Tom Havens is Professor Emeritus, History and East Asian Languages and Cultures. Learn about Professor Havens' background by visiting his Emeriti Academy Member Profile.
Junko Habu is a Professor of Anthropology. Her research includes prehistoric archaeology of Japan and East Asia, human environmental interaction and long term sustainability of human cultures and societies in the past and present. Professor Habu grew up in Japan and shares in her video how her childhood experiences shaped her interest in archaeology. She knew early on that she wanted to pursue archaeology but her decision to major in it was an intentional choice.
John Lie is a Professor of Sociology. Professor Lie's scholarly interest is social theory. In this video, he shares how a professor’s question caused him to rethink his initial interest in mathematics and eventually led him to a major and academic career in sociology.
Jill Duerr Berrick is a Professor of Social Welfare. Professor Berrick's research focuses on the child welfare system and efforts to improve the experiences of children and families touched by foster care. In this video, she shares how a close look at her course transcript revealed a pattern of what she deeply cared about. It was this insight that ultimately determined her career choice.
Professor Duerr Berrick’s faculty webpage: https://...
Emmeline Chuang is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Welfare. Her research focuses on how health and human service organizations can improve service access and well-being of underserved populations. In this video, Professor Chuang discusses how she choose her major by taking advantage of a wide variety of different opportunities (e.g., doing research in a lab, volunteering at a hospice, teaching free SAT classes to high school students, interning at a public service law firm). She eventually decided to go to graduate school in a new field....
Steven Vogel is a Professor of Political Science and Political Economy. In this video, Professor Vogel discusses his undergraduate experience at Princeton University and how he chose between two diametrically opposed disciplines, Public and International Affairs and Comparative Literature.
Lisa Maher is a Professor of Anthropology who has been working in the eastern Mediterranean and Southwest Asia for twenty years. In her video, she discusses how watching “Indiana Jones” and a high school teacher passionate about the past and archaeology shaped her interest in studying prehistory archaeology.
Thomas Gold is Professor Emeritus of Sociology. In his video, he shares his journey from an unexpected interest in China as an undergraduate student to learning Chinese and teaching English in Taiwan to earning a PhD in sociology with a focus on Chinese Studies.
Joan Bieder is a Professor Emerita of Journalism. In this video, Professor Bieder talks about how a high school teacher she admired and her subsequent good experiences with her professors influenced her choice of majoring in history.
Ruth Tringham, Professor Emerita, Anthropology, was born and raised in the UK. In this video, she shares how some of the same qualities of serendipity, opportunities and the discovery of passion cut across differences of educational systems between the UK and the US.
