• WSU recently was named among 119 national university and college recipients of the 2008 “Community Engagement Certificate” from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The Washington D.C.-based foundation selection recognizes higher education institutions that demonstrate excellence in “alignment between mission, culture, leadership, resources and practices that support dynamic and noteworthy community engagement.” Find more ONLINE @ www.wsutoday.wsu.edu and search “Carnegie.”
• Palouse Ridge Golf Club was named one of Golf magazine’s “Top 10 New Courses You Can Play” in its “Best New Courses of 2008” feature in the January 2009 issue. Recently enrolled in the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program, the golf course, a wildlife habitat that encompasses riparian corridors and wetlands, serves as a research center and recreational outlet for WSU students and staff.
• Hubert Schwabl, professor in the School of Biological Sciences, recently received a Humboldt Research Award in recognition of lifetime achievements in research. The German Alexander von Humboldt Foundation pays for awardees to carry out research projects in cooperation with specialist colleagues in Germany.
+ Associate professor Tariq Akmal and professor Darcy Miller, Pullman. Changes in pre-service teachers’ beliefs about teaching as they progress through the teacher education program.
+ Professor June Canty, Vancouver. Teacher induction in southwestern Washington.
+ Assistant professor Michael Dunn, Vancouver. Teachers’ perspectives about effective inclusion classroom writing skills instruction.
+ Associate professor Joy Egbert, Pullman. The effects of interaction, relevance and responsiveness on adolescent student engagement in reading and reading achievement.
+ Professor Phyllis Erdman, Pullman. Measuring the impact of an equine-assisted growth and learning program for at-risk elementary students
+ Professor Gisela Ernst-Slavit, Vancouver. The challenges of academic language in upper elementary classrooms.
+ Associate professor Michael Hayes, Pullman. Peace and social justice educators in Israel and Palestine and their stories of transformation.
+ Assistant professor Kasee Hildenbrand, Pullman. A longitudinal study of cognition and concussions in student athletes.
+ Assistant professor Eric Johnson and associate professor Michele Acker-Hocevar, Tri-Cities. Establishing a needs-based assessment of school districts with significant language-minority populations for program improvements and preparing culturally competent teachers and leaders.
+ Associate professor Stephen Kucer, Vancouver. Fluency, miscues and the comprehension of factual expository text.
+ Assistant professor Matt Marino, Pullman. The use of personal digital assistants to enhance STEM learning.
+ Professor Brian McNeill, Pullman. Indigenous healing in Mexico.
+ Assistant professor Judith Morrison, Tri-Cities. Teachers’ implementation of inquiry science.
+ Professor Mary Roe and assistant professor Jane Kelley, Pullman. Instruction-enhanced differentiation model for middle level language arts teachers.
+ Associate professor Amy Roth McDuffie, Tri-Cities. Connecting children’s mathematical thinking to community and family funds of knowledge in elementary math methods courses.
+ Assistant professor Pauline Sameshima, Pullman. Nurturing creativity in teacher education.
+ Clinical assistant professor Danny Talbot and professor Liza Nagel, Tri-Cities. Recruiting, training and mentoring principals for high-need schools.
+ Clinical assistant professor Sarah Ullrich-French, Pullman. Physical activity motivation across the transition to college.
