WSU Spokane Campus Bulletin
Issue 2004-15 (August 18, 2004)
IN THIS ISSUE
Campus kickoff Aug.
19
A reminder of an event that should already be on your calendar:
The annual WSU Spokane campuswide meeting for faculty and
staff!
Start the semester off right with the company of your
colleagues, some munchies, and information you can engage with to
understand the campus's growth and direction.
Location: Health Sciences Building, Rms. 110 ABCD
Date: Thursday, Aug. 19, 2004
Time: 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
RSVP for lunch from Luigi's: Debbie Reeves, 8-7550,
dreeves@wsu.edu
Top sleep
researcher recruited to WSU Spokane
$3.5 million federal funding earmarked for new initiative
Washington State University today introduced Gregory
Belenky, MD, to the community as the new director of a
sleep and performance research initiative created in partnership
with the Spokane Alliance for Medical Research. 
U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt joined university leaders in Spokane
to announce $3.5 million in grant funds from the Department of
Defense that will support Dr. Belenky's work. The grant funds
will support applied research at WSU Spokane designed to link
fundamental research into brain structures and sleep conducted at
WSU Pullman with the clinical base of practitioners and patients in
Spokane.
The funding is in addition to an initial $50,000 earmark from
the Department of Labor, $20,000 from INTEC, and a $1.5 million
earmark from the Department of Defense already committed to the
effort.
Dr. Belenky said, "We are on the verge of an absolute
explosion in scientific and commercial exploitation in sleep
research. When we start to take a new look with a new tool (the
Sleep Watch and a Palm Pilot-based performance test), we open up
new worlds."
He added, "The funding levels we have now, with the federal
investments, put us on a level playing field with the three other
labs doing work in this field. A research team is a small start-up:
it needs talent and capital. We have that here, with the superb
basic science in Pullman and sleep clinicians in Spokane, and the
federal funding being devoted to this effort."
James Krueger, professor, veterinary and
comparative anatomy, physiology, and pharmacology, WSU Pullman,
joined the announcement. He described just three possible
translational applications in which Dr. Belenky can work with
Pullman-based colleagues: mathematical modeling of the brain,
noninvasive optical imaging of the brain, and his own area of sleep
chemistry, which might someday allow a simple measure of one's
chemical profile and how it relates to sleep and performance.
A day in the
life: Laboratory Operations Manager Jennifer Hogan
Meet Jennifer Hogan, AKA “Lab
Queen”: the laboratory operations manager of the Health Research and Education
Center at WSU Spokane.
Whether it's dealing with a researcher who stops by her
office because their water distillation unit is flooding the floor
below, or answering the requests of researchers--“Do we have
a particular item (I am halfway through my experiment and
didn't check to see if we have this piece of equipment on hand)
or do you know where I can find one?”--Hogan does it all.
Hogan's job  requires extensive knowledge and quick problem solving.
She has cataloged 841 pieces of equipment into an inventory
database and has a rough working knowledge of most of those items.
Hogan is the one researchers turn to when something goes wrong, and
she can often be found with a piece of lab equipment taken apart in
her office while she tries to fix it.
A large part of Hogan's job is ensuring that everything in
the lab is running safely in order to avoid hazardous problems. If
problems do happen, Hogan has to be able to problem solve quickly
in order to keep everything safe.
“We have a lot of pieces of equipment that can produce all
sorts of issues, and because of the biological, chemical and
radiation safety issues it is easier to just handle the situation
without calling in other individuals that aren't familiar with
laboratory hazards,” she says.
When asked about her biggest accomplishment, Hogan responds,
“My biggest
accomplishment is the fact that every single facility, custodial
and maintenance staff member knows who I am, and when I call they
come running. I couldn't do most of my work without
them.”
That's not Hogan's only accomplishment. Her list of
accomplishments in her position is long, and these are just a
few:
- Created and keeps current a quick reference chemical inventory
database, currently for 602 hazardous materials. This database
provides researchers an electronic copy of the MSDS, and the
required SOP, which she has also written. This information is web
available, interactive and allows the researcher to easily add
specific procedural information to the SOP.
