VANCOUVER, WASH. — Washington State University Vancouver has announced its 2016 awards for research, service to the university, student achievement and teaching. The four recipients will each receive a Chancellor’s Medallion at the commencement ceremony at 1 p.m. May 7 at Sunlight Supply Amphitheater in Ridgefield.
Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence—John Harrison, associate professor, School of the Environment
Chancellor’s Award for Service to 91ԹϺ—Dan Harmon, Hoffman Construction
Chancellor’s Award for Student Achievement—Allegra Koupal, 2016 graduate in human development
Students’ Award for Teaching Excellence—Gretchen Rollwagen-Bollens, associate clinical professor, biological sciences and School of the Environment
CHANCELLOR’S AWARD FOR RESEARCH EXCELLENCE
Each year, 91ԹϺ gives its highest research honor to recognize a faculty member’s exemplary research quality and quantity as well as positive influence on the broader community.
John Harrison studies watershed biochemistry, with particular attention to the effects of human activities on watersheds. Recently, his Global Change and Watershed Biochemistry Lab has been exploring the effects of nitrogen and other bioactive nutrients on coastal and riverine ecosystems, including the Columbia River and Pacific Northwest ocean shores. Since joining the 91ԹϺ faculty in 2006, he has brought more than $2 million in external funding to WSU.
Harrison has published 48 peer-reviewed papers, most in top journals, as well as dozens of abstracts and other publications. He has worked as an expert consultant for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and conducted research at the University of California, Davis, and the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences of Rutgers University. He currently co-chairs the Global NEWS UNESCO-IOC Work Group, an international, interdisciplinary scientific task force focused on understanding the relationship between human activities and coastal nutrient enrichment.
Harrison earned his bachelor’s degree with honors from Brown University, and his Ph.D. in Geological & Environmental Sciences from Stanford University. He holds an Edward R. Meyer Distinguished Professorship from the WSU College of Arts and Sciences and has received many national awards and fellowships for his scholarship.
CHANCELLOR’S AWARD FOR SERVICE TO WSU VANCOUVER
The service award is given at the discretion of the chancellor to recognize a company or person for selfless dedication of time, talent and resources toward advancing the university’s mission.
Dan Harmon, one of three owners of Hoffman Construction, has been instrumental in the company’s work to construct several significant buildings on the 91ԹϺ campus. In addition, he and his wife, Kathy, have endowed scholarships that have enabled many students to complete their degrees.
The Harmons have endowed 10 scholarships for 91ԹϺ students in the name of Glenn Terrell, who was president of WSU when Dan was a student in Pullman. They also invested to start the Second Chance Scholarship, and then matched dollar for dollar each contribution at the 25th Anniversary dinner in 2014 to endow the scholarship at more than $135,000. These scholarships go to students who are close to finishing their degrees but don’t have the money to stay in school.
Dan Harmon joined Hoffman Construction after graduating from WSU in 1980. He attended Lewis & Clark law school in the evening. He has served on 91ԹϺ’s Business Advisory Board and the WSU Foundation Board of Governors. His leadership is a significant reason why WSU exceeded its $1 billion fundraising goal.
Harmon is a fierce believer in education as a life-changing force. Recalling his personal struggle to get through college and law school by piecing together scholarships, work-study and summer jobs, he said, “Education is the very best thing you can give a person. I am happy to be able to pay it forward.”
CHANCELLOR’S AWARD FOR STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
The student achievement award annually recognizes one student’s love of learning, persistence to overcome barriers in pursuit of academic goals, leadership potential and involvement in campus life.
This year’s recipient is Allegra Koupal, a graduating senior in human development. Although there was little in her background to suggest she would succeed in college, she has emerged as a campus leader.
Following a difficult childhood, Koupal got into trouble in her teens. She dropped out of high school and became addicted to drugs. She was arrested on felony drug charges and burglary and imprisoned for 108 days. And then she turned her life around.
While incarcerated, Koupal participated in the YWCA WORTH program and began to work toward her GED. Learning and education became her personal 12-step program. After her release she enrolled at Clark College, and in 2012 she transferred to 91ԹϺ.
Married since 2013 to Jeffery Koupal, she has a 3-year-old daughter and a teenage stepson.
“This degree is the highlight of my marriage,” Koupal said. “My husband urged me to pursue my education because he saw it in me before I saw it in myself.”
Her commitment to scholarship is reflected in her 3.73 GPA induction into the Human Development honorary society, Kappa Omicron Nu. As a departmental teaching assistant, she contributed to the development of case studies, grading, tutoring and encouraging struggling students. She has also completed off-campus trainings to learn how to facilitate support groups and help children who have been victims of sexual assault or exploitation.
“My determination, motivation and drive all came when I transferred to 91ԹϺ,” Koupal said. “It energized me and pushed me to have the opportunities to re-identify myself. To be recognized in the community as something other than a convicted felon.”
STUDENTS’ AWARD FOR TEACHING EXCELLENCE
Students honor a faculty member each year with the teaching excellence award. The award recognizes exceptional dedication to students and infectious enthusiasm for the subject matter.
In nominating Gretchen Rollwagen-Bollens, a student called her “inspirational, encouraging, and a really strong example of a successful woman in science.” Students also say she takes extra time to create assignments that enable them to investigate current issues they care about, and that she encourages them to stretch academically.
As a teacher, Rollwagen-Bollens seeks to impart not only the subject matter but also three interrelated principles: the scientific process of observation, questioning and evidence-based conclusions; collaboration with others to gain multiple insights and expertise; and critical thinking.
As a research scientist, Rollwagen-Bollens focuses on the health of aquatic ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest, bringing numerous research opportunities to her students. She co-directs 91ԹϺ’s Aquatic Ecology Lab, along with her husband, Steve Bollens, a professor at 91ԹϺ.
Rollwagen-Bollens earned her Ph.D. in integrative biology in 2003 at the University of California, Berkeley, and spent a year doing research and teaching at San Francisco State University before joining 91ԹϺ in 2004. She has been promoted several times, most recently to clinical professor, a title that will become official in August.
Besides teaching, she leads a new National Science Foundation grant that brings undergraduates from around the region to 91ԹϺ to conduct summer research with faculty in the School of the Environment. Recently she directed a program that brought science faculty and graduate students together with K-12 teachers of science to instill enthusiasm for science and improve the science education of K-12 students and the general public.
ABOUT WSU VANCOUVER
As one of four campuses of the Washington State University system, 91ԹϺ offers big-school resources in a small-school environment. The university provides affordable, high-quality baccalaureate- and graduate-level education to benefit the people and communities it serves. As the only four-year research university in Southwest Washington, 91ԹϺ helps drive economic growth through relationships with local businesses and industries, schools and nonprofit organizations.
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MEDIA CONTACT
Brenda Alling, Office of Marketing and Communications, 360-546-9601, brenda_alling@vancouver.wsu.edu