College of Arts and Sciences
February 28, 2020
The University of Portland’s inaugural Public Research Fellows Program has landed three external grants to support public humanities undergraduate research projects inspired by this year’s 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which gave women the right to vote. The Juliet Ashby Hillman Foundation has awarded $14,582, the Juan Young Trust has granted $10,000, and the Jackson Foundation has given $7,500 to fund projects that explore the suffrage movement, voting rights and women’s political voices in the modern era. The program has also received a $2,500 sponsorship from US Bank.
The grants support stipends for six faculty fellows to lead teams of undergraduate researchers in the design and implementation of publicly-engaged projects inspired by the suffrage theme. Funds will also go toward the presentation of each project at a Spring Symposium, the program’s capstone event, to be held March 13 on the UP campus.
The humanities have always represented a core part of a liberal arts education, and in an increasingly vocation-focused world the University of Portland aims to communicate their value beyond academia. The Public Research Fellows program is designed to address this need, bringing together faculty and students from across UP’s College of Arts and Sciences to develop collaborative, innovative projects that demonstrate the vital work the humanities bring to both campus and the wider community.
“We want to disrupt the notion that the humanities are only for the few or the elite, and instead show how they are deeply relevant to the human condition and our daily lives,” said Laura McLary, Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and one of the program founders.
The topic of suffrage is particularly well-suited to showcase the value of the humanities, according to Jen McDaneld, English Department faculty member and one of the program leaders. “Suffragists themselves offer a rich array of models for public engagement. They couldn’t afford to only preach to the choir; they had to come up with new and creative methods for making their case day in and day out for nearly 75 years.”
The Public Research Fellows teams are striving to show concrete connections between their work and the wider world. For example, one faculty-student team is exploring the impact of suffrage on people of color in the immediate aftermath of the passage of the 19th Amendment. Using historical research methods to examine early twentieth-century women’s magazines, the team is exploring how white women utilized racist and xenophobic rhetoric to further the suffrage cause. Through their research, the team hopes to encourage a new generation to use their political voice in 2020.
“We are hoping that opening up discussions about this complicated history with diverse youth in local high schools will encourage their political efficacy,” said Maggie Loft ’21 and a student fellow in the program.
Another research team is developing a podcast series devoted to understanding proposals to lower the voting age to 16 in the state of Oregon. In addition to interviewing local politicians and community activists, fellows are learning how to design an engaging podcast to educate listeners and start a public conversation around rethinking established voting limits.
“Humanities prioritize questions over answers; multiplicity and even ambiguity over clarity; and thinking with multiple lenses at a time,” said Molly Hiro, English Department faculty and one of the program organizers. The program hopes to showcase the value of these skills beyond the college campus. In addition to receiving credit toward their majors, student fellows receive training in framing humanities work in professional contexts, learning how to pitch their projects on their resumés and in person to potential employers and graduate schools.
The Public Research Fellows Spring Symposium will be open to the public. The event registration is now open.
The Juliet Ashby Hillman Foundation, founded in 1994, has a broad-ranging grant program focused mainly on Portland, Oregon. In recent years, the Foundation has expanded its interest in programs and projects that support children and young adults that have been historically underserved, supportive education and housing, as well as environmental and cultural organizations.
The Juan Young Trust was established under the will of Juan Young, a long-time employee, officer and stockholder of Kienow’s Food Stores, and began funding grants in February of 2000. Grant-making authority is vested solely in the two individual trustees. Grants are awarded to 501(c)(3) organizations based in Oregon. No grants are made outside Oregon. Grants are funded for projects and activities to enhance the health, education and welfare of children under the age of 21 years old.
The Jackson Foundation was created in 1960 from the estate of Portland civic affairs pioneer Maria C. Jackson and is administered by the Charitable Services Group of US Bank. The organization funds grants across a broad range of activities that promote the welfare of the public of Oregon, with an emphasis on the Portland metropolitan area.
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