- Developed a comprehensive safety program for HREC, making it
useful and accessible, and provides program management and
coordination
- Established hazardous waste management program for HREC
researchers, through procedures, training, recordkeeping and
paperwork, designations, and maintenance of the 90-day storage
facility.
- Developed and manages effective training program with database
tracking and web based training resource for users. Coordinates
training needs and provides necessary training materials to
trainers/researchers. This also includes access to the WSU and
location Accident Prevention and Safety Plans.
Hogan's achievements in her position earned her the Star
Achiever Award from the Washington State University Environmental
Health and Safety Department. Hogan was honored at the annual
health and safety conference hosted by EH& S on August 17 in
Pullman.
Next time you see her calmly sitting at her desk, surrounded by
the motivational sayings posted on every wall, know that any minute
a mini-disaster could occur, and Hogan will be on the move
again.
EDA funding announced for
Center to Bridge the Digital
Divide, University District, SIRTI
A $212,605 grant from the Economic Development Administration to
the Center to Bridge the
Digital Divide at Washington State University will
help build telecommunications capacity in rural areas to aid in
workforce and economic development.
The center's Rural Telework Program has been selected by the
EDA as one of three recipients of funding for projects in
Washington state. David Sampson, assistant secretary of commerce
for economic development, joined U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt today
in making the presentation to Bill Gillis, the center's
director.
Global connections:
Value of education highlighted
in Iran
For five days in May, Mimi Salamat, assistant
professor in speech and
hearing sciences, experienced the immense value placed on
higher education in Iran. Salamat, who is originally from Iran
herself, presented and participated in the International Congress
on Neurotology, Neuro-audiology, and Skull Base Surgery in
Tehran.
 While in Iran, Salamat had the opportunity to interact with
students from Iran who treated her like a national hero.
“After I finished speaking, students would crowd around me
asking detailed questions and soaking up every word I said,”
she said.
In Iran, higher education is viewed as a privilege rather than
as a commodity. Students study for a couple of years in order to
prepare for the national university entrance exam. Passing the
university entrance exam is such an achievement that the students
who pass get their name placed in the newspaper.
Students are assigned to a university based on their score on
the entrance exam. The higher the score, the more prestigious the
university the student gets to attend. Often students are given
money by the university to cover their cost of living while they go
to school. Once into the university, students take their studies
very seriously and are dedicated to what they are studying.
“Students in Iran are very inquisitive, demanding, and
enthusiastic for information. They have such limited equipment,
facilities, and experts that students take any opportunity they can
to learn more,” said Salamat.
Salamat presented two lectures on vestibular evaluation, the
evaluation of the balance system. She practices vestibular
evaluation in the clinic, but her research expertise is in the area
of late auditory evoked potentials at the cortex and sub cortical
level, evaluating cognitive processing.
Salamat presented two posters on her research area as well, and
13 posters that graduate students in speech and hearing sciences
had created on techniques, applications, and process in auditory
brain stem responses and otoacoustic emissions. The student posters
were very popular; upon the request of a few professors all of them
were given to other professors in audiology and otology to take
back to their universities for use as examples.
She uses a specific paradigm that is distinct from the
traditional method because it evaluates both electrophysiological
activities and behavioral activities while testing cognition. Her
research won the 1997 best research award from the American Academy
of Audiology for development of a new approach to testing the
brain's response to auditory stimulus.
Salamat's research involves evaluating different clinical
populations such as attention deficit disorders, auditory
processing disorders, language disorders, Alzheimer's,
Parkinsonism, sleep disorders, depression, anxiety, and
schizophrenic patients before and after medication or
treatment.
When asked if she would do the Iran trip again, Salamat said,
“As much as I immensely enjoyed my interactions with the
students, scientists and intellectuals, I have to admit that this
was a very long and tiring trip. Facing all the devastating changes
that have happened in my country and experiencing all the
restrictions and oppression that the government imposes upon people
made me very sad and disillusioned. I need a few years to get
mentally and emotionally prepared before I do it again.”
BA Professional
Development
opens many doors
In today's society, the average person makes three or more
career changes in his or her lifetime; therefore, more people are
looking for broad college degrees that teach a variety of skills
useful in a wide range of professions. Washington State University
Spokane's new BA
Professional Development prepares students for many futures,
and is enrolling students for fall semester 2004.
