Nominate an outstanding staff member

The Chancellor’s Award for Staff Excellence recognizes the dedication and commitment of a staff member in advancing the mission of WSU Vancouver. Award criteria include active participation in campus activities, excellent performance in the staff member’s own role, demonstrated leadership on behalf of WSU Vancouver and going the extra mile to advance the university. 2014 nominations are open now through March 31.

Nominations will be reviewed and recommendations to the chancellor will be made by the Staff Excellence Award Committee:

• Renee Bartocci, chair, chief of staff to the chancellor
• Maggie Bates, director of field experience/placement coordinator
• Natalie Brusseau, assistant director of admissions
• Maureen Keller, administrative assistant, marketing and communications
• Katrina Long, program support supervisor, parking services
• Kristine Olsen, administrative manager, School of Engineering and Computer Science
• Yoshie Sano, associate professor, department of human development
• Nicholas Schiller, system and instruction librarian
• Lynn Valenter, vice chancellor for finance and operations

Learn more about the award criteria and guidelines online.

Student Success Council shares new data

The Student Success Council was established to identify and understand the determining factors of student success. Its mission is to provide evidence-based recommendations to the campus community that will support student success. As a first step, the council collected data to identify factors that predict student success at WSU Vancouver.

Data were analyzed for students entering the university between 2004 and 2014. Transfer students have long made up the greatest percentage of the student population. This group has historically graduated at high rates and continues to have success. Increasingly students are enrolling at WSU Vancouver under diverse circumstances. Analysis identified seven predictors of increased risk of early withdrawal. These predictors may be thought of as pointing to the following groups:

• Students with a history of lower than average academic success as identified by a low high school or transfer grade point average
• Students beginning their WSU Vancouver career as freshmen
• Students transferring to WSU Vancouver with less than 60 transfer credits
• Part-time students
• Students identifying as belonging to an underrepresented minority group
• Male students beginning as freshmen
• Students with a high amount of unmet financial need

The full report presents evidence for each of these predictors as a means of better understanding the needs of WSU Vancouver’s students and anticipating the challenges which are likely to present as the campus grows. Read the full report.

Researchers document aquatic invasive species

Research by graduate students and faculty in the School of the Environment is featured in two new papers on aquatic invasive species in the Columbia River Basin.

Graduate student Joshua Emerson, Professor Stephen Bollens and Tim Counihan of the U.S. Geological Survey collaborated on a two-year study of zooplankton communities. Published in the journal Aquatic Invasions, it’s the first study to document the seasonal dynamics in Columbia River reservoirs of a new invader, an Asian copepod (small planktonic crustacean), which is most abundant when the water is warm. Establishment of this species may affect food supplies for salmon and other important fish.

Eric Dexter, a graduate student currently in Switzerland on a Fulbright fellowship, has published a paper with Bollens and another faculty member, Gretchen Rollwagen-Bollens; Emerson; and research technician Julie Zimmerman. It appears in Limnology and Oceanography, one of the premier aquatic science journals in the world. The study followed four seasonal zooplankton communities in the Columbia River more than 8.5 years, concluding that climate change may be conducive to invasions and that further investigation is necessary as other species threaten to invade.

Participate in the PAC-12 Fitness Challenge starting today

Feb. 23 – 27

Hey Cougs, log your minutes of activity this week to help WSU win the title of most active school in the conference. Go to the PAC-12 Fitness Challenge to create an account and start logging. Get minutes by participating in some of these on-campus activities this week.

Monday – King of the Court Dodge Ball
2:45 – 4:30 p.m. in the Firstenburg Student Commons

Tuesday – Regatta on the rowers
All day, Fitness Center

Wednesday – Students vs. Staff volleyball game
8:30 – 10 p.m., Alki Middle School

Thursday – Walk/Run groups
8:30 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., meet in front of the Fitness Center

Friday – Treasure Hunt
12:30 p.m., meet in front of the Fitness Center

Visiting professor will present on evolutionary genomics today

3:10 p.m. Feb. 23
Engineering and Computer Science Building, Room 12

Omar Cornejo, assistant professor in the School of Biological Sciences in Pullman, will present “Evolutionary Genomics in Health and Disease” today. His research is aimed at understanding basic evolutionary processes that shape genetic variation in populations and contribute to their adaptive evolution.

The Professional Writers Series presents Chelsea Cain

7 p.m. March 3
Library, Room 265

Join author Chelsea Cain for “Writing Killer Fiction.” Cain sets her thrillers in Portland. Described by the New York Times as “steamy and perverse,” her mysteries pit detective Archie Sheridan against serial killer Gretchen Lowell. Her latest book, “One Kick” (2014), introduces her Kick Lannigan series.

Learn about life as a global health physician

1 p.m. March 5
Engineering and Computer science Building, Room 105

Dr. Krier, M.D., MSPH, practiced for a number of years in rural communities in western Oregon. During those years in private practice he became involved with medical volunteer work in developing countries. He currently has projects in Peru, Guatemala, Thailand and India, and completed projects in Mexico and Honduras. Come hear Dr. Krier share stories on global health topics during his presentation, “Stories from the other side: Life as a global health physician.”

Influential video games displayed at Nouspace Gallery in March

Influential video games will be on view March 6 – 28 at Nouspace Gallery & Media Lounge in downtown Vancouver. Titled “Game Changers: Video Games as Innovation,” the exhibit will feature games that have changed cultural views and behaviors, and have affected business, education, health and communication.

“Game Changers” explores some of the most salient technological innovations that have occurred in the 40-year development of video games, from Pong to the emergence of 3D game environments like Oculus Rift. It was curated by eight students and two alumni of the Creative Media and Digital Culture program.

The exhibit opens at 5 p.m. March 6. Events held in conjunction with “Game Changers” include a Hack-a-Thon, a game competition, a panel discussion by game specialists Sandy Baldwin and Trevor Dodge on March 13, and special guided tours for K-12 students. Check the events calendar for dates and times.