By Maegan Murray, ���سԹ�

RICHLAND, Wash. – Washington State University Tri-Cities will host several presentations on potential solutions for the school-to-prison pipeline, as well as barriers for individuals’ successful reentry into society from prison, as part of its latest “Community Classroom” series that begins this month.

Presenters will provide perspectives and strategies for how communities can proactively change statistics and create pathways for successful rehabilitation. Attendees will be invited to explore the current state of affairs in the regional Tri-Cities area and investigate opportunities for stronger partnerships for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated members, locally.

“This series provides a great opportunity for individuals to examine issues that pertain to incarcerated people and youth that are at greater risk for entering prison,” said Anna Plemons, ���سԹ� assistant vice chancellor for academic affairs. “Attendees will hear from and have the opportunity to converse with formerly incarcerated people, researchers, counselors and more.”

The presentations are free and open to the public. They will be presented online via Zoom. For more information, visit tricities.wsu.edu/community-classroom.

Cultivating the prison-to-college pipeline: A conversation with Noel Vest on addiction recovery, post-secondary education and prison reentry��

Wednesday, Feb. 10 | 4 p.m.

Noel Vest, a formerly incarcerated scholar and ���سԹ� alumnus, will discuss principles and strategies for building a pathway out of incarceration and into higher education with moderator Anna Plemons, ���سԹ� assistant vice chancellor of academic affairs. Drawing on his expertise as a post-doctoral research fellow in the Systems Neuroscience and Pain Lab at Stanford, Vest will speak to the ways addiction and recovery impact reentry.

The role of the community in disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline��

Thursday, March 25 | 4 p.m.

This panel will discuss the role of the community and schools, in particular, in��reducing the number of individuals entering the prison system. Speaking from respective areas of expertise, the moderated panel will discuss the possibilities and challenges of this work, as well as share ideas about how communities can come together to support members most vulnerable to incarceration.

Panelists:

• Ericka Walters – Founder and CEO of Launching Legacies
• Harry B. Grant, Jr. – Registered drug and alcohol counselor
• Emmanuel “Manny” Garcia – Middle school/high school counselor for the Soap Lake School District

An inside look at Washington state prison rehabilitative programs and the role of community advocacy in program success��

Wednesday, April 21 | 4 p.m.

Join this panel discussion on the affordances of rehabilitative programs for incarcerated people. Each��panelist will present on programs they oversaw or currently work with, as well as the role of the community in advocating for and providing resources and opportunities within local and state facilities.

Speakers:

• Stephen Sinclair – Secretary of the Washington State Department of Corrections
• Robert Jackson – Superintendent of the Washington State Penitentiary
• Carol Hinds – Family advocate

 

Media contacts:

Kristine Cody, coordinator for the ���سԹ� MOSAIC Center for Student Inclusion, 509-372-7600, kristine.cody@wsu.edu

Anna Plemons, ���سԹ� assistant vice chancellor for academic affairs, 509-372-7267, aplemons@wsu.edu

Maegan Murray, ���سԹ� director of marketing and communication, 619-403-3617 (cell), maegan_murray@wsu.edu

By Maegan Murray, ���سԹ�

RICHLAND, Wash. – Regional community members, students, faculty and staff are invited to participate in a feedback session and workshop to identify goals for a new Washington State University Tri-Cities Center for Inclusion and Student Success from noon – 2 p.m. Wednesday, April 24, in Floyd 140.

During the whole event, individuals can drop by to share their thoughts on what inclusion means to them, what they want in an inclusion center, how they want the center to look and function, as well as what resources would allow for the greatest success for students and others who use the center.

At 1 p.m., ���سԹ� Chancellor Sandra Haynes will provide a short presentation, which will be followed by remarks by Mary Jo Gonzales, WSU Vice President of Student Affairs, as well as student leaders with the Associated Students of ���سԹ�.

Lunch will be provided from noon-2:00 p.m. as part of the event.

“After over a year of planning and listening to the campus community, we are very excited to make the center a reality,” said Chris Meiers, vice chancellor of student affairs. “This is a great opportunity for both our general and campus communities to provide their feedback for the fall opening and to celebrate this milestone for our campus.”

ASWSUTC Vice President Savanna Kresse said the center will provide an immense resource for students from a variety of backgrounds.

