Notices and Announcements

By Washington State University — Department of Translational Medicine and Physiology

Dong Yan, PhD, — Associate Professor in the Departments of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Neurobiology, Cell Biology at the School of Medicine, Duke University — will be visiting WSU Spokane. His seminar, entitled “Molecular mechanisms of neuronal aging in C. elegans,” will be in person in the Spokane Center for Clinical Research and Simulation room 250 and through Zoom on Tuesday, Oct. 10, noon–1 p.m.

Dr. Yan received a B.S. in Biology from Nankai University in 2001. Following an interest in neuroscience, he joined the Institute of Neuroscience, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, where he discovered the role of AKT local degradation in neuronal polarity. As a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, San Diego, he demonstrated the essential role of a conserved MAP kinase pathway, the DLK-1 pathway, in axon regeneration and synapse regulation. Dr. Yan joined Duke University in September 2013. His lab focuses on addressing the molecular mechanisms of undying neural circuit formation during development and neurodegeneration in aging.

We look forward to you joining us in person (SCCRS 205) or through Zoom!

Join Zoom session
Meeting ID: 970 1395 6437
Passcode: 563108

Questions/Zoom link? Contact Michelle Sanchez at michelle.r.sanchez@wsu.edu.

Under the leadership of Vice Provost Saichi Oba, WSU will be hosting an enrollment management summit for system‑wide university employees Nov. 1–2. Topics will range from recruitment, data, financial aid, technology, national trends, retention and the state of higher education in the enrollment context. The summit will include presentations from a variety of campuses and departments, and will be presented both online and in‑person. Please save the date. For questions please contact Michelle Lewis at michelle.d.lewis@wsu.edu.

The farm will be open Friday 3–6 p.m. for produce sales and the first u-pick pumpkin sales. Saturday the farm will be open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the annual Pumpkin Festival. The day includes U-Pick pumpkins, games, face painting, pumpkin pie, cider, and the Fork in the Road food truck. Pumpkins will be pre-priced and range from $2.50–$20. Cards preferred. Please leave pets at home.

The online store is open. Make purchases by Thursday night for Friday pickup.

The farm is located on Animal Science Road, directly behind the WSU Grizzly Bear Research Center on the Pullman campus.

Jolie Kaytes from Landscape Architecture will present a Common Reading talk, “Citizens of the Cosmos,” at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 3, in CUE 203 on the Pullman campus. Kaytes will explore the complicated relationship between native and invasive vegetation, and how those relationships play into larger issues of naturalization, border crossing, and climate resilience. While native and invasive species are often categorized as “good” or “bad,” Kaytes will explore the ways in which seeing plants as kin (as Robin Wall Kimmerer advocates) leads to a more complicated storyline that encompasses endurance, resilience, and abundance.

Kaytes’s talk is part of the year-long series of events sponsored by the WSU Common Reading Program, which is focusing campus attention on issues related to Robin Wall Kimmerer’s “Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants.” More on the program, as well as links to an extensive teaching guide, can be found at commonreading.wsu.edu.

Congratulations to Neal Burke with the College of Veterinary Medicine on receiving a Crimson Spirit Award for Quarter 3!

Read about Neal and his wonderful nomination

Congratulations to Dawn Freeman with the College of Arts and Sciences at WSU Vancouver on receiving a Crimson Spirit Award for Quarter 3!

Read Dawn’s wonderful nomination

Join Bob Inglis, former Republican congressman from South Carolina, who will discuss issues around evangelical Christian and conservative responses to climate change.

Thursday, Sept. 28, at noon
Foley Speaker’s Room, 308 Bryan Hall, WSU Pullman

Pizza and soft drinks provided.

This event will also be livestreamed on YouTube.

WSU Dining Services has opened Hillside Espresso, a new coffee shop on the Pullman campus where faculty, staff, and students can grab a bite to eat, get coffee, and socialize.