“The creation and implementation of the BA of Professional
Development centers around one key question, ‘What should
people in our society know?'” said program coordinator
Kenn Daratha. The human development core of this
degree centers on the theme that people successful at both the
professional and personal level have a strong understanding of how
people work and interact with one another. The core is composed of
human development, sociology, and psychology courses that explore
the lifespan development of human beings.
Many of the courses in the program may be appropriate as
electives in other programs, in particular the
technical/professional writing course, English 402, being offered
this fall. Faculty advisors and academic coordinators are
encouraged to review the course offerings in the BA Professional
Development, and to recommend appropriate coursework to their
students as electives. See the
fall course highlights page for course descriptions.
All students in the Professional Development program are
required to complete the human development core in addition to
specific courses specified by their chosen concentration. Students
can choose one of the following concentrations.
- Liberal
and Social Studies in Contemporary Life: Prepares
students for leadership roles in various venues drawing upon a
broad-based educational foundation. This curriculum explores the
ideas, concepts and constructs of the social sciences and liberal
arts including social psychology, motivational theory and personal
development.
- Strategic
Studies in Life, Work, and Organizations: Focuses on
the student's contributions to an organization. This curriculum
includes coverage of concepts and techniques of the marketplace and
the basic functional areas of business of finance, marketing and
management.
- Real
Estate Markets and Management: Designed for employees
who aspire to management positions within the real estate industry.
In addition to core life skills of human development, sociology,
communication and liberal arts, students in this program study the
specific body of knowledge related to real estate markets and
management. This includes multiple disciplines including economics,
law, finance, management and marketing.
The faculty involved in teaching each of these courses are a mix
of tenured and part time. Below is a list of the outstanding
faculty currently involved in teaching courses for the BA of
Professional Development in fall 2004.
- Randy Barcus, MS Finance
- Laurie Carlson, PhD, English
- Donald Epley, PhD Real Estate
- Massimo Gallotti, MBA Business
- Randy Knuth, PhD, Human Development
- Linda A. Kelly, MS, Sociology
- Frederick Peterson, PhD, Education
- Melinda Spohn, PhC, Psychology
For further information contact Kenn Daratha at
358-7769, kdaratha@wsu.edu.
Campus
Health & Wellness Committee forming
A campuswide Health & Wellness Committee is forming to
promote well-being for everyone on campus: EWU, WSU Spokane, and
SIRTI. The idea, suggested at an all-campus staff meeting in
August, immediately met with enthusiasm and volunteers.
Kelly LaGrutta, education, WSU Spokane, is
serving as the committee's first chair. Other volunteers to
date include, from WSU Spokane, Cathi Lamoreux,
Exercise Science and Nutrition faculty represented by Susan
Kynast-Gales, Glynis Hull, Teresa Krueger, Larry Cohen, Jennifer
Hogan, and Diane Wick; from EWU,
Donna Shaffer.
Volunteers welcome! Contact Kelly, lagrutta@wsu.edu, 358-7942.
Students can take the
"Public Service
Challenge"
U.S. News & World Report and Vibrant Institute invite
students to participate in the first ever Public Service
Challenge: a national online competition open to all U.S.
undergraduate and graduate students.
The Public Service Challenge is an exciting online simulation
game designed to expose students to the challenges of managing the
operations of a government program.
By accepting the Challenge, one assumes the role as the head of
a government agency responsible for battling the spread of
infectious diseases.
Students across the country will compete to protect the public
and save lives, while learning valuable business and management
skills that are transferable to any professional career.
The Challenge is free and open to any U.S. undergraduate or
graduate student regardless of major or field of study. The
Challenge starts on August 15, 2004, and ends on October 10, 2004.
Adams and
Baumgartner to assume duties in Extension associate dean's
office 
Effective September 1, 2004, Linda Kirk Fox will be the Interim
Dean and Director, Washington State University (WSU) Extension. She
replaces Michael J. Tate, who has accepted the position of Interim
Vice President for Equity and Diversity. Fox will be assisted in
the administrative duties by two WSU Extension faculty.
