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  University Scholar Series: Susanna Khavul

  Susanna Khavul

  This semester's University Scholar Series will be a hybrid event series. Please indicate whether or not you will be attending the event virtually or in person when registering. If attending in person, please be aware face coverings are required inside the building.

  Register for this forthcoming lecture here.

  The recording of this lecture will be posted after the event.

  Is Mobile Money a Digital Gateway to Financial Inclusion?

  Large segments of the world’s population have no access to formal financial services and are considered financially excluded or unbanked. The vast majority live in developing countries, yet in the U.S., fifty million adults and their fifteen million children are underbanked and vulnerable. The recent widespread introduction of mobile money has made low-cost transfers, payments, and financial services available to a much wider segment of the population than the banking sector could reach in the past. Although widely adopted, the fundamental questions of whether mobile money fosters financial inclusion or is an effective tool for poverty alleviation remain unanswered. Khavul will build on an interdisciplinary research program and offer insights into the digitization of financial services. Such reflections prove timely given the increasing number of Silicon Valley firms that are creating more diverse and complex FinTech solutions, at least some of which seek to close the gap in financial inclusion.

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  University Scholar Series: Pei-Tzu Tsai

  Pei-Tzu Tsai

  This semester's University Scholar Series will be a hybrid event series. Please indicate whether or not you will be attending the event virtually or in person when registering. If attending in person, please be aware face coverings are required inside the building.

  Register for this forthcoming lecture here.

  The recording of this lecture will be posted after the event.

  Learning from Stuttering: A Path from Disorder to Diversity

  Tripping over our words while talking is quite common. While most people can move on without much effort, one out of 100 speakers experiences getting stuck (stuttering) on a daily basis since early childhood, and moving on can be emotionally and physically taxing. Stuttering is a speech disorder that is genetic-neurological in nature, with symptoms that can be affected by multiple factors across the lifespan. The exact cause of stuttering remains unclear, but its negative consequences on self-perception, social attitude, and quality of life are well documented. Though there is currently no cure, speech therapy has evolved in dynamic directions to address the complex impacts of the disorder and to advocate for diversity and inclusion of those who speak differently. Dr. Tsai’s research investigates the underlying factors of stuttering and stuttering therapy, with a goal of developing culturally and linguistically responsive services for individuals who stutter and advocating for acceptance and diversity in communication.

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  University Scholar Series: Ryan Skinnell

  Ryan Skinnell

  This semester's University Scholar Series will be a hybrid event series. Please indicate whether or not you will be attending the event virtually or in person when registering. If attending in person, please be aware face coverings are required inside the building.

  Register for this forthcoming lecture here.

  The recording of this lecture will be posted after the event.

  Two Truths and a Big Lie: The ‘Honest’ Mendacity of Fascist Rhetoric

  Fascists don’t just come to power—they have to persuade supporters, which is to say, they use rhetoric. One key to understanding fascist rhetoric is to understand fascists’ relationship to truth. In this talk, Skinnell distinguishes between two kinds of truth: factual and fascist. Factual truth is the theoretical basis for liberal democratic institutions, but there are inherent tensions between empirical fact and democratic values, including individualism, deliberation, and compromise. Fascists amplify and exploit these tensions to advocate for fascist truth. Fascist truth prioritizes performances of sincerity and authenticity over empirical facts. In fact, Skinnell contends that lying openly and egregiously reinforces a leader’s claim to authenticity because it shows their sincere commitment to the cause. In the end, Skinnell asserts that if we want to resist the re-emergence of fascism in the 21st century, we need to understand why people find fascist rhetoric so appealing in the first place.

