Jack Bloom tapped for expertise on the Gdańsk Shipyard

Before sites can be added to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) World Heritage List, they must be vetted by multiple global experts.

Recently Dr. Jack Bloom, professor of Sociology in the College and Arts and Sciences, and expert in global social movements, was asked by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) in France to prepare a provisional evaluation, or desk review, of the Gdańsk Shipyard, during the examination process for nominations to the World Heritage List 2021. The Gdańsk Shipyard in Poland is the birthplace of the Solidarity movement and symbol of the fall of the Iron Curtain in Europe.

Experts such as Dr. Bloom are selected to examine sites based on their expertise relevant to the type, geographical area, and historic period of a nomination, as well as their ability to comment on the “Outstanding Universal Value” of nominated sites.

According to Dr. Bloom’s evaluation, “there is no question that the Gdansk Shipyard should be inscribed on the World Heritage List. It was the center of the Solidarity movement, the symbol of resistance to deeply-felt oppression and national subordination and it played a central role in transforming the world, helping to end the Cold War and one of the last of the world’s empires.”

Dr. Bloom submitted his desk review to ICOMOS in November. 2021 additions to the World Heritage List will be announced next year.

Karl Besel receives grant for research on racial justice and nonprofit sustainability; will work in tandem with James Wallace

Dr. Karl Besel, professor of Public Administration and Health Management in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA), together with Dr. Charlotte L. Williams of the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, was awarded a grant from the Racial Justice Research Fund at Indiana University Bloomington to continue research on racial justice and nonprofit sustainability.

Their research project, titled "Racial Justice in the Nonprofit Sector: Addressing Nonprofit Sustainability in Diverse Communities," will expand upon this exploration of the intersection between racial justice and nonprofit sustainability by adding the city of Gary as a research site and additional questions related to racial justice.

Subsequently, in addition to Gary, the data collection sites for this study will include racially diverse neighborhoods in Louisville, Ky., Indianapolis, Ind., New Orleans, La., as well as two rural counties in Arkansas.

This study will consist of revisiting the authors’ 2011 article, “Nonprofit Sustainability During Times of Uncertainty,” through both organizational surveys and individual interviews with key stakeholders that were a part of this original study. This study recently received the Nonprofit Management & Leadership Journal, “Best of the 2010s” Award.

A key factor in receiving this award was the article’s focus on nonprofit sustainability in racially diverse communities. Besel and Williams will work in tandem with James Wallace, director of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Multicultural Affairs (ODEMA) at IU Northwest, and Tyrone Spann, Indiana Blacks in Philanthropy (IBIP) former president and current member, in undertaking this analysis, and related activities. 

Marie Eisenstein Receives 2020 Founder's Day Teaching Award

Congratulations are in order for Dr. Marie Eisenstein, associate professor of Political Science in the College of Arts and Sciences, who was recently presented with the 2020 Founders Day Teaching Award.

Each spring, Indiana University sets aside Founders Day as an occasion to acknowledge excellence in teaching. Awards for excellence in teaching are given both on a university-wide and campus-by-campus basis.

The Founder's Day Teaching Award Committee is responsible for designating local award winners, who are nominated by members of the IU Northwest community, faculty, staff, administrators and students, for this prestigious award.

Dr. Eisenstein was one of the three finalists for the award. The Founder's Day Teaching Award Committee includes Professors Jon Becker, Jackie Huey, Cara Lewis, and Tin-Chun Lin.