In Brief: Gratitude Project, more summer camps, 'Convo with Cantwell' and articles published on The Conversation
Jenny Nirh, associate director for communications and outreach at Student Success & Retention Innovation
Thank friends and colleagues through the University's Gratitude Project
As the end of this unique academic year approaches, faculty, staff and students are invited to send a message of gratitude to those who helped them navigate the challenges and capitalize on the opportunities.
The Gratitude Project, offered by Student Success & Retention Innovation, allows members of the campus community to submit thank-you notes using an online form. The notes are then sent as personalized electronic cards via email. In past years, the notes were printed and sent via campus mail or the U.S. Postal Service.
"Showing gratitude for others allows us to focus on a positive moment in our lives, big or small," says Jenny Nirh, associate director for communications and outreach at SSRI, who leads the effort. "In a year of challenges, finding an opportunity to say thank you to someone else can change your mindset and theirs."
Visit the Gratitude Project website to find a link to the online form.
There is no deadline and no limit to the number of cards someone can send. You can also show gratitude on Instagram by following @WildcatConnections or @UAGratitude.
Nirh says more than 3,000 thank-you cards have been sent through the Gratitude Project over the last two years.
More summer camps!
Arizona Youth University, organized by Campus Recreation, has announced its lineup of 2021 summer camps. Find the details in this updated UA@Work story.
Open science and open access are topic of next 'Convo With Cantwell'
Open science and open access – and their benefits to researchers – will be the topic for the May "Convo With Cantwell."
"Convo with Cantwell" is a monthly Zoom fireside chat hosted by Elizabeth "Betsy" Cantwell, senior vice president for research and innovation.
The next discussion will happen May 18 at 3 p.m. Registration is open now. (Please note that you must register for each episode. Registration for one does not carry forward to future episodes.)
For those who missed it, the April Convo with Cantwell focused on the power of futurecasting to clarify thinking and potentially drive the impact of research. Guest panelist Cyndi Coon, founder and CEO of Laboratory5 Inc., led a fast-paced discussion highlighting the power of threatcasting, a conceptual methodology that enables multidisciplinary groups to envision and plan systematically against future threats.
As a tool for shaping the direction, focus and outcomes of one's research, threatcasting uses inputs from social science, technical research, cultural history, economics, trends, expert interviews and even science fiction to explore how to transform the future one desires into reality. It is a human-centric approach to planning that allows researchers to imagine what needs to be done today – as well as four to eight years in the future – to empower or disrupt targeted future scenarios.
To demonstrate the power of the process, Coon walked participants through a threatcasting exercise, and Cantwell shared her results and experience and discussed how she has used the exercise with experts and students in health sciences and other fields.
The recording and presentation slides are available on the Research, Innovation & Impact website.
See the articles published on The Conversation in March and April
Each month, faculty members from across the University share their expertise on The Conversation, an independent, not-for-profit news source committed to communicating the work of scholars. The Conversation makes all of its articles available at no charge to any news organization that wants to republish them. In addition, The Associated Press distributes The Conversation articles to newsrooms across the United States.
To recognize University of Arizona scholars who are contributing to The Conversation's goal of informing public debate "with knowledge-based journalism that is responsible, ethical and supported by evidence," the Office of University Communications regularly posts lists of the articles that have been published on The Conversation.
Below please find the articles published in March and April.
March 15, 2021
Is ballot collection, or 'ballot harvesting,' good for democracy? We asked 5 experts
The U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether a ban on the third-party collection of mail-in ballots is legal. The practice is allowed in 26 states.
Frank J. Gonzalez
Assistant Professor, School of Government and Public Policy
(Click headline link to see co-authors.)
April 19, 2021
Interstate water wars are heating up along with the climate
The Supreme Court recently dealt defeat to Florida in its 20-year legal battle with Georgia over river water. Other interstate water contests loom, but there are no sure winners in these lawsuits.
Robert Glennon
Regents Professor and Morris K. Udall Professor of Law and Public Policy
See previous articles published on The Conversation:
- January & February 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
Interested in submitting an article? Go to the sign up link on The Conversation website to create a username and password. Do a keyword search to see what has been written on the topic you have in mind. Fill out the online pitch form.(If you or one of your faculty members would like to talk through an idea before submitting a pitch, send an email to conversation@arizona.edu.)