History | University Categories | CAS in the Media

^{CAS in the Media} _{Arts and Sciences Media Headlines}

WSU Tri-Cities to offer course on Hanford history

August 22, 2014

A history course at WSU Tri-Cities is being overhauled with a local focus to better engage a growing freshman student body.

Five professors will teach “Hanford: An Interdisciplinary Team-Taught Freshman Seminar” this fall. The course will use local history, culture and development to teach students about global issues, while also covering time management and study skills to help freshmen adjust to college.

“The opportunity to look at Hanford from an interdisciplinary perspective is unique,” said Vice Chancellor Mike Mays. “Our students have a rich opportunity to benefit from this location and study of the Hanford area.”

Kate McAteer, a clinical assistant professor of biological sciences, received a $5,000 grant from the Samuel H. and Patricia W. Smith Teaching and Learning Endowment to turn the History 105 “Roots of Contemporary Issues” course into the new seminar course.

It will put freshmen into a lecture hall setting twice a week followed by smaller group discussions with a faculty member once a week. There will also be field trips to the new Hanford Reach center in Columbia Park and the Hanford site.

Through May 16: Exhibit considers Hanford residents

May 16, 2014

WSU history graduate students studying the oral histories of the Hanford Site have created an exhibit of its labor force and residents, running through May 16 in the atrium exhibit case of Terrell Library at WSU Pullman.

“Hanford’s Voices: Exploring Labor at Hanford Through the Stories of its Residents” pulled together students from the Vancouver, Tri-Cities and Pullman campuses enrolled in History 528, “Seminar in Public History,” according to course participant and history master’s student Robert Franklin.

To create the exhibit, the students relied on the Hanford History Partnership, which has collected narratives of the men and women who lived in the area before 1943 and who worked at the Hanford Site after.

Learn more about the exhibit

At Evangelical Christian Colleges, Leadership Is Often the Family Business

May 10, 2014

During the past school year, several leading American universities welcomed top scholars and experienced administrators as their new presidents. And none of them—not one—inherited the job from his father or mother.

That goes without saying, right? Nonprofit, tax-exempt universities are not typically family dynasties. But at evangelical Christian colleges, including some of the most prominent, there are different expectations as many leaders are succeeded by their children. In evangelicalism, in particular, some of the churches are likely to be treated as family businesses, with indigenous cultures that only a few can understand.

“There’s obviously a distrust of outsiders, so you want people who know the system, the ministry, what you are about,” said Matthew Sutton, who teaches history at WSU and is the author of American Apocalypse: A History of Modern Evangelicalism. “The assumption is that people within family know that best and can protect the heritage.”

More about the family business of college leadership in The New York Times (subscription required)

Senior wins Boren Award to study Mandarin in Taiwan

May 9, 2014

Thomas G. Taylor, a senior studying social sciences through the WSU Global Campus, has received a Boren Scholarship from the National Security Education Program (NSEP) to study the Mandarin language in Taiwan during the 2014-15 academic year.

He is one of 165 Boren recipients out of 868 applications from students in 38 disciplines nationwide. The new Boren Scholars represent 25 disciplines at 90 institutions in 36 states.

Taylor’s degree program includes concentrations in political science, sociology, and history.

He is WSU’s 13th Boren Scholar since 2001; the designation is for awardees who are undergraduates. WSU has also had two graduate student Boren Fellows since 2000.

NSEP reports that among this year’s winners, China is the most requested destination and Mandarin the second most popular language.

Learn more about this distinguished scholarship and others

CAS alumna highlights WSU multicultural graduation May 9

May 7, 2014

Alumna Elise Boxer, a professor of ethnic studies at the University of Utah (UU), will deliver the keynote address during WSU’s annual Multicultural Graduation Celebration 6-8 p.m. Friday, May 9, in the Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories Event Center in Pullman.

Boxer earned two bachelor of arts degrees at WSU in 2002, one in history and one in social studies.

“WSU was an important part of my educational journey,” said Boxer, who was active in the Office of Multicultural Student Services and the Native American Student Center. “I was able to connect my tribal community to the university by making space for Native students on campus,” she said.

“She served as an excellent mentor and role model, not only for students of color but for all students,” said J. Manuel Acevedo, director of WSU’s Office of Multicultural Student Services.

Before joining the faculty at UU, Boxer was a visiting assistant professor in American Indian studies at Eastern Washington University and a member of adjunct faculty at the College of the Redwoods-Klamath-Trinity Instructional Site and Mesa Community College. She earned her master’s degree in history at Utah State University and her doctoral degree in history at Arizona State University.

Find out more