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  University Scholar Series: Tai-Ran Hsu

  Tai-Ran Hsu

  The Future of Sustainable Mechatronics is STEM Education

  The term “mechatronics'' is a branch of engineering that specializes in synergistic integrations of both mechanical and electronic technologies (the essential high technologies of Silicon Valley). Many products that we use in our day-to-day lives involve this technology, from smart household appliances like the digital buttons to operate your clothes washer to the microcomputers and processors that power GPS on your car’s touchscreen. However, mechatronics has far reaching applications to power the products that combat our biggest challenges to ensure a better tomorrow like, 24-hour farming and electric transportation to help us confront climate change and hunger. Professor Hsu’s research focuses on the integration of STEM education and sustainable mechatronics, which he considers vital to maintain leadership in local and global economies. He believes one of the reasons Silicon Valley is the world leader in high technology is due to its excellent public education, especially STEM education. STEM education, with synergistic teaching, comprehensive curricula, and interdisciplinary collaboration, such as our mechatronics program, will make SJSU a model of effective teaching and learning, and it will ultimately make Silicon Valley stronger than ever in innovation.

  Professor Hsu is a faculty member of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at San José State University (SJSU). With substantial financial support from the National Science Foundation and large high tech businesses in Silicon Valley, Hsu led an interdisciplinary group of faculty members from mechanical, electrical, materials, and general engineering, along with the Department of Physics and faculty from Mission College to establish the first, and still the only, mechatronics program at the undergraduate level in the country. He joined SJSU as a professor and chair of the department in 1990 and served for 12 years.

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  University Scholar Series: Virginia San Fratello

  Virginia San Fratello

  Play, Clay, and Chardonnay

  Virginia San Fratello's research is grounded in the discipline of architecture as the basis for creative production. In 2002, following the attacks on the World Trade Center, she formed the creative practice Rael San Fratello, with her partner Ronald Rael, in order to imagine alternative outcomes for architectural practice in a post 9/11 world. A primary focus of their work folds together indigenous and traditional craft and material practice, contemporary design technologies, and storytelling, as strategies to unravel the complexities of contemporary society. She comes from an extremely rural background and grew up in the forests and tobacco farms of the deep South. Humor, play, and hybridity are important aspects of the work of Rael San Fratello, often layered with serious topics that span the themes of immigration, start-up companies, waste, homelessness, fashion, graphic design, and 3D printing. Her practice is closely tied to her commitment to public education in her role as professor and chair in the Department of Design at San Jose State University.

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  University Scholar Series: Alberto Rascon

  Alberto Rascon

  A Quest to Control the Female Aedes aegypti Mosquito Population

  Like many thousands of species of mosquitoes, the female Aedes aegypti mosquito loves to feed on humans. However, what makes the female Aedes aegypti mosquito unique is that she is a carrier of the Yellow fever, Dengue fever, Chikungunya, and Zika viruses. These viruses can be spread to human hosts leading to fever, muscle and joint pain, headaches, and vomiting or more serious conditions. Unfortunately, there are no licensed vaccines in the United States to combat these viruses. The only method proven effective to control mosquito populations are pesticides; however, the mosquitoes are becoming resistant and the pesticides have unintended harmful effects on other pollinators. The Rascón’s lab goal is to determine a new vector control strategy by focusing on proteases (enzymes that break down proteins), specific only against mosquito biological process, thus protecting other insects or species from the quest to control the female Aedes aegypti population.

  Alberto Rascón is associate professor in the Department of Chemistry. He earned a PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Arizona on the expression and isolation of Aedes aegypti mosquito proteases. After his graduate studies, he joined Dr. James McKerrow’s lab at UCSF, an expert in parasitic protease biochemistry, working on proteases and enzymes in human parasitic worms, and proteases from human amoeba parasites. Dr. Rascón is a first generation Mexican American and in six and a half years at SJSU he has been heavily involved in underrepresented minority programs like the LSAMP, McNairs Scholars, NIH MARC, and RISE programs, eventually becoming a co-coordinator for the RISE program in 2016.

