Monday, April 30, 2018

News for CougGroup 4/30/2018


WSU commencement schedules announced for Spring 2018

April 30, 2018 from WSU Insider

PULLMAN, Wash. – An expected 2,959 students will participate in Washington State University Pullman commencement ceremonies at 8 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. Saturday, May 5, in Beasley Coliseum.

WSU President Kirk Schulz will confer degrees at all three ceremonies, which are free to the public; tickets are not required. Ceremonies will be video streamed for live viewing online at http://experience.wsu.edu. The videostream will be archived for viewing afterward at the same Web address.

Find more information about commencement parking, schedules and accommodations at http://commencement.wsu.edu/spring/schedule/.

Follow commencement updates on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/WSUPullman, https://www.facebook.com/WSUCommencement and Twitter at https://twitter.com/WSUPullman using the hashtag #CougGrad.

Other WSU graduation ceremonies will include:

College of Pharmacy: 1 p.m. Thursday, May 3, Martin Woldson Theater at the FOX, Spokane, Wash. See https://pharmacy.wsu.edu/commencement/

WSU Spokane: 2 p.m. Friday, May 4, Spokane Convention Center, Ballroom 100. See https://spokane.wsu.edu/studentaffairs/commencement.

WSU Tri-Cities: 1 p.m. Saturday, May 5, Toyota Center, Kennewick, Wash. See https://tricities.wsu.edu/commencement.

WSU Vancouver: 1 p.m. Saturday, May 5, Sunlight Supply Amphitheater, Ridgefield, Wash. See https://studentaffairs.vancouver.wsu.edu/registrars-office/commencement

WSU Everett: 2 p.m. Saturday, May 12, in the Everett Community College Walt Price Fitness Center. See https://everett.wsu.edu/commencement
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What a time it was

April 30, 2018 WSU Insider

Alumni attending Diamond and Golden reunions are invited contribute oral histories of their time at WSU.

By Rebecca Phillips, Washington State Magazine

This article originally was published in the Spring 2018 issue of Washington State Magazine:

https://magazine.wsu.edu/2018/02/02/what-a-time-it-was/

One by one, they share memories of curfews, 42-cent dinner dates at the CUB, the JFK assassination, and the birth of women’s lib. A few regale listeners with the infamous tale of the 1964 “Pot Push,” which had nothing to do with cannabis.

These are just a sample of the treats recorded at the recent Diamond and Golden Grads digital storytelling workshops, led by Washington State University English instructor and former assistant director of the Digital Technology and Culture program Rebecca Goodrich.

The workshops, held at the Lewis Alumni Centre during the Diamond and Golden reunions, are available to visiting 50- and 60-year graduates who would like to contribute oral histories of their time at WSU. The stories will eventually be archived by Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections in the Terrell Library.

Goodrich matches alumni with students who conduct the interviews. She says the project is a win-win-win.

“The grads really enjoyed it and some brought newspaper clippings to share with the students. The old yearbooks were out and it was a great social event.

“It was wonderful for the students too,” she says. “They were so interested in what the alumni were telling them. They asked great questions and later I heard them telling each other about the stories they heard. It was the perfect activity to get generations talking.”

Jonathan Wallis, a senior in neuroscience, took part in last April’s workshop and says he would gladly do it again.

“I heard stories I wouldn’t have known about, like the football stadium bleachers being burned down by an arsonist.”

Wallis says it also made him appreciate the aspect of time and how the alumni had contributed to society in many important ways, which all began at WSU.

“There was a civil engineer who worked many years in the field and had fond memories of a particular professor,” he says. Fifty years later, “he was still grateful to that professor—it was eye opening.”

