On Friday, WSU will celebrate Showcase 2007, a daylong celebration of faculty and staff achievement. Events will include an Academic Showcase, a luncheon presentation featuring Washington State University’s 2007 Distinguished Faculty Address, a reception honoring 2006 patent holders, a reception for WSU retirees, and Celebrating Excellence, the University’s recognition banquet for faculty and staff. This is an extraordinary day that is unlike any event at other universities I have been affiliated with. It’s wonderful that WSU takes the time and energy to celebrate the successes of its faculty and staff.
Once again, CAHNRS will be well represented among those recognized and celebrated in Showcase events throughout the day, including award winners, patent holders, and those receiving tenure and promotion. Two weeks ago, I had the distinct pleasure of hand-delivering the letters notifying faculty of their tenure and promotion. This is one of the true perks of the job – to see the joy on people’s faces when they hear this important news is special. The granting of tenure is obviously an important event for the faculty member, but it is also significant commitment for the college. If we hire the right person and do a good job mentoring the faculty member, then the granting of tenure should be a milepost in the road, rather than the top of the mountain, for that individual. This year, three faculty received tenure; their records indicate and our expectations are that this accomplishment will indeed be a milepost that they pass on the way to greater professional accomplishments. Congratulations to Joan Anderson (AMDT), Byung-Kee Baik (CSS), and Laura Griner Hill (HD).
A special congratulation goes out to Jack Rogers for his selection as a member of the 2007 class of Regents Professors. Many may not know that Jack chaired the initial two years of the Regent’s Professor Selection Committee. Regents Professors are selected by a committee of Regents Professors, but when the rank was established, obviously there were no faculty holding this rank. The Provost turned to Jack to head up this process; a great testimony to his stature at WSU. It is only fitting that Dr. Rogers be included in this elite group of faculty.
The Academic Showcase is an excellent venue to share one’s research with the university community, and I appreciate faculty, staff, and graduate students taking time out from their busy schedules to participate in this event. This year, CAHNRS faculty and staff are among the leading participants in the Academic Showcase, contributing 41 posters to the event. These posters range in subjects from basal nucleus-encoded mitochondrial transcription genes, to the population ecology of leopard frogs, to the risks faced by female decorators in the nineteenth century. What a wonderful demonstration of the diversity of our college!