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Summer 2024

Alumni

Summer 2002

Lt. Col. Stinemetz wanted to convey his condolences

Word of CIA agent Mike Spann’s death November 29, 2001 in Afghanistan struck a chord with Washington State University graduate Lt. Col. Kurt Stinemetz (’76 Anthro.), U.S. Marine Corps. Spann was the first U.S. casualty in the war on terrorism in Afghanistan. Spann was killed in an uprising of Taliban prisoners being held for interrogation. His hometown was Winfield, Alabama, population 1,200.

Stinemetz oversees the Montgomery Military Entrance Processing Station 200 miles away from Winfield. Some 16,000 men and women in Alabama wanting to enlist in all branches of the military and National Guard annually pass through the facility.

Stinemetz and Spann shared a common … » More …

Summer 2002

Ehlo inducted into Pac-10 Hall of Honor

Former Washington State University basketball coach George Raveling once described Craig Ehlo (’86 Soc. Sci.) as “playing on the ragged edge of being out of control.” In other words, Ehlo made things happen. His full-speed-ahead approach on the court produced some turnovers, but also a host of steals resulting in easy baskets for the Washington State basketball team.

The former Cougar star was one of 10 inaugural basketball inductees into the Pacific-10 Conference Hall of Honor. The ceremony was held during the Pac-10 Men’s Basketball Tournament at the Staples Arena in Los Angeles in March.

Other inductees included coaching greats John Wooden (UCLA) and Pete … » More …

Summer 2002

Alumni Association honors past presidents

Three former presidents of the Washington State University Alumni Association have received WSU’s Alumni Achievement Award. Jim Miller, Vancouver, and Denny Jones, Redmond, were recognized in mid-November at the association’s reception for past presidents in Bellevue. John B. “Jack” Sutherland, Tacoma, was unable to attend. He received the award in December.

Miller (’65 Police Sci.,) was cited “for exemplary leadership as a district director and president (1995-96) of the Alumni Association, and for effective advocacy in supporting University programs in student enrichment, academic outreach, and intercollegiate athletics.”

Miller came to WSU from Tacoma. After earning his degree, he stayed on to complete his teaching credentials … » More …

Summer 2002

Early leader of WSU’s Native American students

 

Ki Tecumseh learned to work within the system—or stretch it

“Indian people don’t consider themselves to be a minority people.” —Ki Tecumseh

Growing up on the Yakama Indian Reservation, Kiutus “Ki” Tecumseh, Jr. learned to put his finger up to the wind to test the direction it was blowing. In his ideas and actions, he also likes to test conventional thought. A longtime public relations specialist with the Department of Energy in Albuquerque, New Mexico, he is soft-spoken and measured in his speech. But people tend to listen to what he has to say, more than how he says it.

For example, in the … » More …

Summer 2002

School superintendent recognized on state, national levels

R. Stephen Rasmussen capped two-plus decades as a school administrator by being named Washington Superintendent of the Year for 2001 and one of four finalists for National Superintendent of the Year.

Rasmussen, 51, has been superintendent of the 7,900-student Franklin Pierce School District since 1992. The district south of Tacoma serves a growing community with increasing ethnic and linguistic diversity.

When he was hired, the district faced a $600,000 deficit. In 1998, the district became the first in the state to pass a four-year school levy. The same year, voters approved a $25.6 million bond for construction.

The superintendent gladly shares his recognition. “It is … » More …

Summer 2002

Kleene keeps “influenza watch” at CDC

When Jennifer Kleene was awarded a national fellowship in the Emerging Infectious Disease program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last summer, it took a while for her to find out. She was in rural Armenia participating in a United Methodist relief effort that involved volunteer projects in sustainable agriculture.

Working at the CDC has been a lifelong goal for the 23-year-old Washington State University graduate. She completed a bachelor’s degree in microbiology in December 2000. Her father, Marvin Kleene, is associate professor of agricultural education at WSU.

“I was ecstatic,” she said of her acceptance at the CDC. She joined the Immunology … » More …

Spring 2002

Alumni president Ed Little: “I always wanted to work with children”

It’s been almost 30 years now, but Ed Little, president of the Washington State University Alumni Association, remembers it like yesterday.

A sophomore and a member of the Cougar Yell Team, he was in Eugene, Oregon, for WSU’s 1974 football game with Oregon in Autzen Stadium. Before the Cougars secured their 21-16 victory, Little received an urgent message on the sideline.

His father, Gerald, had been seriously injured in an industrial accident. Little was needed in Seattle. Athletic director Sam Jankovich immediately had his wife, Patty, drive Little to the Eugene airport. When they arrived, a ticket was waiting for the next flight north. The … » More …

Spring 2002

New graduates entering a different world

Washington State University’s newest graduates are entering “a world vastly different and more dangerous than it was before September 11,” a world that cries out for their leadership in government, in science, in business, in education, in the military.

This was the message U.S. Congressman and WSU alumnus George R. Nethercutt, Jr. delivered as commencement speaker December 15 at the University’s first fall graduation exercise.

“Your generation is now called on to face a fearsome worldwide threat of terrorism similar to that serious threat which faced your grandparents, as they were stunned by Pearl Harbor and World War II.”

Nethercutt (’67 English), a Spokane native, … » More …

Spring 2002

Coe earns Gibson Award for volunteer service

Longtime Seattle veterinarian Stan Coe received the 2001 Weldon B. Gibson Distinguished Volunteer Award last fall at the Washington State University Foundation Recognition Dinner Gala in Pullman.

The annual award, established in 1981, recognizes sustained exemplary service and achievement on behalf of the WSU Foundation and the University.

“Stan has always been willing to go the extra mile in supporting anything required to promote WSU,” said James C. Kraft, Seattle veterinarian and 1996 recipient of the award. “Stan is an inspirational person, and his leadership in volunteerism is a great example for others.”

Coe was president of the Washington State University Alumni Association in 1984-85 … » More …