Good News

Faculty mentor Dr. Susan D. Lonborg reports Psychology students Jeff Christianson, Cody Foster, Jonathan Ingram, Dan Neighbors, Katie Ann O'Neill and Nash Stanton members of five separate research teams have their regional, national and international conference proposals accepted by APA Program as follows:

1. The initial reliability and validity study for the Job Search Self-Efficacy Scale (JSSES) was accepted for the International Counseling Psychology Conference (Chicago, IL; March 6-9, 2008).
2. The paper describing the multi-year studies of the reliability and validity of the JSSES was accepted for the 2008 American Psychological Association Convention (Boston; August 2008).
3. The proposed Spiritual Well-being, Forgiveness and Health study was accepted for the 2008 American Psychological Association Convention (Irvine, CA; April 10-13, 2008).
4. The poster session describing the initial development of the Job Search Self-Efficacy Scale (JSSES) and the Job Search Experience Questionnaire was accepted for the Western Psychological Association Convention (Irvine, CA; April 10-13, 2008).
5. The symposium, "Facilitating Undergraduate Research Self-Efficacy Through Collaborative Research Teams" was accepted for the Western Psychological Association Convention (Irvine, CA; April 10-13, 2008).

Counseling Program Garners National Accreditation 

Central's mental health and counseling program is flourishing. The program received national accreditation from the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), making it one of only three CACREP-accredited mental health counseling training programs at public universities in the state of Washington. The program prepares professional mental health counselors to be competent, proactive, knowledgeable, ethical, skilled and adaptable to the needs of the people they serve in a variety of community and agency settings. 

Professor Jeff Penick, who served as the program's liaison to CACREP and led the faculty team that prepared the extensive self-study on the benefits to students, said, "The endorsement gives our students more opportunity for advanced study once they've finished the program at Central." Students who graduate from an accredited program may sit for the National Counselor Examination immediately after they receive their degrees, whereas students from non-accredited programs must wait until they finish their 3,000 hour internship." Penick says the program's accreditation also makes it easier for Central graduates to transfer their licenses between states. 

Amy Mumma Has Vintage Year 

Amy Mumma, Director of Central's World Wine Program, was selected president of the professional jury for the second International Wine Woman Awards held in Paris, France on June 14. Mumma, winner of the professional Wine Woman 2005-2006 award, was the only American chosen to be on the jury. The Wine Woman Award is an international contest intended to recognize women's growing influence and vital role in the wine business. 

The jury was charged with choosing the Professional Wine Woman 2006-2007 winner.

"The professional jury was looking for a woman who not only possessed an extremely high level of technical knowledge and professional tasting skills, but also someone who understood the industry as a whole, from a consumer and industry point of view," said Mumma. "The International Wine Woman must be able to speak from the heart and contribute to our industry." 

As director of Central's World Wine Program, Mumma is a highly sought-after conference speaker, lecturer, and wine judge. Earning a diploma of Wine Studies and Tasting from the Universite de Bourgogne in Dijon, France, and an Advanced Certificate in Wine and Spirits from London's Wine and Spirit Education Trust, Mumma continues to visit the many vineyards and wine-producing areas around the world. She is currently completing her Wine MBD through the University of Bordeaux Business School. 

CWU Grad Gets Distinguished Master's Thesis Honor

Walter Szeliga, who completed his Master of Science in Geological Sciences in June 2006, received the 2007 WAGS/UMI Distinguished Master's Thesis Award from the Western Association of Graduate Schools (WAGS) and University Microfilms International (UMI). This is the second time in ten years that a CWU master's student has received the prestigious regional award. 

The award recognizes distinguished scholarly achievement at the master's level. Szeliga's thesis, "Transient Detection and Modeling of Geodetic Data," was nominated for the regional competition after it was selected to receive CWU's 2006 Distinguished Thesis Award based upon the "outstanding quality and significance" of the work. A 2003 graduate of University of Massachusetts, with a bachelor's degree in mathematics, Szeliga, a native of Rehoboth, Massachusetts, came across the country specifically to pursue his master's degree under Tim Melbourne, CWU geological sciences professor. Szeliga is now pursuing his doctoral degree in geophysics at the University of Colorado at Boulder. 

The CW competition is supported by Dale Comstock, dean emeritus of graduate studies, who provides a monetary award and plaque to the Central Winner. 

