Featured Stories

GW Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Happy Holidays with stars and snow

Year-End Dean's Message: 2025

As we approach the close of 2025, CCAS Dean Paul Wahlbeck takes a moment to express his sincere gratitude to the GW community.

The State of Our Democracy

In a video conversation with CCAS Dean Paul Wahlbeck, Assistant Professor of History Timothy Shenk discusses the impact of modern American politics on our democracy.

An image from the James Webb Space Telescope reveals thousands of galaxies that are too distant for the Hubble Telescope to capture. (Photo courtesy NASA)

More Than Pretty Pictures: Space Telescopes Transform Science, Society

As part of a CCAS conversation series, GW faculty explored how images from the Hubble and James Webb telescopes reshape science and influence policy, priorities and public perception.

Coffee Nation cover on left, Michelle Craig McDonald on the right

Brewing History: Alumna Stirs Coffee’s Revolutionary Roots

In her new book, historian Michelle Craig McDonald, MA ’94, reveals coffee’s surprising place in America’s story of independence—and interdependence.

Close up of a stone tool sitting in a patch of sandy dirt

Tools of Change: Research Team Uncovers 300,000 Years of Technology Traditions

New research led by Anthropology’s David Braun reveals how early humans crafted stone tools during environmental upheaval.

The Politics of Immigration

In a video conversation with Dean Wahlbeck, Professor of Political Science & International Affairs Kimberly Morgan discusses the policies and politics driving the immigration issue.

First-year students Jocelyn Graham and Bradley Fowler traveled to D.C.’s Chinatown during an assignment for Professor Elizabeth Chacko’s Migrants in the City Dean’s Seminar.

Street Smarts: Geography Class Maps D.C.’s Immigrant Identity

In her Migrants in the City Dean’s Seminar, Geography’s Elizabeth Chacko turns the District into a classroom as students explore urban diversity.

Lien-Yung (Nyima) Kao

Math’s Kao Wins CAREER Award Honors

Mathematics Professor Lien-Yung (Nyima) Kao was recognized with NSF’s prestigious honor for his work combining ergodic theory and geometry.

Close up of a page in a book with a green highlighter highlighting the word "autism"

From Stigma to Science and Support: Anthropology’s Grinker Authors Autism Narrative

As a researcher, educator and father, Anthropology’s Roy Richard Grinker shares his personal and professional journey through autism’s changing landscape.

Lucia Kustra

DIG-ging Anthropology: Senior Bridges Labs, Leadership

Lucia Kustra studies primate cultures and leads the next generation of anthropologists as president of the DIG pre-professional fraternity.

fingerprint on blue

The Fine Print on Fingerprints

In classrooms and crime scenes, forensic sciences’ Heidi Eldridge relies on evidence over assumptions and encourages students to think for themselves.

A tennis ball on a blue tennis court

Game, Set, Science: How Physics Powers Tennis

From hardcourts to hard science, CCAS faculty and alumni explain why physics can perfect your play.

Alex Nyerges and Lindsay Chervinsky

Alumni Authors Write History’s Second Draft

In new books, alumni authors Alex Nyerges, BA ’79, MA ’82, and Lindsay Chervinsky, BA ’10, bring history to life.

alex_tapia_center_at_al_jalali_fort_in_oman

Donor Opens Up New Worlds

Supported by an alumna’s gift, students in Short-Term Study Abroad programs journeyed to historical and cultural locales at the center of their studies.

Chet'la Sebree

Poetry in Motion: Sebree Writes Outside the Lines

In her poetry and her classroom, English Professor Chet’la Sebree challenges the stories we tell ourselves about art, AI and how to make sense of the world.

Beautiful landscape showing mountains and trees at the 550,000-acre Vermejo Ranch in New Mexico (Photo: Andrew McCabe)

Field Study: Chronicling Conservation at Turner Reserves

Through a partnership with Planet Forward, students and recent graduates honed their environmental storytelling skills in the New Mexico landscape.

Black white and gray image of physics equipment lit up from behind

The Particle Whisperers

GW experimental physicists are pioneering big science at the smallest scale.

Ken Wang in a blue GW shirt and blue shorts standing in front of a gate and a pond

Alumnus Maps out Geography Opportunities

By utilizing GW resources both in and out of the classroom, Ken Wang, BA ’25, discovered a passion for geographic information systems during his studies.

Patrick Wohl next to an image of his book cover, Something Big

True Crime Buster: Alumnus Revisits a Tragedy, Rewrites a Genre

In his new book, attorney and author Patrick Wohl, BA ’16, delves into a brutal murder from his hometown to tell the victims’ stories.

grad_memories

Class of 2025 Share GW Memories

From internships and classroom experiences to lifelong friendships and one-of-a-kind events, the CCAS Class of 2025 recalled their fondest GW memories.

Emily-Anne Santiago

From Campus Leader to Truman Scholar: Junior Honored for Public Service

Political science and accounting major Emily-Anne Santiago was one of 54 outstanding students nationwide to receive the highly competitive scholarship.

cisneros_group

Ten Years of Transformation: Cisneros Institute Celebrates a Decade of Empowering Student Leadership

Since its founding in 2015, the Cisneros Institute has built communities, spearheaded scholarship and made students’ dreams come true.

Commencement speaker Jonquel Jones at a podium in a blue gown and black cap

‘Your Gut Doesn’t Lie’: WNBA’s Jones Inspires Graduates to Trust Their Instincts

The GW basketball Hall of Famer and former CCAS criminal justice major headlined a joyous Commencement ceremony for the Class of 2025 on the National Mall.

Liberal Arts in an AI World: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Teaching

CCAS hosted a panel discussion focused on ways faculty can best navigate the shifting landscape that AI technology brings to liberal arts learning objectives.

presentations on many wallboards with several groups in discussion at 2025 student research showcase

Time to Shine: CCAS Showcase Highlights Student Research

More than 200 undergraduate and graduate students across disciplines displayed their scholarly work at the third annual CCAS Research Showcase.

Blue balloon and sign with gold garland welcoming students to the Trachtenberg School of Public Policy & Public Administration

Trachtenberg, EESI Team on Environmental Scholarship

Graduate student Amelia Lindsay-Kaufman is the first recipient of the new Environmental and Energy Study Institute Graduate Fellowship.

formulas and charts on a whiteboard

The Art of Uncertainty: In Stats Class, Probability is a Passion

In his Dean’s Seminar on the Science of Uncertainty, Professor Hosam M. Mahmoud turns stories into statistics as he finds the elegance in equations.

Fulbright Top Producer badge: US Student and Scholar Programs, 2024-25

GW Among Top Fulbright Producers for 2024–25

The university produced 13 Fulbright U.S. Students and five Fulbright U.S. Scholars in the academic year.

Malathi Thothathiri with student researchers

Behavior Linked to Language in Young Children

A new study led by CCAS speech scientist Malathi Thothathiri provides the first solid evidence connecting executive functioning to youth language development.

From left: CCAS Associate Dean for Graduate Studies Chad Heap with Bouchet nominees Jonathan M. Huie, Kailyn Price, Tatiana Ruiz, Ashley Bastin, Jasmine Charter-Harris and CCAS Dean Paul Wahlbeck. (Photos: William Atkins/GW Today)

Bouchet Society Students Recognized for Research and Advocacy

Five PhD students will be inducted into the prestigious Bouchet Graduate Honor Society, which celebrates excellence and diversity.