Section 3

AMERICAN STUDIES
(College of HASS; Departments of English and History; Mountain West Center)
Target group: Undergraduate and graduate students

Program Description: The American Studies program is available as a major or minor course of study. In recent years, though, the increased participation of disciplines such as Archeology, Philosophy, and Political Science has significantly expanded the program's appeal as an academic field that promotes richly textured theoretical and material analyses of American culture.

American Studies approaches American culture as a dynamic interplay of discursive and artistic practices best understood when viewed from the multiple perspectives offered by traditional and emerging academic disciplines. American Studies students plan individualized courses of study that draw on seven interdisciplinary course clusters and more than a dozen academic disciplines: (1) American Institutions and Ideas; (2) Art and Literature; (3) Culture and Diversity; (4) Folklore; (5) Nature and the Environment; (6) Western American Studies, and (7) American History.

Students who earn an American Studies degree will learn about:

• The complexity and diversity of American culture as revealed through multiple academic disciplines
• The social, political, and economic forces that have shaped national character past and present
• The sense of place so important to America's geographic regions
• The way American Arts and Letters reflect a rich mix of folk, popular, and elite traditions
• The primary institutions that govern American's political and economic self-definition

Contact: Paul Crumbley, Associate Professor (435-797-3860)
Melody Granlich, Professor (435- 797-3855)

COMMUNITIES OF EFFECTIVE PRACTICE: A PROFESSIONAL STEM DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP MODEL FOR TEACHERS OF AMERICAN INDIAN STUDENTS (NSF FUNDED)
(Office of the Provost; Regional Campuses and Distance Education)
Target Group: Teachers working with Native American students

Project Description: The project incorporates professional development efforts tied with cultural guidance provided by Native American Elders on the Northern Ute Reservation and at Mexican Hat Elementary School. Select teachers are learning to enhance their skills in developing culturally responsive math, science, engineering, and technologically connected lessons around community based themes in support of the Utah State Core in Grades 4,5, and 6.

Contacts: Dr. Kurt Becker, Engineering and Technology Education (435-797-1795)
Dr. Rebecca Monhardt, Department of Elementary Education (435-797-0395)
Dr. Jim Barta, Regional Campus and Distance Education (801-455-5582)
Vessela Ilieva, Department of Elementary Education (435-797-0374)

CROSS-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVES OF AMERICAN CULTURE [IELI 2470]
(College of HASS; Intensive English Language Institute [IELI])
Target Group: International and resident students studying English as a Second Language (ESL) in the Intensive English Language Institute.

Program Description: This course gives international and resident students an understanding of what culture is and how it influences people. It provides an understanding of Americans and American culture. Focus is on the American value system and the role diversity plays in any study of Americans. Assignments explore and analyze why Americans believe the things they do and why they behave the way they do. In addition, American expectations and behaviors are compared to those of members of other cultures, particuarly those represented by the students in the class.

Contact: Ann Roemer, Director, Intensive English Language Institute (435-797-2051) ann.roemer@usu.edu

DEPARTMENT OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION COURSES
(College of Education and Human Services; Department of Teacher Education & Leadership)
Target Group: Elementary Education Majors and general studentbody

Program Description: Courses and emphasis areas include:

• Diversity in Education [EL ED/SEC ED 4710]. Provides educators with background and techniques for more effectively addressing the needs of students in a culturally and liguistically diverse society. Topics also include the history of multicultural education, ethnic studies, and such socio-political issues as bilingual education, gender research, and ability differences.
• ESOL Instructional Strategies [EL ED/SEC ED 4760/6760]. Includes principles and techniques for promoting oral language, reading and writing development for K-12 English language learners. Explores language acquisition theory, classroom organization, teaching strategies, and parental involvement for effective English language instruction.
• ESOL Instructional Strategies in the Content Areas [EL ED/SEC ED 4770/6770]. Focuses on strategies which help language minority students in content area classrooms increase academic learning. Includes methods for increased integration of language learners into the larger school community and parental involvement.
• Assessment for Language Learners [EL ED/SEC ED 4780/6780]. Includes principles and techniques for developing, analyzing, and interpreting assessment measures for language learners including oral, writing, reading, and content area assessment. Explores assessment requirements for public schools, intensive language programs, and higher education.

