The names of two long-time Washington State University faculty members will be affixed to Pullman campus buildings as a result of action taken by the Washington State University Board of Regents Friday.
Wilson Hall, located on Terrell Mall in the heart of campus, will become Wilson-Short Hall, in honor of Professor Emeritus of sociology James F.
Short, Jr. The Plant Biosciences Facility I, the research and classroom building located directly across Stadium Way from Martin Stadium, will become the Orville A. Vogel Plant Biosciences Building, named in honor of one of WSU’s great agricultural researchers.
“It is a tremendous pleasure to be able to name these buildings after two men who have had such a lasting, positive impact on this university. Their accomplishments should be remembered, and this is a most fitting way to do that,” said WSU President V. Lane Rawlins.
Short’s career at the university has spanned more than 50 years; he has served on a long list of national and regional associations. He was president of the American Sociological Association, president of the American Society for Criminology and co-director of research for the National Commission on the Causes and Prevention of Violence. He received the WSU President’s Award for Lifetime Service in 2006.
Short’s colleague Professor Gene Rosa wrote, “Arguably there is no single individual who has served as a stronger force for excellence, as a better statesman, or as a better ambassador for Washington State University than Jim Short.”
Although Short retired in 1997, he still keeps regular office hours in the building that will now bear his name. He attended Friday’s meeting.
The original namesake of the building is James Wilson, the Secretary of Agriculture from 1897 to 1913; the building, completed in 1920, originally housed agriculture and horticulture programs.
Vogel served as an Agriculture Research Service scientist and a WSU faculty member from 1931 to 1972. He and his wheat breeding team developed the first semi-dwarf wheats and complementary production systems in the Pacific Northwest. His work with dwarf wheat varieties is widely recognized for laying the foundation for the Green Revolution in developing countries.
“Dr. Vogel is arguably WSU’s most famous scientist in its nearly 120-year history and has brought great recognition to the university throughout the world,” wrote Daniel Bernardo, dean of the College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences. “His discoveries had a profound impact in addressing world hunger and stimulating unprecedented economic growth in many developing countries.”
In 1973, on the occasion of Vogel’s retirement, Norman Borlaug, who had three years earlier received the Nobel Peace Prize as father of the Green Revolution, said that Vogel’s contribution to world wheat research “changed our entire concept of wheat yield potentials.” Vogel was awarded the National Medal of Science in 1975 by President Gerald R. Ford for his lifetime of work. Vogel died in 1991.
In other actions, the regents:
* Approved a revision of the student conduct code regarding academic integrity. The changes clarify the definitions of what constitutes academic dishonesty and the consequences for violations. Consequences include education, in the form of a required workshop, for first-time violators and a recommendation for dismissal for further violations. An academic integrity hearing board will determine if a violation occurred, and whether the outcome proposed by the instructor follows the instructor’s published policies.
* Elected Connie Niva of Everett as board chair and Francois Forgette of Richland as board vice chair for 2007-2008.
* Designated David Miller and Robert Hull, partners in Miller/Hull Architects, as the next recipients of the Regents’ Distinguished Alumnus Award. The award will be presented in the fall.
* Established a doctoral program in nursing and an accelerated master of business administration option.
* Adopted changes to the Faculty Manual, including new policies on discrimination and sexual harassment and on faculty-student and supervisor-subordinate relationships.
* Approved the construction of a consolidated storage building ($1.2 million), replacement of the deteriorating façade on Wilson-Short Hall ($2
million) and replacement of windows and adding air conditioning to Johnson Tower ($3.2 million). All of the projects are on the Pullman campus.
