L&C in the Media

In the last decade, high school students have experienced a 40% increase in mental, emotional, developmental, and behavioral disorders – just as a national shortage of school psychologists means many young people have no access to mental health care. Lewis & Clark Professors Elena Diamond and Jennifer Twyford explain how L&C is using $1.1 million from the US Dept. of Education to train school psychologists to meet the needs of linguistically and culturally diverse students in rural Oregon.

Inflation. Housing. Taxes. Tariffs. American voters overwhelmingly cite factors like these to explain how they voted in the November 2024 elections. But, argues Professor Aine Seitz McCarthy, those voters need to take Econ 101, so they can understand whether a politician’s campaign promises will actually improve the economic well being of middle-class and working-class Americans.

At the request of Special Counsel Jack Smith, two federal cases against Donald Trump have been dismissed. But, as L&C Professor Michele Okoh explains, that doesn’t mean Trump can’t be charged and convicted of those crimes after his second term ends. Although “justice delayed can feel like justice denied,” notes Okoh, “we cannot cede our commitment to the rule of law.”

When The New York Times wanted to understand how Jensen Huang, chief executive of Nvidia and the 10th wealthiest person in the US, is avoiding paying billions of dollars in taxes, they turned to L&C Professor Jack Bogdanski. “You have an army of well-trained, brilliant people who sit there all day long, charging $1,000 an hour, thinking up ways to beat this tax,” Bogdanski explained, citing how the wealthiest Americans have the resources to find and exploit loopholes in estate and tax law.

As America grapples with how to address addiction, Lewis & Clark Professor Rob Bovett explains how evidence-base approaches can be better incorporated into prevention and treatment. 

What stance should colleges and universities take around controversial issues? As Lewis & Clark President Robin Holmes-Sullivan told Insider HigherEd, “We really want our students and our faculty to have the opportunity to explore ideas and to be able to talk about those ideas.” If the institution promotes its own position, “it really does have a chilling effect.” After all, our mission is to deepen how well L&C students think, not to tell them what to think.

Lewis & Clark Professor Pauls Tuotonghi’s novel explores the lives of two refugees, separated by time, geography, and political upheaval – yet brought together by a shared piece of music.  In this interview, he explains how his own family’s experiences shaped the writing process.

Portland just elected its most diverse city council, and a more progressive mayor, even as election results nationally favored conservative candidates.  Lewis & Clark Professor Ben Gaskins explains that this seeming disparity may actually reflect Portland’s pragmatism.  The local electorate “may be more focused on tactical concerns rather than ideological ones,” and thus favored candidates who are “focused on policy solutions and getting things done.”