WSU has a tremendous faculty, dedicated to making our university the best that it can be. This is a fact that we should not take for granted. President Schulz has frequently noted this quality when he talks about WSU’s “can-do” spirit, and our nimbleness in embracing challenging projects such as the launch of the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine and the INTO partnership.

Over the past couple of years, we have augmented our efforts to recognize the outstanding work and accomplishments of our faculty with new awards and recognition events.

One of the new recognitions is the Featured Faculty member at Cougar football and basketball games. Sunday night, during the final home basketball game – a win against the rival Dawgs – we honored our final Featured Faculty member for the year, Dr. Dustin McLarty, an assistant professor in the School of Materials and Mechanical Engineering. The week before, we recognized Dr. Nathalie Wall, associate professor in the Department of Chemistry, who attended her first sporting event during her career at WSU. You can see a full summary of all of those recognized through the Featured Faculty Member program at faculty.wsu.edu.

A popular event we have added on the Pullman campus is the Faculty Crimson Club, held once a month. This event, held in the Club Level of Martin Stadium, provides a venue for faculty to meet in a casual, social environment and get to know one another. Attendance has continued to grow, and I would encourage everyone to give it a try; I think you will find it a fun and worthwhile time. We have heard from some faculty who work at campuses other than Pullman that they would like to see a similar event on their campus. We will be working with the chancellors to bring the Crimson Club to these campuses sometime in the coming months.

Of course, the signature event to honor and recognize our faculty’s accomplishments is Academic Showcase, which takes place the week of March 27-31, concluding with the Celebrating Excellence Recognition Banquet on Friday night. If you have not taken in some of the Showcase events, I would encourage you to do so. The events are always inspiring and make one proud to be a Coug. The full calendar can be found at showcase.wsu.edu/schedule/.

I understand that the most important way we can show appreciation to our faculty is to provide them a quality environment in which they can pursue their scholarship and help educate the next generation of leaders. We will always strive to do better in achieving this objective, but sometimes the little things, like those mentioned above, are also important in making sure that our faculty feel appreciated for the great job they do.