This article originally was published in the Spring 2018 issue of Washington State Magazine:

https://magazine.wsu.edu/2018/02/02/what-a-time-it-was/

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WSU tuition likely increasing 2% this Fall

April 30, 2018 Pullman Radio News

Tuition at Washington State University is expected to increase this Fall.  State legislation allows for a 2% hike in WSU tuition for the next academic year.  That will raise undergraduate in-state tuition by nearly 200 dollars next year to just over 9,700 dollars.  WSU tuition was raised 2.2% for the current academic year as required by state law. The WSU Regents will consider raising tuition during their meeting Friday morning in Spokane.  

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BASEBALL: Cougars Split Doubleheader at UW, Drop Series

From WSU Sports Info

SEATTLE – Washington State split its doubleheader with Washington, claiming a 4-1 win in game one before dropping a 6-5 decision after UW scored four runs in the ninth at Husky Ballpark Sunday afternoon.

Washington State dropped to 14-23 overall and 6-12 in Pac-12 play while Washington improved to 20-19 overall and 11-7 in league play. Blake Clanton homered in both games to push his season total to five while Justin Harrer homered in the homer, No. 10 of his season. The Cougars had won the previous three series against Washington.

GAME 1 RECAP

Cougar starting pitcher Scotty Sunitsch dominated the opener, allowing just one run on four hits in 7.1 innings while striking out eight to earn his fifth win of the year. WSU received a two-run homer from Blake Clanton, a solo shot from Justin Harrer and an RBI-double from Dillon Plew who finished with two hits.

In the third, both teams traded runs as the Cougars received a two-out RBI-double into left centerfield from Dillon Plew that scored Mason De La Cruz. UW answered with a two-out RBI-single to left field in the bottom of the inning.

WSU used the long ball to build a three-run lead in the middle innings as Clanton hit an opposite-field two-run homer to left-centerfield in the fourth and Harrer added an opposite-field solo home run to right field in the sixth for a 4-1 advantage.

In the eighth, the Huskies used a hit-by-pitch and a single to put runners on the corners with one out. WSU called upon Walker who got a popout to De La Cruz at second for the second out, hit the next batter to load the bases but end the threat by striking out the UW cleanup hitter.

Walker worked a scoreless ninth to notch his fifth save of the season and No. 11 of his career, tied for seventh-most in WSU history.

INSIDE THE GAME 1 BOX SCORE

Dillon Plew doubled in the third inning to extend his on-base streak to 11 games

Plew recorded his 7th multiple-hit game in 17 Pac-12 games

Starter Scotty Sunitsch made his 81st career appearance, 3rd in WSU history

Reliever Ryan Walker made his 79th career appearance, 4th in WSU history

Justin Harrer hit his 10th home run of the season, the most since Taylor Ard hit 12 in 2012

GAME 2 RECAP

Washington rallied with a run in the eighth and four in the ninth inning, scoring the winning run on a game-ending wild pitch to take game two 6-5. Cougar starting pitcher Parker McFadden dominated, striking out a career-high nine and allowed one run on two hits in 5.1 innings.

In the third inning, the Cougars used a two-out single and a UW error to push two runs across. James Rudkin led off the inning with a single to centerfield and Mason De La Cruz reached on a UW error after putting down a sacrifice bunt. With runners on first and second with two outs, Harrer lined a single back up the middle to score Rudkin and De La Cruz came come on the same play after a UW throwing error hit De La Cruz as he slid into third base. De La Cruz scrambled to his feet and raced home for a 2-0 lead.

McFadden dominated through the first five innings. The junior righthander struck out the side in the fifth inning before the UW leadoff man started the sixth with a bunt single to first base.

In the seventh, Plew led off with a single to centerfield and one batter later Justin Harrer was intentionally walked before Clanton launched an 0-2 pitch the other way over the left field fence for a three-run homer and a 5-1 lead.

In the eighth, the Huskies used a two-out walk followed by a double that was misplayed in left-center and allowed a run to score. Walker entered the game with two outs and runner on second and induced an inning-ending ground out to Plew at third base, preserving a 5-2 lead.

