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Cluster hire program addresses racism and social inequality

Five new WSU faculty positions have been created to help promote equity and diversity across the Washington State University System.

Elizabeth Chilton.
Chilton

The new positions are an integral part of the University’s Racism and Social Inequality in the Americas cluster hire program which was initiated by Provost and Executive Vice President and Professor of Anthropology, Elizabeth Chilton to demonstrate WSU’s commitment to inclusive excellence. The program is designed to address the urgent need for faculty specializing in interdisciplinary research topics associated with equity and diversity.

The following proposals were accepted:

  • African Diasporas in the Americas (Department of History)
  • Indigenous Knowledge, Data Sovereignty, and Decolonization (Digital Technology and Culture Program and WSU Tri-Cities)
  • Music of Black Americans/Music and Social Justice (School of Music)
  • Racialized Justice in America (Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology)
  • Social and Environmental Justice (School of Design and Construction)
Lisa Guerrero.
Guerrero

Professor of Comparative Ethnic Studies, Lisa Guerrero, associate vice provost for inclusive excellence, will manage the cluster hire program as one of her first initiatives in her new position.

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WSU Insider 

Student-produced video celebrates Veterans Day

Faculty, staff and students across the Washington State University system will celebrate Veterans Day a little differently this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the usual in-person gatherings are unable to take place, student veteran Chris Mann produced a special video to honor and thank veterans from each WSU community.

Mann is a senior majoring in psychology and criminal justice on the Pullman campus who spent eight years on active duty in the Marines fighting in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He is president of WSU’s Student Veterans Committee.

“Viewers will see the WSU Veterans Memorial, the service flags flying, and hear taps being played,” Mann said. “I wanted to film the scene so it would look exactly the same as if you were there in-person watching the ceremony.”

Mann is no stranger to making videos. When he isn’t studying, he can sometimes be found exploring remote places around the country shooting footage for the Outdoor Channel or other adventure networks. He even built an editing studio in his Pullman apartment.

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WSU Insider

Staff and faculty recognized during Research Week 2020 awards ceremony

The Office of Research recognized staff and faculty during the virtual Research Week 2020 awards ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 15. The awards were presented by Washington State University Provost Elizabeth Chilton and Geeta Dutta, assistant vice president in the Office of Research Advancement and Partnerships.

This year’s Research Excellence Awards and Research Week grant competitions winners included:

David Makin.
Makin
Erica Crespi.
Crespi
Liane Moreau.
Moreau
Rock Mancini.
Mancini

 

 

 

 

Travel Grant Competition
David Makin, Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology

Multidisciplinary Grant Competition
Erica Crespi, School of Biological Sciences

RA and $10K Competition
Liane Moreau, Department of Chemistry

Largest New Individual Grant Award
Rock Mancini, Department of Chemistry

Jesse Spohnholz.
Spohnholz
Caren Goldberg.
Goldberg
Jay Wright.
Wright
Joanna Kelley.
Kelley

 

 

 

 

Creative Activity, Research, and Scholarship Award
Jesse Spohnholz, Department of History

Pacesetter Award
Caren Goldberg, School of the Environment

Technology with Impactful Contribution to Society Award
Jay Wright, Department of Psychology

Exceptional Service to the Office of Research Award
Joanna Kelley, School of Biological Sciences

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WSU Insider

Small towns have highest risk of intimate partner violence

Despite common perceptions that big cities have more violence, women living in small towns are most at risk of violence from current or former spouses and partners, according to a recent study by Washington State University criminologist Kathryn DuBois.

“In criminology, we often have this urban bias. We assume big cities are the worst and paint other places as idyllic,” said DuBois, associate professor at WSU Vancouver. “We tend to think in a continuum from urban to suburban to rural, but for intimate partner violence, it’s actually the suburban areas that are the safest, and small towns that have the highest risk.”

The National Crime Victimization Survey collects information through a large sample of interviews about a range of personal crimes committed every year. Part of the intent of the survey is to uncover the “dark figure” of crime, DuBois said, those crimes that may not be reported to police.

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Juvenile justice system can better serve children with autism

Amid ongoing discussions of criminal justice reform, a Washington State University professor argues in a new book that now is the time to focus on better serving children and teens on the autism spectrum who become entwined in the juvenile justice system.

Laurie Drapela.Youth on the spectrum need greater access to mental health support staff who can provide counseling and act as advocates, writes Laurie Drapela, an associate professor of criminal justice at WSU Vancouver, and author of “Law and Neurodiversity – Youth with autism and the juvenile justice systems in Canada and the United States.”

“There is a real opportunity to start broadening how individuals involved in the juvenile justice system work with people on the autism spectrum who come to the attention of law enforcement,” Drapela said.

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WSU Insider