DAESANewsDAESA and partners’ awards honor faculty, staff, students, and an employer

DAESA and partners’ awards honor faculty, staff, students, and an employer

The Washington State University Division of Academic Engagement and Student Achievement (DAESA) and its partnering programs presented 21 types of awards to nearly 70 faculty and staff members, students, and, for the first time, an employer who hires WSU students.

Hosting the April 26 awards ceremony were William B. Davis, WSU interim vice provost for academic engagement and student achievement, and Clif Stratton, WSU Pullman vice chancellor for academic engagement.

“Our award recipients represent disciplines and programs across all of WSU, and their accomplishments evidence many forms of student success and exceptional teaching and learning,” said Davis.

Stratton said, “It is an honor to publicly acknowledge such a large number of outstanding members of the Cougar family. They are role models for others in the WSU community.”

A video of the DAESA awards ceremony is available along with links to 2024 award information from partner programs such as the WSU Teaching, Academy, the Emerita/Emeritus Society, and Top Ten Seniors.

Information on five of the 21 award types, and recipients, follows.

WSU Employer of the Year Award

The inaugural award was presented by the Academic Success and Career Center (ASCC) to:

  • Enterprise Mobility, a world-wide transportation solution company. “Enterprise Mobility has been a valued, proactive partner for many years and is deeply committed to supporting our Cougs,” said Aimee Tejeda Lunn, ASCC employer relations manager. “The company and its people take student engagement and outreach seriously and we appreciate their support.” This season, Enterprise Mobility brought 28 WSU students to their team

DAESA Excellence Award

This division-wide honor recognizes those who make outstanding contributions to their programs and to the division. It went to four division staff members:

Richard G. Law Excellence Award for Undergraduate Teaching

Given since 2014, this award recognizes the high value WSU places on faculty who teach University Common Requirements (UCORE) general education courses. was presented to:

OAE Distinguished Leadership and Service Award

This award recognizes exceptional leadership, service, and dedication over a period of years, and was presented to:

  • Erin Rapone, OAE finance and administration manager

Smith Teaching and Learning Awards

Eight Smith awards were received by 10 WSU educators who proposed projects to promote teaching and learning, and to address one or more of the “Eight Principles of Effective Teaching” as outlined by the University of Texas’s Center for Teaching and Learning. Recipients and their projects are:

  • Leah Brueggeman, from the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Science (CAHNRS), whose project is “Revising an Introductory Course by Incorporating Hybrid Learning Tools for Flexible Delivery” 
  • Armine Ghalachyan, from CAHNRS, for the project “Fostering Inquiry and Practice in Sustainability Through a New UCORE Class” 
  • Siming Guo, from CAHNRS, for the project “Enhancing Computer-aided Design (CAD) Technology Learning through Integrating 3-D Apparel Simulation into Hands-on Projects.” 
  • Colin Lehman-Chong, from the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture, for the project “Thinking Inductively About Chemical Process Safety” 
  • Olivia Reynolds with Gary Offerdahl, from the Voiland College, for the project “Increasing Extracurricular Engagement of First-Year Engineering Students”
  • Carolyn Ross, from CAHNRS, for the project “Practical Food Science”
  • Anna Whitehall with Jessica Perone, from CAHNRS and the Center for Civic Engagement respectively, for “Projects with a Purpose: Service-Learning in H-D-205” 
  • Sarah Whitley, from the College of Arts and Sciences, for the project “From Understanding to Creating: Scaffolding a Department Signature Assignment for Quantitative and Symbolic Reasoning Across the Curriculum”

Media contact:

William B. Davis, WSU Vice Provost for Academic Engagement and Student Achievement, wbdavis@wsu.edu