Videos

The Haggen and King families, recipients of the President’s Award at Western Washington University's winter 2012 commencement ceremony, have a tradition of making their communities a better place by sharing their resources of time, funds and leadership. The Haggens are long-time supporters of Viking Athletics and have endowed many scholarships for scholar athletes. The Kings also established an endowment for Western’s Wade King Student Recreation Center. Members of both families have participated in many community groups and leadership boards including the St. Joseph Hospital Foundation, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, the Mount Baker Council Boy Scouts of America, the Whatcom YMCA, Bellingham Rotary and a capital campaign to expand St. Joseph Hospital’s Cancer Center.

Timothy Egan, award-winning author and columnist with the New York Times, receive Western Washington University’s honorary doctorate degree at winter 2012 commencement and delivered the commencement address. Egan, who received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree, served as The New York Times’ Pacific Northwest correspondent and a national enterprise reporter for 18 years. Egan is a widely respected author who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 2001 for his work on the series, “How Race is Lived in America” and the National Book Award for his 2006 work “The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl.”

Timothy Egan, award-winning author and columnist with the New York Times, received Western Washington University’s honorary doctorate degree at winter commencement Saturday, March 17, in Carver Gymnasium.
Egan also gave the commencement address; graduating senior Bethany Fromong of Enumclaw will gave the student address.

The ceremony will included the presentation of the Western Washington University President’s Award, the university’s highest community honor, to the Haggen and King families. The award is presented to those who have given distinguished service to the university and the region.

Approximately 400 undergraduates and about 13 master’s candidates received degrees this quarter. Winter commencement includes all majors, and only one ceremony took place.

Egan, who received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree, served as The New York Times’ Pacific Northwest correspondent and a national enterprise reporter for 18 years. Egan is a widely respected author who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 2001 for his work on the series, “How Race is Lived in America” and the National Book Award for his 2006 work “The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl.”

Bethany Fromong, the ceremony’s student commencement speaker, graduated with a degree in Theatre Arts. She played a critical role in theatre productions at Western, in the Bellingham community and beyond. She recently was selected to present her design concept for the play “Terra Nova” at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival held at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colo. The daughter of Clark and Tricia Fromong, she grew up in Enumclaw and is a graduate of Enumclaw Senior High School.

The Haggen and King families, recipients of the President’s Award, have a tradition of making their communities a better place by sharing their resources of time, funds and leadership. The Haggens are long-time supporters of Viking Athletics and have endowed many scholarships for scholar athletes. The Kings also established an endowment for Western’s Wade King Student Recreation Center. Members of both families have participated in many community groups and leadership boards including the St. Joseph Hospital Foundation, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, the Mount Baker Council Boy Scouts of America, the Whatcom YMCA, Bellingham Rotary and a capital campaign to expand St. Joseph Hospital’s Cancer Center.

After commencement, graduates proceeded toward the stage, where they will pass through a corridor of faculty and the President’s party to deposit their Western identification cards or other mementos in a box to be buried beneath a “2012” paver in the walkway in front of Old Main.

Bethany Fromong, the 2012 winter commencement ceremony’s student speaker, graduated with a degree in Theatre Arts. She played a critical role in theatre productions at Western, in the Bellingham community and beyond. She recently was selected to present her design concept for the play “Terra Nova” at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival held at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colo. The daughter of Clark and Tricia Fromong, she grew up in Enumclaw and is a graduate of Enumclaw Senior High School.

This is part 1 of the March 17, 2012, winter commencement ceremony at Western Washington University. Part two is available here.

The Resilience Institute at Western Washington University’s Huxley College of the Environment has released “Our Farms are at Risk,” a short film detailing the key threats to the region’s family farms.

The two-and-a-half-minute film was made by Bellingham’s Hand Crank Films and recently won a prestigious ADDY award from the American Advertising Federation in the category of best interactive web videos. It can be viewed online at www.farmresilience.org.

The short film and a series of interviews with local farmers are intended to spark conversation about farm issues and a search for hopeful solutions. The ultimate goal? To decrease farm vulnerability, increase farm resilience, and find strategies that keep farming viable for all ­– but it’s really about Huxley partnering with regional farmers.

“We made this video to tell a moving story – about the loss of farmland and what it means for rural communities. Although it is an emotional portrayal of difficulties in farming, it nevertheless carries a powerful message about the need for all farms, irrespective of size, to reduce risks to high energy prices, natural hazards like seasonal flooding, and climate change,” said Gigi Berardi, director of the institute’s Resilient Farms Project and a professor of Environmental Studies at Western.

