Videos

Spring brings with it some big changes on Western Washington University's Bellingham campus. WWU photographer Rhys Logan set out to document a few of the changes that have taken place over the past couple months.

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Andrew Bishop, who graduated from Woodring College of Education's elementary education program in 2012, shared this music video with us today of he and his colleagues at Jefferson Elementary in the Mount Vernon School District.

Wrote Andrew: "The teachers and I at my school made an awesome rap video that not only gives our kids strategies for how to take tests (the big state-mandated tests are on their way), but also how to take them and feel confident in themselves. We are trying to show them that a test won’t seal their fate forever! We even have a guest spot from the superintendent of our district."

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Dennis Murphy, a Western Washington University alumnus who served as dean of the College of Business and Economics for 25 years, addressed Western graduates and their families at the winter Commencement ceremony on Saturday, March 21, in Carver Gymnasium.

The ceremony also included a presentation of the President’s Award to Whatcom County residents Irwin and Frances LeCocq for their service to the community.

Approximately 505 undergraduates and about 45 master’s candidates received degrees this quarter.

Murphy earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics at Western in 1969, and a master’s in Economics the following year. He was dean of Western’s College of Business and Economics from 1982 to 2007 and twice served as Western’s provost, in 1998-99 and from 2007 to 2009. He has retired from administrative work, but Murphy continues to teach several courses a year in Economics and Finance. He also serves on the board of directors of Saturna Capital, on Saturna’s council of economic advisers, and on the board of St. Paul’s Academy. He has been a participant in the US Bank Economic Forum for about 20 years.  He is past chairman of the board of Cascade Financial Corp. and Cascade Bank as well as past-president of the United Way of Whatcom County and the Rotary Club of Bellingham.

The President’s Award, Western’s highest community honor, was given to Irwin and Frances LeCocq. Irwin LeCocq is the former president of Peoples Bank and Frances LeCocq was the bank’s community affairs officer. They are also strong supporters of the arts, education and the community’s social safety net. At Western, the LeCocqs have touched the lives of many students through the Peoples Bank / LeCocq Family Scholarships. In the greater community, the LeCocqs also provided crucial support to the Campaign for the Arts, enabling the restoration of the Whatcom Museum and the Mount Baker Theatre.

The ceremony’s student speaker was Marguerite Balch, who received her Bachelor of Arts in Education degree Saturday in Early Childhood Education. Balch, from Lynnwood, is a student teacher in a first-grade class at Garfield Elementary School in Everett.

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Dennis Murphy, a Western Washington University alumnus who served as dean of the College of Business and Economics for 25 years, addressed Western graduates and their families at the winter commencement ceremony on Saturday, March 21, in Carver Gymnasium.

Murphy earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics at Western in 1969, and a master’s in Economics the following year. He was dean of Western’s College of Business and Economics from 1982 to 2007 and twice served as Western’s provost, in 1998-99 and from 2007 to 2009. He has retired from administrative work, but Murphy continues to teach several courses a year in Economics and Finance. He also serves on the board of directors of Saturna Capital, on Saturna’s council of economic advisers, and on the board of St. Paul’s Academy. He has been a participant in the US Bank Economic Forum for about 20 years. He is past chairman of the board of Cascade Financial Corp. and Cascade Bank as well as past-president of the United Way of Whatcom County and the Rotary Club of Bellingham.

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The winter 2015 commencement ceremony’s student speaker was Marguerite Balch, who received her Bachelor of Arts in Education degree in Early Childhood Education. Balch, from Lynnwood, is a student teacher in a first-grade class at Garfield Elementary School in Everett.

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The winter 2015 commencement ceremony included a presentation of the President’s Award, Western’s highest community honor, to Irwin and Frances LeCocq.

Irwin LeCocq is the former president of Peoples Bank, and Frances LeCocq was the bank’s community affairs officer. They are also strong supporters of the arts, education and the community’s social safety net.

At Western, the LeCocqs have touched the lives of many students through the Peoples Bank / LeCocq Family Scholarships. In the greater community, the LeCocqs also provided crucial support to the Campaign for the Arts, enabling the restoration of the Whatcom Museum and the Mount Baker Theatre.

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"Do you Really Want to Know?" is a documentary about the complex emotional, ethical and psychological issues surrounding the new frontier of predictive genetic testing.

The film, by academy award-winning documentary filmmaker John Zaritsky, features Jeff Carroll, assistant professor in the Behavioral Neuroscience program, and his family as they confront the decision of whether or not to be tested for Huntington's Disease (HD).

"Do You Really Want to Know?" will be screened at the Pickford Film Center Tuesday, April 21, at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $10.75. Click here to learn more. 

 Huntington's is a degenerative neurological illness that is associated with cognitive decline, emotional disturbances and movement problems.  

Once it strikes, HD slowly destroys the mind and body, with symptoms relentlessly progressing to an inevitable death.  Not only is there no cure for HD, there are no treatments - not even experimental treatments - to slow its progression.  When individuals test positive for the Huntington's Disease mutation, they are effectively receiving a death sentence - the terrible news that a genetic time bomb will someday lead to an awful end.

As more and more genetic tests are developed, "Do You Really Want to Know?" will be a question more and more of us will face - making Huntington's Disease patients the moral pioneers for the rest of us.

Carroll is an HD researcher and editor of HD Buzz, a news feed devoted to sharing HD science news with the global community.  He recently gave the keynote address at the 2015 Huntington's Disease Therapeutics Conference

The event marks the first regional screening of this film, and it will provide you the unique opportunity to have an intimate discussion with the film's Producer, Kevin Eastwood the documentary filmmaker, John Zaritsky and Carroll.

Students in Woodring College of Education's SEC 444 class, taught by Lauren McClanahan, went out into the local high school community this past quarter to find and tell interesting stories.

The short documentary films they created were shown at the Pickford Cinema March 16 and also are available for viewing online. One of the films, displayed above, takes a look at the Lifebooks project from John Korsmo's Human Services class at WWU. Other videos looked at the Bellingham High School engineering club, the Kulshan Middle School girls robotics club, the Shuksan Middle School Beats Audio club, Coaches for Cancer at Sehome High School, the Squalicum High School Queer-Straight Alliance, the Options High School small schools concept, soccer at South Whidbey High School, the Mount Vernon High School Seeds of Science program, and the Burlington-Edison volleyball club.

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The Best Self program from Prevention and Wellness Services at Western Washington University encourages students to identify their strengths and talents to overcome challenges.

Research shows that when people practice the Best Self strengths, they have a strong sense of wellbeing, happiness and resiliency and are able to function at a high level even in the face of adversity.

Video by Carina Linder Jimenez / WWU Communications and Marketing intern

Take a study break and head over to the winter a capella club concert from student group Major Treble in Arntzen Hall Room 100 March 12. Doors open at 6:30 p.m., and any donations collected will go to Relay for Life teams.

This promo video was created by Western students Evan Brunhaver, Leah Gross and Abby McCartin in the DSGN 390: Digital Video Elective course taught by Kacey Morrow this winter quarter. The students produced commercials for different WWU student organizations and clubs on campus, including Environmental & Sustainability Programs, Men's Crew, Major Treble and the Longboarding Club.

These groups can now use these videos as promotional tools to help with recruitment and awareness. Watch all of the videos on the Design Vimeo channel.

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