Contact: Lisa Pray, Assistant Professor, Elementary Education (435-797-0380)
Cinthya Saavedra, Assistant Professor, Elementary Education (435-795-0380)

DEPARTMENT OF INTENSIVE ENGLISH COURSES
(College of HASS; Intensive English Language Institute)
Target Group: International & resident students studying English as a Second Language

Program Description: IELI 1230 Cross-Culture Talk(High beginning and Low intermediate); IELI 2330 Spoken Discourse and Cross-Culture Communication (Intermediate). These two courses give international and resident students studying English as a Second Language (ESL), and American students, opportunities to interact through structured, speaking activities, small group work, and oral presentations. Both ESL and American students learn about one another's cultures and explore the intricacies of cross-cultural communication while experiencing it first-hand.

Contact: Ann Roemer, Director, Intensive English Language Institute (435-797-2051)

EDUCATORS FOR DIVERSITY
(College of Education and Human Services; Elementary Education Department)
Target Group: Pre K-university educators

Program Description: Educators for Diversity is dedicated to offering opportunities for educators and community members to learn how to better meet the needs of all youth in schools. Because diversity is the norm in educational settings educators need to learn about diversity and gain strategies to equitably educate toward common community and university members and hosts an annual conference attended by over 300 participants from across Utah. Please contact us to learn more about how you can benefit from involvement.

Contact: Tricia Gallagher-Geurtsen, Chair, Assistant Professor, (435-797-0382) tricia.gallaghergeurtsen@usu.edu
Martha Whitaker, Elementary Education (435-797-0393)

FIFE FOLKLORE WORSHOP
(College of HASS; Departments of English and History)
Target Group: Teachers, undergraduate and graduate students, and librarians

Program Description: This annual workshop honors a lifetime of commitment to the study of vernacular culture by Austin and Alta Fife, Utahns who helped shape the modern field of folklore. Over the years, the Fife Folklore Workshops has introduced students, teachers, librarians, and others to the range of everyday expressions in today's cultures, helping them understand the ways in which folklore of all cultures enriches our lives and animates our society.

The courses deal with customs, language, narratives, arts, foods, architecture, music dance, ritual, and pagenantry that are the living, expressive, ongoing dimensions of culture. The Fife Folklore Workshop focuses on one topic every year, and attempts to bring together different cultural and ethnic perspectives about one theme in folklore.

Contact: Jeannie Thomas, Director, Folklore Program (435-797-2736)

INTERDISCIPLINARY DISABILITY AWARENESS AND SERVICE LEARNING PROGRAM (IDASL)
(College of Education and Human Services: Interdisciplinary Training Division: Center for Persons with Disabilities [CPD])
Target Group: Students from a wide variety of disciplines, parents, individuals with disabilities, and service providers.

Program Description: The Interdisciplinary Disability Awareness and Service Learning Program offers opportunities for students from a variety of disciplines to increase their awareness, knowledge and understanding of people with disabilities and their families across the life span. Students who participate in this program will broaden their experience and give them opportunities to use their growing expertise to benefit individuals with a variety of disabilities.

The past 5 years the following disiplinces have been represented: Accounting, Audiology, Business Information Systems, Community Health, Elementary Education, English, Family Consumer and Human Development, Landscape Architecture, Marketing, Music Therapy, Nursing, Nutrition, Physics, Psychology, Recreation, School Psychology, Social Work, Special Education, and Speech. Individuals with disabilities and family members also participate as trainees.

