Notices and Announcements

This is the last week to nominate titles for consideration as the 2025–26 WSU Common Reading, with a deadline to submit nominations by Monday, April 22. The selection committee welcomes nominations of books in any genre and on any topic that could spark multidisciplinary campus-wide conversation, classroom use, and activities. The nomination form is available at commonreading.wsu.edu.

The program also encourages instructors and programs across the university to consider use of the 2024–25 Common Reading, Priya Fielding Singh’s How the Other Half Eats: The Untold Story of Food and Inequality in America. All incoming first-year students across the system will be receiving paperback copies of the book in August, thanks to funding from the Provost’s Office. Links to request an exam copy, information on the book, and options for inexpensive student access are also available on the Common Reading site.

Check out these upcoming development opportunities over the coming weeks:

• Conflict Resolution, April 30
  Learn more and register for Conflict Resolution

  Join Learning and Organizational Development Manager Laura Hamilton as you explore to understand the five main styles of conflict resolution, and the six phases of the resolution process.

• Crucial Accountability Book Review, May 2 and 21
  Learn more and register for Crucial Accountability Book Review

  Crucial Accountability offers tools for improving relationships in the workplace and in life. Learn how to deal with violated expectations in a way that permanently solves the problem at hand without harming the relationship.

• Workplace Communication: Giving & Receiving Feedback, May 14
  Learn more and register for Workplace Communication

  Review the development stages of teams and the importance of clear communication in the workplace. Using an interactive survey, participants will identify different communication styles, including their own, and the skills required to give feedback effectively.

Tuesday, April 23, 6–7 p.m.
The Hecht Meeting Room, Neill Public Library
Downtown Pullman

There will be pastries!

Description:

At this critical juncture in which the biodiversity of planet Earth appears to be shrinking fast and furiously, in his new book, The Ecology of British and American Empire Writing, 1704–1894 (Edinburgh UP, 2024), Louis Kirk McAuley invites us to consider the ways in which particular unruly natures, including animals, plants, and minerals, actively intervene in literature to decenter the human.

For this public lecture, McAuley will present an eco-feminist reading of Leonora Sansay’s Gothic novel set during the Haitian Revolution, Secret History; Or, the Horrors of St. Domingo (1808). According to McAuley, Sansay’s work establishes a troubling connection between the brutality of capitalism and evolutionary biology vis-à-vis women’s struggle for survival in a misogynistic plantation economy designed to satisfy the desires of European men.

Speaker bio:

Dr. Kirk McAuley is an associate professor and associate chair in the Department of English at WSU, and, in addition to various scholarly articles and chapters, he is the author of two books, including (most recently) The Ecology of British and American Empire Writing, 1704–1894 (Edinburgh University Press, 2024), the research for which was supported by a 2015–16 Fulbright Scholarship at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh, UK.

HRS Benefits is hosting a presentation on “Social Security 101 — Everything You Wanted to Know.” Kirk Larson with Social Security will be presenting on topics such as:

• When are you eligible to receive benefits
• How an early draw can affect your benefits
• Survivor, spouse and disability benefits
• What is the future of Social Security, and
• When should you file for Medicare

To register to attend, visit Percipo, where the Zoom link will be provided once you register. (Note: This is a joint presentation with Bellevue Community College, which the Zoom link will reflect.)

WSU will be hosting this event again in the fall if you are not able to attend this presentation.

A new Commercialization Gap Fund cycle is coming soon!

Hosted by the Office of Commercialization (OC) with support from the Washington Research Foundation (WRF), the yearly competition aims to provide a funding avenue for researchers looking to bridge the “gap” between their research and industry.

Through the Commercialization Gap Fund (CGF), you can receive up to $50,000 in awards to help turn your innovative ideas and inventions into viable market products.

Join us for an informational Zoom webinar!

Friday, April 19, 2–3 p.m.
Register online!

Contact the Office of Commercialization:

509-335-5526
commercialization@wsu.edu
commercialization.wsu.edu/about-us

Students, faculty, and staff are invited to join the Cougs for Recovery community to learn how to reduce the risk of opioid overdose at Narcan training.

The training will cover how to recognize the symptoms of opioid overdose, assess appropriate care, and administer naloxone (Narcan). Participants will also learn how to use fentanyl test strips.

The training takes place Wednesday, April 24, 3–4 p.m. in Todd Hall 133 on the Pullman campus.

All are welcome to attend. Free Narcan kits and fentanyl test strips will be provided at the end of the training. No registration required.

Narcan kits are also available for free at the Cougar Health Services Pharmacy.

