Four years ago our undergraduates began producing an annual publication, DEPTH. The content is primarily from undergraduates to give perspective to our alumni and friend. My words in the issue that went to the printer today:
Among the strengths of our program is our engagement with undergraduates, not only in the classroom, but also in our laboratories, at our computers, on our ships, or in the field. Experiential education is at our core. I had the pleasure during Washington Weekend to announce the selection of Professor Rick Keil as the inaugural Richard H. Fleming Faculty Fellow. This endowed support rewards excellence in working toward this core value. Congratulations, Rick!
Rick, along with Eric d'Asaro, Debbie Kelley, Christopher Krembs and Eric Collins led this year's senior capstone expedition aboard RV Thomas G. Thompson to Glacier Bay, Alaska. You'll hear from the undergraduates elsewhere about their experiences. Let me share a portion of a gracious thank you from Lewis Sharman, our liaison at the National Park Service, and a cruise participant: "To the faculty: It's clear that you folks take your huge responsibility quite seriously. It was great fun to watch you interacting so positively with the students, sharing generously of your knowledge and experience. It was equally apparent that the students valued and appreciated each of you. Thank you for your ongoing commitment not only to research, but to learning and teaching."
Also building our undergraduate experience was a remarkable gift: a bequest of $2.2M endowment to establish the Lowell and Alice Barger Endowed Student Scholarship Fund. This fund will let us provide ~15 need-based tuition scholarships each year to deserving undergraduates.
In the coming year, please consider joining us for our annual Homecoming Husky Huddle before the Oregon State game Saturday, October 18, 2008 and during our open house and alumni luncheon on Saturday, April 25, 2009 during Washington Weekend.
To close, I am very proud that DEPTH, an experiment in Spring 2005, is in its fourth volume. We believe in our engagement with undergraduates; this publication is a measure of their engagement with us.
Alumni and friends, look for your copy in the mail in mid-June...
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