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  University Scholar Series: Wendy Rouse

  Wendy Rouse

  Her Own Hero: The Origins of the Women's Self-Defense Movement, 1890-1920

  At the turn of the twentieth century, women organized to demand greater social and political freedoms like gaining the right to vote. However, few realize that the Progressive Era also witnessed the birth of the women’s self-defense movement. Some women were inspired to take up boxing and jiu-jitsu for personal reasons that ranged from protecting themselves to rejecting gendered notions about feminine weakness. Women’s self-defense was both a reflection of and a response to the broader cultural issues, including the women’s rights movement and the campaign for the vote. The discussion surrounding women’s self-defense deconstructed powerful myths about the source of violence against women and opened up conversations about family violence. Through self-defense training, women debunked patriarchal myths about inherent feminine weakness, creating a new image of women as powerful and self-reliant. Whether or not women consciously pursued self-defense for these reasons, their actions embodied feminist politics and a collective action demanding emancipation from the constrictions that prevented women from exercising their full rights as citizens and human beings.

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  University Scholar Series: Craig Simpson

  Craig Simpson

  The Kent State Shootings at 50: Rage, Reflection, and Remembrance

  Drawing from over 50 interviews from The Kent State Shootings Oral History Project, the authors examine how these detailed, varied and at-times contradictory accounts challenge and deepen our understanding of the events of May 4, 1970, which culminated in four KSU students killed and nine more wounded by gunfire from the Ohio National Guard. Simpson will explore how their methodology led to both obstacles and opportunities, resulting in a text departing in some ways from its original conception, yet one that fulfilled their objective to show how “The Long 1960s,” and the conflicts from that era that still rage in our own, can be illuminated at the intersection of individual and collective memory. He will also discuss potential avenues for further research as we near the 50th anniversary of this pivotal event in contemporary American history.

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  University Scholar Series: Saili Kulkarni

  Saili Kulkarni

  Understanding Intersections of Disability and Race: PK-12 Education, Justice Studies and Higher Education

  Dr. Saili Kulkarni draws from the experiences of teachers and school professionals who support restorative practices for young children in an effort to create more inclusive, safe school environments for all learners. These practices help educators and professionals become proactive in their approaches to discipline rather than reactive. Kulkarni applies Disability Studies and Critical Race Theory (DisCrit) within teacher education to develop resistance-oriented teachers of color who will disrupt inequities for children of color with disabilities.

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  University Scholar Series: Sandra Hirsh

  Sandra Hirsh

  Blockchain: Transformative Applications for Libraries and Education

  Blockchain applications and use cases for libraries have been at the center of an 18-month research investigation headed by Dr. Sandra Hirsh in the SJSU School of Information. This exploration has been informed by technology experts representing libraries, blockchain development, and urban planning. Forbes identified some current uses of blockchain that included student records and transcripts, and this project was highlighted as one of the 20 ways that blockchain will transform education. In Spring 2019, her book Blockchain will be published in the Library Future Series, and the Blockchain and Decentralization for Library and Information Science MOOC will be offered as part of this project. Dr. Hirsh is the Director of the School of Information. Prior to that, she worked in the Silicon Valley at Hewlett Packard Labs, Microsoft, and LinkedIn. She co-founded the Library 2.0 global virtual conference series in 2011 and is past president of the Association for Information Science & Technology (ASIS&T). The second edition of her book, Information Services Today: An Introduction, was published in 2018.

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  University Scholar Series: Ellen Middaugh

  Ellen Middaugh

  Coming of Age in the Era of Outrage: Digital Media and Youth Civic Development

  Over the past decade, political discourse has been marked by an increasing use of out­rage language, exacerbated by the dynamics of social and participatory media. To­day's adolescents and young adults are learning how to be citizens in an environment where emotionally provocative language and personal insults accompany much of their exposure to news and political talk. In this presentation, I will sharing findings from a series of studies that shed light on the impact of outrage language on youth in­terest in political engagement, their capacity for evaluating political information and the potential for innovative classroom practices to address these dynamics.

