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Campus Bulletin

Issue 2011-09 (September 21, 2011)

IN THIS ISSUE

 

Business Community Excited: WSU Training to Help Supply Biomedical Workers

By Julie Titone, College of Education

Hands-on lessons and good career prospects are reasons that students, teachers and parents like the biomedical sciences program from Project Lead the Way. 

 
PLTW affiliate director Sylvia Oliver (second from left) assists teacher trainees with a heart rate experiment
(Photo by Julie Titone)

After all, using crime investigation techniques to study cancer is way more fun than sitting through or delivering a lecture. And getting your child on track to a satisfying, well-paying job is a dream come true.

PLTW has another strong group of fans: business people. They see it as a source of future workers.

"It makes sense to grow our own, rather than import them," said Shelly O'Quinn, director of education and workforce development for Greater Spokane Incorporated. "There's the cost factor, plus you already have people committed to your community."

Health care represents more than 20 percent of the regional economy, O'Quinn noted, and that doesn't count the growing biomedical industry. Health sciences is the focus of Washington State University Spokane, one of only two places in the western United States where teachers can get training in the PLTW biomedical sciences curriculum.

PLTW is a fast-growing nonprofit company that creates middle and high school curricula focusing on science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It develops, tests and regularly updates course materials. Schools pay annual licensing fees to use those materials and for teacher training and laboratory equipment.

Wildly popular

The Mead School District north of Spokane has decided the investment is a good one. After PLTW's "Gateway to Technology" courses proved wildly popular with middle school students and parents, Mead added the high school biomedical sciences program as an option.

It was a hit. When several hundred students signed up for the course, Mead officials asked the WSU College of Education in Spokane to become a PTLW affiliate so it could provide nearby teacher training. The answer from Joan Kingrey, the college's Spokane academic director, was an enthusiastic "yes."

"They weren't just interested for themselves," Kingrey said of Mead officials. "They hoped if we were successful, other school districts would adopt Project Lead the Way."

This summer, WSU held two sessions of the PLTW Core Training Institute. Forty teachers took part, representing 11 Washington school districts and others as far away as Florida and Maryland.

The teachers learned to dissect sheep hearts, analyze DNA for disease risk and other scientific techniques. The institute qualified them to teach a biomedical course to high school freshmen. Those students will have the chance to take three more biomed courses before graduation.

WSU will give college credit to students who have completed the rigorous PLTW courses, Kingrey said. That will reduce their university tuition costs and give them a head start on their degrees.

A three-way win for businesses

PLTW is likely to increase the pool of local applicants for the WSU College of Nursing, College of Pharmacy and WWAMI, the five-state medical school consortium that's expanding on the Spokane campus. WWAMI's mission of bringing more doctors to small Northwest communities is one reason that Kingrey hopes more rural schools are able to invest in Project Lead the Way.

   
 
Teachers Gregg Godsey (left) and Dave Neal complete a
team exercise as part of the PLTW Core Training Institute
(Photo by Julie Titone)

Wendy Whitmer agrees. She is regional science coordinator for the Northeast Washington Educational Service School District. She took the PLTW training at WSU so she could understand the curriculum.

"So many of our rural schools just don't have the capacity to offer these programs because of their size, lack of funding, facilities," Whitmer said.

Given cutbacks in state funding, WSU officials said, private support for PLTW is crucial for many schools. Some business sponsors are stepping up to help.

Spokane Teachers Credit Union has committed $30,000 toward the renovation of teacher training laboratory space on the WSU Spokane campus. Jubilant Hollister-Stier Laboratories will equip a laboratory at Rogers High School. It also will support PLTW training for a Rogers teacher each of the next four years, so the biomedical sciences curriculum can be fully implemented there.

The company, based within two miles of Rogers, employees 500 workers, many of whom are hired locally and have science degrees. Kirk Wood-Gaines, vice president of human resources and communications, described the company's support of PLTW as a three-way win. 

