Developments Newsletter - Winter 2021

THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA COLLEGE OF SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES “THE PEOPLE COLLEGE”

DE VE LO P M E N TS Winter 2021

WELCOME FROM THE DEAN Welcome to the winter issue of the Developments newsletter. This issue showcases a few different reasons why people contribute to our college.

Eliza Marone and Lucy McClain, daughters of Bonham C. Richardson, a 1961 graduate in geography, established a new scholarship in memory of their father. Their memorial gift to the School of Geography, Development & Environment was supplemented by many family, friends, and professional colleagues of Bon’s, thus helping to keep his memory and academic legacy alive.

Communication alumna Kristina Boynova was inspired to establish a scholarship because she had received the Kathryn Anne Governal Award for Perseverance when she was an undergraduate student. Her story illustrates that the impact of generosity often lives long after the gift is received. As we learned in our most recent Downtown Lecture Series, compassion is contagious!

Sticking with our focus on students – which is job #1 in the People College – I’m pleased to present this issue’s student spotlight, featuring Magellan Circle Scholar Valeria Tapia, a first-generation Wildcat studying the science of sound in SBS’s School of Information and the School of Music in the College of Fine Arts. Now, that’s creative.

And our annual Soundbites segment gives you a sample of how our faculty have contributed to the public understanding of some of the year’s most pressing issues, from COVID and global warming to Afghanistan and the nation’s political divides. Many donors choose to support advances in research, and ultimately teaching, through faculty endowments. And to close the circle, know that more faculty equals happier and more successful students.

Finally, some of you may have already heard that, as of the end of this fiscal year, June 30, 2022, I will be stepping down as dean and returning to the faculty in the School of Geography, Development & Environment. It has been an honor to be a leader, colleague, and learner alongside so many remarkable faculty, staff, supporters, and students. After 12-plus years, I am looking forward to returning to teaching students, mentoring graduate students, and catching up on my research.

One thing I will miss as dean is all the time I got to spend with SBS’s financial supporters and community members – whether discussing our common interests in elevating our impact on students or the region we call home.

Many of you have become cherished friends as a result.

Have a healthy, happy, and peaceful holiday season! - John Paul Jones III, Don Bennett Moon Dean

SUPPORTING The Next Generation of Travelers

Bonham C. Richardson conducting field work in Grenada

No matter how far he traveled, geographer Bonham “Bon” Richardson loved to return to the University of Arizona, his alma mater.

After Bon passed away in November 2020, his daughters Eliza Marone and Lucy McClain created a scholarship fund – with additional gifts from friends and family – for students in the UArizona School of Geography, Development & Environment. The Bonham C. Richardson Memorial Endowment Award supports undergraduate students seeking a B.A. or B.S. degree in geography or graduate students who have an interest in cultural/human geography.

The funds can support a variety of needs, including travel for field work.

The scholarship not only honors Bon’s love of geography and his desire to help students, it reflects his family’s deep ties to the University of Arizona.

CONNECTING WITH PEOPLE AND PLACES

Bon, who spent part of his childhood in Tucson, graduated from UArizona with a bachelor’s degree in geography in 1961. After serving in the U.S. Army for two years and working for General Electric for a year, he returned to school, earning both his M.S. and Ph.D. in geography at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. He spent most of his career as a professor in the geography department at Virginia Tech.

During his career as a cultural geographer, Bon received major grants and conducted field and archival research in Guyana, Grenada, St. Kitts, Barbados, London, and Washington, D.C. His research focused on the Caribbean and its

experience of colonialism, and his best known book was The Caribbean in the Wider World, 1492–1992: A Regional Geography.

“Bon brought a critical perspective on colonialism and racism to his work on the Caribbean. He also examined the environmental drivers behind migration. Both emphases were ahead of their time. Bon’s love of the region and its peoples shine through his books,” said John Paul Jones III, dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and a fellow geographer.

“Dad’s career was perfect for him. He liked to talk to people and find out their backstory and their parent’s backstory,” Eliza said with a laugh. “I think in some other universities, he might have found himself in a history department or an anthropology department.”

Eliza recalls that when they were kids, the family used to drive from Virginia to Tucson to visit their grandparents.

“Along the way, even though he knew the route perfectly, my dad would love to stop and ask for directions – which drove my mother nuts – because he’d seen some guy sitting in front of a gas station who he wanted to talk to,” Eliza recalled.

“He always had some way of connecting with people, usually by talking about their connection to the geographic place,” Lucy said.

