WSU Honors’ Students, Faculty Recognized at Commencement
PULLMAN, Wash.- The Honors College at Washington State University celebrated December graduates and outstanding faculty members at its 2011 Fall Commencement ceremony in the Honors Hall Lounge Friday, December 9, 2011.
“These students have made a mark on WSU during their time with us, and we won’t forget them,” Libby Walker, dean of the Honors College, said. “We hope that Honors has also made a mark on them.”
Two of the graduating seniors presented the address. Melissa Street, mechanical engineering and Spanish major, and Gavin Mitchell, materials science engineering major, spoke on how the Honors College’s six learning goals influenced their college experiences.
In addition to recognizing its graduates, the College presented the S. Town Stephenson Award, the Dean’s Award, and Thesis Advisor awards.
The S. Town Stephenson Award recognizes students who have demonstrated academic excellence inside and outside of their majors. A faculty committee selects students with unusual combinations of courses and activities which demonstrate a diversity of interest, talents, and commitments.
The fall 2011 graduating recipients are:
Sean Johnson, biochemistry and biophysics major with Spanish, math, and chemistry minors
Heidi Muller, nursing major with Spanish minor
Melissa Street, mechanical engineering and Spanish majors
Street also received the Dean’s Award, which is presented to graduating seniors nominated by Honors College faculty who exemplify the mission and values of the college.
Each fall and spring semester students are given the opportunity to recognize the faculty advisors who supported them as they completed their Honors thesis requirement.
“This is ‘hidden work’ of the faculty that we’d like to bring into the limelight and recognize for its importance to our students’ intellectual and personal growth, and for its contribution to our mission as a research university,” says Walker.
The fall 2011 Thesis Advisor Awards were presented to Thomas Power, professor and chair of human development, and Robert Rosenman, professor of economics, who together advised graduate Lauryn Ringwood, economics major, on her project entitled, “Economics, Culture, and Obesity.”
A special faculty recognition award was presented to Erich Lear, professor of music. His contributions the development of a music appreciation course for Honors students and service on the Honors College Council.
MEDIA CONTACT: David Clarke, communications assistant, Honors College at WSU, 509-335-8070, david.h.clarke@email.wsu.edu
SOURCE: Libby Walker, dean, Honors College at WSU, 509-335-4505, walker@wsu.edu