Sophomore Chosen for Oxfam CHANGE Program 

Sophomore Stephanie Oberlander, from Auburn, a double major in anthropology and journalism, was selected to be one of a cohort of only fifty students from across the nation to be invited to participate in the Oxfam CHANGE Program. The CHANGE Initiative is a highly competitive national program that trains college students to become actively engaged in America's social justice mission. Oberlander spearheaded the CWU Civic Engagement Centers fair/free trade programs during the 2006-07 academic year. 

Physics Students to Receive Grant 

The Society of Physics Students (SPS) received a Sigma Pi Sigma Undergraduate Research Award from the SPS national organization for the project "Electronic Realization for Chaotic Systems." The $1,859 award provides calendar-year grants to support local chapter activities that are deemed imaginative and likely to contribute to the strengthening of the SPS program. Only five SPS chapters in the nation received research awards last year. Student David Cross, Ellensburg, and faculty project advisor Dr. Michael Braunstein were the lead authors for the proposal. Cross is now pursuing his PhD at the University of California, Davis. The research was conducted by several members of the CWU SPS chapter, for which Sharon Rosell serves as faculty advisor. 

CWU Grad Student Creates Interactive Online Map 

During fall 2006, CWU resource management graduate student David Cordner began building an interactive online map of Kittitas County with the hope that others would use it to identify their favorite places. "It's an interesting way to see what others in the community value," Cordner explains, "Perhaps it can show us what we'd like to protect in the future. Often, planners get abstract statements from people, whereas this map makes people's views more tangible. Even though we live in the age of Google Maps, this type of application is actually rather cutting edge."

Some of the locations marked include the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, the cities of Roslyn and Ellensburg, Vantage, the Teanaway River, the Taneum and Naneum areas and the unincorporated area of Ronald. Cordner created his project through the university's Center for Spatial Information. Funding for the project came from the National Consortium for Rural Geospatial Innovations in America. The map is online at http://csi.gis.cwu.edu. 

In the Spotlight: Wenas Creek Mammoth Field School 

CWU's Wenas Creek Mammoth Field School got some extra attention this summer when a film crew visited the site to file footage for a new documentary. Titled Journey to 10,000 BC., it is scheduled to air on the History Channel in March 2008. The crew of four plans to bring the history of the area to life by combining the footage of the excavation with animation. 

"As I was researching for the show, an archaeologist I contacted told me I should call Dr. Pat Lubinski (CWU anthropology professor) because he's digging up a mammoth," explained David Padrusch, Limulus Productions director/producer. "Two phone calls later, I'm at this great site." For the past three summers, faculty and students from across the nation have come to take part in Wenas Creek Mammoth Project Field School. The scientific investigation involves mammoth bones found on private land in the Wenas Creek Valley near Selah. The interdisciplinary investigation involves careful scientific recovery of the bones and any associated materials, while placing the finds in appropriate geological context. 

Since the dig began, participants have found hundreds of bone fragments, including pieces of mammoth vertebrae, scapula, rib bones, and what's believed to be a bison bone in the middle of the mammoth bones. Excavators also found a human artifact, a flake from a stone tool or the making of a stone tool, which - if linked to the bones- could predate when humans were first thought to have arrived in the Pacific Northwest. 
 

Passion for Research: Anne M Johansen, assistant professor of analytical/environmental chemistry, is enthusiastic about faculty-mentored research at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Dr. Johanson is passionate about the environment and how it relates to atmospheric chemistry, global climate and human health, as well as about issues relating to faculty work/life on campus in the context of diversity, equality, and training. Her cutting-edge research in atmospheric chemistry and her ability to acquire external funding have provided her students with first-class hands-on experiences. Her students have worked with scientists at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, gone on international research cruises to Hawaii and Papua New Guinea, and presented at national conferences, all paid for through grants. 
 

Stephanie goes to Washington: Imagine getting an opportunity to spend some time with members of Congress, two of your professors, and other professional scientists on Capitol Hill sharing news about your scientific discoveries. Chemistry major Stephanie Bryner was one of only seventy-five students nationwide to earn the chance to do just that. Bryner was selected from four hundred applicants to present her undergraduate research in the Posters on the Hill event in Washington DC at a meeting of the American Chemical Society. 

Stephanie's research is a collaborative effort involving CWU professors Dr. Carin Thomas and Dr. Anne Johansen, a graduate student and two undergraduate students. The research she conducted focused on NIH Mitochondrial Dysfunction and was funded by the National Institutes of Environmental Health Science Program. The annual event, organized by the Council for Undergraduate Research (CUR), offers students an opportunity to present the results of their independent research in science, math and humanities. Along with the presentation, students spent the day visiting offices of their elected representatives and sharing their findings with members of Congress, their staff, and personnel from federal funding agencies.