General Stories

Jane Goodall, conservationist and world-renowned expert on chimpanzees, will present “Jane Goodall: Tomorrow and Beyond” at 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 8 at the Mount Baker Theatre in downtown Bellingham.

Goodall is founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and a United Nations Messenger of Peace. Her discovery that chimpanzees make a use of tools rocked the scientific world and redefined the relationship between humans and animals. She travels the world speaking about the threats facing chimpanzees, environmental crises, and her reasons for hope.

Offering a unique opportunity to Western’s Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies students, the Adventure Learning Grant (ALG) provides a $20,000 stipend awarded annually to three adventurous students looking to close their textbooks and experience alternative lifestyles and cultures around the world.

Junior Clare Casey was introduced to the Adventure Learning Grants as an incoming Fairhaven student. She was awarded the grant this year to travel to the Torres Strait Islands, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia beginning in mid-September.

Professor and former chair of the Anthropology Department, Daniel Boxberger is retiring after fall quarter, but he said he plans to stay busy and will continue to focus on his research and advocacy work with Native American tribes. 

Boxberger, who has taught at Western since 1983, said when he came to Western’s campus in 1971 as an undergraduate student, he never imagined he would have stayed for so long or that he would become a professor.

“I never had a goal to be a professor, I kind of just fell into it,” Boxberger said.

WWU student veterans who served in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines planted more than 150 flags in front of Old Main lawn this week to represent Washington state service members who have died in the line of duty since Sept. 11, 2001.  

The flags were placed by the AS Veteran Outreach Center with the help of students including Alex Miller, Reuben Cuenca, Nick Scheuing, Garet Huddleston and Russell Thompson, who is the AS Veteran Outreach coordinator.