WSU Spokane Campus Bulletin
Issue 2006-2 (January 25, 2006)


IN THIS ISSUE

Underline

Daylighting Design Promotes Energy Savings,
Human Performance

Daylight—we take it for granted until we’re deprived of it and realize how much we need it. With the winter solstice behind us, most of us can look forward to more hours of daylight. And for those working in daylight-deprived environments, things may be looking up in the future thanks to the Daylighting Lab at WSU Spokane.

Part of a network of university-affiliated and utility-funded BetterBricks Design Labs covering the Pacific Northwest, the WSU Daylighting Lab was established in 2004 to encourage the use of daylighting in building design to promote energy-efficiency. It has been found that daylighting design can reduce the need for electric lighting by up to 75%.

According to Judy Theodorson, director of the lab and an adjunct faculty member of WSU’s Interdisciplinary Design Institute, daylighting offers many additional benefits related to the performance of building occupants. “People work better, they feel better, they’re more connected to the natural cycles of the world, and they’re just more alert and happy,” she said.

Illustrating her point, a 1999 research study found that children in classrooms with more natural diffused light performed 20 percent higher on math and reading tests than students in classrooms without daylight. Another study reported that stores that had incorporated daylighting were experiencing increased retail sales.

Run by Theodorson with the help of several trained graduate students, the Daylighting Lab provides free education and consulting support to design professionals in the Inland Northwest. Its state-of-the-art test equipment includes a heliodon, which helps designers look at sun patterns using a physical model of the building studied. Consisting of a tilting/rotating table and a stationary light source, the device can simulate any time of the day and year at any latitude. In addition, a mirror-box artificial sky can be used to measure light levels in overcast conditions.

In addition to practicing professionals, students in WSU’s Interdisciplinary Design Institute can also schedule time to use the facility. Theodorson emphasized the importance of student use for market transformation, pointing out that when students get daylighting design experience in school, they’ll be more likely to use this experience when they go out and practice.

“My academic perspective is that light is one of the most important components of architecture and space,” she said. “You need to study real light in real spaces—you can’t just sort of think about it.” Return to the Top of the Page


WSU Spokane Will Host Foreign Fulbright Scholar

WSU Spokane has been selected to host Visiting Fulbright Scholar Rogayah Binti A Razak, during the 2005–2006 academic year. A Razak, who is from Malaysia, is one of approximately 850 outstanding foreign faculty and professionals the Fulbright Scholar Program will bring to the U.S. to teach and do research during the year.

An associate professor with the Department of Audiology and Speech Sciences at the National University of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, A Razak will be at WSU Spokane for three months, from February through April this year. She will use that time to construct a prototype of a Malay language preschool assessment test that reflects Malay language grammar and the norms of Malay speakers.

At this time, no standardized Malay language assessment exists in Malaysia or even Southeast Asia, according to A Razak.

“The methods currently used for assessing children’s language skills pose difficulties for accurate diagnosis and planning for intervention, and are not representative of the norms of the local population,” she said.

She pointed out that the assessment tool she will be developing would help speech-language pathologists, pediatricians, and special education teachers to identify children who are at risk and need further testing and rehabilitation work.

Charles Madison, professor of speech and hearing sciences at WSU Spokane, will host A Razak and provide support for her work on the project. Madison, who lectured at the National University of Malaysia in the mid-eighties, met A Razak while on sabbatical at the university in 2002.


WSU to Lease Riverpoint Parcel for Development

When you look around the Riverpoint campus, there’s no denying that “growth is in the air": much of the South Campus Facility has been renovated, construction is well underway for the new Academic Center to open this fall, and the “big ditch” next to the Health Sciences Building is patiently waiting for the Nursing Building, now in the final stages of design. In addition, SIRTI has completed its new SIRTI Technology Center and welcomed its first tenants.

Continuing the trend of developing the University District, last fall WSU issued a request for proposals (RFP) for leasing and privately developing approximately five acres of university land just east of Pine Street between Main Avenue and East Spokane Falls Boulevard. The land contains several existing structures, including the six-story Jensen-Byrd warehouse building, and is designated for use for future campus development.

“The area of campus that lies north of Spokane Falls Boulevard will be sufficient to accommodate publicly funded campus buildings for the next few decades. For this reason, WSU believes that the campus area south of Spokane Falls Boulevard should be used for private, mixed-use development that will benefit students, faculty, and staff in the University District,” said Chancellor Brian Pitcher. He added that “functional linkages with the campus programs, operations, and needs are a consideration in negotiating the development.”

