It was my honor to deliver the first State of the College Address as the twentieth dean of CAHNRS on April 30 in Johnson Annex. With more than 200 faculty and staff attending in person and online, the strong turnout reflected a shared commitment to our college and its mission. Together, we celebrated our people and our progress—recognizing that CAHNRS is not merely sustaining momentum but thriving amid complex and challenging times. We continue to benefit through strong support from WSU leadership and our state and federal partners, and we should all take pride in what we are accomplishing together. I concluded the address by offering seven C’s as guiding values for our work and our future: CAHNRS. Constant. Choice. Creative. Constructive. Collaborative. And finally—Cougs. These seven C’s are more than words; they reflect who we are, how we show up for one another, and the standard to which we hold ourselves as a land-grant college. For those unable to join us, a video recording is available, highlighting the prolific, productive, and impactful work taking place across our college.
That same evening, we gathered at Ensminger Pavilion to celebrate excellence with the 2026 CAHNRS Faculty and Staff Awards. We honored colleagues whose excellence advances our research, teaching, and outreach mission: Angela Merrill, Liesl Oeller, Nina Willis, Cassandra Groseclose, Rich Giles; the Clark County Extension Team; Christopher Clarke, Michael Phelps, David Crowder; Karina Gallardo, Mike Pumphrey, John Stark; and the WSU Climate Stewards Team. I was also proud to introduce a new recognition category: the Cashup Davis Family Endowed Dean’s Choice Excellence Awards, which I prefer to call the “Coug’s Spirit Awards.” These honors recognize individuals who consistently go above and beyond in service to CAHNRS. This year’s recipients, Seth Truscott and Lisa Johnson, embody the dedication and excellence that define our community. My sincere thanks and congratulations to all our award recipients for the impact you make every day.
We also took time to formally recognize and celebrate the distinguished service of Karen Lewis, Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources Program Unit director, and Scot Hulbert, senior associate dean of CAHNRS. Both concluded remarkable careers with the college upon their retirements last week, leaving a legacy of leadership, mentorship, and impact.
Looking ahead, I will continue to travel across the state to listen, learn, and explore collaborative ideas with partners within and beyond CAHNRS. Strengthening partnerships and teams remains central to our work. On April 20, I met with the Skagit County Board of Commissioners and expressed my appreciation for their $750,000 commitment to the new plant growth facility at the Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center. This investment stands as a powerful example of a community stepping forward with leadership and resources to address the challenges in the Skagit Valley in partnership with WSU.
Important conversations are also advancing around the revitalization of the WSU Creamery. Most recently, I met with WSU Regent Howard Wright, whose passion for the creamery and bold vision for its future are inspiring. Our cheesemaking equipment is now beyond its lifespan, and we are approaching this moment as an opportunity to expand capacity, meet modern safety standards, and provide our students with exposure to state‑of‑the‑art technology in food and dairy science.
Innovation remains a defining theme across our work. I was pleased to attend the Washington State Academy of Sciences’ Growing with AI Grand Challenges Workshop April 22–24 in Wenatchee, where I engaged in discussions with thought leaders on how agriculture can both integrate and lead in the use of artificial intelligence. Continuing this conversation, I will be appearing on the Shift AI podcast with host Boaz Ashkenazy, alongside Jonathan Cox, vice president of science and technology at Double Diamond Fruit, and Steve Mantle, CEO of Innov8.Ag. Watch for the episode link in the coming days. I also had a productive discussion with Reservoir, a company interested in establishing collaborative opportunities with Prosser IAREC, particularly around a network of startup companies.
Operational excellence is equally critical to our success. My April 24 meeting with the CAHNRS administrative managers, a group representing more than 150 years of collective business management experience, was an exceptionally valuable dialogue. I invited their collaboration in making CAHNRS an even more efficient and productive organization. Building on that discussion, we will be launching a new task force‑led effort in the coming fiscal year: BOOST (Business Operations Optimization and Strategic Transformation). I admire this group’s leadership and willingness to recognize areas for improvement and address them collaboratively as a learning community.
We also took time to celebrate the professionals who keep our daily operations running smoothly. On April 27, the entire dean’s leadership team and I recognized the administrative staff of the dean’s office with lunch at Birch and Barley. We were grateful for the opportunity to express how much their work is valued.
That same day, the 2026 Community Engagement Summit highlighted WSU’s recent Carnegie Community Engagement Classification, which places the university at the forefront of outreach and engagement. CAHNRS was well represented, with presentations from Georgine Yorgey and Mike Gaffney of Extension and Nicole Scalise from human development. Family and consumer sciences student Parker Casey also joined Scalise for her presentation. Extension Public Health Nutrition Specialist Bryan Mader and Evelyn Whitmer, Extension’s assistant state director for the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program, also took part, sharing their community nutrition research in collaboration with the College of Nursing. Community engagement, outreach, Extension, and service work have defined CAHNRS for more than a century, and it is exciting to see new partners joining us in this shared mission.
Finally, I want to highlight an important conversation linking leaders from the Washington State Fair, WSDA, and WSU as we imagine what we will create together at the 2026 State Fair. This is a unique opportunity to engage citizens from across Washington, connecting them to where their food comes from and illustrating the impact of the state’s land‑grant institution. The ideas emerging from these discussions are ambitious and energizing, and there is genuine excitement about being part of this signature Washington experience.
Together, these moments reflect a college that is confident, creative, collaborative, and forward‑looking. Thank you for your dedication and commitment; your work is what makes CAHNRS exceptional.
Kudos Corner
Welcome to Avery Thompson, new assistant professor for regional Extension livestock and forages. Hired March 1, she is part of the Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources Program Unit.
Congratulations to Xianran Li, a USDA-ARS scientist and adjunct professor in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences. He is co-author of a paper on citizen science, AI, and warm-season grasses, newly accepted in the journal Cell. Eight of the paper’s co-authors come from three departments in CAHNRS.
Kudos to Brenda Campbell, Extension business operations specialist and original member of the Extension Business Operations Team. She recently celebrated an outstanding milestone: thirty-five years of dedicated service to WSU as of April 15.
Krissi Hewitt has joined CAHNRS as our director of strategic initiatives. Her onboarding is already underway via Zoom to ensure she is fully prepared to hit the ground running when she officially begins on May 18. Her leadership will play a critical role in advancing CAHNRS’s strategic priorities and positioning the college for continued success.
Congratulations to Itsuhiro Ko, who recently defended his doctoral dissertation in the Department of Plant Pathology. He was selected for the 2026 John M. Webster Outstanding Student Award, the highest award a graduate student can receive from the Society of Nematologists. Ko will receive the award at the SON2026 meeting in Baltimore, Maryland.
Congratulations to several award winners in the Department of Human Development: Scholarly Assistant Professor Katie Forsythe received WSU Global Campus’s Excellence in Online Teaching Award for her work in HD 497 and 498. Scholarly Associate Professor Anna Whitehall was elected secretary of the Association of Leadership Educators for the 2026–2028 term and had her proposal accepted for the July 2026 conference. Student April Gascon-Stricker received the WSU Global Campus Chancellor’s Award for Community Outreach.
Until next time, Go Cougs!
Sincerely,
Raj