Student body elects 2015/16 leaders

The 2015 ASWSUV election results were announced last Friday. Shain Wright, a senior majoring in human development and public affairs, was elected president. Yesenia Herrera, a junior majoring in psychology was elected vice president. The 25th senate will include Coralee Bauer, Fatoumata Diabate, Christopher Godley, Angelique Harding, Daniel Ostapenko, Brandon Reasoner, Samy Reel, Honor Stevenson, Blake Thompson, Alexander Van Dinter and Stevi Warner.

Voter turnout was 20.7 percent of the student body, an increase of 1.4 percent over last year. The elections results are official and confirmed.

Business Growth MAP brings home awards

The Business Growth Mentor and Analysis Program in the Carson College of Business brought home two awards from the VentureWell Conference called OPEN 2015. Mistie Josephson, Business Growth MAP manager, traveled to Washington, D.C. to present at the poster session. She worked with Laura Evancich, graphic designer in the Office of Marketing and Communications, to develop a poster that would describe how Business Growth MAP is supporting entrepreneurship within WSU and in the community. The Business Growth MAP exhibit won best program and best design.

VentureWell is dedicated to fostering an emerging generation of young inventors and entrepreneurs driven to improve life for people and the planet. The OPEN conference gathers engaged faculty and university students from multiple disciplines to share stories, start new collaborations and learn best practices in technology entrepreneurship education.

Hellegers speaks at alma mater

Desiree Hellegers, associate professor of English, returned to her alma mater, Georgetown University, last Thursday to give the School of Nursing and Health Studies’ annual Values Based Lecture. Her lecture title was "Disposable Bodies: Homelessness, the War on the Poor, and Death on the Streets of Livable City USA." Desiree is the author of “No Room of Her Own: Women's Stories of Homelessness, Life, Death, and Resistance” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011), which is currently being made into a play.

Women of Distinction 2015 award winners announced

Four women were honored for making a difference in the lives of others at the seventh-annual Women of Distinction celebration last Thursday. For the first time, two nominees tied for Distinguished Woman of Distinction in the community (non-student) category: Jennifer Cullison, a science teacher at Woodland High School; and Amy Holmes, founding principal of Hayes Freedom High School in Camas. The two student awardees were Brittany Curtiss, a senior at River HomeLink School in Battle Ground, in the high school category, and Kia Calderon, a social studies undergraduate, in the WSU Vancouver student category.

Enjoy 50 percent off at Adidas

Faculty, staff, students, family and friends are invited to shop at the Adidas Village Store and receive Adidas’ 50 percent-off employee discount now through April 30. Print the certificate (PDF) good for one-time use only and present it to the cashier at time of purchase. The Adidas Village Store is open 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. daily. It’s located at 5060 North Greeley Ave., Portland, OR 97217.

Nominate notable alumni

WSU Vancouver is now accepting nominations for the 2015 WSU Vancouver Notable Alumni Award. The award will honor one alumnus/alumna who has made significant contributions to society, and whose accomplishments, affiliations, career and/or community service reflects WSU Vancouver’s legacy of excellence. Nominees must have attended WSU Vancouver. Nominations are open to the public and will be accepted through May 29.

The Notable Alumni Award was established in 2014 as part of our 25th anniversary celebration. Nominees who were not chosen last year will automatically be considered for this year’s award. The winner will be determined by the Alumni Awards Selection Committee. The 2015 WSU Vancouver Notable Alumni Award winner will be recognized in the fall.

Get a smoothie on campus

The Firstenburg Student Commons Café is selling all natural fruit smoothies starting today. The 16-ounce tropical fruit and very berry smoothies will be made fresh to order for $3.50 during regular business hours 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Try a free sample today and tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Firstenburg Student Commons.

Science Seminars presents “Wildfire, Invasion and Drought: A Mixed Future for Riparian Ecosystems”

3:10 p.m. today (March 30)
Science and Engineering Building, Room 12

Max Smith, research associate for the USDA Forest Service, says southwestern streams’ population of native and nonnative trees are sensitive to fire, flood and drought. He and his colleagues are using results from a Middle Rio Grande study to model riparian ecosystem response to changing disturbance regimes. Learn more at his lecture today.

Earn your bonus points

Have you completed SmartHealth’s Well-being Assessment? The Governor’s Challenge—Early Bird 100 Bonus Points—ends March 31. If not, follow the instructions below by March 31.

1. Visit www.smarthealth.hca.wa.gov and select Get Started to walk through the activation process if you have not done so already.
2. Take the SmartHealth Well-being Assessment. In addition to earning 800 points for taking the Well-being Assessment, you will earn 100 bonus points if you complete it by March 31. (Bonus points will be awarded on April 8.)

