PULLMAN, Wash. — The College of Liberal Arts at Washington State University will present its annual achievement awards for faculty, alumni and students at the college commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 10.
The Distinguished Achievement Award for Alumni will be presented to William Marler, managing partner in the law firm of Kargianis Watkins Marler of Seattle. Marler graduated from WSU in 1982 with degrees in political science, English and economics. He earned his law degree from the University of Puget Sound Law School and is one of the leading liability trial lawyers in the Northwest.
Two Honors Program graduates, Miguel Angel Landa and Noah Coy Barfield, were selected to receive the college’s Distinguished Achievement Awards for Students.
A 1990 Quincy High School graduate, Landa is a Spanish major who taught in the Spanish program for five semesters. Last year he attended the Instituto Tecnologico Estudantile Superiores de Occidente in Guadalajara. As a member of the Mujeres Unidas Council, he helped to organize the Semana de la Raza and represented WSU at two regional MEChA conferences. Landa also earned minors in psychology and Latin American history.
Barfield earned a degree in English and a secondary teacher’s certificate. A graduate of Burkburnett High School in Burkburnett, Texas, Barfield completed his student teaching requirement at Spokane where his parents currently reside. He founded a Spanish Conversation Club and a theater group for adolescents. Barfield has won numerous scholarships and awards including those from Golden Key Honor Society, Phi Sigma Iota-Foreign Language Honor Society, Mortar Board and the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.
Professor of anthropology William D. Lipe will receive the Distinguished Achievement Award for Faculty. Lipe is one of the founders of conservation archaeology and helped establish the Crow Canyon Archeological Center in Colorado. Last month, Lipe stepped down as president of the Society for American Archaeology, the largest national organization in the field, where he was a leader in developing improved relationships with Native Americans and promoting greater public knowledge about archeology.
Excellent instruction in the College of Liberal Arts is recognized annually through the William F. Mullen Excellence in Teaching Award. The 1997 recipient, John Ehrstine, an authority on British Romantic literature, is known as a gifted teacher and devoted adviser and mentor. He has received awards from the Honors Program for excellent teaching and from the Golden Key Honor Society, which named him Academic Adviser of the Year in 1995.
The College of Liberal Arts also will recognize outstanding staff members. Marynella Zamora, the undergraduate secretary in the Department of English, and Ruth Self, assistant to the director of the Division of Governmental Studies and Services in the Department of Political Science, were selected for these awards.
Zamora handles record keeping for all 350 English majors as well as various other recording duties. She is known for her high ethical standards in working with students and faculty and her approachability as an adviser and recruiter.
DGSS faculty, students and the municipal, county, state and federal agencies with which they work all depend on Self’s skills and knowledge. During her tenure in the office, the flow of projects has increased markedly, largely owing to her management and efforts to keep up with technological changes.
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