If you have not reset your password for your WSU Network ID since Aug. 20, do so today. Resetting your password will help ensure the security of system access and will prevent you from encountering a service disruption when password resets are enforced beginning tomorrow.
Tovar recognized with statewide award
April Tovar, student financial services manager, was recently awarded the Distinguished Service Award at the Washington Financial Aid Association annual meeting. This award honors a WFAA member who has demonstrated extraordinary commitment to Washington students and the financial aid profession over a sustained period of time.
April was instrumental in developing
and delivering the state Train-the-Trainer program where financial aid professionals provide basic training for high school counselors so they are better able to respond to student and family financial aid needs and questions. She provides tremendous leadership by developing new programs, services and timely communication to promote and educate students/families about the financial aid and scholarship process. She has been instrumental in the development and delivery of College Goal Washington, FAFSA Feed and A-Z of Financial Aid Workshops. She is a consistent and tireless advocate for students who are first generation, low income, undocumented and underrepresented. Congratulations, April!
2015 LGBTQA College Fair grew by three times
Last Tuesday the LGBTQA College Fair drew three times as many participants as it did the year before—its inaugural year. Approximately 150 prospective students from more than 10 high schools and community colleges attended. In addition, more than 25 WSU Vancouver students and staff volunteered (thank you!) and 20 colleges and nonprofit organizations participated.
The program provides LGBTQ youth and allies a safe space to learn about themselves and others, while exploring options in higher education. Students reported feeling more connected to each other and supported by the community. They left feeling empowered knowing they have the knowledge and resources they need to pursue college.
NW Noggin explores art and the brain at Portland Art Museum
Bill Griesar and Jeff Leake, coordinators of NW Noggin, WSU Vancouver’s Neuroscience Outreach Group, have a big part in a new exhibition at the Portland Art Museum. Called “Seeing Nature,” the exhibition explores the development of landscape paintings and reveals the power of landscape to locate the viewer in time and place.
NW Noggin collaborated with the OHSU Brain Institute in Portland and the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle to develop an interpretive gallery and related programs to accompany the exhibition. The interpretive gallery, “The Nature of Seeing,” is located inside the exhibition. It is designed to help visitors explore the paintings and emerging research about how our brains respond when we view landscape paintings and the natural world.
“Seeing Nature” features 39 masterpieces spanning five centuries from the Paul G. Allen Family Collection. It will be on view in Portland through Jan. 10, 2016, then travel to Washington, D.C.; Minneapolis; New Orleans and Seattle.
Bill and Jeff will speak at the museum on Nov. 8 at 11:30 a.m. Their talk, “Art, Drugs and the Nature of Seeing,” is one of three public programs supporting the exhibition.
It has been an exciting time for NW Noggin. At a press event for the exhibition, the group was described as “the leading outreach organization working to educate the public about brains and art.” They met British artist Kindra Crick, the granddaughter of Francis Crick, co-discoverer of the DNA molecule. Kindra Crick will collaborate with NW Noggin member and WSU Vancouver graduate student John Harkness on a presentation at Portland bike shop/pub Velo Cult in 2016.
Keep logging your Walktober Challenge steps
This is the last week to track your steps in the Walktober Challenge. Saturday, Oct. 31 is the official last day of the contest. It is the WSU Vancouver Cougs versus the Clark College Penguins and the Lower Columbia College Red Devils. Every step counts toward winning the trophy and bragging rights. In addition to helping the Cougs win the trophy, all participants who submit a log will be entered into a drawing for a $20 café gift certificate.
Turn in your completed log to the Human Resources Office in the Dengerink Administration Building, Room 126. The date for submitting your log has been extended to Nov. 6. If you still need a Walktober calendar to log your steps, visit the WellCoug website. Free pedometers are still available in HR. If you have questions, contact
Randy Boose.
If you want more information to help you maintain a good walking program, Kaiser Permanente has great information and weekly videos that will help you walk the walk.
State of the University address available via live stream Tuesday
WSU Interim President Dan Bernardo will deliver the 2015 State of the University address at 3 p.m. Oct. 27. It will be live streamed and can be viewed at http://experience.wsu.edu/.
Fill a bag, feed a Coug
Support WSU Vancouver students in need by participating in the Fill a Bag, Feed a Coug food drive, Nov. 2 – 13.
Go through your cupboards and pantries or hit your local grocery store for nonperishable food items. Most requested items include: peanut butter, canned tuna, canned chicken, canned fruit, canned vegetables, macaroni and cheese, pasta and sauce, instant potatoes, rice and healthy cereals. Grocery bags will be placed in your department's mailroom/workroom for your convenience.
To date, the Cougar Food Pantry has collected 8,315 items and helped feed 572 students in need. Its shelves need restocking and you can help! For more information, contact Kafiat Beckley, food pantry coordinator, at 6-9593.
Hearing loss affects 48 million Americans. Phil Uribe, a graduate student in neuroscience, is working to discover how hearing loss happens and investigate ways to prevent it. To do this, Phil researches fish that possess the same hearing cells, called “hair cells,” that allow us to hear. Kimberly Cordray, an art practices major at Portland State University, will also present. She is currently exploring the impact of sound on visual aspects of art. Together they call their presentation,
“One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Deaf Fish: What Fish Can Teach Us About Hearing Loss.”
Learn about voting rights and immigration at upcoming Marquee Diversity events
Two fall Marquee Diversity events will mark the 50th anniversaries of the 1965 Voting Rights and Immigration Acts. Two nationally recognized speakers will talk about the legacy of discrimination and its continuing impact on basic rights. Both presentations are free and open to the public.
Show your creative side—through performance or recycled art—and be considered for the 2016 Salmon Creek Journal
Audition for “WSUV’s Got Talent” to be a part of the Nov. 19 talent show. The top performances will be awarded prizes, and all performances will be considered for publication in the 2016 Salmon Creek Journal and website.
Submit recycled artwork to be part of the
“Recycled Arts Contest and Show.”Submissions must use parts of at least one 2013 Salmon Creek Journal, available in the Firstenburg Student Commons, Room 127; and at least 50 percent of the materials used must be recycled.The top entry will be awarded a prize. All entries will be considered for publication in the 2016 Salmon Creek Journal and be on display at “WSUV’s Got Talent.”
To submit your performance video or artwork portfolio, go to
Salmon Creek Journal's website. Deadline for submissions is midnight, Nov. 6.
“WSUV’s Got Talent” will be held 4:30 – 6:30 p.m. Nov. 19 in Dengerink Administration Building, Room 110. Refreshments will be served.
Voters in Vancouver, Washington, will elect a new port commissioner next month. … A debate between Ross and LaBrandt is scheduled for Oct. 26 at Washington State University in Vancouver.
You are onto something. Quick, to the bat-lab! That’s where I met up with my friend Christine
Portfors, a scientist at WSU who studies fruit bats. Continue reading.