"We're able to support education, give back to the community, and benefit Jubilant Hollister-Stier," he said.

Businesses recognize it's important to have workers at all levels - those who can work immediately after graduation from high school, from two-year programs and university programs, Kingrey said. She noted that the Spokane Community Colleges have 50 allied health care programs.

"They're as interested as we are in getting students excited about science," she said.

For information on how to support Project Lead the Way at WSU, contact Brady Crook, 509-358-7586, or Joan Kingrey, 509-358-7939.

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Cancer Researchers Receive NIH Funding

By Judith Van Dongen
Chai in her lab (photo by Cori Vaughn)

Last year, WWAMI assistant professor Weihang Chai published a paper in The EMBO Journal discussing new findings related to cancer cells and how they stay “immortal.” Based on this work, Chai has now received a $301,444 grant from the National Institutes of Health for a three-year study that will take scientists one step closer to a cure for cancer.

Chai’s research focuses on telomeres, the protective tips of chromosomes. In normal cells, telomeres are shortened each time the cell divides. Eventually, when the telomeres become too short, the cell will die. Cancer cells, however, have a mechanism that maintains the length of the telomeres, preventing the cell from dying off. Chai has been studying telomeres to identify ways to block this protective mechanism in cancer cells, which could potentially slow down or stop the growth of tumors.

In a previous study, Chai discovered that the structure of telomeres changes at one point in the cell cycle and observed that this change coincided with the activation of a protein called cyclin dependent kinase 1, or CDK1. This suggests that CDK1 plays a role in telomere maintenance, Chai says. She pointed out that this view is also supported by earlier studies done in yeast, a commonly used model organism for studying cancer.
Dai (left) and Huang 

In their new study, Chai and her team, which also includes postdoctoral fellow Xueyu Dai and assistant scientist Chenhui Huang, will take an in-depth look at CDK1 and its interaction with other proteins that may be involved in telomere maintenance.

“We will be the first to observe how human CDK1 regulates telomere stability in human cells,” Chai said.

The grant funding has been awarded through the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, which supports research that increases understanding of life processes and lays the foundation for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

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Join Us for the Biomedical and Health Sciences Building Groundbreaking

On October 5, 2011, we take the next step in building the academic health science center at the Riverpoint Campus with the groundbreaking for the Biomedical and Health Sciences Building.

Please join state and university leaders, community members, researchers, teaching faculty, practicing health care providers, and our students—your future health care team members—in celebrating our accomplishments and building the momentum needed to complete this important project for a healthier Washington.

Wednesday, October 5 • 1:30 p.m.
Riverpoint Campus
Lawn area between the Health Sciences Building and the Academic Center

RSVP by September 28 | Add to My Calendar

For more information, email spokane.chancellor@wsu.edu or call 509-358-7550.

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Cougs care...in Walla Walla County

Providing Mental Health Care to Inmates

By Doug Nadvornick

Years ago, when Anne Mason was studying to become a psychiatric nurse practitioner, the Walla Walla native didn't have to drive far to get to her laboratory: the Washington State Penitentiary.

"It was a great opportunity to work in an inpatient psychiatric facility," said Mason, now a clinical assistant professor in the WSU College of Nursing.

She says she spent more than 300 hours as a student working at the state facility. Later, after getting her nurse practitioner's license, she returned to the penitentiary. For four years, Mason worked a few days a week with inmates. She handled her own caseload, just as a psychiatrist would. She assessed their personalities, diagnosed their problems, devised treatments and wrote prescriptions.

"The inmates we worked with get good care. And I think we helped to improve the safety of society," she said.

Mason no longer practices behind bars. She's busy coordinating and teaching WSU nursing students in Walla Walla and working on her own Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. But she says she's still interested in how mental health care is delivered in correctional facilities.

Mason says one of the most difficult parts of working with inmates is determining the extent of their chemical dependencies. For example, do they play games with the provider as a way of tricking her into prescribing drugs for them? She says she developed a kind of radar to figure out which inmates were play-acting and which were genuine.