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  University Scholar Series: Tatiana Shubin

  Tatiana Shubin

  Moving in Circles: the Beauty and Joy of Mathematics for Everyone

  Tatiana Shubin joined the faculty of San Jose State University in 1985 after earning her Ph.D. in Math­ematics from University of California, Santa Barbara. In 1998, she founded San Jose Math Circle and the Bay Area Math Adventures. In 2006, Shubin became a co-founder of the first Math Teachers' Circle in the US. This circle proved to be a seed which germinated to produce the entire Math Teachers' Circle Network. She launched the Navajo Nation Math Circles project in 2012, became a co-founder and co-director of the Alliance of Indigenous Math Circles, which aimed at spreading the culture of problem solving and the joy of doing mathematics to Native American students and teachers everywhere in the US.

  In 2006, she won the Northern California, Nevada, and Hawaii Section (a.k.a. Golden Section) of the Mathematical Association of America Award for Distinguished College or University Teaching of Mathematics. In 2017, she received the Mary P. Dolciani Award which recognizes a pure or applied mathematician who is making a distinguished contribution to the mathematical education of stu­dents in the United States or Canada. Shubin also translated and edited several books published by the American Mathematical Society in the MSRI Mathematical Circles Library book series. She is also the chair of the Editorial Board of the series.

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  University Scholar Series: Jennifer Rycenga

  Jennifer Rycenga

  lntersectional Pilgrims in Canterbury: The Story of America's First Female Academy for African-American Women

  Jennifer Rycenga is a Professor of Comparative Religious Studies in the Humanities Department at San Jose State University. Rycenga is finishing a comprehensive cultural biography of white Abolitionist educator Prudence Crandall (1803-1890). This talk will share the context and success of the Canterbury Female Academy, highlighting its place in both Black history and women's history. One story comes from Canterbury, Connecticut in the early 1830s, where Black and white, women and men, young and old, worked together to offer an advanced formal education for Black women. The teacher was a white woman, Prudence Crandall, who welcomed high-school-aged students from free Black families in the northeast. While the school was subject to constant racist vigilante and legal violence, the education and learning there were genuine. Many of the students went on to be leaders Qulia Williams Garnet), political activists (Sarah Harris Fayerweather, Mary Elizabeth Miles Bibb), and teachers (Mary Harris, Miranda Glasko) in the antebellum and post-Civil War eras. Rycenga's areas of interest include Abolition history, women's religious history, feminist theories of music, and theoretical issues concerning philosophies of immanence and panentheism.

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  University Scholar Series: Carlos Sanchez

  Carlos Sánchez

  The Philosophy of Brutality: A Preface in Three Parts

  Dr. Carlos Alberto Sanchez's current research focuses on the philosophy of violence, particularly on the distinction between "violence" and "brutality." To highlight this difference, violence and brutality are thought within the context of Mexican narco-culture, a socio-political and historico-cultural phenomenon that challenges the very conception of violence, personhood, and culture itself. His talk will deal with issues surrounding this current work.

  Professor Sanchez is currently the graduate advisor for the MA program in philosophy, Editor of the American Philosophical Association Newsletter on Hispanic/Latino Issues in Philosophy, Chair of Inter-American Relations for the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy, and author of three books, co-editor of two critical anthologies, and has penned a couple of dozen articles on phenomenology or Mexican philosophy.

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  University Scholar Series: Nidhi Mahendra

  Nidhi Mahendra

  Neurological Accidents - Brain, Behavior and the Power of Rehabilitation in Alzheimer's Disease and Stroke

  Dr. Mahendra's recent research focuses on developing evidence-based approaches for the clinical evaluation and rehabilitation of cognitive-communicative function in persons who have Alzheimer's dementia and strokes (including post-stroke language disorders called aphasia). Her research is motivated by a deep commitment to improving the quality of life of persons diagnosed with chronic, long-term neurological diseases that result in impaired cognitive function and communication. She has studied the effects of language and memory intervention, computer-based cognitive stimulation, video-modeling for rehabilitation training, and the clinical application of music and singing to improve speech in persons with dementia and aphasia.

