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CAS in the Media Arts and Sciences Media Headlines

NBC: Distracted emergency drivers cause crashes

Officer driving while using computer

NBC’s Bay Area Investigative Unit found, on average, there is a crash every other day in California, caused by an emergency driver who is distracted.

Bryan Vila
Bryan Vila

The report features Bryan Vila, a professor of criminal justice and a researcher associated with the WSU Sleep and Performance Research Center at WSU Spokane. The study reviewed more than 2.4 million collision reports recorded by the CHP from 2006-2011. Click the following link to see the NBC video report.

Vila and his team have been examining the impact of fatigue and distractions on law enforcement officer driving performance. They also have been comparing collision risks for those who work day shifts with those who work night shifts.

The work is being done under a two-year contract with the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST).

The study is part of a continuing line of research related to police officer performance, safety, and health spearheaded by Vila, who heads a simulation laboratory that is designed to mimic police officers’ work environments and is located in WSU Spokane’s Sleep and Performance Research Center.

Maturity enables graduating veteran to adjust, succeed

Vicente Mariscal
Vicente Mariscal

By Joanna Steward, College of Arts and Sciences

Digital technology and culture senior Vicente Mariscal has been selected to carry the College of Arts and Sciences gonfalon during Saturday’s commencement ceremony in Beasley Coliseum.

With more than 10 years of active military service under his belt before he even stepped on campus, Mariscal wasn’t your average college student.

“His sense of humor, along with his amazing work ethic and his determination to work through his war injuries, has made him a role model,” said Kristin Arola, a digital technology professor who nominated Mariscal for the program’s Outstanding Senior of the Year award last spring.

Mariscal served two tours in Iraq with the Army’s 1st Infantry Division and led an infantry squad in numerous high-profile forays. He experienced eight IED (improvised explosive device) or rocket-propelled grenade explosions that left him with migraines and memory loss. » More …

CAS in the media: November 30, 2012

Conflict in Mali
Loneliness
  • Lonely in KC
    Kansas City Public Media / featuring Monica Kirkpatrick Johnson, associate professor in the Department of Sociology

These links are provided for your information only. The College of Arts and Sciences makes no claims or warranties regarding the accuracy of information or validity of opinions offered on third-party websites.

CAS faculty named AAAS fellows

Eight WSU faculty members have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, including six in the College of Arts and Sciences:

  • Sue Clark, regents professor of chemistry
  • Daryll DeWald, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences
  • Herbert Hill Jr., regents professor of chemistry
  • Ursula Mazur, professor of chemistry and materials science
  • Kenneth Nash, professor of chemistry
  • Michael Skinner, professor of biological sciences

Also named a fellow this year is psychology alumnus John Roll, professor of nursing and associate dean for faculty affairs in the WSU College of Nursing.

You may read more details at the WSU News Center.

WSU to offer online master’s degree in criminal justice

By Richard H. Miller, WSU Global Campus

Washington State University will launch an online master of arts in criminal justice in fall 2013, said David Brody, chair of WSU’s Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology.

Brody said the program emphasizes theoretically based applied research, which will benefit both working professionals and recent graduates looking to enter the field or pursue a Ph.D.

“The degree provides skills that help students advance their careers, be intelligent decision-makers, evaluate information, and conduct important research,” he said. “We don’t just teach them how to do something. We teach them theory and its application so they’ll understand why to do something.”  Continue story →