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Washington State University
College of Education

Janine Darragh

Health and fitness majors bask in academic spotlight

rhodes-picture
From left: Chase Rhodes with brothers Taylor and Zac

It’s been a pleasure this spring to get acquainted with two WSU Pullman seniors who aspire to be teacher/coaches:  Kyle McKeeman, whose volunteer activities won him a Distinguished Service Learning Award and the goodwill of his College Hill neighbors; and scholar-athlete Daven Harmeling, whose accomplishments will be highlighted at the May 9 commencement.  A third health and fitness major, Chase Rhodes, will be noted at commencement as part of a threesome. He and his brothers, Taylor and Zac, are the first triplets to graduate from WSU since 2001. Chase plans to finish his special education teaching endorsement in the next year.

Not to be outshone is health and fitness student junior Richard Swihart III, a President’s Award winner and inaugural recipient of the Virginia E. Thomas Endowed Scholarship for $1,000. The scholarship is presented to a WSU undergraduate who has excelled in leading other students and coaching others to become better leaders themselves. As reported in the Daily Evergreen, Richard came by some of his acumen during 10 years in the military, including two tours in Iraq. He’s attending WSU to become a naval officer.

President’s Award winners

In addition to Richard Swihart, the College of Education boasts six other students among this year’s 44 President’s Award winners. They are: Patricia Celaya, counseling psychology, Ph.D. candidate; Janine Darragh, language and literacy education, Ph.D.; Richard Goranflo III, higher education administration, Ed.M.; Christian Granlund, sport management, B.A.; Ladan Maleki, counseling psychology Ph.D.; joan o’sa oviawe, cultural studies, Ph.D.

Reading matter
End the University as we know it
.  Writer argues that graduate education is the Detroit of higher learning.
Tight Times Call for Trustees Who Push Back, Presidents Say Economists do not know when the recession will end, the presidents said, and boards need to play a significant role in helping colleges restructure.

Question of the day
Who was the only U.S. president to have a Ph.D.? Find out here.

Special talent, special ed

Prize winner
michael-dunn-artWSU Vancouver’s just-released 2009 Salmon Creek Journal features prose, poetry and artwork that has been blind-juried by students, faculty, staff and alumni. The top-prize-winning art, “American Falls-Niagara Falls” (shown here), is the creation of our own Assistant Professor Michael Dunn, whose academic focus is on literacy and special education.  The journal’s release party will be held during the Art Fair today (April 10) from 3 – 5 p.m. in Vancouver’s Administration Building, rooms 129 and 130.
From left: Connie Beecher, Jamie Messinger-Willman, Janine Darragh
L-R: Connie Beecher, Jamie Messinger-Willman, Janine Darragh


Special delegation
Speaking of Michael Dunn… he and Assistant Professor Matt Marino of Pullman were part of a six-member WSU delegation that attended the Council for Exceptional Children national convention, held April 1-4 in Seattle.  With them were  doctoral students Connie Beecher, Danielle Clark, Janine Darragh, and Jamie Messinger-Willman. Connie and Janine gave a joint presentation on “Using Children’s Literature to Teach Preservice Teachers about Autism Spectrum Disorders”; Jamie presented on “Technology-based Teacher Planning and Collaboration Tools.” Reports Matt: “This was the first national presentation for Connie and Jamie, both of whom had very well attended sessions. Our doctoral students are to be commended for their dedication to the field and their professional presentation skills.”

Reading matter
Lessons Sifted From Tragedy at Columbine A decade after the attack at a Colorado high school, scholars are gaining fresh insights into student gunmen and the havoc they wreak.
Report Envisions Shortage of Teachers as Retirements Escalate Over the next four years, more than a third of the nation’s 3.2 million teachers could retire, depriving classrooms of experienced instructors and straining taxpayer-financed retirement systems, according to a new report.

Have you noticed?

Our college Web pages now boast a print button, just below the banner on the right. Another new feature is a “share” button so you can send COE information via email, or post it on a dizzying array of social networks such as Facebook.