The development of the area is tied to a long-term lease that will provide options for the university to review and purchase project improvements within the lease period.

In response to the RFP, four proposals were submitted by the December 22 deadline. Earlier this month, the university selected two pre-finalists, American Campus Communities, a national provider of student housing services to colleges and universities, and Northwest Architectural Company of Spokane. In their initial proposals, both developers included options that would rehabilitate the Jensen-Byrd building and integrate it into the project, as well as options that would replace the building within the master plan for the site.

The two pre-finalists will be submitting their phase II proposals by the end of February, and the finalist will be selected by mid-March.

“WSU anticipates a project that will set a high standard for future development of the Riverpoint campus and will be consistent with the vision articulated in the city’s University District strategic master plan,” said Pitcher.

Additional plans to transform the Riverpoint campus are in the works: In cooperation with the university, the City of Spokane is finalizing plans to extend Riverside Avenue east beyond Division Street, where it would follow the railroad tracks and curve north to merge with Spokane Falls Boulevard in front of Schade Towers. This would serve to route the majority of through-traffic away from the campus core.

The section of Spokane Falls Boulevard from that point west to Division Street would then be downsized from four to two lanes to create a more pedestrian-friendly campus environment. In addition, the city is proposing a request for federal transportation funds for a pedestrian bridge over the railroad and streetscape improvements throughout the University District.

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WSU Seeks to Fund Life Sciences Building

In the 2006 supplemental legislative session that is currently under way, Washington State University’s top priority is funding authorization for the Life Sciences Building on the Pullman campus. WSU is requesting authority to use the state’s Certificates of Participation (COP) process to finance up to $63 million plus financing costs and expenses to construct the building, the second in a science complex being developed as a foundation for systemwide investigation in the sciences.

“This building is an important gateway for growth of health and biomedical programs in Eastern Washington, and a complement for Spokane programs,” Chancellor Brian Pitcher noted. The building is the top capital priority of the Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce in this legislative session.

The source of funds to repay the COPs will be the revenue earned on the university’s permanent trust funds and deposited in the WSU Building Account. Funding capacity is available since earlier WSU projects funded in this manner will soon be repaid. As the state’s land-grant university, WSU is the only institution that owns trust lands producing revenue that can be used to back the bonds in this manner.

This request requires no state construction funding and does not affect the state’s debt limit. This proposal has been recommended by Governor Christine Gregoire in her 2006-2007 supplemental budget and action is pending before the 2006 Washington Legislature.

The building will immediately bring long-sought relief to the Pullman research university campus, providing teaching laboratories required for hands-on learning by undergraduate and graduate students. It will house some of the most productive WSU research projects: The School of Molecular Biosciences is one of WSU’s leading units in securing federal funding, and the building will allow federal research in the school to increase.

The facility will also be the headquarters for the Center for Integrated Biotechnology. It is an important part of the state package in leveraging construction of an additional federally funded research building on the Pullman campus.

The building will contain the types of programs promoted in Governor Gregoire’s Life Sciences Discovery Fund legislation, which WSU strongly endorses. It is designed to stimulate the state economy through partnerships between research institutions and other public and private sources in life science-related fields. Design work is nearly complete and the building will be ready for construction by late spring 2006, making it available for the first years of the Discovery Fund process. By initiating construction now, WSU can avoid the costs of additional delays in beginning construction beyond 2006. Inflation is expected to add $3.4 million to the project if it is delayed a year.

Other higher education or state projects, such as classroom facilities, would not be in direct competition with funding for this construction project.

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Commute Trip Reduction Committee Secures Bike Storage Funding

The Commute Trip Reduction Committee—a collaborative effort of WSU Spokane and EWU to reduce single occupant vehicle travel to and from the Riverpoint Campus—has secured a $10,500 grant from the Washington State Department of Transportation that will pay for secure, indoor bike storage, as well as other initiatives aimed at commute trip reduction.

The storage facility will be located in the South Campus Facility and will have hanging and ground-anchored bicycle racks. The space will be secured through a computerized lock system, with magnetic access cards available to bike-commuting Riverpoint employees. The storage area will also be available to students for a nominal fee and on a space-available basis.