In the ninth, UW started the inning with a walk and a two-run homer to cut the Cougar lead to one. The next batter was hit by a pitch and he was bunted to second. Following a Cougar pitching change, UW tied the game with a single to right field and the hitter moved to second a WSU fielding error. A UW infield single deep in the hole to shortstop put runners on the corners and following a pitching change, the second pitch of the at-bat was a wild pitch and the UW baserunner raced home for the game-winner.


INSIDE THE GAME 2 BOX SCORE

Justin Harrer recorded his team-best 23rd RBI of the season

McFadden matched a team-high with 9 strikeouts, Scotty Sunitsch struck out 9 in no-hitter at Oregon

Dillon Plew singled in the 7th inning to extend his on-base streak to 12 games

Ryan Walker made career appearance No. 80, 4th in WSU history

COMING UP

The Cougars return to Pullman to host a weekend series with No. 5 Oregon State beginning Friday at 5 p.m.

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=From Lewiston Morning Tribune - June 8, 1967

WSU Baseball
Coach Will Go
To Australia

PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) – Washington State University baseball Coach Chuck Brayton has been selected by the Australian Baseball Council to conduct a series of clinics in that country between October 1 and January 1.

The council, headquartered in Melbourne, has arranged for Brayton to go to Perth, West Australia, for the Australian baseball championships for coaching clinics: Melbourne; Hobart; Tasmania; Sydney; Brisbane and Adelaide.

Brayton was recommended to the foreign assignment by W. P. Fehring, Stanford University, president of the American College Baseball Coaches Assn.

=From Seattle Times - June 9, 1967:

Brayton Will Teach
Baseball To Aussies

PULLMAN, Wash. (AP) -- Chuck Brayton, Washington State University's baseball coach, has been selected by the Australian Baseball Council to go to Australia October 1 to conduct a series of clinics throughout the country.

Brayton will remain in Australia until January. He will be on leave from his teaching and coaching duties at W.S.U.

=From Lewiston, Idaho, Morning Tribune - March 23, 1968

Brayton Will Speak
At Banana Belt Banquet

Washington State University Baseball Coach Chuck Brayton will talk about his four-month trip to Australia at the Banana Belt baseball tournament banquet at the Hotel Lewis-Clark.

The no-host affair begins with a social hour at 6:30 and is open to the public.

Brayton visited Australia in late 1967 and early 1968 to give a series of clinics under the sponsorship of the American Assn. of College Baseball Coaches.

=From Sydney, Australia (New South Wales), Morning Herald – April 28, 1969

A sports column headlined, “Baseball faces dilemma,” includes “Australia is the only country where baseball is not played as a summer sport.” It also includes, “Noted American coach Chuck Brayton last year recommended summer play.”

=From Sports Illustrated, April 18, 1988 

-Baseball is not a newcomer to Australia; it has been played in the Land Down Under for 120 years. But, quite suddenly, American major league teams are regarding Aussie baseball as more than a curiosity."

-Until the late '60s, the only Americans who played for the clubs were those who happened to work in Australia. But then an avid Perth baseball player named Kevin Parry—the multimillionaire whose boat Kookaburra III defended the America's Cup in '87—decided to start importing some Yanks. Parry, who had gotten his idea after meeting Washington State coach Chuck Brayton at a baseball clinic in Perth, asked Brayton to put out the word that he was searching for American players.

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Obituary: WSU Performing Arts, age 7, Pullman

Posted By: Jennifer K Bauer, inland360.com
Posted date: April 25, 2018

Obituary: WSU Performing Arts, age 7, Pullman

The performing arts died April 19, 2018 at Washington State University, suffocated by a $30 million budget deficit and impassive administrators.

Only 7 years old, WSU Performing Arts was the brainchild of the late President Elson S. Floyd, who created the program to ensure dramatic arts would remain part of campus life in rural eastern Washington after the university closed its theater department. Four employees under its umbrella worked with student-run theater groups, brought diverse performers from around the world to campus, and managed WSU’s stages in Daggy Hall: the 400-seat Jones Theatre and the black box Wadleigh Theatre.

