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Sept. 17: Need for land ethic in environmental policy

September 17, 2014

Native American attorney Walter Echo-Hawk will discuss “The Need for an American Land Ethic” in a free, public presentation about environmental challenges at 4:30 p.m. Sept. 17 at 101 Kimbrough Hall on the WSU Pullman campus.

A tribal judge, author, activist, and law professor, Echo-Hawk will discuss the role of indigenous peoples in helping nations form environmental ethics, and will explore the need for an American land and sea ethic to address the global environmental crisis.

“Long known as a leading advocate for Native American rights, Walter Echo-Hawk is now exploring ways in which the unique perspectives of indigenous communities can be brought bear in solving environmental issues around the globe,” said Cornell Clayton, director of the Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service, event co-sponsor. “It is both a great honor and a great opportunity to welcome him at WSU where our students, faculty, and community can engage directly with him.”

More about Echo-Hawk’s talk

Foley distinguished speaker Nick Hanauer offers insights for saving U.S. capitalism

August 29, 2014

Seattle business owner, economics activist, and one of the Northwest’s most ardent advocates for income equality, Nick Hanauer will present the 2014 Thomas S. Foley Distinguished Lecture “Saving American Capitalism: The Truth about Jobs, Prosperity, and Economic Growth” in two events Oct. 2 in Pullman and Spokane, Wash.

Hanauer will speak and take questions from the audience at 2:30 p.m. in the Compton Union Building (CUB) Auditorium at WSU Pullman and at 7:30 p.m. at the Fox Theater in downtown Spokane. Both events are free and open to the public.

The Thomas S. Foley Institute at WSU provides public-affairs programming and education, supports student engagement in public service, and fosters scholarly research on public policy and political institution in a nonpartisan setting.

Learn more about Nick Hanauer’s Foley lectures:
WSU News
The Spokesman-Review

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

March 26-27: Environmental writer explores storytelling

March 21, 2014

William Cronon, one of the country’s foremost environmental writers, thinkers and historians, will be the featured speaker at two free, public events March 26-27 as part of WSU’s Visiting Writer Series.

“William Cronon is an exceptional historian who has a scholar’s depth and breadth of knowledge but also a novelist’s skill at telling stories,” said Larry Hufford, director of the School of Biological Sciences and the Charles R. Conner Museum of Natural History at WSU. “His seminal book, Changes in the Land, was tremendously influential in shaping the way we think today about wilderness and the pervasiveness of human influence on the American environment.”

Cronon will present “The Portage: Time, Memory and Storytelling in the Making of an American Place” at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the CUB auditorium on the WSU Pullman campus. On Thursday, he will join an interdisciplinary panel of faculty experts from WSU and the University of Idaho in examining “The Personal Voice of Scholarly Writing” 3:30-5:30 p.m., on the UI campus in Moscow.

Learn more about these cross-disciplinary events

Potential healing properties of natural chemicals discussed in Philippines

February 20, 2014

Interest in obtaining biologically active compounds from natural sources has increased for a variety of reasons, including concerns that habitats worldwide—and their chemical-harboring unique flora and fauna—are being lost to development. These compounds also typically offer low toxicity, biodegradability, renewable availability and low cost.

Earlier this year, Jonel Saludes, assistant professor in organic and bioorganic chemistry, and fellow WSU faculty member Doralyn Dalisay, assistant research professor in the WSU Institute for Biological Chemistry, spoke at an international seminar organized by the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech), located in central Luzon, one of the major islands of the country.

“They too have outstanding ideas and research but lack the facilities and equipment to move things forward,” said Saludes. “I envision collaboration where WSU could help them identify and determine the structure of the compound(s) responsible for the desired bioactivity.”