“We presently have five bicycle commuters who ride when the weather allows. They have to store their bikes in outdoor bike racks in unsecured areas,” said EWU employee Cy Parker, who initiated the grant application. “Most have indicated they would ride more often if they were offered a secure and protected bike storage area, and other employees, too, have said they would start riding their bikes to work if offered safe storage,” she said.

Some of the grant funding will be used to create additional incentives for employees to walk, ride the bus, or carpool to work.

“We will continue to offer promotions and prizes to keep our employees interested and engaged in Commute Trip Reduction,” Parker said.

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Task Force Examines Delivery of Student Health Services

This fall, Chancellor Brian Pitcher initiated a task force that will be investigating potential models for student health services for the Riverpoint campus.

Citing the future relocation of the WSU Intercollegiate College of Nursing and existing connections among health profession programs as opportunities to create a best-practice model for health and wellness programs, Pitcher invited several members of the WSU community to join the task force. In addition, representatives from other Spokane-area higher education institutions were asked to contribute their expertise and potentially help identify opportunities for shared services to benefit students at surrounding campuses.

Chaired by pharmacotherapy professor Bill Fassett, the task force has convened twice to review current services available, examine relevant standards, and identify needs that exist in the Spokane higher education community. While the delivery of primary health care, disease prevention, and health promotion services are key, the committee is also looking at other areas of health care. “Specific areas of opportunity identified so far include sports medicine, rehabilitation, physical therapy, psychiatric/mental health, dental care, and pharmacy services,” Fassett said, adding his own observation that all health sciences clinical areas taught at the Riverpoint campus will likely have a contribution to make to student health and wellness.

In the coming months, the task force will identify and evaluate student health services models, before presenting a final report to Chancellor Pitcher in May. Based on the recommendations made by the task force, campus leadership will select a model and proceed to the planning phase. The goal is for implementation to take place as the Intercollegiate College of Nursing moves to the Riverpoint campus, which is slated for 2008.

WSU task force members include ASWUS president Aaron Beamish; Intercollegiate College of Nursing faculty members Anne Hirsch, Margaret Bruya, and Naomi Lungstrom; Doctor of Pharmacy student Cris DuVall; director of student affairs Joan Menzies; and Bruce Wright, director of Health and Wellness Services at WSU Pullman.

They are joined by Jan Murray, health center director at Whitworth College; Karen Hilgersom, dean of the Division of Arts & Sciences at Community Colleges of Spokane; Mary Jo Leveque, director of the health center at Gonzaga University; Michelle Pingree, director of health, wellness and prevention at Eastern Washington University; Richard Meier, Interim Dean of Students and Associate VP for Student Life at Eastern Washington University; and Sharon Meyer, allied health program director and instructor at Community Colleges of Spokane.

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SkillSoft Offers E-Learning Opportunities to WSU Community

WSU students, faculty, and staff now have a brand new resource right at their fingertips. The university recently contracted with SkillSoft to offer online training services and knowledge resources to its students and employees.

The SkillSoft library contains more than 2,100 courses on a variety of topics, ranging from information technology and software application instruction (including many formal certification programs) to personal and business skills development.

SkillSoft courses are easy to use. Averaging three hours in length, they can be completed in topic sections that average ten to twenty minutes of learning time. When you exit, the course places a bookmark so that you’ll automatically return to where you left off the next time you log on. You can choose between taking courses “live” on the Internet or downloading them to your PC and working offline.

In addition, SkillSoft offers a convenient resource for those who want to research a topic more thoroughly: online access to more than 7,000 books through the Books 24x7 site. The available titles include books on technology, business, government, health care, and many more.

A number of WSU Spokane employees explored the SkillSoft system at a recent Introduction to SkillSoft session taught by Saleh Elgiadi, director of information technology services at the Intercollegiate College of Nursing. Human resources consultant Karen Erp was encouraging them to spread the word. “This wonderful expansion of our training services will help all our employees strengthen job-related skills and knowledge. The Books 24x7 feature is an especially good resource for our faculty to use for teaching and research purposes,” she said.

To access SkillSoft, go to http://www.hrs.wsu.edu/skillsoft and enter your Active Directory Account name and password.

