20 Years in Southwest Washington

Hats off to 18 pioneering students who were the start of something big

In the 1980s the only thing bigger than the hairstyles was the shoulder pads built into trendy ladies’ power suits. The economy was thriving as the baby boomers were getting older and more financially secure. Advertisers were enamored with yuppies (young urban professionals) and DINKs (double income no kids). Old industries were dying and new technologies developed and flourished.

Here in Clark County there was a need for highly trained computer scientists and engineers to feed the growing high-tech manufacturing industry. But the real need was much broader. Local students, in any academic field, who wanted to go beyond the two years offered at Clark College had to either pick up and move to one of Washington’s universities or pay high out-of-state tuition at one of Oregon’s schools.

The Joint Center for Education, a collaboration of Clark College, Evergreen State College and Washington State University, opened its doors in 1983 to address the growing need. It offered graduate courses in engineering and computer science along with some general undergraduate classes. On September 19, 18 graduate students reported to the north wing of Hudson’s Bay High School to begin their first class. This was the humble beginning of Washington State University Vancouver.

Four years later, Washington State University began offering classes in Bauer Hall on Clark College’s campus. And in 1989, Washington State University Vancouver was formally established as one of four campuses that make up the Washington State University system. WSU Vancouver served upper-division students and students transferring from community colleges to complete their bachelor’s degrees.

WSU Vancouver moved to its current location in Salmon Creek in 1996. The university expanded its student body and course offerings in fall 2006 when it began serving freshmen and sophomores. Today WSU Vancouver offers 16 bachelor’s degrees, 10 master’s degrees and one doctoral degree.

As a premiere research university, WSU Vancouver’s doctoral teaching scholars address critical challenges in more than 36 fields of study. The work conducted by the faculty and students here has both global and local impact—fueling economic growth and development right here in Southwest Washington.

“WSU Vancouver is one of the best improvements ever to the quality of life of the citizens of our community,” said Scott Campbell, publisher of The Columbian. “It’s delivering on the vision set more than 20 years ago as an investment in individual initiative, overall community health and as a key factor in a strong and healthy community identity.”

“What fascinates me most,” said Hal Dengerink, Chancellor for WSU Vancouver, “is the degree to which the university and other elements of the community are becoming woven into a single fabric. It is true that the university contributes to the community in a variety of ways, but the reverse is also true. The university thrives only if the entire community thrives. The health of our financial systems, public schools, transportation systems, employment opportunities, healthcare and social services, all contribute to the university’s ability to succeed. And while we may help educate the community, the community helps educate us, too. It only makes sense that WSU Vancouver would be actively involved in helping strengthen these other threads of the fabric.”

Tom Tripp, Ph.D.
Professor of Management & Operations

Engaging WSU students since 1991
Characterized by his students as a stimulating and charismatic professor, Tom Tripp teaches management and operations at Washington State University Vancouver. He also teaches negotiation and leadership classes for both MBA and undergraduate students and teaches college instructors how to improve student’s learning in their courses. Tripp says he tries to make class fun. And it must be working since he was asked to teach a semester in Switzerland and has served as a travelling scholar to New Zealand.

What he finds most rewarding about teaching at WSU Vancouver versus anywhere else are the students. “I love having students who have life experience and who are largely paying their own way through college. They tend to take class seriously, they get what I’m talking about, and they help each other learn when they share their experiences.”

Tripp co-authored the 2009 book, “Getting Even: The Truth About Workplace Revenge—and How to Stop It,” with Robert Bies. The book has been picked up by one out of every three Barnes and Nobel stores across the country. Tripp says they wrote the book because he and Bies were sitting on lots of interesting findings that few people knew about. “The only people who’d hear about the findings were other professors or our own students. Over time, the picture grew so big that no one-hour presentation could cover even a tenth of it. So, we decided to put it all in one place and make it accessible to regular working people, not just to other professors.”

Tripp started teaching on the Vancouver campus via Tri-Cities in 1991 as a business professor using the video-conferencing system that links classrooms, a.k.a. the WHETS program. He moved to campus in 1994 where he met and soon married his wife, Jodi Tripp, a professional fine-arts photographer whose works have been featured in the campus galleries.

Laurie Brown RN, MSN, MPA-HA, CCRN

Nursing is her passion
Washington State University Vancouver alumna, Laurie Brown, is a tenured nursing professor at Clark College working on the WSU Vancouver campus. She became a clinical teacher after working as a critical care nurse. Brown maintains an advanced Critical Care Certification in Nursing (CCRN), specializing in cardiac care and oncology.

“My role as a nurse educator is to prepare and support associate degree students as they get the knowledge and skills they need to enter the nursing profession,” said Brown. She is enrolled in a two-year online nurse-educator program to advance the use of distance learning in nursing. She has been the advisor for the Student Nurses Association of Clark College (SNACC) for the past six years.

Brown loves nursing. She owns her own business, RN Laurie’s NCLEX Review, where she teaches NCLEX Review courses to new graduates to help them pass their board exams. She is a volunteer with the Clark County Public Health Department’s Medical Reserve Corps (MRC), and she recently became involved in the American Association for the History of Nursing. “By understanding nursing’s past, it helps us define the present and influence the future of our profession,” said Brown.

