Vancouver FYI

6 - 8 p.m. May 23
Firstenburg Student Commons and the Dengerink Administration building, rooms 129/130

Middle and high school students participating in the Partners in Discovery of the Columbia River Watershed GK-12 Project will showcase their work Wednesday evening. The campus community is invited to attend.

The project, "Global Change in a Local Context," is funded by the National Science Foundation. Currently finishing out year four of a five-year project, the program develops and supports learning environments where sixth – ninth grade teachers and students partner with WSU Vancouver graduate student scientists to investigate the implications of growth and change on the Columbia River and its watershed. Nine schools from Battle Ground, Camas, La Center and Vancouver will showcase their work.

See young scientists in action by viewing Living Laboratory at Gaiser Middle School.

Learn more about the Partners in Discovery GK-12 Project on its website or contact Gretchen Rollwagen-Bollens, Partners in Discovery GK-12 project director, at 546-546-9115 or rollboll@vancouver.wsu.edu

The Office of Development and Alumni Relations is extending its special Legacy Square 2012 graduation prices to faculty and staff for orders received before June 1. Your permanent stone will decorate the patio near the Firstenburg Student Commons. Choose you own message. Be creative. Just keep it clean and positive.

• $325 for up to 30 characters including numbers and spaces plus the Cougar-head logo (regularly $500)
• $100 for up to 30 characters including numbers and spaces (regularly $125)

Download a PDF order form now to take advantage of the special pricing. Orders may be turned in to Lisa Abrahamsson in the Dengerink Administration building, room 216B.

From the WSU Vancouver Safety Committee and safetynewsalert.com

If couch potatoes are people who sit too long in front of their TVs, are modern office workers desk potatoes?

An Australian study reported in Circulation magazine shows a strong link between heart disease and the amount of time spent sitting watching TV. Study participants who watched more than four hours per day had an 80 percent greater risk of death from heart disease.

So if sitting in front of your TV for four hours a day isn’t healthy, what about sitting at an office desk for eight?

Some workplaces have addressed this issue. Among the ways they’re getting office workers to move around more:

• Instituting “no phone, no email” periods. For 10 minutes each hour, no one can communicate via phone or email. It forces workers to get out of their chairs and walk if they need to talk to a colleague.
• Creating decentralized office space. Workers have a “home” desk, but they’re allowed to work wherever they want in the office.
• Taking away individual trash cans. Workers are forced to get up to throw away trash in central locations.
• Scheduling daily stretches. Employees have to stand up and participate in a five-minute stretching period.

Visit the Environmental Health & Safety website for more safety-related information

WSU Vancouver welcomed 979 new alumni on Saturday. Approximately 625 students participated in Commencement ceremonies at Sleep Country Amphitheater on Saturday afternoon. Here are some photos of the sunny occasion.

View Commencement photo gallery