Bon’s interest in examining the world may have rubbed off on his daughters, they said. Both women received Ph.D. degrees and work at Penn State. Eliza is an earthquake

“BEING IN GEOGRAPHY, THE THING THAT [MY DAD] LOVED THE MOST WAS BEING ABLE TO TRAVEL, AND SO I THINK THAT HE WOULD JUST BE ABSOLUTELY THRILLED TO KNOW THAT WE’RE SUPPORTING STUDENTS WHO WANT A CAREER THAT ALLOWS THEM TO SEE DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD.” - LUCY MCCLAIN

“The UA has always been part of our lives. It felt like the most natural fit for our family to choose the UA because of our family connections, but also it’s always been sort of my dad’s foundation, his identity,” Lucy said.

“My dad was a super believer in the land-grant mission in general,” Eliza added. “The UA just seemed like the obvious place.”

seismologist, and Lucy is an assistant teaching professor specializing in how technology can help engage families with the outdoors.

FAMILY TIES TO UARIZONA

The University of Arizona is a family tradition of sorts. Bon’s two sisters, Lucy and Mary Helen, and his niece Shelby also attended the university. Eliza’s oldest son, Dan, is an alumnus and her daughter Linda is currently applying to attend next year.

“My dad was a huge UA basketball fan and so growing up, that’s the team that I watched,” Lucy recalled. “He and I would go to bed at seven o’clock at night and set our alarms for ten o’clock to watch Pac-10 Arizona play basketball. I have vivid memories of doing that with him when I was in middle school and high school.”

Lucy said her dad’s fraternity brothers from Phi Gamma Delta were his lifelong friends. And when Bon and his wife, Linda – a university librarian who passed away in 2007 – retired to Tucson, they supported the College of Social and

Bonham C. Richardson with his Magellan Circle Scholar in 2007

Behavioral Sciences and its students by becoming Magellan Circle Patrons.

Establishing a scholarship at the University of Arizona seemed like a natural choice, Eliza and Lucy said.

Lucy McClain, Bonham C. Richardson, and Eliza Marone

SUPPORTING STUDENTS

The Bonham C. Richardson Memorial Endowment Award is the family’s second scholarship at the University of Arizona.

Bon’s sister Mary Helen Richardson graduated from UArizona with a B.A. in English. She later received her master’s degree in English and education from Vanderbilt University and joined the staff of U.S. Representative Morris K. Udall. After Mary Helen died at the age of 29, her friends and family, including Bon and his sister Lucy Masterman, established a memorial scholarship in the Department of English.

“Mary Helen loved English literature in all its forms and was herself an accomplished writer,” wrote Lucy Masterman. “Her view of life was carefree but poetic. It is fitting that a scholarship in her memory be awarded to a UA student who shares her love of language.”

Now, with the new scholarship in Bon’s name, the family is further extending their legacy of generosity to UArizona students, in perpetuity.

“I like to think that my dad would be really touched and honored to be able to support students, especially with traveling,” Lucy said. “Being in geography, the thing that he loved the most was being able to travel, and so I think that he would just be absolutely thrilled to know that we’re supporting students who want a career that allows them to see different parts of the world.”

PAYING

IT FORWARD

When she was graduating from the University of Arizona, Kristina Boynova received the Kathryn Anne Governal Award for Perseverance from the Department of Communication. The award recognizes distinguished achievement by a student in overcoming personal, economic, or physical obstacles in completing a degree.

Receiving the award made a big impact on Kristina.

“The award was just really special to me,” Kristina said, as she began tearing up. “It was the thought that somebody cared. That made a difference in my life, and I wanted to make sure I pay it forward.”

Now, seven years later, Kristina has established the Natalia and Nadezhda Gaganova Award, an annual financial award given to a communication major who has demonstrated perseverance in their academic journey. This award is designated for students born outside the U.S. – with a priority to students from Russia – mirroring Kristina’s story.

Kristina decided to name the award after her mother and grandmother. “They sacrificed their whole life for me to come here to this country and to have a better future,” Kristina said.

Kristina’s grandmother, Nadezhda, moved to Kovrov, which is about 3 hours from Moscow, after her own mother told her to flee their village of Panovka. “She told my grandma to run far away otherwise you will remain free labor to milk cows and work from dusk to dawn on the field to cut grass,” Kristina said.

Natalia and Nadezhda Gaganova

Kristina Boynova

For a while, Kristina stayed with her grandmother while her mom, Natalia, traveled to Moscow to earn extra money after her divorce from Kristina’s dad. Natalia was a nurse, but she also took extra jobs as a server and babysitter.

Natalia met and married an American and two years later moved to the United States with Kristina.

When Kristina started school in the U.S as an 8th grader, she spoke very little English but learned quickly. Even though she was bullied in high school, she appreciated being in the United States.

“You definitely have more freedom here,” she said.

“People have more patience for you even if you are maybe a little bit of a slow learner. Here they give you chances and they give you opportunities,” Kristina said.