In 2001, Laurie was recognized with the WSU Vancouver, Julie Ebreck Nursing Award. And in 2002, her contributions in community nursing garnered her WSU’s Outstanding Graduate Student of the Year Award.

In the summer months, Brown enjoys traveling. She belongs to RV Women, a national network of women who camp. Some of her favorite campsites are Barview Jetty County Campground on the Oregon Coast, Timothy Lake at Mount Hood and any site around Mount Adams.

“My interests are wide and expansive,” said Brown. “I enjoy reading, quilting, needlework, golf, theater and cooking. I cry at sad movies and am touched by classical music. I love to travel and enjoy frozen yogurt.”

Brown’s travels have led her to new encounters like the Drift Creek Mennonite Quilters Retreat where she studied the art of quilting. In 2004, Brown spent part of August living with an Amish family in Lancaster, Pa. as part of a study program related to culture and healthcare. Her international travels have taken her to Belize, Norway, Finland and Russia. She traveled to Israel with her father.

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Zane Wagner has been “COUGed”

Congratulations to Biology major, Zane Wagner, the 2009 Outstanding Student Leader award recipient. This is the first time this award has been given to a student at WSU Vancouver. Wagner was selected by the WSU Vancouver Alumni Advisory Board. Money to support the leadership award was raised by alumni across Washington and Oregon who purchased “You’ve Been COUGed” yard signs.

Wagner’s leadership and academic achievements represent the positive attitudes and contributions to student life that the Alumni Advisory Board seeks to recognize. “I am so grateful to all of those who contributed to the ‘You’ve Been COUGed’ fundraising campaign,” said Wagner. “It has been an honor and privilege to help bring more campus life to WSU Vancouver by promoting the many activities the campus has to offer.”

Please look for our fall “You’ve Been COUGed” campaign to help raise money for next years’ Outstanding Leader Award.

Cougar Networking Nights

Cougars, cougars where are you? We are looking for active alumni to come out and join us for monthly Cougar Networking Nights. These events are a great way to meet new people, connect with local businesses, show your cougar pride and enjoy a good drink with friends. These networking events are held every third Wednesday from August-November and January-May. Look for monthly updates on www.vancover.wsu.edu/alumni.

Alumni Advisory Board

Over the past few months, the WSU Vancouver Alumni Advisory Board (AAB) members have had a regular “meeting of the minds” to brainstorm ways to raise funds for student scholarships and give back through community service-based projects. If you’d like to be involved, please go to van.alumni@vancouver.wsu.edu to be included on our meeting notices.

One of AAB’s tasks this year was to help plan the public WSU Vancouver 20th Anniversary celebration. Mark your calendars! The dinner and silent auction will be held on campus September 19. The auction boasts incredible items donated by local businesses and artisans, a wine wall featuring a few rare varietals and some cougar-owned wine from across Washington and Oregon. The 20th Anniversary celebration will be a great way to network and reconnect with fellow cougar alumni. The AAB is seeking table sponsors and silent auction items for the event. Please contact Lea Pfau at 360-546-9600 if you’d like to participate. Tickets are $65 per person or $600 for a table for eight. Call 360-546-9600 to purchase tickets.

The AAB group was also involved in the “You’ve Been COUGed” fundraiser. “You’ve been COUGed” yard signs are a fun way to show your cougar pride in your own yard or to have fun by placing a sign in a cougar rivals’ yard. This campaign raised money to support the Outstanding Student Leader award. AAB members served on the selection committee and gave the award on April 16. For more information about the award winner, see “Zane Wagner has been ‘COUGed’” in this WSUVista. Have YOU been COUGed? Learn how by calling 360-546-9600.

Thanks to our local business owners

This year the WSU Vancouver Alumni office was able to say, “Congratulations” to WSU Vancouver 2009 graduates by gifting them with reusable cougar totes filled with coupons, flyers and business cards from local, alumni-owned businesses. Below are the great organizations that contributed to support the class of 2009:

Tamara Roark Shoup,
B.A. Human Development, Summa cum Laude 2007

Scholarships validated commitment to education
As a Gloria Hall Leadership Scholarship recipient and the 2005 - 2006 E. Faye Volker and George W. Volker Endowed Scholarship recipient, Tamara Shoup feels that education is one of the most important fundamentals to a better tomorrow.

“I received several scholarships while attending WSU Vancouver,” said Shoup. “My scholarships helped me meet my own expectations and those of my loved ones. Going to college as a nontraditional student meant I was affecting not only my life, but that of my immediate family. My scholarships validated

my decision to make a commitment to my education.”

After graduating, Shoup decided to return the opportunities she was afforded by becoming a scholarship donor herself. She said it’s a privilege to give back to the WSU Foundation. “You don’t have to give at the $500 or $1,000 level to make a difference. You can give at the $20 or $50 level, and that is what is so unique about our foundation,” said Shoup.

Shoup’s personal formula for community building “is student plus scholarship equals increased community asset.” According to Shoup, “No matter what industry an individual has personal interest in or talent for, improving readiness to excel in that field of work through post-high school education is the longest lasting investment a person can make toward build a sustainable community. Scholarships offer one-to-one encouragement that allows a student to envision the possibility and realize the benefits of higher education.”

If you'd like to join Shoup and others in supporting WSU Vancouver scholarship, please call (360) 546-9600.