WSU Honors UW College with 2005 Partner Award

PULLMAN, Wash. — The Cougars and Huskies may fight like cats and dogs on the athletic field, but Washington State University Extension has honored the University of Washington College of Forest Resources with its 2005 Partner Award.

The award was announced and presented at the Celebration of Excellence banquet of the All-Extension Conference being held on WSU’s Pullman campus this week. Nearly 400 extension educators from throughout the state are participating.

“The relationship between the University of Washington College of Forest Resources and WSU Extension is the most successful and long-term‘Cougar-Husky’ partnership,” said David Baumgartner, the WSU Extension Natural Resources program director who made the nomination. He specifically mentioned:

  • Location of WSU Extension Forester Don Hanley on the UW campus in Seattle;
  • Collaboration between the two schools on intensive culture of hybrid poplars, which has become a multi-million-dollar alternative crop on both sides of the state;
  • Collaboration between the two schools to develop the Rural Technology Initiative as a cooperative program with the support of a Rural Advisory Board. Funding was made possible by a congressional appropriation through USDA-Forest Service Cooperative Programs. This award-winning partnership has brought nearly $4 million to UW and WSU and has provided staff and resources at both institutions to jointly address important state issues regarding technology transfer.
  • Collocation of WSU’s King County Master Gardener program with the UW College of Forest Resources’ Center for Urban Horticulture, providing clients with the best of talent, resources and location.

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