UHP Updates for our Alumni Fall 2020

Hello alumni! We’d love to “get you up to speed” with where the program’s at at this point in time. Enjoy!

Who runs the program right now?

An excellent question! As you’ve probably seen, our current Director is Dr. Bethany Cobb Kung, who also teaches for us and the Physics department. Our list of current faculty is as follows:

And then our staff are the following:

  • Eydie Costantino, Assistant Director for Finance and Administration (a constant through the years!)
  • Ben Faulkner, Program Manager and Advisor
  • Brianna Crayton, Program Manager and Advisor
  • Josh Mays, Program Coordinator

What sorts of courses are we offering?

We currently offer five categories of courses: Origins and Evolution of Modern Thought, Scientific Reasoning and Discovery, Arts and Humanities, Self and Society, and our month-long Capstone courses for Seniors. You can see the specific courses on our Course Descriptions page!

How have we been handling the pandemic?

The pandemic has been rough for us, as it has been for the whole university (and, well, the whole world). But we’ve been pushing through! You may have seen our work behind the Digital Townhouse Project– trying to establish a virtual community that can fill the whole of the physical townhouse while we’re virtual. We’re hosting virtual events, trying to create online spaces for casual community, and hosting weekly opportunities to win townhouse tokens (to be collected on students’ return)!

Diversity and Inclusion Updates

We’ve also been working towards making the program more inclusive for all our students, particularly our students of color, during this time. This has included establishing a Diversity & Inclusion working group and discussing ways of reaching out to more applicants of color, re-evaluating our admissions standards, working through the diversification of existing curricula, ensuring that our students are aware of all the resources the university provides on this issue, and much more. We’re excited to see where it goes!

(F)Riddle Friday #5

We’re back with (F)Riddle Friday, UHPers! Remember, you must submit your answer in the comments below by next Thursday at 3PM ET. This week’s riddle is as follows:

“I am a builder of castles,
But also of playgrounds.
I protect those who drive,
And I can even improve sight!
(But not always.)

What am I?”

The answer and winners of last week’s riddle are:

Nikki Karri with the first correct answer of parking meter!

And Sydni Nadler with the most creative incorrect answer of “The bridge troll who guards the streets of foggy bottom”!

Both of you have been awarded one townhouse token. Congratulations!

Food for Thought with Professor Carolyn Arena

Do you miss our Food for Thought lectures, UHPers? I certainly do. Well we’re doing a virtual one! We won’t be serving lunch (it would be quite difficult), but nonetheless we’ll be hosting Professor Carolyn Arena for a talk titled “”From Smallpox to Covid-19: Histories of Native Americans and Epidemics” on October 30 at 12pm. Feel free to sign up below, but drop-ins are also welcome!

You can join the talk here, or call in with meeting ID 923 9770 1202 and password 316939.

Talk description:

Epidemic diseases have ravaged Indigenous communities since Columbus’s arrival to the Americas. In the 1760s, at least one British military officer suggested weaponizing smallpox against Native Americans. Indigenous communities have survived intentional and unintentional plagues in the past to face common diseases among all Americans today: diabetes, heart disease, and now, coronavirus. As with Black and Latinx populations, racial and economic disparities have made this present epidemic more lethal for Indigenous communities. What can history teach us about susceptibilities, inequalities, and resilience of Native peoples in the face of epidemics?

(F)Riddle Friday #4

We’re back with (F)Riddle Friday, UHPers! Remember, you must submit your answer in the comments below by next Thursday at 3PM ET. This week’s riddle is as follows:

“I am the gatekeeper of concrete palaces.
I am the reins for great steel beasts.
I patrol the streets.
Feed me, we will both be happy.
Let me hunger, and you will pay.
What am I?”

The answer and winners of last week’s riddle are:

Bridget Orr with the first correct answer of “Will”!

And Meaghan Gallagher with the most creative incorrect answer of “A Speaker”!

Both of you have been awarded one townhouse token. Congratulations!

Weekly Contest 9/29: Eggs In The Air Like You Just Don’t Care

Hello UHPers! Last week I told you all to make something beautiful out of a teabag. And you did! The most beautiful teabag creation was made by Alexandra Savage, who created a beautiful piece titled “Man In The Bushes Looks Up” out of tea leaves:

Congratulations on your townhouse token, Alexandra! Now for THIS WEEK’s CONTEST:

Take a picture of the highest unbroken egg. Put an egg somewhere high, measure/estimate how far it is off the ground, take a picture, send it to us with the measurements! The person who submits the picture of the highest unbroken egg will win a townhouse token!

