The Pitre Dish | March 5, 2019
Greetings to the #EverCougs community!
The semester is flying by as we approach a well-deserved spring break for students and faculty. Speaking of flying, commercial flights began lifting off from Paine Field in Everett this week, so start making plans for WSU football road games in the fall now!
Campus activities have been equally exciting. The Edward R. Murrow College of Communication hosted another outstanding Communication Day, and I must add how proud we are to continue the legacy of Edward R. Murrow in his own backyard. Murrow grew up in Skagit County, where he graduated from high school before attending Washington State University.
With Murrow’s pioneering spirit, another group of students recently established the first communication club at WSU Everett, a new chapter of the Association for Women in Communications. Sidney Shea, one of the founding members, said, “Being in the greater Seattle area, students have such a great advantage of connecting with the communication industry. We have so many resources to connect with and learn from.”
This semester, a trio of WSU Everett faculty members representing engineering, business and communication designed a merged class for their students. Seniors in the Voiland College electrical engineering program have spent the academic year designing and building projects, sponsored by, overseen and delivered to local industry. This semester, Murrow College students will develop communication plans for their assigned project while Carson College of Business students will create business strategies.
As COM400 professor Lucrezia Cuen Paxson told students, “We continue into the fourth industrial revolution in the midst of a digital explosion, we’re discovering that in the workplace, more people who were not in subfields related to science and technology are being forced into them. Those relationships and interactions are no longer optional, they are mandatory.”
This interdisciplinary partnership exemplifies the innovative faculty at WSU Everett and how nimble our campus is in preparing students to meet the demands of the modern workforce. This level of scientific inquiry and entrepreneurship is nurtured in every one of our programs to provide our students a transformative experience.
Speaking of partnership, our growing collaborations with Everett Community College were on display when the Department of Energy announced a wind energy team of WSU Everett and EvCC students has been selected to compete in the College Wind Competition in Denver in 2020. The invitation comes with a grant to fund their scientific work and community engagement around wind energy, building toward the competition.
EvCC student Sam Ayers said, “Being connected to WSU Everett is so beneficial for engineering students at EvCC. The collaboration allows us to gain familiarity with the WSU campus and faculty, which serves to aid students that choose to transfer to WSU Everett to complete their bachelor’s degree.”
Finally, I’m very happy to announce that in a partnership with the WSU School of Food Science and Bargreen’s, Cougar Gold cheese will be available to purchase here on campus for $30 starting Monday, March 18. The café’s hours are M-Th, 7 a.m. – 7 p.m., and Friday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Go Cougs!
Paul Pitre, Chancellor
WSU Everett & Everett University Center
WSU Everett Highlights
WSU Everett explores merged coursework
“In the real world, engineers and business people and communicators work together,” said Dr. Jacob Murray, program coordinator for electrical engineering at WSU Everett. “These projects have real-life output and the business and communication students can support these teams – not as subordinates, but as peers.” Read more…
WSU Everett, EvCC wind energy team earns Department of Energy grant
A wind energy team of Washington State University Everett and Everett Community College students has been selected by the U.S. Department of Energy to compete in the Collegiate Wind Competition in Denver, Colo., from June 1-4, 2020. Read more…
Murrow College students create first communication club in Everett
“Being in the greater Seattle area, students have such a great advantage of connecting with the communication industry,” WSU Everett student Sidney Shea said. “We have so many resources to connect with and learn from.” Read more…
Dominican Republic visit could help elevate farmers above subsistence
“This all started because Paul is passionate about this kind of work, and the Rotary Club of Everett supported that,” WSU Snohomish County Extension director Anthony Gromko said. “I was so excited when José and Paul asked me to help. It gets back to the spirit of service work that I really care about.” Read more…