March Madness is in full force this week! I am not doing well in my picks nor keeping ahead of my calendar. You know how it is as the end of the spring semester approaches: Capstone projects are due, we celebrate our faculty, staff, and student achievements, and the final push is on to prepare for the fall semester before we spend well-earned time away over the summer. It is all good, and it is hectic.
The airlines will miss me this week. Given the weather across the country, I am happy to wake up in Pullman every day. The associate deans are the ones out and about, though Scot Hulbert will be back in time to represent the dean’s office at the Celebrating Excellence Banquet on Friday. I will spend two days fully on Zoom as part of a search committee. At the end of the week, I will meet with a couple of department chairs to talk about their units and how to best support those units and their leaders going forward.
At the start of the week, I met with the human development department. Debbie Handy and the team provided some questions in advance, and we talked through my responses and their observations. Questions revolved around my 18-month reflections, our budget outlook, and how best to share the great work going on in the department. They have worked hard to encourage new enrollments by deploying their student ambassadors. I am eager to celebrate their success!
My week will wind down on Saturday as I judge the AMDT Fashion Show entries. I am unable to attend the show on April 5, so having the chance to judge is a welcomed substitute. A colleague from California arrives on Friday to help with the judging alongside Nancy Deringer, who judged last year. I am excited to see the students’ creations.
Last week, I met with the AMDT Industry Advisory Board on the WSU Vancouver campus. The board members bring tremendous energy and commitment to their roles. They are strategizing how to contribute their talents to recruitment. One of the board members serves on the CAHNRS strategic planning committee. Another will be a panelist at an April 18 workshop led by Nancy Deringer as part of a Higher Education Challenge Grant to look at transforming the student experience. A leader from Nordstrom will serve on the CAHNRS Advisory Council as well. This is a group that is “all in” to support the department!