Neither the Palouse nor my dogs know we just finished the dog days of summer (technically they end on Aug. 11; the phrase derives from the constellation Canis Major and its brightest star, Sirius). Hot, brown, a few afternoons where smoke settles it, that deep laziness. But here at WSU, we know the dog days are over because our campus is now alive with students, from all walks of life, here to pursue an academic dream. And to this vibrant student body, our college has added a bumper crop of new faculty. As they say, teamwork makes the dream work, and without our engaged teachers, mentors, and clinicians … well, the dream doesn’t happen.
So, today I provide a glimpse into our new faculty. Between March and September of this year, we hired 16 new faculty, the most I have overseen. Some we hired over a year ago but couldn’t join us until now, some joined us within months after recruitment. Three of these faculty we “grew” ourselves – they entered programs they loved and chose to stay because they are extraordinary, and their programs are excellent. Workplace culture is one of the top predictors of trainees wanting to stay in academia and stay or return to where they trained. We are happy to have them.
Five faculty have research-intensive appointments. Three join us from highly renown post-doctoral training programs at the National Institutes of Health or the University of California system. Two of these faculty will serve in our public health program. One has both a DVM and advanced training in public health (MPH and residency) and one comes to us with deep experience and a PhD in indigenous health.
Ten of these faculty will be directly engaged with our DVM training program. They come to us having completed advanced training and/or residencies all over the country in emergency critical care, small animal internal medicine, cardiology, anesthesia, oncology, small animal surgery, and anatomic pathology. Some were our DVM students who found their way back home.
Two faculty come to us with outstanding teaching and/or leadership portfolios. They teach hard and well and with intention. They bring cutting-edge ideas to teaching excellence.
What all faculty have in common is they will impact students in ways they feel or experience directly and in ways they will never know. Those moments giving back, meeting students where they are, inspiring even when exhausted, watching faces light up and minds engage, being there when students choose their path, a pathway you may have illuminated – that is the special sauce. It is why we love to hire faculty and why faculty choose to be here. Join me in welcoming them to the family.
If you’d like to know more, you can always read the latest stories from our college on our news page. For even more content, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Be safe, healthy, happy, and stay hopeful.
Take care & Go Cougs, Dori Borjesson