WSU Honors College Students Make History; All Nominees Granted “Pass with Distinction” Award on Theses
PULLMAN, Wash.—Students in the Honors College at Washington State University are known for being leaders in many areas, but a group of nine students who presented their senior thesis research projects in fall 2008 have the distinction of being first in a brand new category.
Each of the nine was nominated by their thesis chair to receive the top honor of “pass with distinction” on their projects, and for the first time in Honors’ 49-year history, every one received the award.
“Typically only a small number of the very best theses are put forward for consideration, and every nominee is thoroughly evaluated by the Honors Council. Only those deemed worthy of this level of award receive this prestigious designation,” explains Honors Interim Dean Libby Walker.
“This is a remarkable achievement for these nine students, and all the more noteworthy given the very diverse group of thesis topics that range from Gothic literature in the classroom to insulin receptors in rat brains.”
Honors’ fall 2008 recipients of pass with distinction are:
- Karina Brazas, who researched under advisor Sheila Converse, clinical assistant professor in music, the subject of “Sex and Subjugation: Femininity in Opera”
- Amy Dole, with Barbara Monroe, associate professor of English, “The Role of Gothic Literature in the Classroom”
- Jenna Hansen, with Marsha Quinlan, assistant professor of anthropology, “Television and Youth in Dominica”
- Anna Howell, with Joan Grenier-Winther, professor of foreign languages and associate dean in the College of Liberal Arts, “Identity Crisis and Writing for Survival: An Exploration of Language in Assia Djebar’s ‘L’Amour la Fantasia’ and ‘Vaste est la Prison’”
- Marcie Logsdon, with Kwan Hee Kim, professor in molecular biosciences, “
Exploring the Potential Interaction Between Seven in Absentia Homolog-1A and Retinoid Receptors” - Emiko Namatame, with Sue Ritter, professor in veterinary and comparative anatomy, pharmacology, and physiology, “Localization and Expression of the Insulin Receptor Substrate-2 in the Rat Brain”
- Brittany Navarre, with Rebecca Craft, professor of psychology, “Sucrose Preference Testing as a Measure of Anhedonia in ‘Postpartum’ Rats”
- Austin Schlichting, with Ryan Hare, assistant professor of music, “Examining Scenes from ‘Titus Andronicus’”
- Sarah Weakley, with Victor Villanueva, professor of English, “Silencing the Other: Language Oppression in the United States.”
The WSU Honors College is the academic home to more than 600 outstanding scholars from majors across the university. Honors strives to provide an intensive academic experience for every member of its diverse set of students to equip them to be the global leaders of the future. A revised curriculum was launched in fall 2008 and all new entering students will achieve competency in at least one language beyond English by graduation. About 30 percent of all Honors students study abroad at least once during their undergraduate program, and all must complete a research thesis project or senior project (engineering).
CONTACT: Beverly Makhani, Communications Director, WSU Office of Undergraduate Education/Honors College, 509-335-6679, makhani@wsu.edu
Libby Walker, Interim Honors Dean, WSU Honors College, 509-335-4505, walkerl@wsu.edu