WSU Performing Arts did not go gently into the good night.
Last fall WSU announced it was killing the program because it wasn’t financially viable and was a drain on university reserves. Director of WSU Performing Arts Gail Siegel told the press the program was actually self-sustaining, except for salaries and benefits, which they were never told they had to pay for.

WSU’s decision sent shockwaves to the West Coast. Seattle’s alternative weekly newspaper the Stranger screamed across the state with a story headlined, “Fuck Washington State University For Choosing Football Over Academics.” The article pointed out that the program’s $1.6 million cost spread over seven years was nothing compared to WSU’s investment in football, which made head coach Mike Leach the highest paid state employee in Washington with an annual salary of $3,016,700, not to mention a new $61 million building with a cafeteria staffed with two full-time chefs and a mini-barbershop in the locker room.

More than 13,000 people visited the theaters through rental events and season shows in the 2016-17 school year. “The Triplets of Belleville Cine-Concert,” was the final show offered by WSU Performing Arts. The last performance was April 19 in Jones Theatre. It sold out.
The program’s demise leaves WSU in an odd position as a major land-grant institution with no academically supported theater programs at all.

“It’s so strange to everyone,” said Mary Trotter, an associate clinical professor whose job was eliminated. “I’ve not yet been given any explanation or heard anything that helps it make sense. … Mostly they don’t respond to anyone,” she said of administrators.

As far as she and the other outgoing staff and faculty know, the stages are going dark.

“What we’ve been told is that both Jones and Wadleigh will be shut and they will remain intact, which means they won’t be dismantled, until a future use can be determined; which means that, clearly, a future use was never thought about,” she said.

WSU Performing Arts leaves behind the student theater groups STAGE and the improv comedy troupe Nuthouse, who will no longer have professional theater advisers nor the use of the university’s stages. It also leaves behind numerous campus and community groups who used the stages.

In the great hereafter, WSU Performing Arts is reunited with other publicly funded theater programs done in by budget cuts: Washington State University Summer Palace (2002), the Lewis-Clark State College Theater Arts Program (2003), the Washington State University Department of Theatre and Dance (2011) and the University of Idaho Repertory Theatre (2016).

People are welcome to pay their final respects at the free “A Farewell to WSU Performing Arts at Daggy Hall” concert taking place at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Jones Theatre. “Inland Folk” radio host Dan Maher and other performers will play and  Birch & Barley will provide hors d’oeuvres and a cash beer and wine bar.
Trotter has accepted a position as a theater professor in Missouri. In lieu of flowers or cards she asked that “people stay aware of what’s happening in Daggy Hall” after she’s gone.

IF YOU GO

WHAT:  “A Farewell to WSU Performing Arts at Daggy Hall” concert with Dan Maher
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 28
WHERE: Jones Theatre, Daggy Hall, Washington State University, Pullman
COST: Free
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(The Associated Press college football story below includes mention of Washington State University and the spring football game in Spokane.)

Homebound: Most teams stay local for spring practices

Posted: April 28, 2018 1:56 a.m.

By STEVE MEGARGEE
AP Sports Writer

Teams that hold spring practice sessions out of town each year believe it prepares their players for road games while providing a chance to connect with fans and attract recruits.

Yet, the vast majority of programs still choose to hold spring workouts on campus.

Of the 86 Football Bowl Subdivision programs that responded to an Associated Press survey, only seven had spring practice sessions out of town and away from its home stadium this year: Arkansas, Florida Atlantic, Memphis, Oregon, Oregon State, Texas Tech and Washington State. There are 129 FBS programs, to the AP heard from 67 percent of them.

Memphis said it spent $18,000 to conduct a practice in Brentwood, a Nashville suburb about a 3 1/2-hour drive from campus. Memphis wanted the excursion to resemble its road-game routine as much as possible so players checked into a hotel and ate a meal, though they didn’t stay overnight. The cost included bus transportation, hotel fees and meals and pizza for the drive back to Memphis.