Ed Adams will be the Interim Associate Dean and
Associate Director, and continue his role as Program Director,
Agriculture at WSU Spokane. David Baumgartner will be the Interim
Program Director, Natural Resources in a partial administrative
assignment. Baumgartner is an Extension Forester and Professor at
WSU Pullman.
Adams's role as program director for agriculture programs
will continue. Ed will assume the duties for the federal annual
report of accomplishments, the plan of work, and the WSU strategic
plan implementation and benchmarking activities.
Academic Center
event August 25
Remember to RSVP for the Academic Center event: communications@wsu.edu,
(35)8-7540. This will help us with the count for chairs, so if you
want to sit, tell us your seat is coming!
When: Wednesday, August 25, 2004
8:00-9:00 a.m. (Program starts PROMPTLY at 8:15)
Where: Riverpoint campus, on the grounds
between the Phase 1 Classroom Building and the Health Sciences
Building
RSVP: By Friday, August 13, to (35)8-7540,
communications@wsu.edu
Public Parking: Parking for
the event is free. We recommend parking in the blue lot on the
south side of Trent for easy access to the event site.
This event is open to all faculty, staff, students, and friends
of the campus. See the
flyer available for you to send to people you'd like to
invite.
Meet the
Neighbors:
Community Building Child
Care
Director: Anita Morgan
35 West Main
Spokane, WA 99201
509/777-0857
 Community
Building Child Care (CBCC), is planning an open house Wednesday,
August, 18th from 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. This non-profit
organization has been developing children, families, and staff
through its unique environment for 2 ½ years. CBCC describes
itself as one part school, “one part home and one part
museum”.
Director Anita Morgan relates that the best way to understand
the overall experience is to come and tour the facility either by
coming to the open house or setting up a personal tour. There will
be tasty treats made by the children and parents and staff will be
available Wednesday night to share their thoughts about CBCC.
Hours of business: Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. –
5:30 p.m., year around
What We Do: Their philosophy of a highly creative and
experiential environment is inspired by Reggio Children, a group
based in Reggio Emilia, Italy. This Italian group also moved them
to create a setting that shows that children and their work are
valued and appreciated. Morgan explains that with a 1:4 child to
staff ratio it is easier to give them one on one time and observe
the children's' development. This ratio also allows them
time to develop the adults who are key in the children's'
lives.
Community
connections
University District
community workshop set for Sept. 27
The third in a series of community workshops on the development
of a University District concept has been set for the evening of
Monday, Sept. 27, at the Avista Auditorium, 1411 E. Mission.
Tom Reese, city economic development advisor, said that a draft
plan for the University District will be presented and workshop
participants will be encouraged to provide feedback.
“The draft plan will reflect the ideas about University
District projects and sites gathered through the first two
workshops,” Reese said. Participants will hear about the core
planning principles and economic analysis for the University
District, as well as input received from neighborhood councils.
“Comments gathered through this workshop will be used to
hone the final draft, which will be presented at a final public
meeting, currently scheduled for October 21,” Reese said.
Following that, the final draft of the University District plan
will be presented to the Plan Commission and City Council with the
goal of it being adopted in December.
Daniel Iacofano of San Francisco-based Moore Iacofano Goltsman
(MIG), Inc., will facilitate the September 27 workshop. Iacofano is
a nationally recognized award-winning urban planning specialist. He
is familiar with Spokane's downtown renaissance through his
work on the Downtown Plan, the Davenport Arts District Plan, the
Riverfront Master Plan and more.
Free parking for the workshop is available in the lots adjacent
to the Avista headquarters building. Attendees should use the front
entrance to the building. From there, they will be directed to the
auditorium.
Health
Improvement Partnership conference on collaborations Nov. 8-9
"Community-Minded Enterprises: How to Build Powerful
Collaborations for the Common Good." Conference offered
November 8 and 9, 2004, by the Health Improvement Partnership
(HIP).
More and more, as people who care about their communities seek
to make a difference, they are doing so via partnerships. Designed
for community-minded people from all sectors, backgrounds, and
disciplines, the Community-Minded Enterprises conference will teach
the art of effective collaborative enterprise and promote a support
system for community-based collaborations across the Northwest.
For more information, visit www.hipspokane.org and click on the
Community-Minded Enterprises conference page, or call 509-444-3088
ext 246.