The Trickster is popularly portrayed as a being who animates and enlivens humanity’s oldest stories. How can the Trickster character be applied to our politics today? Join us in welcoming Shepherd Siegel, an author and activist.

Join us at Bryan Hall 308, Foley Speaker’s Room, on the Pullman campus. Pizza and soft drinks will be served and the event will be livestreamed at youtube.com/@FoleyInstitute/streams.

WSU’s Kamiak High Performance Computing (HPC) cluster is a powerful resource available for all WSU researchers to accelerate their research computing. This presentation will highlight key features and recent upgrades to Kamiak and lay out the Center for Institutional Research Computing’s (CIRC) plans for the future. Learn how you can take advantage of Kamiak’s freely available research computing resources and find out how you can purchase expanded compute power for your lab using CIRC’s condominium style investment model.

Join us on Tuesday, April 23, from 11:10 a.m. – noon.

RSVP to receive the Zoom link

• Roundtable Discussion: Recruitment (for HR partners and recruiters)
  April 18; 9:30–10:30 a.m.
  SPBS 409
  Registration: TBD
• WSU Classification & Compensation
  April 18; 2–3 p.m.
  SAC 401A
  Register for WSU Classification & Compensation
• Crucial Conversations Book Review (abbreviated version of the virtual training)
  April 18; 1–2:30 p.m.
  SNRS 119
  Register for Crucial Conversations Book Review
• WSU Health and Wellness
  April 18; 3–4 p.m. (also being streamed via Zoom)
  SAC 515
  Register for WSU Health and Wellness
• WSU Benefits (individual meetings)
  April 18
  Contact HRS at 509-335-4521 or hrs.benefits@wsu.edu to request a meeting time. Various 1:1 sessions are available between 8:15 a.m. and 3 p.m.

More information: hrs.wsu.edu/contact/hrs-presents

Do you know an incredible Coug? We are now accepting Fall 2024 award nominations to recognize amazing WSU alums, staff, students, volunteers, and friends.

Learn more and submit your award nominations online by August 30 at alumni.wsu.edu/awards.

Please contact Jamaica Vandolah at jvandolah@wsu.edu if you have any questions.

Learn about past recipients at screens.wsu.edu/alumniwallofhonor.

The President’s Commission on Gender Identity and Expression and Sexual Orientation (GIESO) will be hosting a spring celebration on April 18 from 3–5 p.m.

Here is what you can look forward to at the event:

• All student, staff, faculty and community members are invited!
• Acknowledging GIESO Scholarship and Award winners
• Highlights of WSU LGBTQIA2S+ accomplishments from the past year
• Option to attend in person (Spokane Diversity Center SAC 105 and Pullman CUB Junior Ballroom) and via Zoom (link provided at RSVP link)
• Enjoy giveaways, prizes, and music!
• Build community with LGBTQ+ Cougs

You are welcome to RSVP for the event. Are you interested in highlighting your accomplishments at our event? Let us know at the RSVP link.

Tuesday, April 16, at 3 p.m.
Compton Union Building
LGBTQ+ Center, CUB 401
WSU Pullman

Free!

Join the SmartHealth Washington Moves event between April 15 and 26.

• Who can participate?
  
  This event is for all eligible SmartHealth participants (PEBB eligible employees) — all ages and abilities. Any type of movement that gets you breathing harder and your heart beating faster for about 25 minutes at a time counts. Walking, dancing, chair aerobics, rowing — whatever you like!

  Governor Inslee invites you to join!  Watch this video message from the Governor.

• Why is movement important?
  
  Movement helps your well-being and quality of life. It can: Improve mental health by reducing depression and anxiety. Lower your risk of certain conditions like heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers. Help strengthen bones and muscles.

Track it! You’ll earn 200 SmartHealth points for participating virtually from wherever you are.

Diane Scott of Politics, Philosophy and Public Affairs, has been approved for shared leave. Those interested in donating can do so by following the instructions below.

From your Workday home page:

1. Click on the Absence applet.
2. Click Request Absence.
3. Click on today’s date only on the calendar (even if donating for a range of dates).
4. Click blue Request Absence button on the page bottom left side.
5. Select Absence Type, then Donate Leave, then choose type of leave you wish to donate and then click next.
6. On the Request Absence screen, click the grey Edit Quantity per Day option.
7. Enter the amount of hours you would like to donate in the Update All Quantities box, then in the comments leave the name of the recipient. Click Done.
8. Choose Reason for Donation, then submit.

When submitting donated leave, please list only one recipient per transaction.

Thank you.

Effective tomorrow, April 16, Pullman General University Classroom (GUC) support is transitioning to Information Technology Services (ITS) under a new department name: Pullman Integrated Academic Technologies (PIAT).