Dr. Bruce Gage, chief of psychiatry for the Washington Department of Corrections, says psychiatric nurse practitioners like Mason supplement the work of psychiatrists in prisons.

"Having an appropriate mix of psychiatrists and nurse practitioners allows us to provide the most effective service in the most efficient manner," says Gage, "thereby reducing both the costs and problems associated with untreated or improperly treated mental illness."

Now that she's away from the prison, Mason says she misses the chance to make a difference in inmates' lives. But she says she still carries with her the lessons she has learned. 

"The experience drastically improved my teaching ability as I brought my clinical experiences into the classroom," she said.

WSU faculty, students, and alumni in the health sciences and professions are making a difference around the state and beyond. This new recurring feature will highlight how Cougs are caring for Washingtonians in each of Washington's 39 counties.

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Speech & Hearing Sciences Consolidates in Spokane, Joins Division of Health Sciences

By Judith Van Dongen

A change that was two years in the making came to a conclusion this fall when the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences officially consolidated its programs in Spokane. The Spokane campus is now home to 65 upper-division undergraduate students in speech and hearing sciences, most of whom made the move to Spokane from Pullman. They join their fellow students in the graduate program, which was already based in Spokane.

"It's been a good change," said Kelly Wiegardt, a senior in the speech and hearing sciences program, who spent the past two years in Pullman. "What has helped make the transition easy was having my friends in the program move up here as well." Wiegardt is sharing a house with four other speech and hearing sciences majors, and enjoys exploring Spokane with her roommates.

Although the department continues to maintain a minimal presence on the Pullman Campus, the faculty are now officially based in Spokane as well and are settling into their new routines. The team was recently expanded with the hire of a new academic advisor, Georgina Lynch. In addition to her academic support duties, Lynch—who has experience as a speech-language pathologist—will also teach certain undergraduate courses.

Earlier this summer, another change happened that solidified the department’s place on the Spokane campus. As of July 1, the department officially left its college home in the College of Liberal Arts and became part of the Division of Health Sciences under vice provost Gary Pollack. It is the third program in the division, after the WWAMI medical education program and the health policy and administration program.

"There’s so much interest in building the health sciences," said Chermak. "We now have an administrative home that has a more common vision, more common experiences—I think it's where we should be."


Public Comment Solicited for CAA Re-accreditation

The graduate program in speech-language pathology is seeking re-accreditation from the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA). Individuals who wish to provide input may provide comments to the site visit team during the program’s scheduled site visit on October 27-28, 2011. Comments must relate to the program’s compliance with the published Standards for Accreditation of Graduate Education Programs in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology, effective January 1, 1999. A copy of the Standards for Accreditation and the CAA’s Policy on Public Comment may be obtained by contacting the Accreditation Office at American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2200 Research Boulevard #310, Rockville, MD 20850, calling ASHA’s Action Center at 800-498-2071, or accessing the documents on ASHA’s Web site at http://asha.org/about/credentialing/accreditation/. Public comment will be solicited at a meeting to be held on Friday, October, 28, 2011, Health Sciences Building, 110C.
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Design Students Interpret Campus-Community Connections

Photos by Becki Meehan & Judith Van Dongen

WSU Spokane design students chalked up concepts of sidewalk connections between the Riverpoint Campus and surrounding community for the Interdisciplinary Design Institute's annual Fall Design Charrette Aug. 24-26.

The 48-hour intensive competition united graduate and undergraduate students in architecture and interior design into teams across disciplines. Each team expressed its ideas on a campus sidewalk in chalk, three dimensional sculptures or other forms that were on display Friday afternoon.