Hillside Espresso is open 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday–Friday (10 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on weekends) and is located next to the Hillside Café and across the street from the Chinook Student Center. It offers a variety of breakfast items, grab-and-go food, and freshly baked goods from the campus bake shop. It also serves Thomas Hammer espresso and is one of the few places on campus to get Lotus energy drinks.

The newly renovated space features a large wall graphic representing scenes from campus and the Palouse, as well as seating for about 24 people. Faculty and staff are encouraged to enjoy Hillside Espresso’s small-town coffee shop feel and specialized products.

Which federal and non-federal sponsors are interested in funding your idea? Learn the ins and outs of searching the Pivot database for funding opportunities specific to your area of research. Office of Research Advancement and Partnerships Pivot expert, Emily Brashear, will help you set up notifications, track funding opportunities, find collaborators, and share opportunities with your coworkers.

This session will be targeted for Graduate Students but will be open to anyone who is interested.

Join us at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 10.

Receive a calendar invite and Zoom link

Congratulations to Landon Kirk with the School of Biological Sciences on receiving a Crimson Spirit Award for Quarter 3!

Read Landon’s wonderful nomination

Lauren Jasmer, University Advancement, has been approved for shared leave. Those interested in donating may do so by following these steps:

From your Workday home page:

1. Click on Absence applet.
2. Click Request Absence.
3. Click on today’s date only on the calendar (even if donating for a range of dates).
4. Click blue Request Absence button on bottom left side.
5. Select Absence Type, then Donate Leave, then choose type of leave you wish to donate and click next.
6. On the next Request Absence screen, click the gray Edit Quantity per Day option.
7. Enter the number of hours you would like to donate in the Update All Quantities box, then in the comments leave the name of the recipient and click done.
8. Choose Reason for Donation, then submit.
9. When submitting donated leave, please only list one recipient per transaction.

Questions about the procedures to donate shared leave to an approved individual can be directed to Human Resource Services, 509-335-4521 or hrs@wsu.edu.

Tuesday, Oct. 10
10:10 a.m. – 1 p.m.

The Center for Institutional Research Computing’s (CIRC) hands-on introductory workshop introduces basic High Performance Computing (HPC) concepts including job submission and file transfer. Learn to utilize the freely available computing resources on WSU’s Kamiak HPC to power your research!

This workshop will be held online; advance registration is required.

More details are available at hpc.wsu.edu/training.

Intellectual property (IP) protection and licensing can help turn creative endeavors and discoveries into impactful products and services to benefit the public and help sustain research. In a session led by Eric Wannamaker of the Office of Commercialization, learn about IP and WSU policies and resources to promote innovation and technology based entrepreneurship.

Join us at 10:15 a.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 3.

Receive a calendar invite and Zoom link

WSU faculty system-wide are invited to learn about an innovative opportunity — the Peer Observation and Co-Mentoring Program designed to boost teaching and learning — at a PIT Stops professional development session at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4, over Zoom. The hosts are the Transformational Change Initiative (TCI) and the Teaching Academy.

Leading the information session will be Theresa Jordan, WSU Pullman history professor, and Kathleen Cowin, WSU Tri-Cities educational leadership professor. Both are fellows in the Teaching Academy. They piloted the Peer Observation and Co-Mentoring Program there over the past two years.

TCI is supporting the scaling up of this successful pilot program over the next three years, offering it to faculty on all WSU campuses, said Erika Offerdahl, TCI director.

The Peer Observation and Co-Mentoring Program will accept 20 educators for each of the three years, with 10 per semester actively engaged in the process. Jordan and Cowin are project coordinators.

Hosted by TCI in partnership with Academic Outreach and Innovation (AOI) and the Teaching Academy, PIT Stops are offered monthly. “PIT” is the acronym for pedagogy, innovation, and technology. Events are designed to support instructors as they fulfill the university’s instructional mission.

Please join us in-person (or by Zoom) in the Bundy Reading Room, Avery Hall, on Oct. 18, 2–3 p.m. for three short talks that showcase the wide range of research underway by faculty in the Arts and Humanities.

