Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies at UW Tacoma

Hi everyone,

Please join us this evening for the MAIS Graduate Student Showcase, happening from 4:00pm-6:00pm via Zoom. You can easily register for the event by accessing the link below:

Thursday, May 28, 2020
4-6 pm PDT
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://washington.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJIvfu6uqjovG9LXV6lh4wOvbGBGxmMgC2cT

Thanks everyone, and hope to see you there, cheering on our fabulous students!

Welcome back, everyone! This is post is a bit late in coming, but the MAIS wants to thanks Dr. Larry Knopp for his wonderful commitment to the MAIS program since his arrival to UWT in 2009. And here's some thoughts from Larry himself; he retired on July 1 and while we're happy to see him find new adventures, we'll miss him tremendously.

"Every year in June graduate students, alumni, and faculty from programs in Liberal Studies (in UWT’s case, Interdisciplinary Studies) get together at a conference known as the West Coast Liberal Studies Symposium. As its name implies, the conference is regional. Its location rotates among a small group of colleges and universities in western North America, including Dominican University of California, Mount St. Mary’s University (Los Angeles), Reed College (Portland), San Diego State University, Simon Fraser University (British Columbia), St. Johns’ College (Santa Fe), Stanford University, and UWT. I have been fortunate to represent UWT administratively at the Symposium four times, including in 2017 when UWT hosted the event. This year’s Symposium took place June 7-9 at St. John’s College in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where I was again fortunate to be able to represent UWT (along with graduate student presenter Kris Workman – see photos below!).

The Symposium is always incredibly stimulating. It is a forum exclusively for graduate students (and a few alumni) to present their ideas and accomplishments, most of which are works in progress. Presentations are truly interdisciplinary and amazingly diverse. This year’s panels, for example, had titles including “Technology: Nature, Philosophy”, “Logic, Knowledge, and Being”, “Memory and Memoir”, “The Modern Individual”, “Of Music”, “Women in History”, “Science and Technology”, “Buddhist Views”, “Art and Aesthetics”, “Experience and Structure”, “The Life of Education”, “Politics and Society”, and “Fictions and Modernity”. Our own Kris Workman’s presentation, “Balancing Economic and Social Values to Implement a Comprehensive Data Policy”, was a particular hit and generated considerable discussion beyond the panel in which it was presented. Be sure to congratulate Kris and hit him up for a copy of his paper!

For myself, attending the 2019 Symposium was a delightful capper to my decade-long career at UWT (and my 30-year career in academia – I have retired effective July 1!). It was a warm and uncharacteristically intimate reminder of what I value so deeply about a life of the mind, particularly action-oriented interdisciplinary inquiry of the sort embodied by the MAIS program. Over the years I have seen what higher education looks like from almost every angle, and it has always been interdisciplinary inquiry that I have found most exciting and fulfilling. The MAIS program was founded by wonderfully expansive, progressive thinkers who shared this excitement, including Professors Sam Parker, Michael Forman, Amos Nascimento and Professors Emeritus Rob Crawford, Mike Kalton, Claudia Gorbman, and David Morris. They built a program that remains the pinnacle, not just symbolically but intellectually and ethically, of UWT’s core academic unit, the School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences. The program’s graduates and current students are the best evidence of this. They are making their marks in the world in hugely important ways, from positions as diverse as grassroots activists to public servants, primary and secondary school teachers, university professors, health care workers, artists, academic administrators and advisors (including our own Karin Dalesky!), and everything in between.

I am grateful to the MAIS program’s recent director, Dr. Riki Thompson, for giving me the opportunity to represent the program, SIAS, and UWT one more time at this year’s Symposium. It was a lovely and most appropriate way to end my career. I am also grateful to Karin – as should everyone associated with the program be – for the support she provides the program every day. The MAIS simply could not work without her. And most of all I am grateful to the many students with whom I have worked (particularly but by no means only MAIS students in the Capstone class) for their tenacity, hard work, novel insights, and mentorship. Yes, mentorship! I have learned at least as much from you as you have from me. Learning is ultimately a collaborative enterprise, and experiences like the Capstone course and this year’s Symposium in Santa Fe reminded me poignantly of that fact.

Thank you all and CARRY ON!! 😃"

Hey, check out incoming MAIS student Morgan Pasquier! They were featured on UWT's home page, and the story is below. Congratulations, Morgan!

Morgan Pasquier: Proudly Claiming Their Space | UW Tacoma Transferring from Pierce College Puyallup, Morgan Pasquier brought an interest in psychology that has taken them far beyond their days in a warehouse job.In some respects Morgan Pasquier, '19, Psychology/Global Honors, owes their success to a warehouse job. Rewind a few years and the then-18-year-ol...

Commencement 2019! Congratulations to all graduates today, you are amazing!

Congratulations to the MAIS Class of 2019! What an amazing group of students, we know you’ll put those masters degrees to good work for you. We couldn’t be prouder of all of you!

Lavender Graduation at UW Seattle last evening, and MAIS/UWT represented big time! Congratulations to Tye Jones, Mira Farrow, Justi Pfutzenreuter, Morgan Pasquier, Kris Workman, Larry Knopp and everyone who participated last evening!

Belated Congratulations are in order for MAIS students Mira Farrow, Kris Workman and Justi Pfutzenreuter! Kris and Justi nailed their presentations at this year's TacTalks, which took place in late May. Mira Farrow also presented her research at a later event. Justi ended up tying for the Best Presentation award, for her nearly-completed film Narratives of Salishan - The Untold Story. Speical thanks also to Dr. Larry Knopp and Dr. Riki Thompson. We're so very proud of our students and their research! Congratulations to all!

Join us next Tuesday, June 4th, for a preview of MAIS student Justi Pfutzenreuter's degree project film, Narratives of the Salishan, here on campus at 6:30 in Joy 215! We're looking forward to the preview and hope to see you there!

Join us on June 4 at 6:30, when Justi Pfutzenreuter reveals a portion of her degree project, which is near completion. Way to go, Justi!

For you hungry students, staff members and faculty...get 'em before they're gone! 🧁

Today only! Come in while supplies last to get a free cupcake baked fresh by Hello, Cupcake and get a first look at Facebook's brand new birthday feature! We'll be celebrating with Facebook starting at 10am, so stop in for a quick peek or stay awhile. These treats are going to go QUICK!

Congratulations to MAIS student and new Husky 100 member Mira Farrow! Mira was honored this evening, along with 99 other selected UW Tacoma, UW Bothell and UW Seattle students. Congratulations to Mira and to all Husky 100 students, we’re very proud of you!

Our latest edition of Masterly Musings is now live! Take a look and see what's been happening in the MAIS program! https://blogs.uw.edu/maias/

MASTERLY MUSINGS | Newsletter of the Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies at UW Tacoma