To help first year students understand the meaning and value of a liberal education, the College of Arts and Sciences hosted the first annual “Freshman Provocation” . This event included talks by four faculty members regarding their own education and how a liberal education shaped their lives. Audio from each of the talks may be accessed by visiting the links below each person’s photo. To listen to the entire presentation, choose the link below the photo of the audience.
April Bleske-Rechek received her PhD in 2001 from the University of Texas at Austin with an expertise in individual differences and evolutionary psychology. After a two-year research associate position in applied individual differences at Vanderbilt University, Dr. Bleske-Rechek joined the faculty in the psychology department at UWEC. She teaches courses in research methods, personality, individual differences and behavior genetics, and evolutionary psychology. Her research focuses on individual differences in the contexts of friendship and mating.
Dr. James Phillips, a native of the Twin Cities, earned his B.A. in chemistry from Middlebury College in 1991, and received a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of Minnesota in 1996. Prior to joining the UWEC faculty in 1998, he spent two years as a NOAA Postdoctoral Fellow in Climate and Global Change, working with associates at the University of Colorado and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. At UWEC, Dr. Phillips teaches courses in general, physical, and environmental chemistry, and maintains an active research program focused on how condensed-phase environments (e.g. solvents) affect the structural properties of molecules.
Dr. Evan Weiher, received an A.B. in Biology from the University of Chicago, an M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Washington, and a Ph.D. in Biology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In the Department of Biology, Dr. Weiher teaches courses in botany, ecology, evolution, and biostatistics. His research program seeks to understand the relative effects of history, stress, disturbance, and interactions on biodiversity, functional traits, and ecosystem processes in both natural and restored grasslands.
Dr. Marty Wood, received his PhD in 1984 from Michigan State University with emphases in British Literature – especially Shakespeare and eighteenth century criticism – and in Science Writing. Dr. Wood joined the faculty in the English department at UWEC in 1986. He served as chair of that department for nearly nine years, and now chairs the University Senate. He continues to teach courses in British literature and in advanced writing. Most of his other professional activity involves university governance and administration.
