Dear Colleagues,
Welcome back! I always love this time of year when the students and faculty return from their summer adventures, and hallways start buzzing with activity. As we see those fresh, eager, and new faces on campus, it’s a great reminder of just how lucky we are. We get to help guide these young people for a few years and hopefully make such a difference in their lives as we prepare them for their futures. The work we do is really important – to them, and to the state and country as well.
New Faculty & Staff
Welcome, especially, to our new faculty and staff! Our college has grown tremendously in the past few years as we aim to meet industry needs for our graduates, both in Washington state and beyond. We are so glad that you have joined WSU, and we look forward to your becoming an integral part of our Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture community.
Week of Welcome
I hope you will all join in this week’s Week of Welcome events. Voiland College events include student tours of Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories this Wednesday, August 19 and of Lower Granite Dam on Thursday, August 20. The all-campus annual picnic and convocation will also be held this Friday, August 21.
NETI Workshops Aug. 20-21
I also encourage faculty and graduate students to attend our National Effective Teaching Institute (NETI) workshops on August 20 and 21. Many of us might have learned about statistics, data collection, or computing in our graduate studies, but we didn’t necessarily learn about teaching. This is a wonderful opportunity that shouldn’t be missed.
Ice Cream Social Aug. 27
And, please be sure to join us for the college’s ice cream social on Thursday, August 27 in the ETRL courtyard. There’s plenty of ice cream, and it’s a great way to meet students and faculty, see club projects, and learn about exciting student plans for the year.
Elson S. Floyd Celebration of Life Aug. 26
Finally, I hope you will join in the celebration of the life of WSU’s president, Elson S. Floyd, who passed away in June. President Floyd took such joy in the students, touched so many of their lives, and changed WSU for the better. So it is so very appropriate that we should celebrate his life as our campus comes to life for the school year. The service will be at 3:00 p.m., Wednesday, August 26, in Beasley Coliseum.
Stay in Touch
With all the events above, you can see your calendar is quickly filling. We are so proud of the dynamic and growing community that is the Voiland College. To keep up on all of our college events, you can find a calendar on the VCEA website. Please also join us on our social media, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
As always, thank you for the hard work that you do for the Voiland College.
And – Go Cougs!
Candis Claiborn
Dean, Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture