Interdivisional Studies Faculty Panel

Last hydration.

Yeah.

Alright, hello everyone. Welcome to the interdivisional studies faculty panel. Uhm, so we're going to start in a few minutes. Kind of. Give everyone time to tune in. Get settled. So why you were all tuning an if you guys would like to chat in the chat box, I'm sure if you guys have attended webinars in the past year. Kind of useless by now, but please feel free to chat where you're tuning in from today. I can see where you are from, but you guys can't see each other and it's always really fun for panelists also to see where you all are tuning in from.

Um, so feel free to chat that I will give a basic tech overview if you guys are having any issues with audio, video, anything like that at any point please feel free to refresh your page. That's kind of the best advice is to refresh and reload or there is a closed captioning thing in the top right corner that you can click where you can read along with what everyone else is saying. That's a great set of practice. You can also we will be recording this. We can always you can reach out to your missions. Counts will pass along the length of the recording to like that.

Better for you.

But yeah, so it seems like everyone sitting in staying with their tuning in from which is awesome. Welcome guys, um, I will give the panelists each now time to introduce themselves. So faculty. If you would like to share what Department you work in, name where you're from, and what classes you teach.

I'll start with Doctor Callan for this one.

My doctor saw if you wanna?

Only one I am barbershop. I am professor in women's gender and sexuality studies and I also contributed to Black Studies and global health studies. Both of them are interdisciplinary and I also serve as the director of interdisciplinarity. So, where I'm from is an excellent question. I probably could not answer it straightforwardly. I'm from East Coast and West Coast.

And I teach mostly in the women's gender and Sexuality Studies program, but there's a range, of course.

And the range of courses from intro to.

Junior seminar and ring. The user may cross cut.

So.

You have lots going on in the in the gender and Sexuality Studies program, but I'm also happy to answer questions about other programs that you may be interested in, whether International Studies like skis or anybody who's not represented here. So thank you and welcome.

Alright, I'll go next on doctor Carol Waggett. I'm in global health studies and this is an interesting new program that was started roughly around eight years ago. It was one of the first in the country and the very first liberal arts college that offered a global health major of any sort. It's a really exciting opportunity, and of course it's fairly important right now is more evident perhaps than ever. How valuable.

A program in something such as global health studies can be.

I conduct my research in both the natural environment, the human health effects of the natural environment, things like vector borne diseases, particular. I studied Lyme disease for 15 years, an also the human health effects of the built environment, meaning things like lead poisoning, food insecurity and community design. Students in our programs do a range of things similar to those, but also much broader global health studies.

Is a field that incorporates things like Epidemiology, communication, education, economics, environmental health, public health, and there's a range of of student interest. An professional pathways that are really exciting and will probably have a chance to chat about these through some of your questions. But if you haven't heard of global health studies before, it's not too surprising there aren't many programs like this in the country and it's exciting to be part of a very robust.

Program here at Allegany College that covers this really great topic.

Alright, sorry it's done speaking by any chance.

Lost connection are awesome perfect. OK so we'll get started. Feel free to reach out with any questions at any of you guys have at any point. My colleague Chris Seager is kind of behind the scenes. You will be approving the questions or anything that you had for that will show up on all of your screens.

Um, to get started, I'm going to have the faculty talk to kind of about why their departments are in traditional, so I know we have all seen what that looks like, or at least many of us have seen what interdivisional interdisciplinary majors here look like as far as pulling from the other Department. But if our faculty could talk about how, why each of their Department store in traditional and Y interdisciplinarity is important, moving forward, especially in the post grad, so I will have doctors are stars. Start with that, since she is the director of Internet.

Prairie studies here at Allegany so she can kind of speak to that area and then we'll go with Doctor Pallen Doctor Wagon.

Thanks Amanda, so I'm happy to get started. One of the things I think I'll preface with is I hope you hear a range of answers, and if you do, that is absolutely the strength of being interdivisional an interdisciplinary.

So or WGSS in particular, but also for some of the smaller programs across campus by smaller ID that there are fewer faculty members that contribute directly to that program. But the strength of the program is built on how many people are contributing from across campus to those programs, so its strength is build on multiple multiple programs and departments and older multiple perspectives that pink ring.

And then the students when you come into the program itself, there's a lot of flexibility in how you might create your program and be creative. So when you create your own program will help more of classes that you would take, but then you get to build what your interests are. and I think that some of the creative space that students really enjoy. So you're the question about why it's important, in a postgrad world.

