PULLMAN, Wash. — Three Washington State University faculty members will receive the 2001 Sahlin Faculty Excellence Awards during the March 28 Faculty Honors Convocation.
The 3 p.m. public event, set for Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum, will feature the presentation of a number of faculty awards and the inauguration of V. Lane Rawlins as WSU’s ninth president. Alumnus and animal scientist Jack Gorski will receive the Regents’ Distinguished Alumnus Award.
Earning the Sahlin recognition this year are Steven Parish, for instruction; James Krueger, for research, scholarship and arts; and Jay Brunner, for public service.
Steven M. Parish
Sahlin Faculty Excellence Award for Instruction
For more than 10 years, Steven M. Parish, professor, College of Veterinary Medicine’s veterinary clinical sciences department, has been an “exceptionally effective instructor” in the doctor of veterinary of medicine program, say his supporters. Annually, veterinary students acknowledge his effectiveness as an instructor.
Recently the American Veterinary Medical Association recognized Parish as a veterinary instructor of sustained excellence. With one of the largest teaching loads of any faculty member in his department, he teaches food animal medicine and surgery to DVM third- and fourth-year students. He is “a teacher’s teacher,” a reference to the numerous awards he has received for both classroom and clinical teaching.
He started at WSU in 1975 as a clinical instructor. In 1996, his “unparalleled record in teaching,” reflected in time and quality of his instructional commitment to his department and the college, led to his promotion to full professor.
Parish is a University of Nevada graduate. He earned his doctorate in veterinary medicine (with distinction) from WSU.
James M. Krueger
Sahlin Faculty Excellence Award for Research, Scholarship and Arts
Neuroscientist James M. Krueger, veterinary and comparative anatomy, pharmacology and physiology professor, is an internationally known authority on sleep. He is the “research leader and intellectual driving force of one of the world’s leading laboratories for the study of sleep,” say his supporters.
His 23-member research group focuses on the biochemical regulation of sleep, including the relationship between sleep and infectious disease and the role of sleep to organize brain structure and function. Krueger represents WSU with distinction in the scientific community and lay press.
He is invited to address many national and international symposia, has received a National Institutes of Health’s Jacob Javits Neuroscience Award, publishes many high-impact scientific papers, and mentors graduate students, postdoctoral trainees and faculty. In addition, he has a strong service commitment to the WSU community, including serving in the Faculty Senate, advising neuroscience undergraduates and introducing many undergraduate students to the wonders of research.
A graduate of the University of Wisconsin, he earned his doctorate in physiology from the University of Pennsylvania and completed postdoctoral training at Harvard University.
Jay F. Brunner
Sahlin Faculty Excellence Award for Public Service
Jay F. Brunner is an internationally and nationally known authority on management of apple pests, especially the codling moth. He has been with WSU at the Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center in Wenatchee since 1978, becoming center director in 1998.
Over the past two decades, say his supporters, he has been the “single most influential agent of change in pest management of Washington’s billion-dollar tree fruit industry.” Brunner’s leadership and vision have provided the “vehicle of transition from the failing remnants” of post-World War II pesticide-based management programs to the biorational, environmentally sensitive programs comprising the industry’s major focus today, they note. His work on computer models and pheromone mating disruption has been a major contribution to improving codling moth management.
For 30 years, the codling moth has been controlled by broad-spectrum insecticides. The approaches Brunner pioneered represent a breakthrough in its control without insecticides. The result has been increased biological control, reduced risks of environmental contamination and safer workplaces for farm workers.
Brunner is a graduate of Willamette University and earned master’s and doctoral degrees in entomology from WSU.
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