Indian Legal Program welcomes back former director Kate Rosier

September 26, 2014

Kathlene “Kate” Rosier is returning as the executive director of the Indian Legal Program at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.

Rosier, who left the College of Law in 2011 to become the assistant general counsel for the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, served as the Indian Legal Program’s director for 11 years. Kate Rosier Download Full Image

“I feel like I’m being reunited with family,” Rosier said about her return. “I love and missed the daily interaction with students, so I was excited to have the opportunity to come back.”

Rosier replaces Ann Marie Downes, who was recently appointed by the White House to serve in the assistant secretary’s office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Rosier will start on Oct. 13.

Rosier said she is looking forward to picking up where Downes left off and working with Patty Ferguson-Bohnee, faculty director of the Indian Legal Program. Rosier will be involved in the day-to-day operations of the program, as well as student recruitment and retention and tribal outreach.

“There is a lot of energy around the program,” Rosier said. “Patty is working hard to build new partnerships within the university and the community, and that will lead to opportunities for our students.”

Established in 1988, the Indian Legal Program at ASU is one of the largest and most renowned programs of its kind in the nation. It’s mission to improve the legal systems that affect tribal governments is being advanced by graduates who have gone on to work at all levels of tribal, state and federal government, as well as private practice.

Rosier says she hopes to keep alumni engaged in the program’s ongoing activities, as well as increase funding for new opportunities for students. One such program would allow Indian Legal Program students to study in Washington, D.C., and other places around the country.

“Our alumni and students are really the heart of the program and what makes it special,” Rosier said. “What we do revolves around them and making their experience the best we can.”

Rosier, a member of the Comanche Tribe, received her J.D. from the University of Utah. Prior to joining ASU Law in 2000, she served as a tribal court advocate at Four Rivers Indian Legal Services and as a prosecutor in children’s court for the Gila River Indian Community.

Origins Project establishes new prize for postdoctoral researchers

September 26, 2014

New prize is the largest of its kind in the world

A new postdoctoral prize, an annual worldwide competition for the best postdoctoral scholar from all fields related to origins, is being offered by the Origins Project at Arizona State University. Download Full Image

The prize, the largest of its kind in the world for post-doctoral researchers, will be awarded annually to an outstanding junior scholar chosen from all countries in any field of study relevant to the Origins Project.

“We want to provide a significant, new worldwide recognition for postdoctoral scholars,” said Lawrence Krauss, a Foundation Professor at ASU and director of the Origins Project. “They are an under-appreciated community, and are often doing the most exciting work. They will become the leaders of the next generation of scientists.

“By providing the largest prize worldwide, we hope to attract nominations for the best of the best and bring outstanding young researchers to ASU to interact with our faculty and the public,” Krauss added. “We also want to build relationships that we hope will last well into the future, as well as advance the Origins Project vision of exploring foundational questions that can help meet the unique challenges we face in the 21st century.”

The Origins Postdoctoral Prize Lectureship is sponsored by the Epstein VI Foundation. Jeffrey Epstein, who established the foundation, said that he was excited to support this new Origins prize, and that he hoped the selection process would “be able to find those that can see around corners.”

The annual $10,000 international prize will be awarded to an outstanding junior scholar chosen from any field of study relevant to the broad mission of the Origins Project at ASU. Selection will be made among candidates nominated by faculty or senior researchers at their institution, and will be based both on past accomplishment and future promise, as well as an ability to convey the excitement of their research to a broad audience.

Nominators can be faculty familiar with the candidate and their research. However, only one nominee per department will be considered. Faculty nomination letters must be submitted by email to origins.project@asu.edu no later than Dec. 1, 2014. Nominations will be accepted for junior scholars who are not currently working for Arizona State University.

The award includes travel to and from Tempe, Arizona, as well as accommodations for a weeklong visit. In addition to participating in an awards ceremony, the winner will give four talks on his research, including one public talk to a broad community audience, and will participate in other origins activities.

Criteria for selection include evidence of outstanding research credentials and the potential for creative leadership in the candidate's chosen field, as well as the ability to effectively communicate scientific concepts to a broad audience in English. For more information on the award and the nomination process, go to: https://origins.asu.edu/origins-project-postdoctoral-prize-lectureship.

The Origins Project is a research unit in ASU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.