WSM staff

Spring 2015

Posts for Spring 2015

Mapmaker mystery

Of all the names that were mentioned in the [previous issue] article (those that I studied under in geology), I know Dr. Campbell would have had your answer. I was a graduate student in geology in the early ’70s and I knew Dr. Rosenberg (my advisor), Dr. Webster, and Dr. Campbell. These people were phenomenal teachers and mentors. But when important questions come up, like historical geology questions, Dr. Campbell was your man. He would have known. I remember his research, his retirement, and his death later. Another person who would have known was Al Butler in physics (also my advisor) … » More …

Spring 2015

New and noteworthy

Digitized Lives: Culture, Power, and Social Change in the Internet Era

T.V. Reed

Routledge, 2014

T.V. Reed, a WSU English and American studies professor, examines the impact of digital communication and the Internet on how we live.

Whole in the Clouds

Kristine Kibbee ’00

The Zharmae Publishing Press, 2014

Cora Catlin, the unhappy orphan protagonist in Kibbee’s debut novel, and her dog Motley discover the meaning of friendship and a magical world in the clouds.

Two Bits and Odd Days

Thomas A. Springer ’86

2014

Springer, a Tacoma high school teacher and creative writer, offers a selection of his poems from the … » More …

Winter 2014

In plain sight

Broken Arrow sits in the foyer of the Terrell Library. Thousands pass by it each week, most not realizing it is the work of artist Harold Balazs ’51, or that it was a gift from the Friel family whose lives entwined with the history of the school long after graduation.

Though he planned to be a teacher, Jack Friel ’23 started his 30-year career as the Cougars’ head basketball coach in 1928. As a student, he met Catherine (Matthews) Friel ’23, ’58 MAT in the original college library. They married a few years later and raised their family just a few blocks from campus. Three … » More …

Winter 2014

Celebrating a half century, and more

Some traditions are worth breaking.

After 65 years of springtime reunions, the Washington State University Alumni Association has moved the events for Golden (50 years) and Diamond (60 years) graduates to the fall.

In September, students from the classes of 1954 and 1964 (and one student from 1944) returned to campus for three days filled with memories, conversation, and exploration. Between luncheons, dinners, and “classes without quizzes,” the alumni toured the new Football Operations Building and the Student Rec Center, attended a memorial service for veterans, stopped by Ferdinand’s Creamery, and visited with students.

The Alumni Association has rescheduled the reunions to build on campus … » More …

Winter 2014

Posts for Winter 2014

Red Brick Roads

Thank you for the wonderful article on the Red Brick Roads in the latest issue of Washington State Magazine. I want to thank Bailey Badger [WSM’s summer intern and 2014 alum], of course, too. Please do pass along my gratitude for an article well composed, well researched, and well written.

I really appreciate the time and effort you took just to identify this as a possible article of interest to your readership, and of course your general interest in the goings on over here in the School of Design and Construction.

J. Philip Gruen
WSU associate professor and interim director, … » More …

Winter 2014

New & noteworthy

After Artest: The NBA and the Assault on Blackness

David J. Leonard

SUNY Press, 2012

After a brawl at a Pistons-Pacers game in 2004, the NBA adopted policies to govern black players and prevent them from embracing styles and personas associated with blackness. This book by Leonard, associate professor of critical culture, gender, and race studies at Washington State University, discloses connections between the NBA’s discourse and the broader discourse of anti-black racism.

Emergence and Collapse of Early Villages

Timothy A. Kohler (editor), Mark D. Varien (editor)

University of California Press, 2012

This book examines how climate change, population size, interpersonal conflict, resource … » More …

Fall 2014

Extension in Washington

The Smith-Lever Act of 1914 provided a system of extension services supplied in cooperation by the land-grant universities around the country. It was a very good idea. So good, in fact, that Washington state had already thought of it. A year earlier…

In 1913, Washington’s legislature passed an act enabling counties to hire agents and established an office of the director of extension at the State College (now WSU). Even prior to that, the college’s faculty would travel out to some of the state’s more remote communities like Omak, Waitsburg, and Fairfield in a train with cars filled with demonstration materials, visual aids, even animals. … » More …

Fall 2014

Cougar I

A promising pairing of alumni and wine lands this October when the WSU Alumni Association unveils its limited edition Cougar I (pronounced Cougar One) wine.

Joining up with Gordon Estates Winery, the Alumni Association is offering bottles of a rich red blend to members of the Wine-By-Cougars club, those who attend a special release event in the Tri-Cities, and the lucky few who can find it at their grocery stores and wine shops.

Only about 300 cases are available, and the WSUAA expects the wine will go fast.

Gordon Estates is a Washington-rooted, Cougar-run operation. Founder/owners Jeff ’71 and Vicki Gordon, and their daughter Katie … » More …

Fall 2014

Posts for Fall 2014

The scoop on Ferdinand’s

We enjoyed your article “The scoop on Ferdinand’s murals” in your Summer 2014 issue.

Our recollection is that the middle name of its original manager, Rune Ferdinand Goranson ’41 of Edmonds, determined the naming of the dairy department creamery’s ice cream shop. It is likely that his middle name also contributed to a decision to decorate the shop with Disney’s Ferdinand motif.

Having been off-campus married students during the early 1950s, living on a limited budget, we have fond memories of Troy Hall. The shop’s inexpensive scraps from Cougar Gold rounds enabled us often to subsist on cheese sandwiches.

… » More …

Fall 2014

New & noteworthy

Said & Done

Elder Crow, 2014

Tyler Morgan ’03 and his band crank up some old-school rock and roll in their debut album. The Vancouver, Washington, group blends lyrics of social justice and civil rights with roaring guitars and solid drumming straight out of the ’60s and ’70s. Morgan, a high school history teacher in Camas, sings lead and plays rhythm guitar alongside drummer Eddie Esparza, bassist Eric Fernandez, and … » More …