  • Winning first place was Team 11: Elizabeth Ross (BA in interior design); Josh Small (BA in interior design); Natalie Long (M Arch); and Mellissa Collins (MA in interior design)
  • Second place went to Team 9: Toreé Miller (BA in interior design); Allyson Larosa (BA in interior design); Cecelia Daniels (M Arch); and Neha Rengarajan (MA in interior design)
  • Third place was Team 5: Ariel Hutchinson (BA in interior design); Merrissa Janas (BA in interior design); Robert Brockman (M Arch); and Susie Gadd (MA in interior design)
  • Fourth place was awarded to Team 10: Lindsay Riikula (BA in interior design; Karla Lee (BA in interior design); Cameron Johnson (M Arch); and Yi-Fang Chen (MA in interior design)
  • Fifth place was a tie between Team 1 and Team 18. Team 1 included: Katrina Dunbar (BA in interior design); Jonathan Dillow (BA in interior design); Kayla Ross (BA in interior design); and Farhad Shariatzadeh (M Arch). Team 18 included: Dulcey Brabeck (BA in interior design); Sung-Jae Hong (BA in interior design); Janet Gordon (M Arch); and Shannon Rifenbery (MA in interior design). 
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Criminal Justice Given Department Status

By Judith Van Dongen

The Criminal Justice Program at WSU has been granted autonomous department status and is now the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology. The new department, chaired by David Brody, is based on the Pullman Campus and will maintain its current presence in Spokane.

The second oldest of its kind in the United States, the department previously enjoyed autonomous status from its founding in 1943 as the Department of Police Science until—by then known as the Department of Criminal Justice—it merged with the Department of Political Science in 1982, after which it became the Criminal Justice Program.

The decision to separate from the Department of Political Science was made five years ago and was an amicable one, says Brody. He cites resource allocation and increased focus as reasons for the decision.

Program offerings stay the same for now, with the undergraduate major and minor based in Pullman and the MA and PhD in criminal justice continuing to be available to students in both Spokane and Pullman. It is anticipated that, in fall 2012, the graduate offerings will be expanded to include an online master’s degree that is currently being developed that will extend the reach of the department throughout the state and beyond.

In the area of research, several faculty have found linkages with health sciences researchers on the Spokane campus.

"There's a growing and dynamic paradigm within criminal justice that views crime and its impacts on society as a public health problem," said Brody, "And it really fits with some of the work being done in Spokane."

Professor of criminal justice Bryan Vila has been conducting grant-funded studies on the effects of fatigue on police performance through his affiliation with the Sleep and Performance Research Center. Recent Pullman hire Zach Hamilton, an assistant professor, has contributed his knowledge on reentry as part of a grant application team led by substance abuse expert John Roll. And clinical assistant professor Jacqueline van Wormer, a WSU PhD graduate known nationally for her expertise on drug courts, is collaborating with Bob Short in the Washington Institute for Mental Health Research and Treatment.

"We're committed to continuing to work in an interdisciplinary nature, with a focus on the linkages between crime, criminal justice, and the health sciences," Brody said.

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Higher Education Legislative Tour Visits Spokane

By Barb Chamberlain

Stories of personal attainment and reminders of how essential postsecondary education is to every employee and employer highlighted a hearing held Sept. 20 by the House Higher Education Committee at the Riverpoint Campus.

The first in a series of meetings being held around the state, the day focused on pipeline and educational attainment issues such as college readiness, student transfer, and transition challenges. All five higher education institutions presented a number of creative and collaborative programs, from the I-BEST program through Community Colleges of Spokane, which couples basic English skills with job training, to the partnerships in health education at Riverpoint.

A panel on workforce and higher education examined the aerospace and healthcare industries, with WSU Spokane chancellor Brian Pitcher presenting plans for growth in the health professions.

Sheila Masteller, VP for advocacy, Providence Health and Services; Keith Baldwin, CEO of the Spokane County Medical Society; and College of Nursing instructor Lynette Vehrs, who also represented the Washington State Nurses Association, all spoke of the trend toward a team approach in health education and how that will affect the health care workforce of the future.

All three agreed that the move toward measurement of outcomes rather than volume of activity and a shift toward wellness care rather than "illness care" are inevitable, making new approaches to the education of health professions essential.

