News

Samantha (Sam) Swindell has been named Washington State University’s vice provost for undergraduate education and will begin a phased transition into the role Sept. 21. The Office of the Provost announced the new position earlier this summer to underscore the central role of student success in WSU’s future and to strengthen the university’s ability to fulfill its land-grant mission. A Coug alumna, Swindell has dedicated nearly three decades to WSU and currently serves as associate dean for undergraduate studies in the College of Arts and Sciences. As vice provost for undergraduate education, Swindell will help shape the academic experience for undergraduate students across WSU.

WSU is embarking on a comprehensive, system-wide effort to re-envision the future of general education. With the current general education curriculum, UCORE, now in its 15th year, this work offers an important opportunity to ensure WSU’s model continues to meet the needs of today’s students while remaining true to the university’s land-grant mission. To guide this multi‑year effort, the Provost’s Office, in partnership with the Faculty Senate, has convened the General Education Visioning Committee chaired by Vice Provost Bill Davis.

Angela Mitchell, Director of the Writing Program, has announced that Jeannie Griffin Bennett has been hired as Writing Center Director for the Pullman campus. Along with her dedication to peer tutoring as a model for effective student learning, Dr. Bennett also brings a spirit of collaboration and inquiry to the Writing Center.

On Friday, Aug. 1, those students will share their research at the Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. in the Smith Center for Undergraduate Education (CUE) at WSU Pullman. The symposium is organized by the WSU Office of Undergraduate Research, part of the Division of Academic Engagement and Student Achievement in the provost’s office.

Kate M. Watts, Washington State University professor in the Department of English, has been selected as the new director of the University Common Requirements (UCORE) general education program effective July 1. “We are pleased that Professor Watts will lead UCORE and bring her experience, expertise, and vision to the program,” said William B. Davis, vice provost for academic engagement and student achievement.

The Washington State University Division of Academic Engagement and Student Achievement (DAESA) celebrated the recent accomplishments of more than 80 faculty, staff, and students at an April 22 event where over 20 types of awards were presented. “It’s a pleasure to recognize those who made a difference this year to student success, programs in our division and beyond, and WSU,” said William B. Davis, vice provost for academic engagement and student achievement. “Awardees honored at our event truly stand out for their accomplishments.”

UCORE faculty have until March 19 to apply for the next Richard G. Law Excellence Award for Undergraduate Teaching. The award recognizes outstanding teaching by instructors of record — lecturers, career-track, and tenure-track faculty — on all campuses who teach courses in the University Common Requirements (UCORE) general-education curriculum. The newest awardee will be announced at a ceremony April 22, and will be the 15th recipient of the honor.

Washington State University Smith Teaching and Learning Grant applications detailing innovative plans to enhance teaching and learning can be submitted through March 14 to be considered for a 2025 award. Successful proposals must address one or more of the Eight Principles of Effective Teaching, as outlined by the University of Texas’s Center for Teaching and Learning. Smith grants will be awarded in amounts up to $5,000 and announced in April.

The WSU Common Reading Program welcomes Priya Fielding-Singh, author of this year’s book, How the Other Half Eats: The Untold Story of Food and Inequality in America, for an invited lecture at 7 p.m. Tuesday, October 15, at the CUB Senior Ballroom on the WSU Pullman campus, followed by a book-signing. The talk will be streamed live. The event is free and open to the public. At noon that day, a special question-and-answer session is offered to WSU students systemwide who register prior to the Q&A.

Faculty at two WSU campuses are deliberately and uniquely going beyond the norm to prepare students to be career ready. Fifty-one WSU Pullman and WSU Vancouver general education professors from 23 disciplines—fellows who have completed the Core to Career Program—embed career-oriented skill-building into their assignments. Over the past three years at Pullman alone, nearly 9,000 students who took courses from one or more fellows were made aware early in their academic journey that they are developing skills they could pitch to a hiring manager—ones that go beyond knowledge in their major.