CAHNRS News – January 13, 2012

Call for CAHNRS Student Award Nomination Letters 2011-2012

We encourage administrators, faculty, students, and staff to nominate deserving candidates from your department or program in as many categories as possible, but request nominations be limited to one student per award category per department. As always, students must be nominated to have an opportunity to receive these awards. The award process creates a rare opportunity for all of us to acknowledge what we value and appreciate about our outstanding students. Please carefully consider making the effort to acknowledge students who have made extraordinary contributions to the CAHNRS experience. They work hard and deserve to be recognized. Please discuss your intention to nominate a candidate with your department chair prior to submitting a letter to coordinate the process. Visit http://academic.cahnrs.wsu.edu/Awards/criteria/student-announcement.html for a list of awards and important deadline dates. Nomination letters are due Jan. 20, 2012 by emailing Sean McIlraith at smcilraith@wsu.edu.

USDA-FAS Accepting Applications

The USDA-Foreign Agricultural Service is accepting applications for graduate students to be placed in internships at FAS posts overseas. This opportunity states that the timeframe is from May-September but will work with students given the academic calendar. The application is due Jan. 20. Visit http://www.fas.usda.gov/admin/student/iaip/index.asp for more information.

Spring to Action, Break for Change Application Deadline

Please remind students that Jan. 30 is the deadline to apply for alternative Spring Break. “Spring to Action, Break for Change” is an opportunity for students to learn and have fun while making a difference during Spring Break. Students travel together to various locations around Washington to learn about and contribute to sustainable agriculture, natural resources, and community food systems. With the exception of a few meals and personal expenses, trip costs are mostly covered by the WSU Center for Civic Engagement, the Center for Sustainable Agriculture & Natural Resources, while community sponsors cover transportation, lodging, and most meals. One academic credit is available (Soils 499). Space is limited, so sign up early! Applications are available here. Contact the CCE at 509-335-7708 or cce@wsu.edu for more info.

Jan Holmes Memorial Is Jan. 29

Longtime Beach Watchers volunteer Jan Holmes passed away Dec. 15. She is survived by her husband, Steve, her canine child, Chester, many friends, and countless others whose lives were touched by the work done by this remarkable woman. Jan’s great personal charisma, her leadership, and the sparkle she brought to everything she did will be greatly missed. A memorial service will be held on Jan. 29 at Freeland Hall on Whidbey Island, 1 -3 p.m. Jan’s many contributions to the Beach Watchers program were recognized in 2010 when she received the Western Washington Cox Conserves Hero Award.

Jan signed up for the fledgling WSU Extension Island County Beach Watcher organization just in time to join its second class, tackling the training in the summer of 1990. A former flight attendant, and with a lifelong interest in science, she found herself fascinated by the marine science portion of the curriculum. Soon after, she made a decision to return to college to earn a master’s degree in marine biology. Fueled by boundless energy, a curiosity about the natural world, and a desire to help the environment, Jan took on many projects in her 20-plus years as a Beach Watcher. She helped develop and coordinate the intertidal monitoring program and database, worked on projects to determine the extent of shoreline hardening along Island County beaches, and set up and worked on eelgrass monitoring studies.

Jan contributed to the Beach Watchers advisory board and became a member of the Island County Marine Resources Committee. She attended scientific conferences where she presented posters. Jan became part of the Central Puget Sound Marine Mammal Stranding Network. She was also cofounder and board president of Periwinkle Press, a nonprofit organization with a primary objective of promoting marine education. Wanting to encourage children’s excitement about science, Jan set up microscope demonstrations for them at the Penn Cove Water Festival, Welcome the Whales, and other public events where she pointed out organisms and asked, “Isn’t science fun?” A gifted and natural teacher, she presented formal classes and led field trips to educate Beach Watchers and the general public about tides, marine biology, and many other topics.

New Director of Recruitment and Retention

Andrea Young is now serving as the assistant director of recruitment and retention for CAHNRS. Andrea comes to us from the sweet cherry breeding program at Prosser IAREC, and brings a diverse background of industry and academic experiences to the position. Andrea may be a familiar face to many of you since she earned her undergraduate degree in Agriculture Communications and graduate degree in MS in Agriculture. She also assisted with student recruitment while serving as a CAHNRS Student Ambassador during her undergraduate experience. Andrea has the energy, passion and expertise to continue to expand the momentum we have generated in the recruitment arena over the last 4 years, and we are truly honored to have her join the Academic Programs team. Andrea hails from a farming family on the Palouse and is excited to return to the area.

Andrea’s initial efforts will be to:

  1. Develop synergistic, coordinated recruitment efforts with department and university personnel for each undergraduate academic degree program in CAHNRS. This will include updating recruitment materials, coordinating recruitment activities and developing consistent messaging that highlight opportunities in each of these programs.
  2. Establish a connection with the WSU regional recruiters to coordinate marketing efforts and to provide them with materials that support them with clearly conveying who we are, what we do and the career tracks available with CAHNRS degree to perspective students.

Andrea’s Contact Information:
401 0 Hulbert Hall
509-335-5013
ayoung@wsu.edu

423 Hulbert Hall, PO Box 646243
Pullman, WA 99164-6243

Please join us in welcoming Andrea back to Pullman!

Alexander A. Smick Scholarship in Rural Community Service and Development

The Smick Scholarship encourages student engagement with an applied course of study in the field of rural community service and development. This scholarship, which will award two or more scholarships of up to $1,500 each, is open to all WSU undergraduate and graduate students who have a demonstrated interest in development issues facing rural citizens. Successful applicants will outline a specific activity in rural community service and development that will be supported by the scholarship and conducted during the 2012 calendar year under the direction of a WSU faculty member who has relevant academic credentials in community service and development. To apply, a student must complete an application form, which includes a statement that explains how the successful scholarship winner will utilize the funds to engage in an activity in community service and development. The deadline to apply for this scholarship is Jan. 27, 2012. Applications must be submitted to the CAHNRS Office of Academic Programs in 423 Hulbert Hall. For more information, please contact Dr. Jessica Goldberger at jgoldberger@wsu.edu or 335-8540. Download the scholarship application from http://academic.cahnrs.wsu.edu/.