A second panel on educational attainment included a presentation on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics) education by Joan Kingrey of the WSU College of Education at WSU Spokane, covering both the Riverpoint Advanced Math Partnership and Project Lead The Way.

Cecilia Arroyo, a master's student in the 4+1 interior design program who also received her bachelor's from WSU Spokane, shared her personal story of educational attainment. A first-generation college student whose Mexican-American parents encouraged all three of their children to earn a baccalaureate, as well as go on to graduate school, Arroyo described the importance of programs that enabled her to envision a career path rooted in higher education and the opportunity to serve as a mentor herself.

Another committee meeting is being held today at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, and a non-committee meeting at WSU-Tri Cities and Columbia Basin College will be held on September 22. The series will continue in October at Seattle University and Skagit Valley Community College, then in November a culminating meeting for the series will be held at South Puget Sound Community College.

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Spokane River Clean-up in the University District

By Barb Chamberlain

Love the Spokane River? Join about 800-1,000 folks from across our region in the annual Spokane River Clean-Up, set for Saturday, October 1.

Each year, the trash tallies grow as more and more folks show up and cover more and more areas along the Spokane River shoreline. A growing list of groups and organizations, like high schools, churches, whitewater groups, service clubs and others sign up too, each taking advantage of the Clean-Up as a way to give back to the community and beautify the river. 

Whether you’re a first-timer or an experienced picker-upper, you’re invited to join the fun. Live east of Downtown? This year’s event is planned to cover the University District, Sullivan Park, Barker Road, and Harvard Road in Spokane Valley. And that’s in addition to our base, the Downtown River Gorge area around Peaceful Valley, High Bridge and People’s Park.

Our online registration page is now open - so sign up today. Even better, recruit your friends, classmates, favorite group or club, too, and if you pre-register, you can sign up as a team.

It’s the most fun you’ll ever have picking up trash. We'll see you there!

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Milestones

  • Professor of education Gail Furman has been appointed as co-editor of the Journal of Research on Leadership Education, a refereed, online journal that focuses on research related to the preparation of K-20 educational leaders. She shares her editorial responsibilities with Tri-Cities based associate professor of education Michele Acker-Hocevar.
  • Associate professor of pharmacotherapy Mark Garrison and WWAMI clinical associate professor Matt Layton were honored with  “Excellence in Teaching" awards by the graduating class at the MEDEX Northwest Physician Assistant Program Commencement on August 26.
  • Clinical assistant professor of pharmacotherapy Angela Maldonado has been elected as the 2011-2012 chair-elect of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy's Immunology/Transplantation Practice and Research Network.
  • Associate professor of pharmacotherapy Stephen Setter has been appointed to the Commission for Certification in Geriatric Pharmacy (CCGP) Exam Development Committee.
  • Doctor of Pharmacy candidate Lisa Garza '14 has been selected to receive the National Community Pharmacists Association's Partners (NCPA) in Pharmacy Scholarship. The award will be presented to her at the NCPA Foundation Awards Ceremony during the 2011 NCPA Annual Convention held in Nashville, Tenn., in October. Garza will receive an award certificate and a $2,000 check made payable to WSU College of Pharmacy to be applied toward her tuition/book fees. In addition, she will receive complimentary student registration to the convention and a travel stipend.
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Community Connections

  • Sat. Oct. 1 - KPBX Kid's Concert: The Four Seasons Featuring Tedesca!
    Come to the River Park Square Atrium at 1 p.m. on Saturday, October 1, for a special Vivaldi performance for families. In addition, Mobius Kids will provide the opportunity to complete a fall craft project. This event is free and open to the public. See the Spokane Public Radio Web site for more information.
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Personnel and Staffing Changes    

 

Comings:

  •  Kasey Webster, Student Services Specialist (Student Involvement Coordinator), Student Affairs, effective August 22, 2011.
  • Shane Tuck, Project Specialist, Area Health Education Center of Eastern Washington, effective August 22, 2011.
  • Adam Strate, Student Services Specialist (MESA Middle School Coordinator), MESA, effective September 1, 2011.
  • Claudine Richardson, Upward Bound Manager, Student Affairs, effective September 1, 2011.
  • Polly Smith, Office Assistant 2 (50%), MESA, effective September 14, 2011.
     