I think look about scaffolding it through our curriculum so that when you leave we understand how not only Watt multiple perspectives are, but how to start thinking through them. and I think that not only do grad schools an employers want people who are flexible, agile in their thinking, ways of thinking through complex problems in complex ways. This is what interdivisional interdisciplinary work.

Well girl.

Look, look at program. So we create steps in the curriculum that teach you to analyze and synthesize. But ultimately what we hope I think is that when your Hewitt album one go on in the world will start to be able to address and perhaps even step toward solving some of those most intractable human issues. Immigrate then.

Violence, climate change.

We production this crimination. All of these can become through multiple lenses and I'll let some of my colleagues also talked about how they might use interdivisional through their lenses. So thank you.

I'll pass it to Doctor Pallen.

Me talk to pallet that yeah.

Who are you? Who are you asking Eric parents on the chair of Environmental Science and sustainability teach courses at every level. Freshman sophomore, junior or senior. what I have all of my courses have in common is that they are designed to be hands-on, real world applications. So in every course I teach, we tried to solve real environmental problems and we do it by doing it, not just studying, studying.

We go out and work in the community. We work with government we work with.

Non profit organizations. We do internships. We do research.

Excellent so one of the things that we find in global Health Studies is that exactly as Eric Doctor Pallant mentioned, we are covering topics from a plethora of different disciplines, so without reiterating it, maybe I can highlight a couple of student projects and how they drew.

On different disciplinary backgrounds, an really relied on the training in a variety of different areas in ways that if it was just a history program, they might not have had that opportunity or just a philosophy degree. But being in an interdisciplinary program allow them to really dig in in a variety of ways.

So one example, a student graduated a couple of years ago, Garrett and he did a phenomenal senior project looking at gun violence in America and this is not surprisingly an intractable problem in some respects. But in order to understand the problem that he wanted to look at, which was what are the what we call collateral damage from gun violence. He wasn't just looking at actual desk that has been well discussed in the literature.

He wanted to look at what about the stress from people who live in areas where there are mass shootings and looked at one of our most clear signs of stress shows up in fetal development. Moms who are carrying are pregnant often have high cortisol levels, and if there really, really stressed the baby will be born early. Low birth weight babies, and so the number of babies born at low birthweight are often of very good indicator.

Of social stressors. And he did a phenomenal study looking at the number of babies that were born low birth weight in areas. At the same time as these mass shootings, he had to understand Epidemiology, which is squarely in the field of public health. But he also had to know the biology of what was going on. To understand what. What is really low birth weight? What are the health effects of low birth weight? What is a physiological responses? How does that play out?

There are a lot of social issues of course in that discussion and policy discussions around gun violence in wide gun violence does or does not, for example, have different regulations in different locations, and so his project spanned policy health, biology philosophy. He thought about what are the implications, the ethics of who do we care for? How do we care for the most vulnerable in our population and did it in a.

Through four years of having studied and rap that senior project up, and while he's been out of school for a couple of years, that paper was just published. And it's a remarkable opportunity. Not all of our students choose to publish their work, but it was really high quality on product and really exciting. This see that integration and it's really essential to see in some respects that at the undergraduate level we understand not just a single discipline in.

But we understand the essential nature that comes from being able to understand and be able to communicate across a wide range of disciplines.

So that's one example I could go on, but maybe this is a good pathway where we could see some other types of student research in other areas.

Yeah.

Yeah, Doctor Palenik, we wanted to go ahead with care. Some research in this weather on campus off campus. If you travel to conferences with students, basically just kind of the relationship you have with them both during the time alleghanian after.

So I can. I can jump in here a little bit too. I wanted to give you an example of student work that gets pulled through from courses to see your project to a job and that they were all connected.

So one of the students here started doing work in the community and it was doing work in the community for a range of programs here on campus.

Got some course work done in the women's, gender, sexuality studies, community and Justice Type Black Studies and ended up working in our local nonprofit, the women's shelter that's in town and started asking questions about what kinds of food, what kinds of cultural products, what kinds of things take shape in the shelter?

An actually ended up working with the director of that shelter to rethink how they shelter. Approach is opening itself up so that people feel more comfortable coming in from really diverse backgrounds and different communities across the cell area. So she actually pulled her project from coursework to senior project to apply to actually having a job that was here in Needville still and another student did something very similar.

But also used her work to eventually do Planned Parenthood. Large freezer director Planned Parenthood in Massachusetts. There's no way she could have done that work without knowing a little bit of something about the range of issues around reproduction, about how politics work in about doing community outreach, and doing some of the applied work in order to.

