Class Spotlight News Stories

class spotlight, experiential education, experiential learning, feature story, film, history, Inside-Out, PBS, Portland, top story, undergrad
Reiko Hillyer, professor of history, teaches her popular Crime and Punishment course at the Columbia River Correctional Institution in No...

PBS Shines National Spotlight on ‘Classroom 4’

PBS is streaming Classroom 4, which captures the transformative Inside-Out course taught by Professor Reiko Hillyer, where students break down the walls imposed by incarceration to study, connect, and change each other.

academics, ArtsLC, class spotlight, experiential education, experiential learning, fine arts, theatre, top story, undergrad
Students in Theatre 249 are able to get a peek behind the curtain on tours led by OSF staff.

From Page to Stage

A unique summer theatre course blends in-depth reading and discussion with the excitement of live theatre, culminating in a weeklong trip to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland.

class spotlight, Data Science, experiential education, experiential learning, Portland, top story, undergrad
A student typing on a laptop.

OPB Features L&C Data Science Course

Visiting Assistant Professor Devin Fitzpatrick designed his new course, Data for Good, to challenge students to get their hands dirty—both in messy datasets and in the soil—through a partnership with the Portland-based nonprofit Growing Gardens.

academics, class spotlight, faculty honors, faculty, film, history, Inside-Out, top story, undergrad
Poster for 'Classroom 4' documentary with photo of Reiko Hillyer's Inside-Out Prison Exchange class, with students placing...

Inside-Out Film Wins Best Documentary at 2025 Aspen Shortsfest

CLASSROOM 4, a documentary about Reiko Hillyer’s Inside-Out Prison Exchange class, wins the Jury Award at Aspen Shortsfest.
Center for Community and Global Health, class spotlight, experiential education, experiential learning, FOSA, psychology, top story, undergrad
Jolina Ruckert, who teaches Psychology of Gender, talks with Story Gorge workshop leaders Kyle Glenn (left) and Sean O'Connor.

Psychology Meets Digital Storytelling

Students in an upper-division psychology course are partnering with local video production company Story Gorge to use the art of digital storytelling to explore the experience of gender.

academics, Center for Community and Global Health, class spotlight, environment, environmental studies, ENVX, top story, undergrad
Gwyn Murphy-Cunningham BA '26, a member of the Students Engaged in Eco-Defense Club (SEED), responds to facilitator questions.

Where Environment Meets Community

In this spring’s Environmental Engagement course, students connect classroom learning with real-world conversations, partnering with local nonprofits to address polarizing issues and build mutual trust.

academics, class spotlight, English, experiential education, experiential learning, special collections, top story, undergrad
After a manuscripts boot camp, students are ready to study historical pieces in Watzek's Library's Special Collections Reading ...

Paging Through the Past

In her Medieval Manuscripts course, Professor of English Karen Gross brings history to life with the help of Watzek Library’s rich archival collections. Students get hands-on experience with centuries-old texts as they explore the art of archival research.

academics, ArtsLC, class spotlight, dance, fine arts, performance, performing arts, top story, undergrad
Poem for Exile

NYC-Based Dance Company In Step With L&C Students

The Tiffany Mills Dance Company, named for and headed by L&C’s director of dance, took part in a spring residency on campus, leading a series of community dance workshops and performing The Viola Trilogy alongside students.

class spotlight, collaborative research, faculty research, John S. Rogers Science Program, NSF, Physics, science, student research, top story, undergrad, year in review - research
A professor working on a large metal instrument.

A Quantum Leap for Physics Students

Ben Olsen, assistant professor of physics, is establishing Lewis & Clark’s first Quantum Information Science and Engineering lab to probe how unusual types of matter behave at the subatomic level. But first he and his students have to build “The Apparatus.”

ArtsLC, class spotlight, fir acres theatre, main stage, performing arts, theater, top story, undergrad
Students performing on a stage in costumes.

‘Something Wicked This Way Comes’ to the Main Stage

This spring on L&C’s Main Stage, the theatre department presented a contemporary take on Shakespeare’s Macbeth, a mystifying and twisted tale that explores the relationships between human beings and the natural world through horror, humanity, and the uncanny.

Bates Center, class spotlight, entrepreneurship, experiential education, experiential learning, outcomes, Portland, top story, winterim
A large group of students pose together outside.

Blending the Liberal Arts With Entrepreneurial Spirit

In mid-January, the Bates Center for Entrepreneurship and Leadership hosted its annual entrepreneurial workshop, known as Winterim. The event brought 27 students to campus prior to the start of spring semester for a week of learning, networking, and mentoring, which culminated in a pitch competition for more than $10,000 in prizes.

academics, Center for Community and Global Health, class spotlight, experiential education, experiential learning, interdisciplinary, theatre, top story
The border wall in Mexico showing a colorful mural.

How Migrant Stories Are Told

A new course, Playing at the Border: Migration and Art, examines how migrant and refugee stories are told in film, theatre, and visual art, providing students with opportunities to engage directly with Portland’s immigrant communities.

academics, art, class spotlight, climate change, climate justice, environment, environmental justice, environmental studies, experiential education, experiential learning, top story
An art project made of tea bags

From Trash to Treasure: Creating Art From Waste

Cara Tomlinson’s Art and Ecology class uses waste materials from around Portland to create beautiful and meaningful works of art. This course offers a fresh approach to creative practice, merging art and ecology to help students respond to the climate crisis, explore the agency of materials, and build connections to place.

class spotlight, environmental justice, environmental studies, experiential education, experiential learning, outcomes, photo essay, top story
Students were able to release salmon fry that were raised in the visitor center fish tank as part of the event's programming.

Shaping the Future of Oregon’s Forests

L&C environmental studies students gained some real-world experience last month when they visited Tillamook Forest Center to attend the center’s annual Rain Festival, a celebration of the Tillamook Forest and its waterways. They spent the afternoon gathering input from rural community members on what they value most about Oregon’s forests.

ArtsLC, class spotlight, Dance X, dance, fir acres theatre, main stage, performance, performing arts, theatre, top story

Dance X Highlights Student Creativity

Two semesters in the making, Dance X runs from December 5 to 7. The performances offer students the opportunity to have their original choreography fully staged for large audiences.