Fellowship Expands Public Access to Varied Voices, Thought
With the success of the 2015-2016 Tucson Public Voices Fellowship cohort, whose members published more op-eds than any other in the history of the program, the new cohort has been named and has begun meeting.

By Lori Harwood, UA College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Dec. 5, 2016


Over the past year, 20 women from the University of Arizona and Tucson community have shared their knowledge and expertise in the public sphere, thanks to training from the Tucson Public Voices Fellowship Program.

The fellows, representing a wide cross-section of expertise and experience, convened in person and virtually to discuss ideas about knowledge, public impact and what it takes to be influential on a large scale. They joined calls with high-level media representatives and were matched with journalist mentors for one-on-one coaching.

The 2015-2016 cohort of the Tucson Public Voices Fellowship published more op-eds than any other cohort in the history of the program. Because of the continuing success of the program, a 2016-2017 cohort was selected and had its first meeting on Nov. 18. 

The Public Voices Program, held at colleges and universities across the country — including Dartmouth, Emory, Princeton, Stanford and Yale — is run by The OpEd Project. The program aims to amplify the impact of women leaders and to ensure that the best ideas, no matter where they come from, have the chance to be heard.

The UA College of Social and Behavioral Sciences helped bring the Public Voices Fellowship to Tucson four years ago in partnership with the Women's Foundation of Southern Arizona and Ann W. Lovell, president of the David and Lura Lovell Foundation and board president of Women Moving Millions.

"The College of SBS is proud to have helped jump-start the Tucson program four years ago, and we look forward to hearing about the progress of this year's cohort," said John Paul Jones III, dean of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. "Past fellows from the UA have enthusiastically endorsed the Public Voices Fellowship as life-transforming, and I know that part of that experience comes from the opportunity to work alongside other fellows from the wider Tucson community."

Among them, the 20 members of the 2015-2016 Tucson Public Voices Fellows produced 99 major media successes: 88 published op-eds and 11 additional media events, including media appearances, interviews and speeches. Each fellow published at least one op-ed. Fellows published in forums such as Time, U.S. News & World Report, USA Today, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Advocate, Foreign Affairs, Quartz, The Hill, The Huffington Post and The Arizona Republic. Many of these successes led to interview requests, expert citations, requests for book proposals, opportunities to become regular contributors and invitations to speak at conferences.

Intellectual collaborations have emerged not only among fellows, but also with students, family members and leading organizations across fields, including the Special Olympics, the Madison House Autism Foundation and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Fellows agreed that the experience pushed them to think bigger about their knowledge and its relevance in the world.

Judith McDaniel, an instructor in the UA School of Government and Public Policy, published 13 op-eds on a range of topics, including classroom collaborations, campus carry laws and the politics of pregnancy. As a result of her op-eds on gun control and the Orlando shooting tragedy, McDaniel decided to launch a national nonprofit aimed at changing the conversation around gun control.

"Starting this may be one of the scariest things I have ever done," McDaniel said.

Tricia R. Serio, head of the UA Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, published nine op-eds. Her piece on sexism in science announced that she would be creating a website to foster productive conversations and mentorship among women scientists.

"This fellowship has inspired me to think about who I am as a scientist and educator," Serio said. "For the first time in my career, I talked about my background as a first-generation college graduate and a woman in STEM, particularly the challenges I faced and how I overcame them. … I have advocated for science in the public sector, realizing for the first time that by doing so it's possible to inspire change."

Beth Mitchneck, professor in the School of Geography and Development, collaborated with her daughter, Tess Carter, a recent graduate of Brown University, on op-ed pieces exploring campus race relations and the diversity movement among students and faculty. She also has written about how to help internally displaced refugees.

"I'm learning how to be bold with solutions that I might suggest,” Mitchneck said. "Working on my ideas in this way taught me not to dismiss other people's concerns, and instead to work with them and figure it out."

The most recent op-ed by Phyllis Taoua, a professor in the Department of French and Italian, titled "How the UA Can Help Africa Fight Terrorism by Supporting Local Activists," was picked up by several international outlets and shared widely.

"The best evidence of my applied scholarship are my publications through the Public Voices Fellowship," Taoua said. "I will work on achieving a voice in the public conversation about Africa that draws attention to how the U.S. can and should support democracy and social justice in Africa."

Over the three full years of Public Voices in Tucson, 58 fellows have produced more than 275 successes, forging connections that have had impact over time. That impact is also carrying over into the classroom.

"I used my writing and the tools of Public Voices extensively in my classroom," said Sofia Ramos, an​ ​​instructor in the Department of Mexican American Studies.​ "My students critiqued my op-ed and reflected on the comments it received. They wrote passionate op-eds and came to see themselves as thought leaders."

Watch a summary video for the 2015-2016 cohort:

Extra info

The 2016-2017 members of the Tucson Public Voices Fellows include these UA affiliates:

  • Ilana Addis, Banner University Medical's chief of staff
  • Leah Durán, assistant professor in the College of Education's Department of Teaching, Learning and Sociocultural Studies
  • Jennifer Earl, professor in the School of Sociology
  • Andrea K. Gerlak, associate professor in the School of Geography and Development
  • Rachana Kamtekar, professor in the Department of Philosophy in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
  • Negar Katirai, assistant clinical professor and director of the Community Law Group at the James E. Rogers College of Law
  • Patricia MacCorquodale, professor in the Department of Gender and Women's Studies in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
  • Tanisha N. Price-Johnson, executive director of admissions at the College of Medicine
  • Ada M. Wilkinson-Lee, assistant professor in the Department of Mexican American Studies in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences
  • Kendal H. Washington White, assistant vice president for Student Affairs and Dean of Students

Fellows who are community members are:

  • Amy Burnham Greiner, owner of AB Graphic Designer
  • Liz Baker, deputy director at the Southern Arizona Research, Science and Engineering Foundation
  • Gabriela Cervantes, marketing manager for AGM Container Controls
  • Dolores Duran-Cerda, acting provost and executive vice chancellor at Pima Community College
  • Gail E. Emrick, executive director of the Southeast Arizona Area Health Education Center
  • Patricia Lee Jackson, photojournalist and activist
  • Julie Kasper, school coordinator for CENTER, a K-12 refugee education organization
  • Heather Metcalf, director of research and analysis for the Association for Women in Science
  • Michelle Pitot, chief of staff at the YWCA of Southern Arizona
  • Dr. Lisa Soltani, medical director for internal medicine and hospice practice at El Rio Community Health Center

Previous videos, as well as a searchable archives of published op-eds, can be found online.

Funds for the program came from Helaine Levy/Diamond Family Philanthropies; the David and Lura Lovell Foundation; Mike and Beth Kasser; the Marshall Foundation; Southwest Airlines; the Valley Fund for the Advancement of Women and Girls at the Women’s Foundation of Southern Arizona; and the University of Arizona, including the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Humanities and University Relations.

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Lori Harwood

UA College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

520-626-3846 

harwoodl@email.arizona.edu