Burt

Evergreen Provost Michael Zimmerman

Note: Provost Michael Zimmerman and Arts Advisor Pablo Schugurensky ’84 will facilitate an Evergreen Traveling Seminar in Seattle on March 14, titled Pushing Back Against the “STEM” Tide: The Value of A Liberal Arts Education. If you are in area and wish to attend, reserve your seats soon. Participation is limited to 25.

‘Long before Michael Zimmerman joined Evergreen as Provost, he was a nationally respected voice in the often strident conversation about the value of a liberal arts education in an increasingly technology-driven world. Michael chairs the Washington Consortium for the Liberal Arts, a role that allows him to champion the restructuring of the conversation from the oppositional – liberal arts versus STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) – to a nuanced discussion of curricular balance on a continuum of knowledge. It starts with a respectful insistence on accurate definitions. Continue reading →

Teri Hein ’76 on TEDx: The Very Core of Learning

Posted on February 5, 2014 by R.J. Burt

Teri Hein ’76, 30 year teaching veteran and currently Founding Executive Director of 826 Seattle, a writing and tutoring center.

Meet Teri Hein ’76, an accomplished teacher, sharing with the audience at “TEDx Rainier” what she believes to be at the heart of all good teaching – “helping children think like learners.” Watch and be inspired.

Here is an excerpt from Teri’s bio:
Hein is currently the Founding Executive Director of 826 Seattle, a youth writing and tutoring center located in Greenwood. Prior to launching 826 Seattle, she was a founding team member and teacher at The Hutch School, an innovative program for school-aged cancer patients in treatment at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. She has taught in Honduras and Ecuador and, under the auspices of the Fulbright Foundation, researched cultural learning styles in Latin America.

If you live in Seattle, a trip to the Greenwood Space Travel Supply Co. (826 Seattle) will not fail to delight. You can stock up on essentials such as family sized cans of Replacement Quarks, Dark Matter, Certainty, and of course Uncertainty (an Evergreen favorite). Access to the Writing Center is via transporter, by permission of the chief engineer.

The Evergreen Mind

The official alumni blog of The Evergreen State College

Category Archives: Greener Stories