Striving for a seamless organizational transition, ITS and PIAT are committed to ensuring Pullman learning spaces, faculty, and staff continue receiving high-level support for all classroom needs.

Pullman faculty and staff are encouraged to continue using the 509-335-5044 phone number to contact the PIAT team for immediate classroom support.

Starting April 16, requests for classroom support can also be directed to the new PIAT service desk email: piat@wsu.edu.

As we finalize this move, ITS is excited to expand our service capabilities and offer improved resources to the Pullman community with the support and assistance of the PIAT team.

Please reach out to ITS Director Jacqueline Southwick via email at jsouthwick@wsu.edu for any questions, concerns, or additional support regarding Pullman’s classroom support transition to ITS.

The following policy is revised in the BPPM:

• 10.35 Internal Rule-Making Procedures

For a summary of the changes, see BPPM Revision #624.

Dr. Keith Hengen — assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis biology department — will be visiting WSU Spokane for the SPRC Seminar Series. His seminar, entitled “Peering into the Operating System: Sleep and Disease,” will be in person in the Spokane Center for Clinical Research and Simulation room 250 and through Zoom on Tuesday, May 7, 12:10–1 p.m.

Keith Hengen earned his PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Keith continued his postdoctoral research under Gina Turrigiano at Brandeis University, where he began exploring topics such as sleep, emergent dynamics, and optimal computation. In 2017, Keith assumed a faculty position in the Department of Biology at Washington University in St. Louis. The Hengen Lab primarily posits that the most important feature of neurobiological computation is reliability, which serves as a foundational element for learning, complex behavior, and cognition. This is examined using a multidisciplinary approach of neurophysiology, computational modeling, theory, and cell biology. Keith’s work has been recognized through several prestigious awards, including the Allen Institute’s Next Generation Leader Award and the BrightFocus Foundation’s Outstanding Achievement Award in Alzheimer’s Disease Research.

We look forward to you joining us in person (SCCRS 250) or through Zoom!

Questions/Zoom link? Contact Michelle Sanchez at michelle.r.sanchez@wsu.edu.

Dr. Chathuri Kombala — post-doctoral research associate at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) — will be visiting WSU Spokane for the SPRC Seminar Series. Her seminar, entitled “Profiling functional rhythmicity using chemical biology approaches,” will be in person in the Spokane Center for Clinical Research and Simulation room 250 and through Zoom on Tuesday, April 23, 12:10–1 p.m.

Chathuri Kombala currently works as a chemical biology post-doctoral research associate at PNNL. She received her BS from University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, and her PhD in chemistry from the University of Arizona in 2020. As a member of WSU-PNNL joint program in microbiome science, she developed and utilized chemical biology tools to assess the functional rhythmicity in gut microbiome and host peripheral organs. Her current research focus is to understand the link between the microbiome and host circadian rhythms using multi-omics and chemical biology approaches.

We look forward to you joining us in person (SCCRS 250) or through Zoom!

Questions/Zoom link? Contact Michelle Sanchez at michelle.r.sanchez@wsu.edu.

The 9th annual #CougsGive day of giving is Wednesday, April 17.

#CougsGive is a day for Washington State University alumni, students, faculty, staff, parents, and friends to celebrate what makes the Cougar family special through philanthropy and advocacy. The event website is cougsgive.wsu.edu.

The 24-hour event includes live fundraising for university priorities, more than $200,000 worth of unlockable matches and challenges, and a Cougar Ambassador function that allows anyone to sign up and share their excitement about the day.

All Cougs are invited to share their personal WSU stories on social media using the hashtag #CougsGive. For those who participate as ambassadors, there will be unlockable bonuses for the individuals who refer the most donors during the day.

Since the first giving day in 2015, the WSU community has generously contributed more than $3.8 million in donations during #CougsGive and shared hundreds of touching and inspirational personal stories about their connections to the university.

If your preferred funding area is not featured on the #CougsGive website, gifts to all WSU giving platforms on the day still will be counted for the campaign.

Please visit cougsgive.wsu.edu to see all the opportunities for the day. Questions about #CougsGive can be sent to annualgiving@wsu.edu.

Join us on April 16, 6–7 p.m. for the pub talk “Driving Change: Alternative Fuel Strategies and Athlete Branding in the Modern Era” with Cara Hawkins-Jedlicka and Josh Heyne. Please visit efa.wsu.edu/category/efa-events for talk details, info on speakers, and how to attend.

Topics and presenters are arranged by the WSU’s Entrepreneurial Faculty Ambassador (EFA) Program and the Palouse Discovery Science Center (PDSC). All Donations support PDSC.