College News

Scientists using an experimental treatment have slowed the progression of scrapie, a degenerative central nervous disease caused by prions, in laboratory mice and greatly extended the rodents' lives, according to a new report in JCI Insight. The scientists used antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs), synthetic compounds that inhibit the formation of specific proteins.

The events that transpired during the past week in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio reiterate the fact that no community is safe from atrocities borne of hatred, racism, provocative media and divisive politics that feed off of xenophobic fears.

More than 50 Western Washington University students and graduates received Outstanding Graduate honors for the 2018-19 academic year. 

Faculty members from dozens of academic departments and programs select one graduate to honor as the Outstanding Graduate of the year. Selection is a high honor based on grades, research and writing, service to the campus and community, and promise for the future.

This summer eight English students who are working in pairs on research related to the American Disability Act, the 1807 Act to Abolish Slavery, the Nuremberg Code, and the movement toward automation.  Students are studying what led up to these events and their relevance today.

On Tuesday, July 30, from 10:15-11:30 a.m. in Carver 265, the students will be present their research findings with academic research posters.

The campus community is invited to come and hear about their research.

Abstracts:

More than 50 Western Washington University students and graduates received Outstanding Graduate honors for the 2018-19 academic year. 

Faculty members from dozens of academic departments and programs select one graduate to honor as the Outstanding Graduate of the year. Selection is a high honor based on grades, research and writing, service to the campus and community, and promise for the future.

Introduction to Communication and Public Speaking (Comm 100) College Quest students in 10th and 11th grade will deliver their final culminating speech in a TED Talk like style presentation. 

Students in the program explore the process of oral communication and actively participate in the development of their public speaking skills.

More than 2,000 Western students graduated at the four commencement ceremonies held Friday and Saturday in Carver. Main speakers for the ceremonies were Pictionary creator Rob Angel, documentary filmmaker TJ Martin, former L’Oréal creative director Michael Jorgensen, and Boeing executive Jason Clark. Western also awarded a posthumous honorary degree to former student and Medal of Honor recipient James K. Okubo.


WWU photos by Dan Levine

Noémi Ban, a survivor of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp who became an outspoken advocate and educator on the horrors of the Holocaust and the enduring power of love and tolerance, died on Friday, June 7 at the age of 96.

Ban had been a frequent speaker at Western since the mid-1990s, offering the university’s students, faculty and staff a message not only of remembrance, but of hope and healing.

“Life is precious. Life is wonderful. I love life and I refuse to give in to hate,” she would tell rapt audiences at her quarterly presentations on campus.

WWU Journalism Instructor Joan Connell has co-written with Adam Bartholomew a new book, "Healing All Creation: Genesis, the Gospel of Mark, and the Story of the Universe," which is about to be published by Rowman & Littlefield.

Western Washington University President Sabah Randhawa will honor seven graduates as Presidential Scholars during Commencement on Saturday, June 15.

Presidential Scholar awards honor top students in six colleges for their exceptional scholarship and service to the university and community.

Randhawa will present each of the following Presidential Scholars with a medallion:

Jona Paulreti Akelipa

College of Business and Economics

Joan Hoffman, MCL (Spanish), has published an article:  “On Tragedy and Triumph: Further Comparisons of Yerma and Burning Bright.” Hispanic Journal, vol. 40, no. 1, Spring 2019, pp. 101-12.

Feeling bogged down with clutter? Don’t leave it in the gutter! This move out season, help us divert stuff from landfills and work towards zero waste. Zero Waste Western, a program of the Office of Sustainability, in collaboration with the Campus Community Coalition, is hosting Move Out Madness on Friday, June 14.

Western Washington University’s Department of Communication Studies will host a panel discussion titled “Students of Color: Communication, Activism, and Resistance” at 2:45 p.m. on Monday, June 3 in Haggard Hall 345.

This presentation is free and open to the public.

Western Washington University junior James Jasperson of Olympia will be attempting his second world record at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, June 11 on the track at the Wade King Recreation Center.