After graduating from high school, Kristina attended Pima Community College before transferring to the University of Arizona and double majoring in communication and Russian. She continued on to get her master’s degree in Russian and Slavic Studies at UArizona.

Kristina is currently a territory marketing manager with HealthFlex Home Health & Hospice as well as an instructor of Russian at Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, Calif.

“I’m using my communication degree and all the skills that I learned. And I get to communicate with Russian clients and Russian patients, exactly what I wanted to do,” Kristina said.

“The Department of Communication is honored that one of our recent graduates who endured so much in her journey toward a college degree, and who has since succeeded with distinction in our society, has made this award available to current students who similarly overcame obstacles to pursue and complete their education,” said department head Chris Segrin. “We are especially happy that this award memorializes two very strong and wise women (the award’s namesakes) who adeptly guided Kristina on her amazing journey to where she is today.”

Student Spotlight Valeria Tapia

Valeria Tapia. Photo by Chris Richards/University of Arizona Foundation.

Valeria Tapia, who is studying information science & arts in the School of Information and music in the College of Fine Arts, is fascinated by the science of sound.

“I love to work with anything that is audio-related, and the science of sound is very interesting to me,” Valeria said.

“After college, I plan on continuing my studies in a field like audio engineering or music technology.”

From Nogales, Ariz., Valeria – who was recently featured during Hispanic Heritage Month – and her family are of Mexican-American descent. Her father is also of Yaqui descent. Valeria is a member of multiple campus clubs and organizations, maintains a high GPA, and is a self-supporting student who works as a graphic designer on campus.

“What keeps me motivated is the fact that I am a first-generation college student and that studying what I like will hopefully get me to my dream career,” Valeria said.

“Also, I want to make my family proud and beat the odds.

Family is the most important thing to me, and I receive a lot of support from them.”

Valeria is also grateful for the support of her Magellan Circle Patron, Stephanie Healy with Cox Communications.

“Thank you for investing in my future,” Valeria said.

“Without you, my Wildcat experience wouldn’t be possible.”

Valeria said she hopes to be a Magellan Circle donor in the future because she recognizes the importance of education and what it’s like to struggle to find the money for school.

“Being a Magellan Circle Scholar means a lot to me – it means that I am being recognized for my hard work and effort,” Valeria said. “Without the Magellan Circle scholarship, I would not have had sufficient funds last year for my dormitory. This scholarship helps relieve a financial burden on my family and me. This, in turn, helps me concentrate on what matters most – learning.”

DID YOU KNOW? The School of Information not only offers a B.A. in information science & arts, it also offers undergraduate degrees in information science, information science & eSociety, game design & development, and games & behavior. Students can also obtain an M.A. in library and information science, an M.S. in information, an M.S. in data science, and a Ph.D. in information. This year, the school also launched a minor in eSports! With the ever-increasing pace of technological innovation, the School of Information is training students to understand the intricacies of technology and data, their impact on society, and how to apply that knowledge.

soundbites “If we understand trauma as social, psychological and physical responses to experiences that cannot be assimilated into an individual’s existing understandings of themselves and the world around them, then gun trauma goes far beyond the roughly 40,000 lives taken by gun violence every year and the approximately 115,000 people harmed by guns.” - Jennifer Carlson, School of Sociology (with graduate student Madison Armstrong) | “We Have Spent Over a Decade Researching Guns in America. This is What We Learned.” | The New York Times, 3/26/21 “We’ve seen more and more undocumented border crossers being pushed into particularly remote and dangerous areas of southern Arizona. This is a direct consequence of increased border enforcement and border militarization.” - Daniel Martinez, School of Sociology and Department of Mexican American Studies | “Migrant Border Deaths Surge with ‘Increased Enforcement and Militarization’” | Newsweek, 5/4/21 “The current protests suggest that Israeli government attempts to isolate Palestinian citizens of Israel from Palestinians in the occupied territories and in exile and to integrate them into the Israeli state have failed.”

- Maha Nassar, School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies | “Protests by Palestinian Citizens in Israel Signal Growing Sense of a Common Struggle” | The Conversation, 5/13/21 “Maintaining a language isn’t just maintaining a form of communication, it’s maintaining a group of people or a people’s world view or social organization.” - Ofelia Zepeda, Department of Linguistics | “UA Linguistics Prof: Role of Language Goes Beyond Communication” | Arizona Daily Star, 5/29/21 “When you try to disrupt the status quo, you are doing something un-American without understanding that America is nothing without all the people that make it up. Who is against learning about the full history of this country?” - Sonja Lanehart, Department of Linguistics | “Tulsa Race Massacre Leads to Conversation about Critical Race Theory Education” | KOLD-13, 6/1/21 “If an athlete won, even if he won illegally, he could still remain an Olympic victor, but his city-state paid a huge fine. There were statues of Zeus set up in the sanctuary paid for by these fines, with the story of the infraction on them so that everybody would know what happened.” - David Gilman Romano, School of Anthropology | “Olympics Then and Now” | UANews, 7/21/21 “Most people don’t identify with the extremist, ideological views that they see in the media. That can push them away from the parties and drive them to identify as independents even though they truly prefer one of the parties.” - Samara Klar, School of Government and Public Policy | “Political Spotlight Pushes Arizona Voters Into Independents” | Arizona Public Media, 7/27/21

