The WSU Horticultural Club and WSU Arboretum Committee will plant and dedicate a tree at 9 a.m. Tuesday, May 2, to honor WSU’s graduating seniors.
As requested by WSU President V. Lane Rawlins, the tree also will be dedicated in memory of Jo Savage, a co-chair of the committee and a long-time employee who recently died in a tragic accident in Spokane.
The dedication of the tree will take place at the arboretum, located east of Hulbert Hall and north of the Lewis Alumni Centre. Rawlins will be present for the dedication, as well appointed members of the committee.
The tree chosen to honor this year’s graduates is a red flowering Kousa dogwood (cornus kousa ‘Satomi’). The tree, which is popular in the Lewiston-Clarkston area, was in the list of trees the committee, including Savage, wanted to see planted at the arboretum.
The horticulture club and former WSU President Sam Smith started the tree planting tradition in 1985. The trees originally were planted near the former entrance to campus between the president’s residence and Sloan Hall. They now are planted at the arboretum, and the committee has named the southeast corner of the arboretum the Presidential Tree Area.
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