Personnel and staffing
changes
Coming
Fevzi Akinci, Assistant Professor, Health
Policy & Administration, 8/16/04
Randy Barcus, adjunct faculty, Professional
Development, 8/16/04
Greg Belenkey, Spokane Alliance for Medical
Research, Director, Sleep Research Institute, 9/1/04
Laurie Carlson, adjunct faculty, Professional
Development, 8/16/04
Linda Kelly, adjunct faculty, Professional
Development, 8/16/04
Joan Kingrey, Education Director and Project
Coordinator for Educational Partnerships, 8/1/04
Randy Knuth, adjunct faculty, Professional
Development, 8/16/04
Michael Myers, Research Associate, WIMIRT,
9/1/04
Melinda Spohn, adjunct faculty, Professional
Development, 8/16/04
Transferring
John Turpin, Associate Professor, Interior
Design, Interdisciplinary Design Institute, transferring from
Pullman to Spokane
Brent Albertson, Clinical Assistant Professor,
Pharmacotherapy, transferring from Yakima to Spokane
Recruitments
Media Assistant III, ICN/College of Nursing, closing date is
8/23/04
Searches
Chancellor, WSU Spokane, position is open until filled
Assistant/Associate Professor, Criminal Justice, position is opened
until filled
Promotions
Joyce Harbison, Principal Assistant,
Pharmacotherapy, 6/1/04
Joanna Moznette, Secretary Senior,
MESA, 7/1/04 
Way to
go!
Joan Menzies would like to thank the following
folks for helping with Unity in the Community on Saturday, August
7. A big thanks to Kaarin Appel, Barb Chamberlain, Jane
Kinkel, Lisa Martin, Doug Menzies, Sicco Rood, Jane Rudd
and Liz West for blowing up balloons, stamping
kids with Cougar tattoos and generally supporting the community
celebration of diversity in Liberty Park on Saturday, August 7th.
Thanks too, to the department of pharmacotherapy and Patty
Kraft for staffing a display on research efforts and
diabetes.
"Way to go" is the place for you to recognize a
co-worker's extra effort, outstanding contribution, or
all-around good nature that makes your work day go a little more
smoothly.
Send your “Way to Go!” comments to Deanna Vannice,
vannice@wsu.edu, and watch for
your thanks to be published in an upcoming issue of the
Campus Bulletin!
Find it on the Web
- BS Exercise
Physiology & Metabolism: Check out the sharp new
page design by design goddess Denise Palmen and
Web maestro Sicco Rood.
- Spokane
Alliance for Medical Research: WSU Spokane
hosts the Web site for the SAMR, an alliance of public and private
colleges and universities, health care providers and institutions,
and manufacturing, research, and economic development organizations
in Spokane and the Inland Northwest. The alliance works to build
significant competitive federal funding and lead research designed
to promote human health and economic benefits for the region.
- News
Releases: Recent news releases and links to news releases
organized by subject.
- World Class
Faculty: Check out the online profiles featured as links from
our home page. The images rotate randomly on the home page, but the
profiles are always available from this central profile page. You
can also navigate to this page by choosing "About WSU Spokane"
from the home page, "People"
in the lefthand navigation, and "Profiles"
in the lefthand navigation there.
-
Bulletin archives: Links to past issues of the Campus Bulletin
from Oct. 2003 forward.
- In the
News: Media coverage of campus programs and people
- Events
Calendar: Find out what's going on around here (and if your
event isn't listed, tell Kaarin! , 8-7528)
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The Bulletin is usually published on Wednesday biweekly during the
academic year, every three weeks during breaks and summer session.
Publication date may shift due to holidays. Deadline is Monday of
the week of publication.
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The Bulletin covers news of interest to the faculty, staff, and
friends of Washington State University Spokane, and associates on
other WSU campuses and on the Riverpoint campus.
Regular columns cover personnel changes, upcoming events,
professional accomplishments, opportunities for involvement in the
campus community and the Spokane community, notices of new
developments on campus, and other news.
The Bulletin also serves as a source of information for external
communications directed to alumni, future and current students, and
friends of Washington State University Spokane. You'll read it
here first!
Editorial staff
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