Submission guidelines:

  1. The contests will be posted on Tuesdays every week (alongside the NewsFlash).
  2. The winner(s) will receive a townhouse token, and will be announced alongside the contest announcement.
  3. Submissions will be due by 12PM ET on the following Monday.
  4. Most submissions will require an image or a video– for these contests, you can submit them via email to uhp@gwu.edu, via Direct Message to the UHP Instagram, or to Joshua Mays via Microsoft Teams Direct Message.

UHP & WLP: Cartoonists Liz Montague and Ann Telnaes

Liz Montague, the first Black woman to have a cartoon featured in the New Yorker.

Ann Telnaes, Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist working for the Washington Post

A good cartoon can turn your day around, and the Women’s Leadership Program at GWU has invited two of the most talented cartoonists in the landscape today to come and talk with us. And all UHPers are invited!

On October 1, from 6-7:30 PM EST, we will be joined by Liz Montague, the first Black woman to have a cartoon featured in the New Yorker, and Ann Telnaes, a Pulitzer Prize winner political cartoonist working for the Washington Post to discuss their work.

You can find more information on Liz Montague here, watch a video about her here, or read a recent interview with her about a Google Doodle she published here.

A short video of Ann Telnaes can be found here, and her website can be found here.

Zoom information:

https://gwu-edu.zoom.us/j/91976446159?pwd=NHk4STgzM25RTEw0TzZTaHhUeUUyZz09

Meeting ID: 919 7644 6159
Passcode: leadership

Contact us at uhp@gwu.edu if you require additional information to access the Zoom call.

GW Votes! And So Do UHPers!

UHPers:

GW has one of the most politically active student bodies in the nation and we at the UHP want you to vote! For many of you, this is the first election in which you’re eligible to vote. For others, voting is something you have been able to do for a long time. Either way, NOW is the time to make sure you have a plan to vote so you can be #VoteReady before the 2020 election Follow the link on GW Votes for your school to get registered and get reminders and info about how to vote!  Check out GW Votes for more resources, programs, and up to date voting information. 

Democracy, Equality, and Tocqueville: a Colloquium with Professor Christov

Are you passionate about discussing politics and want to learn more about issues like US democracy, individualism, and equality?

Join a selective group of 15 GW students in a day-long online discussion colloquium over Zoom on Saturday, October 17. The colloquium is being organized by the Institute for Humane Studies and will be facilitated by Professor Theo Christov. You will read Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America in a Socratic-style seminar over the course of the day.
As compensation for your participation, you will receive a $100 stipend. You must apply to join us: submit a single-paragraph letter of interest to Prof. Theo Christov at christov@gwu.edu by Wednesday, September 30.

(F)Riddle Friday #3

We’re back with (F)Riddle Friday, UHPers! Remember, you must submit your answer in the comments below by next Thursday at 3PM ET. This week’s riddle is as follows:

“For some, I am powerful.
For others, quite weak.
I’ve boomed, boomed, and powed. Myself, I am.
What’s more, I can be your voice from the grave.
What am I?”

The answer and winners of last week’s riddle are:

Anjali Patel with the first correct answer of the ground!

And Peri Wivell with the most creative incorrect answer of shoelaces!

Both of you have been awarded one townhouse token. Congratulations!

Weekly Contest 9/22: From Tea into Beauty

Hello UHPers! Last week I told you all to write your name as large as possible using only household objects. And you did! The largest name was written by Parker Blackwell– you can see hers below:

Image of the name Parker written out in household objects.

And there it is. Now for THIS WEEK’s CONTEST:

Make something beautiful out of a teabag. Take a picture and send it to us according to the guidelines below. The person who submits the most beautiful teabag will win a townhouse token!

Submission guidelines:

  1. The contests will be posted on Tuesdays every week (alongside the NewsFlash).
  2. The winner(s) will receive a townhouse token, and will be announced alongside the contest announcement.
  3. Submissions will be due by 12PM ET on the following Monday.
  4. Most submissions will require an image or a video– for these contests, you can submit them via email to uhp@gwu.edu, via Direct Message to the UHP Instagram, or to Joshua Mays via Microsoft Teams Direct Message.