Professor Jack Pitney was quoted in an article addressing the low levels of productivity and the limited success Congress has had in passing bills. Pitney sees this as a trend coming into full fruition. He said, “Instead of passing a lot of little bills, many times in recent Congressional sessions, they’ve passed a smaller number of big bills, omnibus bills.”
Professor Lars Schmitz was recognized as a featured expert for WIRED magazine’s How Eyes Evolved: A Fascinating Tour Through the Animal Kingdom. In the 36-minute video, he guides audiences through the evolution of eyes in the animal kingdom and answers questions regarding the functionality, purpose, and evolutionary advantages examined across species.
Professor Jon Shields was featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education’s podcast series “College Matters.”
Professor Jack Pitney was quoted in an article about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s exaggerated description of the condition of a person affected by autism. The article explained that the severe condition portrayed by Kennedy is only applicable to a quarter of those affected. Professor Pitney commented on how historically autism has been misdiagnosed.
Professor Jack Pitney was quoted in an article about Peter Navarro, President Donald Trump’s Chief Trade Advisor. The article reviewed Navarro’s role in advising Trump to engage protectionist actions, as well as his past work on economic policy, Covid, and the attempt to overturn the 2020 election.
Professor Ran Libeskind-Hadas is a co-principal investigator a $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation and the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource Pilot (NAIRR). The grant is with a principal investigator at Grinnell College and other co-principal investigators at Swarthmore College, the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, and the Computing Research Association. The grant supports meetings of Computer Science and AI faculty to develop and share AI-related resources to support undergraduate education.
Professor Lisa Cody was awarded the Peggy Renner Award for Teaching and Curricular Innovation, Honorable Mention, Western Association of Women Historians (2024), for her new course, “The History of Reproduction in the Atlantic World, 1500 to Today.” She also received the James L. Clifford Prize, American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (2024) for the top article in any field related to eighteenth-century studies for “‘Marriage is no protection for crime’: Coverture, Sex, and Marital Rape in Eighteenth-Century England.”
Visiting Literature Professor Jessica Laser has been named a finalist for the for 2025 Griffin Poetry Prize. Laser’s The Goner School (University of Iowa Press, 2024) was one of more than 500 books submitted for the prize. The winner will be named on June 4 at the Griffin Poetry Prize Readings in Toronto.
Professor Jack Pitney commented on the likelihood of former Vice President Kamala Harris receiving the Democratic nomination if she were to run for California governor. He predicted that there are “very few” politicians who would want to take her on.
Professor Hilary Appel joined “The Morning” where she discussed what can be expected from peace talks in Saudi Arabia as the U.S. believes Ukraine is looking forward to ending its conflict with Russia. She commented that even as European powers have established new spending plans to support Ukraine, their intelligence capabilities and artillery are subpar to those which U.S. powers have withdrawn.