Either direct or and also do that outreach to the state of Massachusetts and to work directly with politicians were such a range of possibilities with an interdisciplinary project or with interdisciplinary training, you'll be very attractive to Med schools, law schools, health policy, environmental policy, and the list goes on and on about how you'll be attractive to employers.

Because you're giving them something that I do not see very often, which is creativity in solving problems and also new questions and new approaches to doing that work. So whatever you start in your first year, an pull through to your senior year will be looked upon as being quite creative, and that is certainly what people are looking for now.

So I'll also toss this back to Amanda. Let's see what direction she would like us to get him.

Yes, so we actually just got a question from Sam. She was asking what students what place this students typically traveled for research, whether that be in the class, classroom, document. I know you can probably talk to different local organizations to work with within the classroom, and I'm sure you all have similar experiences, but also outside of the classroom. Rather be summer abroad.

Anything like that. So if doctor wag, if you wanna take this one away kind of talk about where students are traveling to for the research opportunities, any local organizations they work with like that.

He

Uhm, this is a great question, so we have students who conduct research locally, absolutely and actually be professor shot, just highlighted that very clearly right with some of the local examples and Professor Pallet mentioned, some of the food security challenges both kind of partnering with the hospital and looking at that.

You hear that better.

Looks like Professor Pallet can hear all of it.

Some of the other areas though that we can conduct research. We have students that will partner with organizations sometimes across the country with either alumni groups or with partners that we have in different organizations. We've had students conduct summer internships at the Association for state and territorial health officials in Washington, DC worked with state senators in polisy offices in DC. We've had folks work.

Around the Globe and we have internship possibilities for students. Some that we've directly worked on very explicitly in India and Moldova we have global health internships and these two locations, their summer internships that are phenomenal opportunities for students to work with grassroots organizations to learn about how health care providers an also how some of the organizations that.

Provide.

Support for Health Systems both in education and sustainable business practices and policy, and a variety of competing areas that kind of support the way that people stay healthy. All of those organizations are possible locations. For example, where students can conduct research. This is really exciting that students can work not just domestically, but there are opportunities to work internationally.

As well now those are internships. It's a little bit different than conducting research, so fine line that as you matriculate and come into the college and start to learn about some of those opportunities. Typically internships are working on other people's projects that they have designed. They've worked very hard to identify key issues, and you feed in your expertise and help support that mission. Alot of our students conducting independent research.

Will be based back here and an Meadville and then doing their research in a variety of locations. An often those will be in collaboration with, for example, organizations that they've interned with or other community groups that they have been in contact with.

Others want to jump in on that. It's a really great question about how and where to do research around the world.

I think it's a good opportunity to sort of give a shout out to the undergraduate research.

Group here on campus. Urska that can actually do some of the funding for independent research, so it may be about travel. It may be about travel to conferences in order to also see other students who are doing similar kinds of research to yours and to work with other students could be nationally could be regionally, could be internationally, and I think that there are plenty of students who are also.

Working with professor me cannot ski too, I think.

Develop some of those independent research projects and to see what kind of funding might be available for them. So I'm working with a student, for example, who wants to eventually set up domestic violence shelters in rural Mexico and part of her work is definitely going to take her there to do that work, and we're going to work collaboratively across campus with people to see what's possible. For that, I don't think there's anyone force or anyone person. This is all about.

On a small campus, we need one another to to allow students to do the kind of work that they want to do. So can you choose a location? Possibly, but I'd also.

Echo what Professor Wagon has said and say. Sometimes your experiences on campus or what leads to where you eventually want to do your research.

So there is. There are some choices, and then there's also some things that sort of land in your lap if you will for doing some of the work.

Kind of tying into that. We just received the question about restrictions and requirements and need to be upheld for the research to be done efficiently and cleanly. So we've kind of talked about research on campus over the summer through Urska and also abroad or away for summers. But what kind of restrictions on how accessible is it to students, whether it be the first year their sophomore year, whatever? Here, they might want to participate in research on what kind of things might be in place. Dr. Palin. I'll let you take this one away to begin.

That is beautifully said, so I kind of going more Department Pacific specific. We're getting some questions, so we just got one about common occupations offered from women and gender studies. So doctor, if you want to kind of take that one away. Professor wagon pellet. If you have any occupations you wanted to tie, and afterwards about your Department specifically, go for it. But occupations offered from women and gender studies.

I would say that pretty much covered.