“To be able to take our program on the road and be able to showcase that across the state and in a community where there are so many people celebrating the Tigers, it provides us a wonderful time as a team to be able to go away and to be able to have that experience,” Memphis coach Mike Norvell said.

Arkansas held its spring game in Little Rock because of construction at its home stadium in Fayetteville. Florida Atlantic held scrimmages in Fort Lauderdale and Miami. Oregon had a practice at Portland and Oregon State conducted one in Beaverton, Oregon. Washington State had its spring game in Spokane for an eighth straight year. Wyoming spent between $3,000 and $4,000 to hold a spring practice session last year in Casper, about 150 miles from campus.

They are the exceptions. Most college programs stay on campus for spring practice, noting the cost of moving out of town for just one workout outweigh the potential benefits.

“You don’t have a ton of time and contact hours with your team,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said. “If you can create an opportunity off campus, it makes sense, but the logistics are hard. And it’s expensive. I know, well, you’re talking about expenses at Notre Dame, but the reality of it is, is it worth the expense of shipping your players off campus? And you generally have to take up some of their free time to do it. I don’t see (what) the net benefit is of doing it off campus.”

The idea of sending teams out of town garnered plenty of attention in recent years when Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh sent the Wolverines on spring-break trips to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, and to Rome. Power Five schools responded last year by voting to prohibit coaches from taking teams off campus for practice during any vacation period outside a sport’s season . Michigan left for Paris this week, but no practices were planned.

For the last six years, Texas Tech has held at least one spring workout in Midland, Texas, about a two-hour drive from campus. The Red Raiders also visited the Dallas Cowboys’ Frisco headquarters this spring.

“It’s incredible to have 300 recruits watching your program and your product, and to have our incredible Dallas alumni base who show up in droves every time we’re in this area,” Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury said after the Frisco scrimmage. “And it’s great for our players to work the travel process, (experience) a new environment and come out here and have to play here in front of a bunch of people.”

Florida Atlantic even found a way to do some community service while heading off campus. The Owls’ Fort Lauderdale scrimmage included a youth camp in which proceeds benefited families affected by the deadly shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Other coaches believe the benefits of conducting a scrimmage out of town are outweighed by the drawbacks.

Northern Illinois coach Rod Carey held a practice in Chicago two years ago and decided afterward it wasn’t worth the trouble. He hoped the practice would help attract prospects but determined that a much bigger benefit comes from having potential recruits actually see the campus. Recruits are permitted to attend the off-campus practices, but coaches can’t have any contact with them in that setting.

Carey also said his team didn’t practice effectively after a long bus ride.

“I won’t do that again,” Carey said.

Every situation is different, too. While Memphis or Wyoming or Northern Illinois might be trying to raise their profile with an off-campus practice, sometimes it’s not needed. For instance, South Florida coach Charlie Strong noted he didn’t need his team to visit other parts of Florida to attract recruits because Tampa already features so many prospects and is easily accessible to many others.

Houston is in a similar position and wanted to keep things as simple as possible this spring after making multiple staff changes, though Cougars coach Major Applewhite said he might take his team out of town next spring. Texas Tech, located in a less populous area of the Lone Star State, benefits more from traveling to areas that might have plenty of recruits.

Wyoming is the lone FBS program in a geographically large state with a small population. The Cowboys previously have held spring practice sessions in Cheyenne and Casper. Although a scheduling conflict prevented them from leaving campus this year, they intend to make one of these trips again next spring as a way to reach out to its fan base.

“You really have to be in a unique position to take a scrimmage or spring game off your campus,” Wyoming coach Craig Bohl said. “It has to be someplace where there’s going to be a pretty significant amount of interest. What you find at the majority of Group of Five schools, they’re in a location where there’s not really a significant alumni base someplace else and it might not be worth uprooting everything. We’re in a unique situation.”

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