Congratulations to our graduates and the faculty who helped them achieve their success! Saturday’s commencement was fun, as always, and we had good travel weather for families. A number of CAHNRS faculty attended to hood their doctoral awardees and cheer on those receiving their master’s and bachelor’s degrees. Thanks to Nancy Deringer for helping me hand out diplomas. We wish all students well on their final exams.
This week is the NW Hort Expo in Yakima. It’s a nice opportunity to see our faculty, growers, and partners. Jim Smith and the CAHNRS development team, as well as our tree fruit faculty, are busy sharing the vision for a new plant growth facility at the Wenatchee Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center. Growers from around the state are excited about the prospect of a new research facility that would advance the science of fruit production. This is a difficult year for our growers. I have made a New Year’s resolution to increase my personal apple consumption in 2025 and beyond. I will share more about what I have learned to help inform that decision during one of my early 2025 posts.
The CAHNRS Advisory Council meets this week. Our primary discussion topic is how the council can engage with students when we meet them this spring in Pullman. During our fall meeting, the council spoke with a few of our students and learned of their interest in connecting with employers and industry professionals. In the spring, we’ll have an opportunity to engage more students in career development activities.
At the end of the week, CAHNRS has its annual promotion and tenure webinar. Doug Call from the provost’s office will join the associate deans, a few of our recently promoted faculty, and members of the college Promotion and Tenure Committee to share observations and tips for program progression and putting forth the best portfolio for advancement consideration.
I hope many can attend the CAHNRS winter party on Thursday. I look forward to seeing faculty and staff that I don’t often see. Graduate student turnout is typically strong for this fun event. Our generous departments have assembled fun raffle prizes, and we are encouraging everyone to help support our WSU student food pantry with a donation. I am so fortunate that it is an easy decision to do whatever I can to help our students.