“The Biden administration is likely celebrating a better-than-expected jobs report, which showed surging employment and wages. However, for millions of working Americans, being employed doesn’t guarantee a living income.” - Jeffrey Kucik, School of Government and Public Policy | “Forget the American Dream – Millions of Working Americans Still Can’t Afford Food and Rent” | The Conversation, 8/6/21 “The only thing that kept the government in power was U.S. troops which, as they were being withdrawn, led to an instantaneous disintegration of the government and victory of the Taliban. Based on past history one would expect a highly repressive regime in Afghanistan.” - David Gibbs, Department of History | “UArizona Professor Gives Perspective about Chaos in Afghanistan” | KGUN-9, 8/16/21 “Even in normal times, “touch hunger” is associated with greater stress, anxiety and loneliness; lower-quality sleep; and reduced satisfaction and closeness in romantic relationships. Add to that the restrictions on touch introduced by COVID-19 and it makes sense why so many are suffering.” - Kory Floyd, Department of Communication | “Why We Missed Hugs” | The Conversation, 8/16/21 “The government had created these schools to teach Indian students, some as young as four or five years old, industrial trades so that they could be ‘useful members of American society’ and take that training back to their communities, or take that training into predominantly white communities that surrounded the Indian school.” - Matthew Sakiestewa Gilbert, Department of American Indian Studies | “Indian Boarding Schools’ Traumatic Legacy, And the Fight To Get Native Ancestors Back” | NPR Code Switch, 8/28/21 “We need to understand why people are moving into floodplains and what ways we can support flood mitigation. I think satellite and Earth observations can be transformative in how we think about building resilience in a world marked by climate change.” - Beth Tellman, School of Geography, Development & Environment | “Research Shows More People Living in Floodplains” | NASA Earth Observatory, 9/27/21 “Staying out of a ‘dangerous situation’ would actually mean disallowing women to participate in activities of daily life.” - Elise Lopez, Consortium on Gender-Based Violence | “My Dad is Clueless About Sexual Assault Because I Haven’t Told Him About It” | Fatherly, 10/10/21 “We think that people were still somehow mobile, because they had just begun to use ceramics and lived in ephemeral structures on the ground level. People were in transition to more settled lifeways, and many of those areas probably didn’t have much hierarchical organization. But still, they could make this kind of very well-organized center.” - Takeshi Inomata, School of Anthropology | “Lidar Uncovers Hundreds of Lost Maya and Olmec Ruins” | Wired, 11/7/21

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GIVING WAYS

Supporters of the College of SBS donate in a variety of ways. Here are just a few.

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The Downtown Lecture Series on Compassion was sponsored by the Stonewall Foundation Fund, Holualoa Companies, TMC HealthCare, Rowene Aguirre-Medina and Roy Medina, Dr. Barbara Starrett and Jo Ann Ellison, and Tiana and Jeff Ronstadt.

Facilitated with the support of former UArizona President John Schaefer, the Frederick Cottrell Foundation granted Women in Science & Engineering $25,000 to increase diversity in STEM fields by offering outreach programs and student engagement opportunities.

Sociologist Corey Abramson made a three-year gift commitment to create the Sánchez-Jankowski Graduate Student Paper Award to recognize innovative empirical social science involving qualitative data. The

gift is named after Professor Martín Sánchez-Jankowski, who is best known for his landmark books on gangs and urban poverty and is a member of the first group of Native Americans to earn a Ph.D. in the empirical sciences at MIT. •

The College of SBS lost a close friend, Betsy (Bettina) Plevan, recently. Betsy and her husband, Ken Plevan, created the Jeffrey Plevan Endowed Chair in Israel Studies and the Jeffrey Plevan Lecture in the Arizona Center for Judaic Studies. In 2019, Betsy and Ken received the University of Arizona Alumni Association’s Honorary Alumni Award. Betsy was a model mother, an exceptional lawyer, a social activist, and an engaged philanthropist.

How to Give Donating to the College of SBS is making an investment in the future! You can donate online at https://give.uafoundation.org/sbs. If you would like to discuss giving to the college, please contact Ginny Healy at: 520-621-3938 or ghealy@arizona.edu.