International next was beautifully said as well, so definitely not necessarily common occupations, but it is what opens up for you and what you want to take with what you've learned in the research you've done. We just got a similar question, kind of tying into Environmental Science. Studies are Internet International Studies of different occupations pretty much the same thing, so that kind of ties in will kind of go more towards. Once again, research specific question. Professor Pallant.

Student asked for. Has there ever been research in the field of mycology or the study of mushrooms? Uhm, so kind of talking about fighting your niece within maybe an interdivisional program if that is an option or if students want to pursue.

Wonderful.

Kind of tying into so we don't have another at the moment. Um, but kind of tying into, uh, personally, your experiences at Allegany? So what are some of your favorite things that you like to do other on campus? Your ways of interacting with students and why you chose Allegany? Kind of tying into your personal relationship with your students and everything outside of the academic sphere.

I'll have a professor, so I'll take that way, sorry.

Well, take it up next bar.

So one of the response to whatever some of my favorite activities that have happened or favorite things to do on campus. With students, we've had two really fun activities that having come about because of student interest. So in the same way that doctor pallen highlighted it was a student initiated project around mushrooms, right? It is not doing mushrooms himself, but there a lot of student initiated projects. We had a lot of student interest in local refugee population. There's a.

Large resettlement agency and Irie. Just a little bit North of us and extraordinary student interest over the years has led led me to do some class based projects with the resettlement agencies in Erie and some of the students have really taken it upon themselves. Overtime to develop programming that's really robust. Some students followed up and started a program showcasing.

Up for newly arrived families work how to help navigate our food systems here. So it's really complicated. If you have children in your eligible for snap benefits, food stamps, or WIC benefits. And how do you take that information? How do you just navigate Walmart for food? If you've just arrived and have previously been allocated a certain amount of rice per week for your family from camp in the middle of Kenya, it's a really.

Different environment to switch to and so we've had students that have taken that idea and then run with it with the resettlement agencies and worked really hard to operationalize that, and from that work with the agencies, to offer programs for women who are often the last learn English and the last two, become professionally engaged in the communities. Because oftentimes the males in the household are off getting work.

I'm learning English because of that the kids are in school, learning English very quickly and often times it's the women in the household and the elderly that have a harder time acquiring language, skills and so forth. So those are really important elements and working with students as they.

Partner with the community groups and developed these passions and develop the trust with the organization so that they are.

Respected enough to be able to offer opportunities like this and follow up. It's really a phenomenal opportunity. Another one was when I did work on lead poisoning and the students that I was working with were the ones that kept driving me to do the next step there like, well, OK. We're seeing lead in households in yards, but what about this kids like are the kids lead poisoned or not?

I was like, Alright. Well I guess that would require a grant. Do we go after it and the students were like yes, yes we've got to do this. Let's let's let's work at it and with student assistance and help, we developed a grant to the EPA and were able to test and find out whether or not children in the community were lead poison. And it was the students who are then saying, OK, well, now we know what's going on. We gotta go do something about it. Let's let's do home assessments. And we're going to make it free. And that was all from student passion and student design.

And so when asked about what I like most about Allegany, it's the same kind of question answer that I might provide when I think about what are the things that I like most about it. Is the student passion and drive an energy and a strong ethics behind it, right? The desire to find ways to apply that work in meaningful ways in the community and beyond?

S account if you wanted to take it away. Kind of explain relationship with students. What you do, what you love and maybe if that is why you chose allegating or why it was at Liqeni.

That was a wonderful way to and that question, uhm, we love sourdough bread. Um, so I don't quick question before we sign up for the day. We got a question from Erica about the difference between a regular minor and an interdivisional minor. So so if you kind of wanted to spend it on that briefly.

Alright, so kind of tying into that before we sign of-. Uhm I will give the panelists time if they would like to chat their emails. Website links mean anything like that to follow up with students. Answer any unanswered questions.

Kinda be there if you would like to come, but I'm huge. Thank you to all the panelists and our faculty today. As you can see, there absolutely incredible people, professors, mentors. I mean just all around. So thank you for taking the time to talk to us. Talk to students from all over the globe today. We always appreciate it and thank you to everyone for tuning in today for giving us the time to talk about interdivisional studies alleghanian what that means, what that can provide for you up doors it opens, it will open for you and the relationship you have with your peers in your faculty here.

And thank you to my colleague Chris, who's been behind the scenes kind of helping out with moderating the questions and everything is well, uhm. So yeah, feel free to reach out to out type my email too if you have any questions from the mission side of things on my side of things. Anything like that.

Dismal faculty. Absolutely incredible. So thank you all again and enjoy the rest of your day.

Getting lots of thanks. You thank you.

That's above all around.