Lewis’ powerful essay published in NEH magazine - Thabiti Lewis, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs and professor of English at WSU Vancouver, co-authored, “The 1921 Tulsa Massacre: What Happened to Black Wall Street?” in HUMANITIES, The Magazine of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

February 2021

Provost Perspective

Closeup of Thabiti Lewis.

Lewis’s powerful essay published in NEH magazine

Thabiti Lewis, associate vice chancellor for academic affairs and professor of English at WSU Vancouver, coauthored “The 1921 Tulsa Massacre: What Happened to Black Wall Street” in HUMANITIES, the magazine of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The piece discusses the history of Tulsa’s Greenwood neighborhood, the horrific events that led to its destruction and the killing of hundreds of its residence, and the resilience of the community in the aftermath.

Read more about Lewis’s essay

TCI transforming teaching, boosting student success

The Transformational Change Initiative (TCI) continues to produce very promising results in student retention and engagement. Over the past five years, the initiative utilized three complementary approaches to make a lasting difference for students and create a model for student success efforts moving forward.

Read more about TCI

Plans underway for in‑person WSU experience

The WSU system is making plans for in‑person classes in the fall of 2021, while maintaining safe environments for students, faculty, and staff.

Read more about WSU’s plans for the fall

Tang elected to National Academy of Engineering

Juming Tang, Regents Professor in the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences, was elected to the National Academy of Engineering. Tang joined the WSU faculty in 1995, and his research focuses on advancing thermal processing technologies and supporting knowledge for control of bacterial and viral pathogens in foods with minimum adverse effects on taste and nutrition.

Read more about Tang’s honor

Drive to 25

CASE honors WSU’s educational fundraising efforts

WSU was one of five institutions honored for its educational fundraising by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. The organization recognizes public research universities with endowments exceeding $215 million for exemplary development programs. WSU joined Oregon, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara, and North Carolina in receiving the honor for its work from 2017 to 2019.

Read more about the CASE award

Student Success

Multimedia arts course a natural fit for hands‑on, virtual learning

Peter Christenson, an associate professor of fine arts at WSU Tri‑Cities, blends art, science and technology with virtual learning to help students create devices that are visually appealing and functional. Christenson adapted the course to an online format and found that the projects were the perfect do-at-home assignments during the pandemic.

Read more about Christenson’s course

Link Up

Faculty Development

WSU launching Cougar Cage funding program

Faculty, staff, and students are invited to take part in a competitive funding program that seeks to match private donors with worthwhile projects in a format modeled after Shark Tank. The Cougar Cage will offer funding from $20,000 to $50,000 for the initiatives, which will be pitched at the March 25 event over Zoom. Applications are due February 26.

Read more about Cougar Cage

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Mindfulness and anti‑racism training available

Trymaine Gaither, special assistant to the provost for inclusive excellence, is coleading mindfulness and anti‑racism training sessions for faculty and staff across the WSU system. The secular mindfulness component is key in facilitating productive dialogue and reflection, leading to a more inclusive and welcoming community for all.

Read more about the training sessions

College Highlights

Jason Park is one of 130 new faculty members who joined WSU last fall. Hired by the College of Veterinary Medicine as an assistant professor last spring, he and his wife Dana Shaw are both working on finding solutions to tick borne diseases, but from different perspectives.

Holly Whittenburg, a first-year assistant professor of special education in the College of Education, was awarded a Student Research Award in Single Case Research Design Methods by the Council for Exceptional Children. Whittenburg was recognized for her dissertation, which investigated the use of different trainings to improve the workplace conversational skills of transition-aged high school students with autism spectrum disorder.

Steve Hines, professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine, was named the 2020 American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges’ Distinguished Veterinary Teacher. The award highlights those who have dedicated their life to improving veterinary medical education and is the most prestigious teaching award in veterinary medicine.