Highlights from BYU Colleges

Family Home and Social Sciences

• BYU alumnus Margaret Busee was highlighted by the College of Family, Home and Social Sciences for her role as the Chair of Acton Massachusetts Finance Committee and Associate Director of Harvard Business School’s Social Enterprise Initiative. Busee double-majored in economics and political science at BYU.

Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology

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  BYU economics professor Arden Pope worked with colleagues at the University of Louisville to research the effect of air pollution on respiratory health. The study discovered air pollution causes damage to blood vessels, and the study was released in Circulation Research.

David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies

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  BYU professors Nicholas Mason, Matthew Memmott and Chip Oscarson will discuss the good and the bad of European energy policy at the Kennedy Center’s Café Europa event. The event is Nov. 16 at 4 p.m. in Room 238 of the Harold R. Clark Building.

• Toshihiro Nakayama, a professor of American politics and foreign policy at Keio University, will be speaking about the future of Japan and U.S. relations in a Kennedy Center lecture. The lecture will be in Room 238 of the Harold R. Clark Building at 1 p.m. on Nov. 18.

College of Life Sciences

• Environmental science student Miranda Ruth will receive the Cross-Cultural Experience Program Scholarship from the American Society of Agronomy.

College of Humanities

• Ancestry.com co-founder Paul Allen spoke at an Honored Alumni Lecture. He encouraged absorbing meaningful books as a way to gain strong connections and knowledge.

College of Fine Arts and Communications

• BYU’s Department of Theatre and Media Arts will perform the dramatic comedy “Travesties“ in conjunction with its production of “The Importance of Being Earnest.” The department will perform “Travesties” until Dec. 3.

J. Reuben Clark Law School

• ABA Journal named BYU’s law school fourth in the country for median private-sector pay exceeding student debt. The median private sector salary is $79,813 and the average student debt is $54,203.

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  BYU law professor Aaron Nielson‘s paper “Clarence Thomas the Questioner” is featured in a Law360 article. The article, “High Court Will Benefit From More Thomas Talk, Scholars Say,” references Nielson’s characterization of Justice Thomas. Nielson co-authored “Clarence Thomas the Questioner” with RonNell Andersen Jones.

Campus News

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  Mark Beechers, Lawrence Rees and Dennis Eggett worked together to study the effect of weather on mental health. (BYU Photo)

  Mark Beecher is a clinical professor and licensed psychologist in BYU Counseling and Psychological Services. Beecher partnered with BYU physics professor Lawrence Rees and BYU statistics professor Dennis Eggett to study the effect of weather on mental health. They discovered sunshine has a large impact on mental health but temperature, pollution and rain do not.