“This is a way for us to grow inclusivity efforts at ���سԹ� by having a space for students to authentically be themselves and to ensure that they get the resources they need,” she said. “The Inclusion Center also allows students to share and celebrate their diversity as well as connect with others who are both similar and different from themselves.”

The Center for Inclusion and Student Success is set to open in Fall of 2019.

 

Media contacts:

Chris Meiers, ���سԹ� vice chancellor for student affairs, 509-372-7381, chris.meiers@wsu.edu

Maegan Murray, ���سԹ� public relations specialist, 509-372-7333, maegan_murray@wsu.edu

By Maegan Murray, ���سԹ�

RICHLAND, Wash. – Eyes were opened and hearts touched as students in a Washington State University Tri-Cities psychology statistics course recently worked with homeless people at Tri-City Union Gospel Mission.

Each semester, Janet Peters, clinical assistant professor of psychology, has her students work with a local service-based organization to provide them with real-world experience.

“These types of opportunities provide students with a practical look into how they can use statistics in psychology,” Peters said. “They’re also providing a service to a local organization who may not have the time to dig deep into their data and do this type of analysis.”

The students spent the semester analyzing data from the facility determining factors that influence or relate to homelessness.��, in turn, can use the data to demonstrate to donors the need for its services and educate the community.

The class also spent a day volunteering at the homeless shelter — cleaning bathrooms, organizing the food pantry, scrubbing floors, folding laundry and decorating their sidewalks with sidewalk chalk, among other tasks.

For some students, the opportunity proved deeply personal.

“Having been homeless several times, it was humbling being able to serve and give back to resources that have such a large impact in our community,” said senior student Jacob Hafen. “As we demonstrated with our projects, homelessness isn’t necessarily centered around addiction or a mental disorder, although sure we do see homeless people who are suffering in either of those instances.”

Surprising factors contribute to homelessness

The students aimed to identify a relationship between how long an individual might be homeless and variety of influencing factors, including:

• Employment status
• Education level
• Drug use
• Number of children
• And a variety of other issues

Approximately 34 percent of the residents at the mission had been living with friends or family and, for whatever reason, it didn’t work out. Approximately 21 percent of the residents had been kicked out of their home. Approximately 14 percent of the residents had suffered from domestic violence.

The average amount of days stayed at the facility over the course of three years was just over a month (37 days) – a surprise to many of the students. And the leading cause for longer stays in the shelter was eviction, followed by domestic violence.

Drug use wasn’t as high of a determining of a factor as many of the students initially predicted. In their analysis, they found that a history of addiction was not related to how long the women stayed at the shelter.

Level of education, many said, was also surprising when determining if that had an impact on length of stay. High school graduates typically stayed slightly longer – 43 days, as compared to non-high school grads, who stayed for an average of 29 days.

While all the information was self-reported and dependent on the individual’s honesty, it proved to break stereotypes on homelessness for many of the students.

For junior psychology major Rocio Marquez, it was surprising to find that employed individuals didn’t seem to have an easier path. Employed individuals, she said, might stay just as long as non-employed individuals.

“You would think that because they’re employed, they will get back on their feet much faster, and they don’t,” she said.

Profound impact��

Junior Sarah Wright said the project has allowed her and her classmates to better understand the Tri-Cities community as a whole.

“Homelessness is much closer to home than we realize,” she said. “This could be your brother, your sister, your mother. It doesn’t take much.”

With former experience being homeless, himself, Hafen said often times, there are no easy explanations or answers to the issue of homelessness ― a concept that many of the students said they came to realize.

“Homelessness is really an ugly truth, and it’s good for people to realize that this is part of some peoples’ lives,” Hafen said. “We have the stereotype of ‘this is what homelessness is.’ Giving our time with this project helps debunk that.”

 

 

 

Media contacts:

• Janet Peters, clinical assistant professor of psychology,��509-372-7431,��janet.peters@wsu.edu
• Maegan Murray, ���سԹ� public relations specialist, 509-372-7333, maegan_murray@wsu.edu

By Maegan Murray

RICHLAND, Wash. – Organizations and private individuals from throughout the Columbia Basin joined together last month to support the future of regional business, but not in the traditional sense.

