Featured Stories

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COVID-19 Memorial Finds Digital Home

CCAS Anthropology researchers teamed with a Washington, D.C., artist to digitize a popular COVID-19 memorial that erected thousands of flags near the U.S. Capitol to commemorate lives lost during the...

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Press Pass: Alumnus Journalist is Eyewitness to Congress

In a hallway on the third floor of the Capitol Building, Jake Sherman, BA ’08, heard shattering glass and loud voices. It was January 6 and Sherman, a veteran Congressional...

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At the Border, A Washington’s Birthday Bash

American Studies’ Elaine Peña returned to her Texas home to investigate why two towns along the U.S.-Mexico border have held a Washington’s birthday party for more than 100 years.

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Uncovering COVID'S Hidden Tolls

In a pair of research initiatives, Sociology’s Antwan Jones is shining a spotlight on the pandemic’s impact on psychological health and housing inequalities.

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For Alumnus Author, A Journey into the American Identity

Former journalist, noted author and distinguished educator of journalism Loren...

A school of yellow fish in a bright blue ocean with reddish purple coral behind

Shape of Fish Holds Key to Evolutionary Mystery

A research team including Biology’s Guillermo Orti and his former students charted how snapper fish transition and evolve their body shapes for environmental shifts.

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CCAS Faculty Support AP Classes with Remote Lectures

Even as they continue adjusting to their own virtual teaching landscapes, four Columbian College faculty members joined...

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Digital Collections Keep Student Research Alive

With the onset of COVID-19 and resulting disruptions to hands-on student research, Associate Professor of Biology Carly Jordan has been working on a National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded project...

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Teaching Trials: Professor Brings Vaccine Experience to the Classroom

On the first day of this fall’s Research Methods and Applied Statistics class, Professor of Public Policy and Public Administration ...

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On Climate, CCAS Scientists See Biden Plans as Fresh Air

As the Biden administration prepares to take office, few policy areas are set for more dramatic shifts than climate change. From one presidential candidate calling global warming a hoax and...

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When Hollywood Dreams Dim, Alumna Shines a Light

Caroline Adegun, BA ’12, MA ’16, founded Hollywood Wingwoman Talent, a nonprofit talent development firm that helps artist find shelter, food and resources.

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Ghosts of the Coast: Artists and Scientists Bring ‘Ghost Forests’ to Life

For a decade, Assistant Professor of Biology Keryn Gedan has told an ecological ghost story. The...

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‘Safety Net’ Required to Slow Biodiversity Decline

Biology’s Amy Zanne worked with an international research team to analyze new global biodiversity goals after decade-long environmental targets for 2020 fell short.

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New Mourning: How COVID Is Altering the Way We Grieve

In Indiana, a recently deceased man’s life was celebrated with a parade through his hometown, as fire trucks led lines of cars decked with balloons and banners. In New Jersey, mourners climbed to...

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Glamour Shot: Alumnus Photographer Snaps the Stars

From Elizabeth Taylor to Jennifer Lopez, photographer Firooz Zahedi, BFA ’76, is renowned for his portraits of the world’s most glamorous celebrities. In a new book, he reflects on making Hollywood’s...

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Troubled Water: A Student’s Crusade to Solve Puerto Rico’s Crisis

Omar Negron-Ocasio, a graduate student, saw the need for a sustainable solution to Puerto Rico's ongoing water crisis and created water filtration company.

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Earthquake May Have Destroyed Ancient Canaanite Palace

Professor of Classics and Anthropology Eric Cline co-directed a team of Israeli and American researchers that uncovered evidence of an earthquake that may have destroyed a...

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Election Outlook: Alumnus Highlights ‘Good News’

During election season, Joshua Douglas, BA ’02, JD ’07—a nationally renowned expert on election law—finds his inbox crowded with emails from friends, family, students and media...

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Changing Landscapes, Changing Diets: How Fossilized Teeth Reveal Dietary Shifts

Enquye Negash, a postdoctoral researcher in the Columbian College’s Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, led a research team that documented dietary shifts in...

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Adapting to a Different Kind of Fall Semester

With a limited number of students on campus this fall and all classes taught remotely, CCAS Spotlight asked Columbian College students to share their stories of how they are approaching...

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Alumna Journalist Spotlights Cries For Racial Justice

Zinhle Essamuah, BA ’15, MA ’17, has a different take on the axiom that journalists give voice to the voiceless.

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Changing Landscapes, Changing Diets: How Fossilized Teeth Reveal Ancient Dietary Shifts

Enquye Negash, a postdoctoral researcher in the Columbian College’s Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, led a new study that documents dietary shifts in herbivores that lived between...

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Getting Creative: Student Research in the Virtual Learning Environment

Student research through virtual learning in the COVID-19 pandemic

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Managing a Transformed Educational Landscape

When Paul Wahlbeck was named permanent dean of the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences in late July, he faced an educational landscape transformed by the COVID-19 pandemic....

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New Faculty Bolsters Columbian College Ranks

Columbian College will welcome 18 new faculty members this fall, bringing the total number of full-time academics to 534, and adding new skills and expertise to disciplines across the sciences,...

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Paul Wahlbeck to Serve as Permanent CCAS Dean

Paul Wahlbeck has been appointed dean of the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences (CCAS), where he has served as interim dean since 2018.

“Since joining GW, I have...

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Teacher, Scientist, Leader: Chemistry’s King Retires

Since 1973, Professor of Chemistry Michael King has been a fixture on the Foggy Bottom campus. You could find him working at his desk, even if you stopped by at 6 in the morning...

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What to Read: A Faculty Bookshelf

A good book can offer insight, comfort or a welcome escape—never more so than in times of crisis. 

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Break Down: How Wood Decay Drives Carbon Cycle

Through a combination of lab and field experiments, Associate Professor of Biology Amy Zanne and a team of researchers have developed a better understanding of the factors...

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Alumni Offer Advice for 2020 Grads

For the Class of 2020, college ended in uncertainty. Upended by the coronavirus pandemic, graduation ceremonies moved online and plans for the future were cast in doubt.

But Columbian...