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Spring 2024

WSU faculty

Winter 2001

From the President: Quality and Reputation

I COMPLIMENT THOSE WHO PARTICIPATED in creating this new publication—Washington State Magazine. To me, it is an extension of the “World Class, Face to Face” spirit that pervades Washington State University today. I hope that our readers will learn more about things that are vital and interesting to them and that they will also come to better understand the depth and breadth of the University.

Washington State University has nearly 2,000 faculty with a vast range of interests and expertise. Together, they occupy and utilize millions of square feet of modern facilities equipped with the latest technologies and equipment. Our tenure standards are high, … » More …

Winter 2002

Paul Castleberry sharpened minds

During 40 years in teaching, including 34 at Washington State University, H. Paul Castleberry touched the lives of many students. He taught courses in American government, international law and organizations, and U.S. foreign policy.

“He was never easy as he pulled and pushed, bullied and begged better work out of his students,” said Patrick Morgan, a former WSU faculty colleague in political science. “He sharpened minds and shook up views, and not just here [WSU]. He taught in London and has held Fulbright Awards for lecturing in Egypt.”

… » More …

Winter 2002

Herbert Eastlick mentored thousands

Zoology professor Herbert L. Eastlick was devoted to preparing students for professional careers in medicine, dentistry, and veterinary medicine. He once described himself as a “taskmaster and autocrat in the classroom,” motivated by his overriding concern for his students and the rigid demands they would face in professional schools. He mentored thousands and gained a reputation among medical schools for honest, accurate evaluations of the students he taught and advised. Often, deserving WSU applicants were admitted to leading schools on the basis of his word.

During his 33 years at WSU Eastlick gained wide respect for his research on the origin of pigment cells in … » More …

Winter 2002

A compass, not a roadmap

“Guided by a plan that hundreds of WSU people worked on for more than a year, we have maintained stability in one of the toughest years in our history.”—V. Lane Rawlins

Recently, I spent a day in Kongsberg, Norway, at a company that is the world leader in development and production of dynamic stabilizers. These technological wonders are installed on ships and oil platforms in the stormy North Sea to stabilize them so that the oil fields can be worked. I was amazed at a video showing ships sitting still in a rough sea, accomplished, I was told, by precisely measuring all of the turbulence … » More …

Winter 2002

Faculty research tops $100 million

Washington State University researchers conducted research valued at more than $100 million over the last year on projects that include a myriad subjects.

“We are proud of this achievement,” says James N. Petersen, interim vice provost for research. “This landmark shows the accomplishment and quality of our researchers and their programs.”

Petersen says all of the colleges contribute significantly to achieving this milestone. The College of Agriculture and Home Economics, through the Agricultural Research Center and Cooperative Extension, led the way with nearly $33 million expended last year to fund research, outreach, and educational programs. Other colleges also contributed significantly to these land-grant missions, with … » More …

Winter 2004

Livestock Advisors Celebrate 20 Years

While the nationally recognized Master Gardener Program celebrated its 30th anniversary last summer, another Washington State University Extension volunteer program observed its 20th year of lending good advice.

The early 1980s saw a growing a back-to-the-land movement in western Washington, says Mike Hackett (’76 M.S. An. Sci.), who at the time was a limited-resources farming agent in Snohomish County.

“But nobody was getting help,” he says. “So from 1980 to about 1982, it seemed like all I was doing was answering the phone or making farm visits. I was overwhelmed with questions.”

As it turned out, the answer to his problem sat in the office … » More …

Fall 2004

Keating Johnson: A passion for music

L. Keating Johnson’s passion for music was sparked in the fifth grade, after he saw the Disney movie, Sleeping Beauty. That year he started tuba lessons. A few years later, at Denver’s George Washington High School, he talked Antonia Brico into giving him conducting lessons.

He received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music from University of the Pacific, Stockton, California, 1973, and University of Wisconsin, 1975, respectively. He earned a doctorate in musical arts at University of Southern California.

In fall 1983, Johnson was named director of bands at Washington State University, where he taught both conducting and tuba, and conducted the Wind Symphony and … » More …

Summer 2004

Stories about growing up

Pamela Smith Hill isn’t one to forget her roots.

Born and raised in Missouri, Smith Hill set one of her novels, A Voice from the Border, in the Show-Me state, and another, Ghost Horses, in South Dakota, where she lived and worked for nearly a decade.

And her early training as a newspaper reporter-long ago in Springfield, Missouri-is part of the reason for her success today as a writer of award-winning books and short stories for young women and girls, she says. “As a reporter, I had the chance to listen to people, to the way they talk, and to observe details of their own … » More …