With his legs pumping and lungs screaming, Doug Sackman was inspired. He was 19 years old and biking home to Sacramento, Calif., from Reed College in Portland, Ore., where he had just completed his sophomore year as a political science major. He followed the rainy and hilly Pacific Coast for more than 600 miles that trip and wrote a poem about the experience. Now, decades later, his research and teaching interests can be traced back to the main themes of that poem—how people live on the land and with each other in the West.

Gareth Barkin has dedicated his life to travel. But he doesn’t celebrate just checking the countries he’s visited off on a map. His joy comes from finding new ways to make travel more meaningful, especially to college students. For the past decade, Barkin has torn apart and rebuilt some of Puget Sound’s study abroad programs to focus on cultural exchange—ensuring students connect with those from different backgrounds than their own.

Five questions with Sara Freeman ’95, professor of theatre arts

Five questions with Alisa Kessel, professor of politics and government

Five questions with Dan Sherman, professor of environmental policy and decision making

As a political scientist who studies war and international conflicts, Seth Weinberger often finds his research intersecting with current events. As the U.S. was deploying troops to the Middle East after 9/11, he was researching war powers and the constitutional balancing act between the executive branch and Congress. Now, the professor of politics and government is asking big questions about domestic extremism and how to define a shared national identity in the midst of deep political division.

Over the years, Lynnette Claire has observed a fundamental shift in the economy. Claire notes, “In business, we used to say, ‘Once an entrepreneur, always an entrepreneur.’ Now, we see people move in and out of entrepreneurship throughout their careers.” Now teaching courses in entrepreneurship, management, and strategic consulting as professor and director of Puget Sound’s School of Business and Leadership, Claire believes that anyone can benefit from learning to think like an entrepreneur.

A Google search for “home workspace tips” yields more than 50 million results. Some articles recommend standing desks; others swear you’ll be most productive on the couch. With so much information out there, it can be difficult to know what advice to follow and who to trust, so we consulted our own Puget Sound expert in ergonomics for some tips for Loggers working and learning at home while social distancing.

How Pierre Ly paired global political economics with Chinese wine