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Women Are Not Men: A New Freakonomics Radio Podcast

March 22, 2014

In honor of National Women’s History Month, Freakonomics rebroadcast an exploration of several ways that “Women Are Not Men.” It looks at how the gender gap is closing, and how it’s not. Examples include the gender gap among editors of the world’s biggest encyclopedia, and the “female happiness paradox.” WSU associate professor of sociology Jennifer Schwartz talks about one of the biggest gender gaps out there: crime. Which begs the question: if you’re rooting for women and men to become completely equal, should you root for women to commit more crimes?

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Political scientist alumnus honored for teaching, service

March 18, 2014

Retired political scientist Daniel M. Ogden, Jr., of Vancouver, Wash., recently was honored with the WSU Alumni Association (WSUAA) Alumni Achievement Award for a 50-year career of service to academia, the federal government, and the local community.

The award is the highest honor bestowed by the WSUAA. Since 1970, fewer than 515 alumni have received it.

Ogden was one of a select group in 1960 that managed four U.S. presidential campaign advances for Sen. Jack Kennedy, culminating in the final event in Philadelphia. The experience was co-authored by Ogden in the 1964 book, “Electing the President.” He taught at WSU after earning his bachelor’s degree here in political science in 1944.

More about Ogden’s distinguished career and service.

Psychology faculty member earns state honor for community engagement

March 12, 2014

Paul Strand, associate professor of psychology at WSU Tri-Cities, won a statewide award for exemplary civic engagement by university faculty.

The Timm Ormsby Award for Faculty Citizenship is presented annually by Washington’s Council of Faculty Representatives. Nick Lovrich, WSU Regents professor in political science, won the honor last year.

Strand, who has been with WSU Tri-Cities for 17 years, studies the development of social skills and academic readiness in children, particularly those who are raised in culturally and linguistically diverse homes. He has testified before the state Senate Human Relations and Corrections committees on the evidence in support of his ideas.

He has focused on children from Spanish-speaking homes who struggle with shyness and anxiety in school; how these feelings contribute to both academic difficulties and teacher perceptions that a child has intellectual deficiencies; and how to help children, families and teachers overcome these barriers.

More about Strand’s outstanding work

People behind bars: shifting paradigms of American inmates

March 6, 2014

Perceptions change, but the American prison system continues to falter, a WSU professor said.

Faith E. Lutze, an associate professor in the department of criminal justice and criminology, spoke as part of the Common Reading lecture series. The title of Lutze’s lecture was “Perceptions of Justice: The Power of Prisons to Right a Wrong.”

“Sixty percent of our offenders will fail within three years of release,” she said. “So we might be doing something wrong.”

Lutze has researched prison life for about 25 years since she took a tour of Jackson Prison in southern Michigan. She said an experience there drastically changed her perception of the criminal justice system.

Richard Daugherty, professor emeritus of anthropology, dies

March 4, 2014

Widely known for unearthing Makah Tribe artifacts

Richard Daugherty expected to spend a few months excavating Makah Tribe artifacts uncovered by a storm in 1970. Instead, he spent 11 years helping the Makah uncover their history at the Ozette village site, leading one of the most well-known and nationally significant archaeological discoveries of the last century.

“Doc” Daugherty, as he was known by many of the Makah, died Feb. 22 in Pullman of bone cancer, at age 91.

The artifacts he helped to unearth — which were buried in a landslide and preserved for hundreds of years in wet clay — are on display at Neah Bay, on the Makah Reservation on the Olympic Peninsula. An additional 50,000 artifacts are in storage, in the tribe’s possession.

“He did a beautiful job of bringing ancestors to life for the people of today,” said state archaeologist Allyson Brooks. “His work was also foundational as far as our understanding of Pacific Northwest Native American history.”