Contact: Judith Holt, Director, Interdisciplinary Training Division (435-797-7157)
Jeannie Peck, (435-797-2619)

THE MULTICULTURAL MATHEMATICS CLASSROOM [EL ED 5000, 6000]
(College of Education and Human Services; Department of Elementary Education)
Target Group: Undergraduate students

Program Description: During this course, which is offered as a summer workshop, students have an opportunity to examine the elementary mathematics we teach from a cultural perspective. Students gain insight into the connectionbetween math and culture through the assigned readings, active participation in "cultural" activities, exploration of the embedded mathematics inherent in those activities, and the production of their own culturally inclusive curriculum based on the synthesis of the learning and their related research. The goal of the class is to help develop more effective mathematics teachers who will empower all of their students by developing culturally relevant mathematics curriculum representative of local, regional, national, and international cultures.

Contact: Jim Barta, Associate Professor, Elementary Education (801-455-5582)

NATIVE AMERICAN NATURAL RESOURCES COOPERATIVE EDUCATION PROGRAM
(College of Natural Resources)
Target Group: Native American Natural Resource students

Program Description: The College of Natural Resources (CNR) is a provider of natural resources education for students from the Haskell Indian Nations University. Native American students from around the nation matriculate at Haskell. Those who are interested in natural resources may take two years of general education, math/science foundation, and introductory natural resource courses at Haskell. Many of these students then have the opporltunity to enter a formal cooperative education program with a federal resource management agency. USU recruits heavily from among these coop students. Those who matriculate at USU pursue a CNR major during the academic year and work for the cooperating agency during the summer. Recent students have completed majors in Environmental Studies, Fisheries and Wildlife, and Forestry. We hope to continue to expand this program in the coming years.

Contact: Maureen Wagner, Academic Services Adviser, College of Natural Resources (435-797-2448)

SOCIETY AND DISABILITY
(College of Education and Human Services; Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation; Rehabilitation Counseling Program)
Target Group: All undergraduate students at Utah State University

Program Description: this course is designed to meet the Breadth Social Sciences (BSS) requirement in the University Studies curriculum. Therefore, students of any major may take this class. Based on the premise that disability is both a common and natural part of human existence, this course will cover three broad topics: (1) a definition of disability, (2) society's prejudice and discrimination; and (3) the individual's response to a disability.

Due to advances in neonatal medicine and emergency medicine, as well as the aging of the population 9Including both people with disabilities and people without disabilities,) the number of people with disabilities continues to grow. This is considered to be progress since the alternative would be the death of the individual.Therefore, everyone will have a disability and/or work with people with disabilities, and engage in all sorts of community activities with people with disabilities. this is what is meant by: "Disability is both a common and natural part of human existence."

In spite of this progress, individuals with disabilities have experienced centuries of discrimination, prejudice, inferior services, lowered expectations, and isolation. This class is taught from the perspective of the individual who experiences the disability and discusses the history and culture of the disability movement. Guest speakers, panel discussions, and other first-person accounts are part of this class.

Topics included are:

• The difference between hidden disabilities and visible disabilities
• The difference between congenital disabilities and acquired disabilities
• The reasons why racial/ethnic/cultural/linguistic minority groups have higher disability rates
• The impact of a disability on the family
• Society's three responses to disability - charity, compensation, and civil rights
• Why the disability rights movements considers telethons to be "modern-day freak shows"
• The ten sources of societal prejudice and discrimination
• The experiences of stereotyping, role entrapment, hyper visibility, infantilization, objectification, and second-class citizenship that individuals with disabilities experience
• The potential harm of simulation exercises
• How the Nazi Holocaust began with "Aryan" Germans with disabilities
• The reasons why many consider women with disabilities to experience double discrimination
• The reasons why the Deaf Culture considers itself a linguistic group rather than a disability group
• The history of the disability Rights Movement

Contact: Dr. Julie Smart, Professor and Director of Rehabilitation Counseling Programs (435-797-3269)

SOCIETY OF WOMEN ENGINEERS
(College of Engineering)
Target Group: Female Engineers

Program Description: The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) is a national society whose mission is to stimulate women to achieve full potentials in careers as engineers and leaders, expand the image of the engineering profession as a positive force in improving the quality of life, and demonstrate the value of diversity. The SWE student chapter at USU has more than 40 participants (both men and women) recruited from the freshman year on up. Members not only enjoy the association with each other but also enjoy various activities and service projects designed to support female students majoring in engineering. Each year student members attend the regional SWE conference and several members are selected to attend the national convention.

