In the Media

In a Wednesday address to Western Washington University, president Sabah Randhawa reflected on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, discussed the university's strategic plan and looked to the future and its impending budget shortfalls. 

"The COVID-19 pandemic has also shown how we can adapt and come together in new and innovative ways to advance the mission of the university and public education at a time when it is needed more than ever," he said.

Randhawa reported that students of color represent 29% of the entire university this year and that first-year enrollment stands at its highest yet with 3,237 students. First-year enrollment peaked in fall 2018 at 3,147 students and dipped as low as 2,494 in fall 2020, according to the Office of Institutional Effectiveness.

A new study just published by researchers at Western Washington University (WWU) reports concentrations of up to 162 chemical contaminants in three species of edible seaweeds gathered in the Salish Sea.

anna Armstrong took her bioplastic to the Eastern Washington Regional Science and Engineering Fair, where she took first place for her invention and went on to compete virtually in the International Science and Engineering Fair in Atlanta, Georgia, where she placed fourth in the world in the environmental engineering category this year. Judges there helped her talk through how to reduce water usage when creating the bioplastic film and coached her on how to describe her work.

This fall she’s starting college at Western Washington University, where she plans to major in environmental science and minor in environmental justice. Ultimately, she wants to get her Ph.D. in mycology (the study of fungi, such as mushrooms) as she continues developing her product, which she hopes to see on store shelves one day.

The two firms were already collaborating on the design of Western Washington University’s forthcoming Kaiser Borsari Hall. Both said the merger will help them involve more interested parties and pioneer new methods as they pursue more ambitious projects.

Bellingham Technical College’s Campus Center building was closed Thursday afternoon to conduct a structural assessment. The school announced the closure in a student alert that was distributed at 2:19 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 22, saying the closure was “out of an abundance of caution.” The Campus Center building will remain closed Friday-Monday, Sept. 23-26, according to an update just after 5 p.m.

Western Washington University and some other colleges in Washington state rank highly on a scale of what they do for the country.

Washington Monthly annually ranks liberal arts colleges, those that focus on arts and sciences rather than professional degrees, on their contributions to the public good.

Overall, travel has been down between the U.S. and Canada when compared to 2019 and early 2020 numbers. This doesn't just affect businesses along the border, but also the ease of access that created a shared sense of place, says Laurie Trautman, director of the Border Policy Institute at Western Washington University.

"I think having good relations with our Canadian neighbors and our Canadian government and our Canadian friends is a real strength for our region," Trautman said, "because we do have many things in common between especially Western Washington and western British Columbia."

Trautman spoke with Soundside about the impact of fewer border crossings between U.S. and Canada and how that affects the region's sense of identity.

"This is my favorite position," Luong said. "The work is challenging but very rewarding."

Luong received her master of arts certificates in international relations and Mandarin from Brigham Young University and John's Hopkins Nanjing Center in 2005 and earned her bachelor's degree in East Asian Studies from Western Washington University in 2003. 

Before that, she graduated from Bremerton High. Her family fled from Vietnam to Bremerton in the 1980s as part of the United Nation's Orderly Departure Program, which permitted the immigration of Vietnamese to the U.S. and to other countries between 1980 and 1997. 

Western Washington University students, faculty and staff began fall quarter Wednesday as close to “normal” as anyone has seen in years, with “early signs of recovering enrollment” and more in-person classes after multiple quarters of online learning.  

A faint odor of smoke hung in the air before dawn for a second day as smoke from wildfires in Eastern Washington and British Columbia blew west toward Whatcom County, including fires east of Mount Baker. Air quality registered good at 6 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20, in Whatcom and Skagit counties, and the Northwest Clean Air Agency and the National Weather Service said conditions should remain that way for now.