  Dr. Mahendra is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communicative Disorders and Sciences in the Lurie College of Education.

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  University Scholar Series: Michael Kaufman

  Michael Kaufman

  H2O in Interstellar Space: How the Universe Conspires to Make Water Everywhere

  On October 28, 2015, Dr. Michael Kaufman spoke in the University Scholar Series hosted by Provost Andy Feinstein at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library. His talk was titled “H₂O in Interstellar Space: How the Universe Conspires to Make Water, Water Everywhere.” Dr. Kaufman's astrophysics research focuses on the interactions and feedback between newly formed stars and the interstellar medium—the raw material from which stars form. He constructs computational models of the radiative transfer, dynamics and chemistry that occur in regions of active star formation, and uses these models to interpret observations with ground-based, airborne, and space-based telescopes. Dr. Kaufman is Professor and Chair in the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

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  University Scholar Series: Matthew J. Holian

  Matthew J. Holian

  Trends and Relationships Related to Air Pollution, Regulations, and Economic Growth

  On September 30, 2015, Dr. Matthew J. Holian spoke in the University Scholar Series hosted by Provost Andy Feinstein at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library. His talk was titled “Trends and Relationships Related to Air Pollution, Regulations, and Economic Growth.” Dr. Holian’s recent research involves air pollution in California and India. His analysis of data from numerous sources reveals trends and relationships related to air pollution, regulations, and economic growth among other factors. His most recent article, “Household Carbon Emissions from Driving and Center City Quality of Life,” explores the relationship between a dynamic city center and carbon emissions. Dr. Holian is an Associate Professor of Economics at San José State University. In 2014, he was awarded the Early Career Investigator Award at SJSU, which is given to only two junior faculty members annually to recognize success in research.

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  University Scholar Series: Ed Cohen

  Edward Cohen

  Mental Health and Cultural Context in Vietnam

  On May 6, 2015, Dr. Ed Cohen spoke in the University Scholar Series hosted by Provost Andy Feinstein at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library. In this presentation, Dr. Cohen explored current research about mental illness and approaches to treatment in Vietnam, in addition to this country’s world view about illness, wellness and emotional health. Cohen is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work and a Co-Investigator of SJSU's Social Work Education Enhancement Program in Vietnam.

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  University Scholar Series: Nadia Sorkhabi

  Nadia Sorkhabi

  Cultural Similarities in Parenting Styles and Practices of Mothers and Father

  On March 18, 2015, Dr. Nadia Sorkhabi spoke in the University Scholar Series hosted by Provost Andy Feinstein at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library. Her talk, titled "Cultural Similarities in Parenting Styles and Practices of Mothers and Father," explored parenting styles and how domain-specific practices of mothers and fathers are related to the academic achievement, social competence, and mental health of children and adolescents. Her research includes frequency and intensity of parent-adolescent conflicts, conflict resolution strategies, and adolescent disclosure of their activities to their parents. Sorkhabi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Child and Adolescent Development at SJSU, and is an Associate Researcher at the Institute of Human Development, University of California, Berkeley

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  University Scholar Series: Alison McKee

  Alison L. McKee

  The Woman’s Film of the 1940s: Gender, Narrative, and History

  On February 25, 2015, Dr. Alison L. McKee spoke in the University Scholar Series hosted by Provost Andy Feinstein at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library. Dr. McKee discussed her recent book, The Woman’s Film of the 1940s: Gender, Narrative, and History, which addresses the terrain between official public histories and private experiences of love, desire, and loss against the backdrop of World War II. McKee is an Associate Professor in the Department of Television, Radio, Film, and Theatre Arts at SJSU. She specializes in film history, theory and criticism, and gender issues. In particular, her interests include how gender and sexuality shape and inform narratives across different media.

