Dr. Rick Colby is Associate Professor and Head of the Religious Studies department.  He was born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin, and attended undergrad at a small liberal arts college in Philadelphia. After graduation, he traveled in and around Egypt for a year on a Thomas J. Watson fellowship, getting to know Egyptian coffeehouse culture and practicing Egyptian dialect. He then completed a Master's degree in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago, and subsequently a Ph.D. in Religion from Duke University. During his dissertation research, Rick spent over a year researching medieval manuscripts in Damascus, Istanbul, Cairo, London, Paris, and Berlin, partly supported by a Fulbright Fellowship to Syria. He traveled along the historic “Silk Road” routes in China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkey with other faculty during the Summer of 2008. The following Fall he arrived at the U of O, where he received tenure his first year here. Rick and his wife Penny live in the Santa Clara neighborhood of Eugene along with their dog Chico and their cats Trillian and Galadriel.

Email: fscolby@uoregon.edu

Hello everyone! My name is Nora Vanasse, I am the FIG assistant for 'Gurus and Governors'. I am a second-year student majoring in biology, with a minor in public policy and management. I was actually part of this FIG my freshman year, and really look forward to helping you navigate UO, and to take Hist211 again...it's a fun class!

I am originally from England but lived in New Mexico for the last three years of high school. I chose the UO because it's a great school for research but have since found so many more things to love about it. Our campus is beautiful year-round, we're right next to downtown, and there's LOTS of coffee here. 

When I'm not studying, I go to the gym, explore Oregon with friends, or call my friends that don't live in Eugene. And when we get breaks from school, I try to travel as much as possible with my friends. I've been fortunate to live overseas for so long, so I have quite a bit of travel experience if it's ever something you'd like to talk about! 

If you have time, send me your name and something you're looking forward to this fall. I look forward to meeting and working with you all! Enjoy your summer!

Email: norav@uoregon.edu