In Tanzania, Laura Johnson (right), associate professor of psychology, and Simon Mtuy (third from left), a world-class athlete and conservationist, discuss a community mapping project of Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa, conducted by Tanzanian research partners and UM study abroad students.
In Faces of the Mountain, a project funded by the National Geographic Conservation Trust and a UM College of Liberal Arts Senior Scholar Research Grant, Johnson and Mtuy collaborate with partners from the Jane Goodall Institute and forest villages to conduct research that brings visibility and voice to conservation initiatives in the region facing numerous ecological threats. Mtuy advised the team about forest villages, the route around the mountain, and challenges in the field.
The College of Liberal Arts’ 18 departments, eight interdisciplinary programs, and 13 centers/institutes range from the natural sciences and social sciences to the fine arts and humanities. Through individual and collaborative efforts, faculty and students push the boundaries of our understanding and appreciation of the world around us. They analyze and create; they publish, discuss, and perform.
The special section of the 2015 View from Ventress newsletter samples a range of research and creative activities in the College. It also gives a glimpse into how the College and university support those efforts, and how friends and alumni can help. Research and creative projects stories begin on the front cover and continue inside on pages 14–20.