Jim Helfield is in a race against time, and he knows it.
Helfield, an associate professor of Environmental Science at Western Washington University, is researching ways improve the habitat for spring- and summer-run Chinook salmon on the South Fork of Whatcom County’s Nooksack River. Also known as king salmon, Chinook are the largest Pacific salmon species, growing to sizes upwards of 100 pounds in some rivers.
Western Washington University’s Mike Etnier, a research associate in the Anthropology department, traveled to Dutch Harbor on the Aleutian island of Unalaska in August to continue his research into how climate change has affected the marine environment over the past 4,000 years at this remote location.
“In Dutch Harbor, there is a series of archaeological sites that are showing major evidence of climate change, specifically in the animals that formed the basis of the ancient subsistence economy there,” said Etnier.
Western Washington University’s Ralph Munro Institute for Civic Education will host its fifth annual Seminars for Civic Education Nov.1 and 2, featuring a keynote lecture from Sarah van Gelder, acclaimed author and co-founder of YES! Magazine, and two panels on “Rebuilding Consensus in an Age of Political Polarization” with a variety of professors, nonprofit leaders and other subject-matter experts.
Event details are as follows; all presentations are free and open to the public:
PACCAR’s Director of Advanced Technology Carl Hergart will present “Trucking into the Future” at Western Washington University’s annual Western Leadership Forum on Wednesday, Nov. 8 at the Bellwether Ballroom.
Guests can check-in for the forum at 11:30 a.m. outside the ballroom. Lunch will be served at noon and the keynote address will begin at 12:45 p.m.
Job seekers looking for ways to connect directly with employers are invited to attend Western Washington University’s Fall Business Career Fair, which will take place from 1-5 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 2 in the Viking Union Multipurpose Room.
Admission to the fair is free to job seekers and open to the public.
Western Washington University’s fall enrollment figures show that the freshman class is the largest in the history of the university, and overall fall enrollment for students of color is the highest ever at Western.
Western Washington University Professor of German Cornelius Partsch was awarded a grant to sponsor a special exhibition entitled “Germany: Integrating Immigrants,” which will be located in Western Libraries Special Collections, (Wilson Library 6th Floor).
The exhibit, which is free and open to the public, opens on Oct. 24 and will remain on display through the end of fall quarter.
Eric C. Munscher, research ecologist at SWCA Environmental Consultants, will discuss threatened and endangered turtle populations as part of the WWU Huxley College of the Environment Speaker Series at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 19 in Academic West 204 on the Western Washington University campus.
Seattle’s Spectrum Dance Theater will present a public lecture and demonstration on the Western Washington University Performing Arts Center Mainstage at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct.24.
The presentation, which reveals insights into the creation and intentions of “SHOT” – a work by Spectrum’s award-winning artistic director, Donald Byrd, is free and open to the public.
Western Washington University on the Peninsulas will host a Western Lecture Series event by Eric Munscher of the Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) from 6-8 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 16 concerning efforts the group makes to help with survival of the world’s wild turtle population.
The lecture will be held at Olympic College-Poulsbo, room 220. It is free and open to the public, with no prior registration required.