Ashley Boyd will describe her work to share young adult literature as a way to foster community engagement. Io Palmer will discuss her project Unruly Foliage, a series of ceramic wall sculpture inspired by domestic spaces. Nikolaus Overtoom will share his research on combat, logistics, and reputation in antiquity, investigating the unique qualities and capabilities of the Parthians at war in their rivalries with the Greeks and Romans.

RSVP and learn more

WSU’s Holland and Terrell Libraries will offer Chromebook checkouts starting Monday, Oct. 2. WSU faculty, staff, and students will be able to check out Chromebooks on a first-come, first-served basis for a semester, with no renewals.

For more information, including a checkout form, please refer to the WSU Libraries laptop checkout website or contact the Holland and Terrell Access Services unit at 509-335-9672.

Coinciding with national Banned Books Week, the experts on this interdisciplinary and interactive panel will explore more widely the risks associated with decreased access to — and understanding of — critical historical information. What does this mean for future students, educators and the citizenry as a whole?

This panel will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 12:10–1 p.m. at the Pullman campus in the Terrell Library Atrium and will also be livestreamed. Please see the event series website at history.wsu.edu/rci/event-series for more details.

WSU is hosting a Friday night football game at Gesa Field at Martin Stadium on Nov. 17 at 7:30 p.m. The Pullman campus will maintain regular operations. To ensure the university’s academic enterprise is fully operational and to accommodate the crowd for the game, faculty and staff will be provided as much flexibility as possible to perform their duties.

To allow for game day parking, campus parking lots must be vacated no later than 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 17. Stadium Way and Cougar Way will close to regular traffic at 4:30 p.m. Please use the detours to navigate these areas of campus.

Pullman Transit will be running normal bus routes all day Friday and offering free park and ride services beginning at 4:30 p.m. Pullman Transit rides are free with a CougarCard.

Recreational vehicle (RV) parking lots:

• RV patrons may enter their designated lot on Thursday, Nov. 16, after 6 p.m.
• RV parking lots are shared use on Friday until 4:30 p.m.

Cougar Athletic Fund (CAF) parking lots:

• Parking permit holders are required to vacate campus parking lots by 4:30 p.m. on Friday.
• Those who have a valid CAF football parking permit may move their car to their respective CAF parking lot at 4:30 p.m.

For more information, including frequently asked questions, please visit the HRS FAQ page.

For questions regarding game day parking, visit Transportation Services.

For all other questions, contact Human Resource Services (HRS) at 509-335-4521 or emailing hrs@wsu.edu.

Join us for a Public Square discussion on the topic of Native Families’ rights and Tribes’ sovereignty. The discussion will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 27 from 3–4 p.m. in Butch’s Den in the CUB and live-streamed via the CCE’s YouTube channel.

Zoe Higheagle Strong, Vice Provost for Native American Relations and Programs, will moderate this excellent panel. Higheagle Strong will be joined by Sarah Kastelic, Executive Director of The National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA) and Kyra Antone, Communication Specialist for NICWA.

As with all Public Square discussions, we want to hear from you — there will be a live Q&A session in which panelists will take your questions about issues that matter most to you.

Contact Dave Jones at dave.jones@wsu.edu with questions. Please learn and register ahead for the event on GivePulse.

Each year, Coug student leaders gather for the Pacific Northwest Student Leadership Conference. The unique opportunity is designed for Cougs to meet other student leaders from across WSU system while discussing making their impact on campus while building on their foundational skills. This year’s conference will be held from 10 a.m.–4:30 p.m on Sept. 30 in the Spark on the Pullman campus. The conference will also be streamed for WSU Global students.

Fall 2023 Keynote Speakers

• Mack Strong, founder of Mack Strong TEAM-WORKS Academy
• Kamie Ethridge, head coach of WSU women’s basketball

Learn more about the Pacific Northwest Student Leadership Conference and register by Sept. 28.