In the Media
Dave Haglund, who had served as commissioner of the Pacific Northwest-based Cascade Conference since 2007, was appointed Thursday as the commissioner of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
The 10-team GNAC includes the Alaska Nanooks of the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves.
Haglund’s appointment was announced by Dr. Bruce Shepard, Western Washington University president and chair of the GNAC CEO Board.
Western Washington University is enjoying national accolades as one of the top 20 universities in the nation to prepare for a teaching career.
Western was recently ranked 4th out of 50 universities across the country to graduate teachers who later became nationally certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
Departing Peninsula College President Tom Keegan, who oversaw massive upgrades for the college during the last decade, is keeping his attention on being here, not on his impending move.
Skagit Valley College still has a solid president in place, and Peninsula College — which is based in Port Angeles with branches in Port Townsend and Forks — still needs all of his attention, Keegan said.
Keegan, who has been Peninsula College’s president for 10 years, was selected as the new president of Skagit Valley College on Oct. 12 and will begin his new job March 12.
Keegan’s final day at Peninsula College will be Friday, Feb. 3.
Looking back, it feels a bit like destiny that Rick Tremaine led the effort to restore the old Territorial Courthouse in Bellingham.The 153-year-old structure at 1308 E St. is the oldest brick building in Washington, and was definitely showing its age when Carl and Nickie Akers donated it to the Whatcom County Historical Society seven years ago.
When Dewey Desler started working for Whatcom County in the late 60's, county government was in a state of change. Democrats had long controlled county offices, and people who wanted jobs in county offices had to get the approval of the head of the custodians - who, not coincidentally, also was head of the local Democratic Party, Desler said.But with the election of reform-minded Republicans to the county commission and to state positions, things began to change. Desler was asked what party he affiliated with. None, he replied.
Men's pole vaulter Ryan Brown and women's distance runner Sarah Porter ended their magnificent careers with history-making performances and the women's rowing team won a seventh straight national championship to highlight an unforgettable calendar year of 2011 for the Western Washington University athletics program. Brown won national pole vault titles at the NCAA Division II National Championships for indoor and outdoor track and field, both for the second straight year. At nationals, his first-place indoor mark was 17 feet, 2 3/4 inches and his outdoor mark was 17-1 3/4.
"Listening Against the Stone: Selected Essays" by Brenda Miller (Skinner House, $14). An essay collection, six of which have won a Pushcart Prize. The essays "tell the story of a single woman making her way, stumbling but always seeking out touchstones — a dog, a friend, a painting, a tree — to help her gain her true bearings," says the publisher. Miller, a professor of English at Western Washington University, is editor-in-chief of the Bellingham Review.
In a continuation of the Our Puget Sound, In Depth series, the WSU Beach Watchers present “Salmon and Toxics in the Marine Environment” by Dr. Jenifer McIntyre and Dr. Julann Spomberg, both from NOAA, on Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. at Mukilteo City Hall, 11930 Cyrus Way, Mukilteo. The presentation is free.
Dr. Jenifer McIntyre is an Aquatic Ecotoxicologist working at the Washington State University Research and Extension Center in Puyallup. In 1997 she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Biology at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Western Washington University women's basketball guard Kristin Schramm has been named Great Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Week for Dec. 11-19. A 5-foot-9 senior from Chelan, Schramm was selected MVP at the WWU Great Western Shootout last week, leading the Vikings to impressive double-digit wins over Central Oklahoma, 69-53, and Drury MO, 76-57.