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Summer 2024

Larry Clark ’94

Pan roasted duck breast. Photo E.J. Armstrong
Winter 2015

Duck

Rediscovering a worldwide favorite

In a small northeast Washington field, a flock of 34 Ancona ducks—a white breed with distinct, mottled feathers—quack sociably as they waddle around Rebecca Cahill Kemmer’s farm. Sometimes they drop eggs while they follow their guardian geese and gobble up old apples and remnants of summer squash.

Cahill Kemmer and her husband Eric Kemmer started their Pend Oreille County farm, in Fertile Valley just north of Spokane County, in 2013, with education and assistance from WSU Extension’s small farms team. When they chose livestock, ducks were a natural choice.

“They’re very hardy,” says Cahill Kemmer. “Last winter, they liked to sit … » More …

Still Searching for Amelia thumb
Winter 2015

Still searching for Amelia

A Mount Vernon high school teacher gets pulled into one of the greatest mysteries of the twentieth century

Dick Spink ’85 never intended to hunt for Amelia Earhart’s airplane. He specializes in boats.

He put himself through Washington State University designing and fabricating aluminum boats. He now holds on to a day job teaching at Mount Vernon High School, but he’s also a naval architect and licensed master. He sells boat kits all over the world, from Singapore to Africa, and often builds clients’ boats on site. Which is how he found himself in the north Pacific, in the Marshall Islands, and deep into … » More …

Coug students celebrate Campaign for Washington State University. Photo Robert Hubner
Winter 2015

A billion reasons to celebrate

WSU’s fundraising efforts reach a lofty goal

WSU student Selena Alvarado is heading to Costa Rica, but it isn’t for a vacation. As part of the Backpack Journalism program in the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, she will investigate issues that face Costa Ricans, then send back videos and print stories for Pacific Northwest media outlets. The hands-on program wouldn’t exist without scholarships and support from a number of donors.

At the WSU Tree Fruit Research Station in Wenatchee, apple breeder Kate Evans and her research team identify traits that can improve Washington’s signature fruit. Using genetic markers and research orchards, they seek an … » More …

The Pacific War and Contingent Victory
Fall 2015

The Pacific War and Contingent Victory: Why Japanese Defeat Was Not Inevitable

The Pacific War and Contingent VictoryMichael W. Myers

University Press of Kansas: 2015

Conventional wisdom among scholars of World War II claims that Japan would inevitably lose the Pacific War to the United States and the Allies. They base that belief on greater American military and economic power and a U.S. strategy that forced the war against Japan on a path to unstoppable Allied victory. Myers, a professor at Washington State University’s School of Politics, Philosophy, and Public … » More …