WSU Vancouver

NEH essay sheds light on 1921 Tulsa Massacre

Shock, horror, shame, disgust, sadness, inspiration, appreciation… Thabiti Lewis’ essay on the 1921 Tulsa Massacre elicits a gamut of emotions throughout its 3,500 gripping words. The WSU Vancouver professor of English and associate vice chancellor for academic affairs co-authored the piece on an overlooked series of historic tragedies that he hopes can help spur change […]

Rapid evolution may help adaptation to climate change, competition

Loss of biodiversity is a growing worldwide concern. A new study shows that species can adapt rapidly to an invader and that this evolutionary change can affect how they deal with a stressful climate. “Our results demonstrate that interactions with competitors, including invasive species, can shape a species’ evolution in response to climatic change,” said […]

New research in these interesting times

In March 2020, when the University moved to distance learning to comply with stay-at-home orders, some WSU Vancouver researchers who were unable to pursue their existing projects turned instead to look at how COVID-19 was affecting various communities. The new projects are “a lot broader than what people might expect. We are not looking for […]

Beyond words

WSU Vancouver students are learning how to help Spanish speakers navigate clinical experiences and forming strong partnerships with community health-care providers. As as one of the WSU Center for Civic Engagement’s inaugural Faculty Fellows in 2017, Cassandra Gulam and her colleagues learned how to incorporate the principles of community engagement into their courses. Gulam, clinical […]

Radio Re-Imagined: storytelling with sound

“A Radio Christmas Carol,” a WSU Vancouver community holiday tradition, returns this Christmas Eve via radio rather than an in-person public performance. “We want to spark listeners’ imaginations with this sound-based performance, not to mention bring a program of joy and hope,” said John Barber, faculty member in the Creative Media and Digital Culture program […]

Beavers may help amphibians threatened by climate change

The recovery of beavers may have beneficial consequences for amphibians because beaver dams can create the unique habitats that amphibians need. “Beaver-dammed wetlands support more of the amphibian species that need a long time to develop in water as larvae before they are able to live on land as adults,” said Jonah Piovia-Scott, assistant professor […]

The power of symbiosis

“Understanding the complex and often positive role the microbiome plays in the health of plants and animals has precipitated a real renaissance in biology,” says microbiologist Stephanie Porter, who studies the evolution of cooperation and plant–microbe symbiosis. “There’s been a blossoming of ideas due to new genomic tools for understanding this microbiome—the set of all […]

More economic worries mean less caution about COVID‑19

Workers experiencing job and financial insecurity are less likely to follow the CDC’s guidelines for COVID-19, such as physical distancing, limiting trips from home and washing hands, according to a study led by WSU Vancouver psychology professor Tahira Probst. “We all have a finite set of resources at our disposal, whether it’s money, time or […]

War songs and lullabies behind origins of music

Love is not the reason why we sing and create symphonies—at least not the primary reason, according to a new evolutionary theory of the origins of music. “Sex and mating are a part of the story, but music seems to expand far beyond that particular domain,” said Ed Hagen, WSU evolutionary anthropologist and a co-author […]