WSU Internal Communication Moved to Eelectronic Only
Internal communications at WSU will be delivered electronically only, according to a policy announced Jan. 14 by President Elson S. Floyd as part of an effort to reduce operating costs and save resources.
As a result, WSU Today – the university’s newspaper for faculty, staff and graduate students – will cease to be offered in print format. WSU Today will provide internal news and information via its website and other electronic formats.
Floyd urged departments to convert their internal communications to electronic delivery as promptly as possible. By July 1, all internal communication must be electronic.
This decision comes out of efforts by the administration and the University Budget Committee to cut operating costs. Printing and paper costs for WSU Today were $20,531 for the 2007-2008 academic year.
Floyd said internal communication is important for the university. This change to electronic delivery will open up opportunities to use innovative communication technologies and increase access to news and information across all WSU locations, he said.
2009 Academic Showcase Call for Abstracts
The deadline to submit an abstract for 2009 Academic Showcase is Friday, January 30.
All WSU faculty, staff, and students are invited to submit an abstract describing their original scholarship, research, or artistic expression for possible display at the University’s Academic Showcase on March 27. Academic projects are encouraged from all colleges and units and in every discipline.
This year’s Academic Showcase is a great opportunity to celebrate the many ways that Washington State University fulfills its research mission! You are encouraged to submit an abstract for this event. For more information, go to www.showcase.wsu.edu.
The CAHNRS and ARC representative for the Academic Showcase is Michael Kahn (kahn@wsu.edu).
John Winder is representing Extension. For a listing of all Academic Showcase committee members, go to http://showcase.wsu.edu/committees. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns that you may have.
Thanks from Whitman County Humane Society
The Whitman County Humane Society would like to thank everyone at the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences for their generous donations to the shelter through the Sharing Tree. As you know, the shelter is dependent on donations from the community to provide food and shelter for the homeless animals. We very much appreciate your support. You can learn more about the shelter, Fur Ball, and the campaign for AnimalHaven through our Web site: http://www.whitmanpets.org/.
Tell Your Students: International Collegiate Ag Leadership (I-CAL) Program Invites Applications
The best way to learn about international agriculture is to experience it! The I-CAL program is designed for students to learn more about international grain marketing, global ag and acquire valuable cross-cultural experience. While participating in the program, students will experience all aspects of the ag industry, from a 10,000-head dairy farm to a 7-head goat herd that supports three families. In previous years, students have traveled to Spain, Morocco and Egypt to study grain farms, vineyards, dairy buffalo and much more. Travel takes place at the end of May and lasts 12-14 days. Applications and more info are posted to the home page of CAHNRS Academic Programs – http://academic.cahnrs.wsu.edu/. Or visit the FFA site for more info: http://www.ffa.org/index.cfm?method=c_collegiate_home.ShowCollegiateHome&CFID=38175&CFTOKEN=96229377.
Sharratt Selected as Research Leader
Brenton Sharratt has been selected as Research Leader, Land Management and Water Conservation Research Unit in Pullman. His appointment was effective December 21, 2008.
Sharratt received his Ph.D. in soil science in 1984 from the University of Minnesota. Sharratt was a soil scientist at the Subarctic Agricultural Research Unit in Alaska and the North Central Soil Conservation Research Laboratory in Minnesota prior to joining the Land Management and Water Conservation Research Unit in Pullman in 2002. Sharratt’s current research focus is on the development of tillage and crop management strategies for reducing the emission of windblown dust from agricultural lands. He is also the co-director of the Columbia Plateau Wind Erosion/Air Quality Project, a multi-disciplinary team of scientists working to provide sustainable solutions to suppress dust emissions from farmlands and thereby improve air quality throughout the Columbia Plateau.
Sharratt succeeds Don McCool, who stepped down from his research-leader duties in order to pursue full-time research.
Kudos
Rita Hummel was selected as the Educator of the Year by the Washington State Nursery and Landscape Association. This award is “given for meritorious service in any “education” function serving the nursery. Hummel was selected in recognition of her research on issues of relevance to the nursery industry and her willingness to share the results of her research at WSNLA meetings and in the B&B and other trade magazines.
Vernene Scheurer is the first recipient of the 2009 WSU Administrative Professional Employee of the Year award at the Puyallup campus. Vernene has been at WSU since 1973, first at the Pullman campus where she received her M.B.S. in Statistics, then as a consultant for WSU Puyallup REC and, since 1983, as AP staff in Puyallup.
The School of Economic Sciences recently awarded its first “Distinguished Professorship in Agricultural and Resource Economics” to Jeffrey LaFrance, Professor in the School of Economic Sciences. This is an endowed Distinguished Professorship created by the donations of a number of past alumni and friends of the School of Economic Sciences. The purpose of the Professorship is to support high-quality teaching and scholarship on the economics of agriculture, the food system, resources and/or environmental issues. If you have any additional questions about the Professorship, please contact Richard Shumway (shumway@wsu.edu or 335-1007). Shumway is the current co-chair of the Friends Development Committee. He also led the endowment campaign from the faculty side.