Contact: Kristina Bliattli, SWE Advisor, College of Engineering (435-797-0213)
Christine Hailey, SWE Advisor, Senior Associate Dean, College of Engineering (435-797-3332)

SOCIOLOGY PROGRAM
(College of HASS: Department of Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology)
Target Group: USU undergraduate and graduate students

Program Description: The Sociology Program offers course work that addresses human social behavior: social organization, social inequality, and social change. These courses enable students to develop critical thinking skills around social issues such as conflict and cooperation; social inequality regarding race, class gender, and age; and community action. Particularly relevant sociology courses include:

• Social Problems [SOC 1020]
• Sociology of Gender [SOC 2500]
• Race, Classs, and Gender [SOC 3010]
• Sociology of Aging [SOC 3750]
• Asian Societies [SOC 4710]
• Women in International Development [SOC 4730]
• Gender and Social Inequality [SOC 6420]
• Gender and International Development [SOC 6730]

Contact:: Eddy Barry, Sociology Undergraduate Program Director, Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Department (435-797-0981)
Doug Jackson-Smith, Director of Graduate Studies, Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Department (435-797-0582)

STRONG MARRIAGES IN THE LATINO CULTURE
(College of Education and Human Services; Family, Consumer, and Human Development)
Target Group: Latinos

Program Description: This study was completed in Cache Valley to determine, from a cultural perspective, what makes strong marriages in the Latino culture. The qualitative data obtained through interviews has been collected from 25 couples (50 individuals) who have strong marriages. The data has been analyzed at the four themes emerging as factions that contribute to strong marriages from the perspective of the experts. Marriage education will be developed to help other Latino couples have strong marriages.

Contact: Linda Skogrand, Extension Specialist/Assistant Professor (435-797-8183) linda.skogrand@usu.edu

STRONG MARRIAGES IN THE NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURE
(College of Education and Human Services; Family, Consumer, and Human Development)
Target Group: Native Americans

Program Description: This study was conducted in San Juan County and surrounding area to determine, from a cultural perspective, what makes strong marriages in the Navajo culture. Meetings with community leaders were held to help us learn how to do the study in a culturally appropriate way and learn about strong marriages in the culture. We interviewed 25 Navajo couples who have strong marriages to replicate the study described above and develop marriage education to help Navajo couples have strong marriages.

Contact: Linda Skogrand, Extension Specialist/Assistant Professor (435-797-8183) linda.skogrand@usu.edu

STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES
(Viice President of Student Services; Student Support Service Office)
Target Group: Low income, first generation or students with disabilities

Progrm Description: Student Support Services is located in University Inn 103. This is a special program financed by the U.S. Department of Education through a Federal grant and Utah State University. The Student Support Services is a TRIO program (involving Upward Bound; Talent Search, Student Support Services) designed to help disadvantaged students stay in college until they earn their baccalaureate degrees by offering assistance in:

• Academic advising and guidance
• Tutoring on an individual basis
• Course selection
• Reading and study skills enrichment [Psy 1730, and 1750]
• Math instruction [Math 0900, 1010, 1050, and Stat 1040]
• Financial aid planning
• Faculty mentoring and career advising

To qualify for these services, a student must be an American citizen or permanent resident of the United States, be registered at Utah State University, demonstrate an academic need for services as defined by the institution, and meet one of the following criteria:

• Low income, as established by the U.S. Commission of Higher Education
• Disabled, including physical disabilities and learning disabilities
• First Generation College Student, meaning that neither one of the student's parents has graduated from a four-year institution of higher education\

Contact: Nazih Al-Rashid, Director, Student Support Services (435-797-3372) ssstrio@usu.edu