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WSU WORD! Fellows inspire faculty to teach writing in their disciplines

Eleven Washington State University faculty members are at work on special plans for the coming year: assigning and evaluating their students’ writing assignments in new ways.

As invited participants in the inaugural WORD! Faculty Fellowship Program—called “Word! Fellows”—the professors spent 12 weeks as learners themselves. In weekly workshop sessions, the experienced educators from several disciplines—most of whom teach large classes—were challenged to think about how to help students write as members in their disciplines.

Paul Buckley.
Buckley

Now that the workshops have ended, WORD! members like Paul Buckley, associate professor of chemistry, are crafting new student writing assignments for fall.

“Before WORD!, I thought writing lab reports was a pretty straightforward task for students, but now I’m more aware that I can phrase writing assignments to be more understandable to STEM and non-STEM students and encourage them all to experiment a little more with how they express things,” he said. He said it will be important for him to explain the changes to his teaching assistants who help with grading.

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WSU, Pullman PD research program earns national recognition

A Washington State University research program developed in partnership with the Pullman Police Department has been recognized for its trailblazing approach.

David Makin.
Makin

The Research Fellowship Program, a collaboration between David Makin, a professor in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology and Pullman Police Chief Gary Jenkins, was among the efforts highlighted by this year’s Smart 50 Awards.

Pullman PD has already seen dividends from this program, including having a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis done for a new municipal building as well as research briefs prepared on evidence-based practices associated with domestic violence. The first six months of the program also allowed for the assessment of a traffic camera system and a grant proposal to the National Institute of Justice to examine the use and effectiveness of de-escalation within police-citizen interactions.

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Local Briefs: Pullman Police, WSU collaboration earns award

A collaboration between the Pullman Police Department and Washington State University has earned recognition as a “smart cities” project.

Smart Cities Connect has recognized the Research Fellowship Program as one of the top 50 “innovative and influential projects on an international scale,” according to a Pullman Police Department news release.

David Makin.
Makin

The Research Fellowship Program is a joint venture between Pullman and David Makin of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology at WSU. The collaboration allows the police to leverage research expertise while allowing a doctoral student to work on applied research projects.

The fellowship led to a number of benefits for Pullman police, including a cost-benefit analysis of a new municipal court, a needs assessment related to implementation of a traffic camera system, a grant proposal to the National Institute of Justice to examine the use and effectiveness of de-escalation within police-citizen interactions and a proposal to improve officer safety and wellness.

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Daily News

Focus on criminal justice reform

It was happening again. Another unarmed person of color killed by police. Another grieving city at the breaking point.

As images of George Floyd suffocating beneath the knee of Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin were broadcast globally last spring, Washington State University’s Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology was mobilizing.

Melanie-Angela Neuilly
Neuilly

“We are training the next generation of criminal justice professionals and have a responsibility here,” said department Chair Melanie-Angela Neuilly. “Systemic racial bias, fairness and equity are issues we’ve been mindful of and have been including in our curriculum, but we decided to put them at the forefront of everything we do.”

David Makin.
Makin

“It’s really a re-imagining of how we can incorporate action into the curriculum,” said David Makin, an associate professor and director of undergraduate education for the department. “It was a concerted effort. We looked at peer institutions, we met with students, we created focus groups and we took a baseline that helped us determine where we should go from here.”

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Five faculty to join WSU in the fall through new cluster hire program

Five new faculty members will be joining Washington State University in the fall as the inaugural cohort of the “Racism and Social Inequality in the Americas,” cluster hire program. Four of the five are in the College of Arts and Sciences.

The program was initiated to address system-wide needs for scholarship, teaching, and outreach aimed at dismantling systemic racism and to recruit and retain a more diverse faculty and student body.

The faculty positions were created based on proposals submitted by departments and campuses across the WSU system last fall. The program will continue in 2022, and will focus on health inequities and health justice in marginalized communities.

Michelle Brown.
Brown
Michelle Brown

Digital Technology and Culture, WSU Tri‑Cities

Alan Malfavon.
Malfavon
Alan Malfavon

History, WSU Pullman

Arifa Raza.
Raza
Arifa Raza

Criminal Justice and Criminology, WSU Pullman

Darryl Singleton.
Singleton
Darryl Singleton

Music, WSU Pullman

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