January 9, 2012
News Digest: MLK book, Imagine Cup, faculty honors
In time for MLK Day: New edition of “All Labor Has Dignity”
The Rev. Martin Luther King spent his life fighting for civil rights, but people forget he was equally committed to economic justice. A new paperback edition of Kings labor speeches clearly links these issues to today, according to the books editor Michael Honey.
A professor of history at UW Tacoma, Honey collected and edited Kings writings on economic justice in “All Labor Has Dignity” (Beacon Press, 256 pages, 2011). A paperback version will appear in mid-January, just before MLK Day.
The collection begins with King’s lectures to unions early in his career as a civil rights leader, and culminates with his “Mountaintop” speech supporting black sanitation workers on strike for union rights in Memphis. Kings assassination in 1968 occurred as he was helping support the workers.
“The Occupy movement has raised the issue of economic equality, a phrase used by King in 1968,” said Honey. “King also fought for collective bargaining rights in Memphis, just as done today in Wisconsin, Ohio, and other states. King said ‘right to work laws such as the one now being pushed in Indiana provide ‘no rights and no work.”
Bothell teams advance in Imagine Cup – watch the videos
Two UW Bothell student teams have won preliminary rounds and will proceed to the semi-final competition this spring of Microsofts U.S. Imagine Cup. The competition challenges students to create unique technological solutions that address real-world challenges through software design and game design.
Jack Chang Keng-Wei and Jebediah Pavelas formed Team Kinetic Math, competed in the software design category and presented a tool for interactive math education. The tool utilizes the Microsoft Kinect to teach students an abstract and visual method of math.
Evan Harris, Craig Nishina, and Peter Thongprada Luangrath competed in the game design category as Team Credit/No Credit. Their team created an educational game intended to fight the global spread of infectious diseases. The game teaches young players that people are vulnerable and capable of contracting transferrable diseases such as malaria and HIV/Aids.
Honor: ‘Edu-Scholar ranking
Six UW faculty members in education have been named to the annual list “Edu-Scholar Public Presence Rankings.”
Rick Hess, director of education policy for the American Enterprise Institute and blogger for the publication Education Week — released his second-annual such list Jan. 4. The six from the UW among the 121 scholars listed were Kenneth Zeichner, (ranked 26), Dan Goldhaber (34), Paul T.Hill (44), Robin Lake (77), Marguerite Roza (94) and Meredith Honig (109).
Hill, Roza and Lake are with the Center for Reinventing Public Education at UW Bothell, and Goldhaber directs the Center for Education Data & Research. Zeichner heads the College of Education teacher training program, and Honig is in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies.
“These metrics … are designed to recognize those university-based academics who are contributing most substantially to public debates about schools and schooling,” Hess wrote.
Honor: Alexes Harris
Alexes Harris, associate professor of sociology, is one of Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazines emerging scholars for 2012. In its Jan. 5th edition, the magazine profiles 12 “under 40” scholars from around the country who are making their mark in the academy through teaching, research and service.
Each scholar is selected based on research, educational background, publishing record, teaching record, competitiveness of field of study, and uniqueness of field of study. Editors select honorees from a pool of candidates recommended by various scholars, department chairs, university public information officers and others.
