Probst wins research award

Tahira Probst, professor of psychology and Edward R. Meyer Distinguished Professor in the Liberal Arts, is the recipient of the 2015 Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence. She accepted her award at the Faculty Recognition Program and Campus Update last Thursday.

As a specialist in occupational health psychology, Tahira studies ways to enhance the health and well-being of workers, including issues of workplace safety and economic stress. She has worked as a research consultant with the International Labor Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, to create a training module on economic stress for human resource managers. She has consulted with the National Academy of Sciences on worksite preventive health programs for NASA employees. She has worked with more than 100 organizations in industries ranging from manufacturing and mining to health care and transportation. She has spoken to venues close to home, such as the Oregon Governor’s Occupational Safety and Health Conference, and far-flung, such as the Italian Civil Aviation Authority.

Tahira’s publishing credentials include serving as co-editor in chief of Stress & Health and sitting on the editorial boards of the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, Military Psychology, and Journal of Business and Psychology. She has published more than 80 journal articles and book chapters and has received attention in national news media and trade publications.

Among many academic honors, in 2014 Tahira was named an Edward R. Meyer Distinguished Professor in the Liberal Arts for WSU systemwide, and received a three-month visiting professor research award to conduct safety and health research in Italy. In 2011, she received the WSU College of Liberal Arts Mid-Career Achievement in Scholarship Award.

Take advantage of summer hours

Are you interested in shifting your work schedule for the summer? WSU will observe summer hours for as many employees as possible while still meeting the requirement to serve the public from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Summer hours are 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. with a 30 minute lunch from May 11 to August 14. Check with your manager if you are interested. Learn more online.

Research Showcase focuses on student work

9 a.m. – 4 p.m. April 16
Locations vary, see below

Seventy students will participate in the 12th-annual Research Showcase. The 29 undergraduate and 41 graduate students will display and discuss their research on a wide range of educational programs, from natural sciences to nursing, education to engineering, liberal arts to social sciences and more.

The schedule follows:

• 9 a.m. to noon, Firstenburg Student Commons: 57 students will exhibit posters and will be on hand to talk about their work.
• 9 a.m. to noon, Dengerink Administration Building, Room 110: 13 students will deliver podium presentations.
• 1 p.m., Dengerink Administration Building: Awards ceremony in Room 110, followed by a reception in Rooms 129 and 130.

Twelve students will receive awards—three undergraduates and three graduate students in each of the two categories: posters and podium presentations. The top four awardees will give three-minute talks about their research.

“The number of undergraduate and graduate students engaged in research on the Vancouver campus is impressive,” said Christine Portfors, interim associate vice chancellor for research and graduate education. “Most important, the quality of their work demonstrates the commitment to research excellence at WSU Vancouver.”

Cougs in the Community will clean Battle Ground parks

9 a.m. – 12 p.m. April 18
Florence Robinson Park South, 1901 NW 9th St.
Florence Robinson Park North, 1700 NW 9th St.
RSVP

Join alumni and the City of Battle Ground for the third-annual Parks Appreciation Day work party. Help pick up litter, rake and weed flowerbeds, spread bark or playground chips, and clean playground equipment and park benches.

The event will go on rain or shine. Dress for the outdoor weather, and bring work gloves and small gardening tools (labeled with your name), if you have them. Individuals and families are welcome, but minors must be accompanied by an adult. Please, no minors under age 6.

Professional Writers Series presents Shawn Levy

7 p.m. April 21
Library, Room 265

A leading writer on popular culture, Shawn Levy most recently published an acclaimed biography of Robert De Niro, “De Niro: A Life” (2014). He has written books and articles about film, pop culture, books and sports for the New York Times and many other publications. Levy was the Oregonian’s film critic from 1997 to 2012. Come to see his presentation, “Literature and Legends.”

Celebrate Earth Day with a movie

4:30 p.m. April 22
Dengerink Administration Building, Room 110

“DamNation” explores the sea change in our national attitude from pride in big dams as engineering wonders to the growing awareness that our future is bound to the life and health of our rivers. Where obsolete dams come down, rivers bound back to life, giving salmon and other wild fish access to primeval spawning grounds. “DamNation’s” majestic cinematography and unexpected discoveries move through rivers and landscapes altered by dams, but also through a metamorphosis in values, from conquest of the natural world to knowing ourselves as part of nature.