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  University Scholar Series: Ferdinand Rivera

  Ferdinand Rivera

  Emergence of Multiplicative Thinking Structures in Children and Adults: Building a Solid Foundation for Successful Learning in Mathematics

  On September 24, 2014, Dr. Ferdinand Rivera spoke in the University Scholar Series hosted by Provost Andy Feinstein at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library. Dr. Ferdinand Rivera’s research focuses on understanding the emergence of structures among children and adults in mathematical activities that involve patterns. His findings are synthesized in his most recent book, Teaching and Learning Patterns in School Mathematics: Psychological and Pedagogical Perspectives. Rivera is a full professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, College of Science, and Chair of the Department of Elementary Education, College of Education.

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  University Scholar Series: Ruma Chopra

  Ruma Chopra

  Choosing Sides: Loyalists in Revolutionary America

  On April 30, 2014, Dr. Ruma Chopra spoke in the University Scholar Series hosted by Interim Provost Andy Feinstein at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library. In this talk, Dr. Chopra discusses colonial resistance to the American Revolution. Dr. Chopra’s book, Choosing Sides: Loyalists in Revolutionary America, details arguments given by America’s original colonists, including slaves and Native Americans, against the formation of the United States. Even hundreds of years into America’s existence, these arguments are echoed and championed both within and beyond our borders. Dr. Chopra is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at SJSU.

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  University Scholar Series: Cathleen Miller

  Cathleen Miller

  Champion of Choice: The Life and Legacy of Women's Advocate Nafis Sadik

  On March 19, 2014, Cathleen Miller spoke in the University Scholar Series hosted by Interim Provost Andy Feinstein at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library. Dr. Miller spoke about her book, Champion of Choice: The Life and Legacy of Women's Advocate Nafis Sadik. Viewed as “one of the most powerful women in the world,” by the London Times, obstetrician Dr. Sadik took a post at the United Nations Population Fund in 1971. By 2000, the average birthrate had been cut in half because of Sadik’s new approach to provide females with the education and tools needed to control their own fertility. Cathleen Miller is an Associate Professor in the Department of English and Comparative Literature. Her biography of UN leader Nafis Sadik was named one of Booklist's Top 10 Biographies for 2013.

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  University Scholar Series: Ted Butryn and Matthew Masucci

  Theodore Butryn and Matthew Masucci

  Examining Female Triathletes' Awareness of Doping and the Anti-doping Movement

  On February 26, 2014, Dr. Ted Butryn and Dr. Matthew Masucci spoke in the University Scholar Series hosted by Interim Provost Andy Feinstein at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library. SJSU professors Ted Butryn and Matthew Masucci co-investigated on a two-year World Anti-Doping Agency grant, which examined female triathletes and their awareness of doping and the anti-doping movement. Dr. Butryn is a 2012 Salzburg Fellow and Professor of Sport Sociology and Sport Psychology in the Department of Kinesiology. Dr. Masucci is an Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Sport Studies in Kinesiology. Both Butryn and Masucci co-direct the Department of Kinesiology's Qualitative Research Lab.

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  University Scholar Series: Frances Edwards and Daniel Goodrich

  Frances L. Edwards and Daniel Goodrich

  Transportation Security After 9/11

  On November 13, 2013, Dr. Frances Edwards and Daniel Goodrich gave a talk titled “Transportation Security After 9/11” as part of the University Scholar Series hosted by Provost Ellen Junn at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library. Dr. Frances L. Edwards is Deputy Director of the National Transportation Security Center at Mineta Transportation Institute, professor of political science, and director of the MPA program at SJSU. Dan Goodrich is a Research Associate with Mineta Transportation Institute at SJSU, and a lecturer in the MSTM and MPA programs. Together, they have authored the textbook Introduction to Transportation Security. They will discuss the role of transportation in the economy and the challenges of maintaining the security of these critical infrastructure systems.