Promotions:

  • Dawn Scartozzi, from Office Assistant 3 to Administrative Assistant 2, Chancellor's Office, effective July 1, 2011. 
  • Kim Calamia-McKee, Fiscal Specialist Supervisor from the Office of Research to Program Administrative Manager with AHEC, effective September 1, 2011.
     

Transitions:

  • Gail Furman, Interim Academic Director, Educational Leadership and Counseling Psychology, effective fall semester through July 15, 2012. The department anticipated conducting a search to fill the position permanently.
  • Joan Kingrey is transitioning out of the academic director role and will continue teaching with Educational Leadership program.
     

Goings:

  • John Kuhn, Research Intern, Sleep and Performance Research Center, effective September 10, 2011.
     

Recruitment & Searches:

  • Academic Coordinator, College of Pharmacy, closes September 18, 2011.
  • Assistant/Associate Professor, Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, closes January 15, 2012.
  • Assistant or Associate Professor, College of Nursing, open until filled.
  • Assistant or Associate Professor, College of Pharmacy/WSU Extension, Physiology, open until filled, review of applications begins August 31, 2011.
  • Fiscal Specialist 2, Office of Research (Grants and Contracts), closes October 3, 2011.  Apply at www.wsujobs.com.
  • Office Assistant 2 (50% / 10-months per year), Spokane MESA Center, closed August 16, 2011, position has been filled.
  • Office Assistant 2, College of Pharmacy, closes September 25, 2011.  Apply at www.wsujobs.com.
  • Postdoctoral Research Associate, College of Nursing, open until filled,
  • Professor and Chair, Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, open until filled, screening began April 1, 2011
  • Professor and Chair, Pharmacotherapy, College of Pharmacy, open until filled, screening began June 1, 2011.
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Way to Go!

Way to go to the following Riverpoint Campus Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) members, who were selected as "Most Valuable Commuter" during the past three months: carpooler Kathy Bridwell, nursing (July), bike rider Barb Chamberlain, communications (August), and bus rider Brian Todd, custodial (September). Barb Chamberlain also received the “Way To Go” award from the Spokane County CTR office for both her personal and professional commitment to biking. In 2011 Barb has driven to campus only 11 days.  Also, congratulations to Andre Wamsley, custodial, for winning a clean air mug and $10 Dutch Bros. gift card for his carpooling efforts.
(from the Riverpoint Campus Commute Trip Reduction Committee)

Here's where you make someone's day a little brighter by extending your thanks for a job well done. Send your "Way to Go!” comments to Judith Van Dongen and watch for your thanks to be published in an upcoming issue of the Campus Bulletin!

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A Warm Welcome to...

...Kasey Webster, the new student involvement coordinator in the Office of Student Affairs. In his new role, he will serve as the campus contact and advisor for ASWSU Spokane, registered student organizations, and other student groups. Kasey comes to Spokane from WSU Pullman, where he was a graduate student and a graduate assistant for the Budget Office. He also served as the student regent on the WSU Board of Regents for the 2009-2010 academic year. Kasey holds a BA in Political Science and an MA in Higher Education Administration, both from WSU.

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The Bulletin is a monthly publication that is usually published on the second Wednesday of each month. The exact publication date may shift due to holidays. If you have an item that you'd like us to include, send it to us by Friday in the week before 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 professional accomplishments, opportunities for involvement in the campus community and the Spokane community, notices of new developments on campus, upcoming events, personnel changes, 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!

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Editorial staff

Contact Us: communications@wsu.edu, 509-358-7500 | Communications
Mailing: PO Box 1495, Spokane WA 99210-1495. Shipping: 412 E. Spokane Falls Blvd., Spokane WA 99202