For more information on Skillsoft, contact Human Resources at 358-7740.Return to the Top of the Page
 

Research First Friday—February 3

The topic for the next Research First Friday—held on Friday, February 3, from 3:10 – 4:30 p.m. at the ICN building, room 166— will be “Vancouver Nursing Research Updates.” Presentations will be given by Marie Brown, Sheela Choppala, Dawn Doutrich, Linda Eddy, Renee Hoeksel, Melody Rasmor and Janet Spuck from the WSU Intercollegiate College of Nursing Vancouver Campus. This session is open to faculty, graduate students, and the community—wine and refreshments will be served. Contact Kathy Bridwell at 324-7258 for further information.

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Community Connections

  • Woman's Club of Spokane Chili Bingo
    You, your friends, and your families are invited to the Woman's Club of Spokane Chili Bingo afternoon Saturday, January 28 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Woman's Club at 1428 West 9th Avenue, Spokane. The event will benefit the Spokane Area Woman's Leadership Conference Scholarship Fund, which is held on April 11 and is jointly offered by Washington State University, Eastern Washington University, Community Colleges of Spokane, Gonzaga University, North Idaho College, and Whitworth College, together with area businesses and the Woman's Club of Spokane. There are lots of great prizes in addition to the chili and bingo! No reservations are needed for this fun afternoon. For more information on this event or the conference, contact Maggie Crabtree by e-mail. 

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  • Film: "Independent America: The Two-Lane Search for Mom & Pop"
    This film is presented by 92.3 FM Spokane Translator Association (which brings you KYRS 95.3 FM) on Saturday, January 28 at 7:00 p.m. at the Community Building at 35 W. Main Street, Spokane. A $5 donation is suggested, with free popcorn provided. This 80-minute documentary follows a 32-state road trip uncovering a growing discontent with corporate America and the movement toward the "local." The film encourages people to think hard about how they spend their money and offers a view of a complex nation at loggerheads with the free market it so proudly mastered. For more information, call 747-3012.Return to the Top of the Page

     

  • Influenza Page Added to Health District Web Site
    The Spokane Regional Health District has added a Pandemic Influenza page to its Web site. The community can find information on pandemic influenza, personal preparedness, community planning, avian influenza and related topics. To view the page, go to www.srhd.org/health/disease/pandemic.asp. For more information, contact Julie Graham at 324-1539.Return to the Top of the Page

Personnel & Staffing Changes

Comings:

  • Lana Wallis, Research Technologist I, HREC/Shaffer Lab, effective 1/23/06

Searches:

  • Assistant/Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, review of applications has begun
  • Assistant Professor, Pharmacotherapy, College of Pharmacy, review of applications has begun
  • Clinical Assistant Professor (three positions, two in Spokane, one in Yakima), Pharmacotherapy, College of Pharmacy, review of applications has begun
  • Assistant/Associate Professor, Architecture, review of applications has begun
  • Assistant/Associate Professor, WSU Intercollegiate College of Nursing, review of applications has begun
  • Associate Professor/Associate Dean, WSU Intercollegiate College of Nursing, review of applications has begun
  • Business Development Specialist, Small Business Development Center in Yakima, review of applications has begun
  • Finance Manager, Business Office, WSU Intercollegiate College of Nursing, applications due by 1/20/06 Return to the Top of the Page

A Warm Welcome to...


WSU Spokane welcomes Michael Norman to Parking Operations. Michael is in charge of maintaining the WSU fleet vehicles, reconciling the daily till, enforcing parking policies and regulations, and backing up security as needed on the Riverpoint Campus. He has a B.S. in Organizational Communications from EWU and holds a special police commission with the Spokane Police Department.
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Way to Go!

Here's where you make someone's day a little brighter by extending your thanks for a job well done. Send your “Way to Go!” comments to Laura Scholtens, scholtens@wsu.edu, and watch for your thanks to be published in an upcoming issue of the Campus Bulletin!Return to the Top of the Page


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The Bulletin is usually published on Wednesday biweekly during the academic year, every three weeks during breaks and summer session. the exact publication date may shift due to holidays. If you have an item that you'd like us to include, send it to us by Friday in the week before publication.
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The Bulletin covers news of interest to the faculty, staff, and friends of Washington State University Spokane, and associates on other WSU campuses and on the Riverpoint Campus.

Regular columns cover professional accomplishments, opportunities for involvement in the campus community and the Spokane community, notices of new developments on campus, upcoming events, personnel changes, and other news.

The Bulletin also serves as a source of information for external communications directed to alumni, future and current students, and friends of Washington State University Spokane. You'll read it here first!

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Editorial staff