The film features local farmers Dorie Belisle of BelleWood Acres, Larry Stap of Twin Brook Creamery, Debbie VanderVeen of Veen Huizen Farms and Troy Lenssen of Lenssen Dairy.

“My hope is that people watching the film will start to care about the rural landscape – and that means valuing food a different way as well,” said Berardi.

“With a new farm bill on the horizon and people’s general ‘disconnect’ from the food they eat, we thought it more important than ever to launch this program.”

The Resilience Institute is part of Western Washington University's Huxley College of the Environment. It facilitates scholarship, education, and practice on reducing social and physical vulnerability to natural hazards through sustainable community development. The Institute promotes sustainable development strategies as a way to minimize loss and enhance recovery from disasters, and foster resilient communities in Washington State and its interdependent global communities.

WWU's Huxley College of the Environment is one of the oldest environmental colleges in the nation and a recognized national leader in producing the next generation of environmental stewards. The College's academic programs reflect a broad view of the physical, biological, social and cultural world. This innovative and interdisciplinary approach makes Huxley unique. The College has earned international recognition for the quality of its programs.

For more information on the film or on The Resilience Institute at Western Washington University’s Huxley College of the Environment, contact Gigi Berardi at (360) 650-2106.

"US," the Western Washington University Theatre Department's hit show from last season, has been invited to be one of four full-length plays shown at Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival in Fort Collins, Colo., as part of the Region VII.

To help fund sending the cast and crew of students to the festival and get the show back into our bones, the department is remounting the show for one night only at Western, at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 10 on the Performing Arts Center Mainstage.

An investigation of the young American experience, "US" is inspired by Jack Kerouac’s "On the Road" and photographer Robert Frank’s book "The Americans." The production explores why these two artists traveled thousands of miles to ask “what does it mean to be an American?” and investigates what that question meant 50 years ago and how it resonates for audiences today. Having worked collaboratively for a year and a half, an ensemble of WWU students devised the original theatre piece, which contains live music, singing, dance, and moments of heightened theatricality.

The production contains some adult material.

Tickets are available through the WWU Box Office:

• $12 for general admission
• $10 for seniors, WWU faculty and staff
• $8 for students

WWU Box Office hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and one hour prior to the performance. For individual tickets or disability accommodations, contact the WWU Box Office at (360) 650-6146 or visit http://www.tickets.wwu.edu/. For more information, call the WWU Theatre and Dance Department at (360) 650-3876 or visit http://www.wwu.edu/theatre.

For more information on KCACTF, visit the Region VII homepage http://www.kcactf.org/7/dtm.html.

The Student Health Center at Western Washington University has begun offering "Western Health Minute" videos on various topics. Thirty are planned so far, and the first video, on influenza prevention, is up now. The video features Dr. Emily Gibson offering tips on avoiding the flu.

For more information, check out the center's Facebook page. Critique on all videos is appreciated.

Whatcom County-area children were invited to gather at Village Books to hear stories from around the world about tolerance, the civil rights movement, and diversity in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Interested in doing yoga at your desk? The Faculty and Staff Wellness Program at Western Washington University has provided three online videos featuring Nancy Metcalf, the program's Iyengar-style yoga instructor. The three-, five- and 10-minute videos are perfect for getting in a little exercise on your lunch break.

Other program offerings for winter quarter:

• 6:30 to 7:30 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays: Morning Iyengar-Style Yoga with Nancy in Humanities Room 210
• 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays: Evening Iyengar-Style Yoga with Nancy in HU210
• Noon to 1 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays: Campus Hatha Yoga with Irene in Carver Gym C
• Noon to 1 p.m. Wednesdays and Fridays: Mat Pilates with Kate in Viking Union Room 565
• Noon to 1 p.m. on Mondays: Zumba with Maria in Carver Gym C
• Noon to 1 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays: Whole Body Fitness with Becky and Laurie in Carver Gym A
• 1 to 2 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays: Fitness Class with Kaylee in Carver Gym C
• Noon to 1 p.m. Wednesdays: Advanced Cardio Conditioning with Kaylee at various outside locations
• Noon to 1 p.m. Mondays and Wednesdays: Walking Group with Carly at various outside locations
• 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Fridays: Latin Dancing with Kyle and Brenna in Performing Arts Center Room 24

Also, check out the new Employee Development Trainings, free to all Western employees, and peruse the list of the Faculty and Staff Wellness Program's quality instructors.