The dollars didn’t go toward supporting new up-and-coming businesses, building facade renovations, or promoting the next booming business product. Rather, the $36,695 raised at Point to Success brunch event will benefit the Washington State University Tri-Cities’ Carson College of Business. The college will use the funds to support classroom innovation, student academic services and career success activities, and faculty research.

In support of the event, Anthony’s at Columbia Point donated its entire restaurant space, a first-class meal and service for the mid-morning event that welcomed more than 100 people. Other businesses and individuals donated wine for a wine grab at the event, lavish vacation packages, rounds of golf and tours and tastings from local wineries, all of which were auctioned to benefit the Carson College.

McCurley Integrity Dealerships sponsored the appearance of Cougar football great Ryan Leaf at the brunch, who shared his inspiring story of overcoming years of drug abuse to now supporting others in the recovery process. The aspect of community, Leaf said, was crucial to his recovery.

Alaska Airlines, The Lodge at Columbia Point, Abadan, Hampton Inn Seattle Southcenter, NewEdge and Bonsai Audio also gave generously by making Leaf’s trip to the Tri-Cities and stay possible and by sponsoring the costs of the event programs, signage and sound equipment.

“The community support we have seen through the years is truly incredible, given the significant drop over the last decade of state funding that supports the University,” said Robert Harrington, director of the ���سԹ� academic program. “Community support allows us to continue providing a premier education our students will use to provide first-class service in the business sector.”

It just makes sense

For Mike Tvedt, general manager of Anthony’s at Columbia Point, investing in the future of wine and hospitality business just makes sense. Investing in the

education of future business leaders, ensures students are well-prepared with premier business knowledge, research-driven business methods and a mindset for success, he said.

“The reason we got involved with the Carson College of Business was because of the hospitality program moving to ���سԹ� a couple of years ago,” he said. “It goes back to the founder and owner of our company, Budd Gould, who believes it is important to give back to the community. It seemed like a natural fit that we would be involved with the program and do what we can to make it successful, because we are always in need of great hospitality employees.”

The Point to Success brunch isn’t the only way that Anthony’s has given back to a ���سԹ� program, either. Anthony’s Restaurants own the next-door Budd’s Broiler, which holds the annual release party for the WSU Blended Learning wines. Through the Blended Learning program, wine science students partner with local wineries to produce premier wines. Budd’s Broiler donates the space, service and food for the event each year.

The family-owned-and-operated Anthony’s Restaurants are well-known across the Pacific Northwest for their first-class service, premier food and exceptional standards. But in order to continue that legacy, and even further improve upon their hospitality service, Tvedt said they must prepare those who will lead the business on into the future.

“We strive for five-star service and a five-star experience because that is what people expect,” Tvedt said. “We want to make sure that the future of our business is prepared and has the knowledge and know-how to meet those standards. ���سԹ� is helping us meet that need.”

Impact on the community��

A Carson College Coug herself, Hamilton Cellars owner Stacie Hamilton said her WSU business education has benefited her own business success. In turn, she gives

back to the ���سԹ� business program, not only as a business owner, but also as an advisory member for the Carson College and as an adjunct faculty member at ���سԹ�, because she knows the return will be tenfold for the local community.

In addition to giving monetarily to events like the Point to Success Brunch and donating Hamilton Cellars wine and products, Hamilton creates real-world learning opportunities for students at the winery.

“In addition to classroom education, WSU students require the real-world practical experience, which they get through internships, jobs in local business and generally through mentors in their business field,” she said. “They apply that combined knowledge to develop businesses of their own or grow established businesses. The reciprocity between the community and the university is special.”

Looking to the future

Harrington said the support the Carson College of Businesses has received from community

individuals and organizations will have an immediate and lasting impact on the future of businesses across the state.

“WSU’s business programs consistently rank among the top programs in the country, and the community support has been a crucial component,” he said. “We wouldn’t be able to do what we do without our community support.”

WSU’s hospitality business program, specifically, ranks eighth in the nation among all programs, nationwide. Harrington said the Tri-Cities-based program, being in the heart of Washington wine country, has the potential to grow immensely and be a huge treasure for the regional business community.

“We strive for excellence across the board, and it shows in our graduates,” he said. “We aim to produce the best business graduates so that our community and their businesses may benefit.”