Page 1 - Inroads 9-1-2015.indd

InroaDS
News from the Office of Interdisciplinary Studies

Volume 1 Issue 6 September 1, 2015

In This Issue Road Trip!

• Road Trip! If you’re a new IDS student, welcome! If you’re a returning IDS stu-
• Meet the IDS Team dent, welcome back! The start of a new semester and the start of a new
• Award Winning Destinations academic year is, in many ways, like the start of a road trip. We think
• Dan’s Depot about where we want to go (academically, personally, and professional-
• Pathways to Interdisciplinarity ly), and then we consider ways to get there. We pack our bags (choose
• Discover Your Strengths classes, buy books and supplies, download syllabi), and we set out on our
• September Campus Events journey. Along the way, we visit local attractions, like reading, writing,
discussions, thinking, and assimilating knowledge. And before we know
it, we’re there! We’ve learned something about ourselves, about others,
and about the world in which we live. We’ve made new friends, and we’ve
grown as individuals and as world citizens.

As anyone who has traveled knows, road trips are often a witch’s brew
of fatigue and frustration, but they are also fun. So pack your bags and
prepare yourself for the next exciting segment of your academic journey.
Remember, your IDS team is here if you need guides along the way.

Meet the IDS Team

No college road trip is complete without a few bumps along the way. Your IDS Team is here to help you nav-
igate around, over, or through the rough spots. We’ll introduce ourselves to you over the next couple of pages,
but the main thing to know is that our mission is to help you get there, wherever “there” is for you.

Dr. Elaine Brooks

IDS Academic Director

Welcome to the 2015 fall semester, IDS Nation. In 2008,
I became the Academic Director of Interdisciplinary Studies,
having already been promoted to Full Professor in the De-
partment of Foreign Languages in 2007. I came to UNO in
1989 from California where I was born and raised and where
I received an MA in Latin American literature in 1983 and a
Ph.D. in Spanish Medieval literature in 1990. I studied lin-
guistics, philosophy, and literature when I wrote my disser-
tation. It was a great interdisciplinary experience. What do
people not know about me? I love gangster movies!