Once you complete the Well-being Assessment, you can earn more points by joining other SmartHealth wellness activities that interest you. If you earn a total of 2,000 points by June 30, you will qualify to receive a $125 wellness incentive in January 2016 (if you meet PEBB eligibility requirements in January 2016). Don’t miss out; sign-in today!

Faculty and Staff Giving Campaign closes Friday

There is still time to participate in the annual Faculty and Staff Giving Campaign. Make your contribution by this Friday, April 3. Give a gift, get a gift. Participants will receive a Cougar luggage tag just in time for summer vacation.

We are at 50 percent participation right now. Give to help us beat last year’s 65 percent participation rate. Give to match the Carson College of Business’s 100 percent participation rate. Give to anything you feel passionate about: scholarships, your department’s development fund, the Cougar Food Pantry, the Student Veterans Center and many more! You can also qualify as participating and receive your gift by joining the Alumni Association or purchasing a brick in Legacy Square.

Contact Lisa Abrahamsson, development coordinator, at 6-9600 if you have questions.

Power will be out April 4

Power to campus will be out from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 4 while Clark PUD makes repairs at our main campus power station. During this time, critical campus systems will be on emergency power. 

Before you leave Friday, please shut down all electrical equipment such as computers, printers, copiers and lights. Unplug the things that you can. Do not come to campus Saturday if it can be avoided.

You will not be able to VPN while the power is out. If you want to use your computer after the outage, you will need to return to campus to power your computer back on. The university web server, email server and general network functions will remain available during the power outage.

Gender Neutral Bathroom Week 2015 coming April 6 – 10

Gender Neutral Bathroom Week is an annual student-led activity that provides an opportunity for the campus community to engage in dialogue around gender diversity and inclusivity. April 6 – 10, first-floor bathrooms in the following eight buildings will be reassigned as gender-neutral bathrooms:

• Classroom Building
• Dengerink Administration Building
• Engineering and Computer Science Building
• Firstenburg Student Commons
• Library Building
• Multimedia Classroom Building
• Science and Engineering Building
• Undergraduate Building

Signs will be posted on all gender-neutral bathrooms indicating where you may find the nearest gender-segregated bathroom.

Associated events and activities include:

• Toilet Training, 10:30 – 11:30 a.m. March 31 and April 1 in the Student Diversity Center. This is training for anyone interested in volunteering during Gender Neutral Bathroom Week.
• Gender Neutral Bathroom Week Art Exhibit, 5 – 6 p.m. April 6 in the Firstenburg Student Commons. Enjoy art created by faculty, staff and students, and enjoy light refreshments.
• Gender Neutral Bathroom Week Engage-in, 10:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. April 9 in the Firstenburg Student Commons. Write letters and postcards to legislators, engage in civil discourse, learn fun facts and, most important, spread the word about gender inclusivity.

Go online to see FAQs. If you have any questions, please contact Bola Majekobaje, advisor to the chancellor for equity, diversity and community engagement, at 6-9568.

Learn to make a delicious, healthy salad

1:30 p.m. April 7
Firstenburg Student Commons Café

Learn to make a quinoa and bay shrimp salad with orange honey dressing. Bill Bontems, café and catering manager, will share his foolproof method for cooking quinoa. Sign up for this free class in the Fitness Center.

Professional Writers Series presents Martha Grover

7 – 9 p.m. April 7
Library, Room 265

The San Francisco Weekly praised Martha Grover’s memoir, “One More for the People,” for staking out “new territory between talk, journal, memoir and essays.” For 10 years she has also been publisher and principal writer and illustrator for her print zine, Somnambulist. Grover will present, “The Modern Memoir.”

Campus fire drill planned for next week

10 – 11:30 a.m. April 8

A campus-wide evacuation (fire) drill will be held 10 – 11:30 a.m. April 8. Each rally-point group—buildings that meet in the same location—will be evacuated at different times during the time period. Participation in the evacuation is required. For questions, contact Dave Stephenson.

Celebrate Arbor Day with the Student Diversity Team

1 p.m. April 9
Clark College Building, front

The Student Diversity Team will plant a dogwood tree in front of the Clark College Building in recognition of the National Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree Campus USA program. The program helps colleges and universities around the country establish and sustain healthy community forests. This event is sponsored by the Sustainability and the Environment Committee. Refreshments will be served. Staff, faculty and students are encouraged to attend.

Register now for NASAI conference

WSU is hosting the Native American Student Advocacy Institute, an annual national conference focused on the academic success of Native American students, June 4 – 5 in Pullman. Gain valuable information and share best practices with fellow educators who are interested in advancing American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian student college readiness, participation and success.

WSU is a member institution. All WSU staff, faculty and students qualify for a reduced rate. Registration details, session and other conference information can be found online.  

Plant a tree for Arbor Day

10 a.m. April 11
Covered picnic area by the sports court
Register

Plant new trees on campus with the Clark Public Utilities StreamTeam. Equipment, training and lunch will be provided. Pre-registration is required.