One of WSU Tri-Cities’ strengths lies in its diversity
“In diversity there is beauty and there is strength,” says poet Maya Angelou.
There also is prosperity. Washington State University Tri-Cities is dedicated to
preparing students to enter a dynamic and multicultural world and to reaching
out to this community to provide educational opportunities for all of our citizens.
Minority and women-owned businesses account for 40 percent of all Washington
businesses, according to the state’s Office of Financial Management. Those businesses employ more than 200,000 individuals and have an annual payroll of $5 billion. In 2006, minorities represented 23 percent of the state’s population. While 11 counties have minority populations above the state average, Franklin County has seen the largest growth with a minority population of 57 percent.
This is a tremendous opportunity for the Tri-Cities to foster an environment in
which our community’s diverse populations thrive socially and economically.
Higher education must respond to issues of diversity and globalization from many
perspectives. While we have work ahead to become a truly rich diverse learning
community, WSU Tri-Cities is making major strides and becoming more pro-active
in enhancing initiatives for recruitment of members of under-represented groups,
developing multicultural community outreach programs, expanding our students’
understanding of these issues, and contributing to the nurturing of a more
diverse community.
Gear Up is an early outreach program that collaborates with regional public
schools to target middle and high school students, with the goal of preparing
them to succeed in college. School-based staff members offer tutoring, serve as
mentors, and provide a technology-enhanced curriculum in science and math.
The program includes field trips. Marika Tomkins, a sixth-grade teacher from Pioneer Middle School in Walla Walla, brought her students to campus to learn about college and careers from WSU Tri-Cities nursing and engineering faculty.
Washington State MESA, another early outreach program, works to support
underrepresented students in developing their full potential in mathematics,
engineering and sciences. MESA provides hands-on workshops with engineers
and scientists for middle and high school students. For example, this summer
Adrianna Saenz, the Youth Outreach Coordinator, took 29 high school students
from Pasco, Sunnyside, Granger and Wapato to the Olympic Park Institute for
a one-week program on the Elwah River where they studied forestry, ecology,
watershed science, and geography with local scientists. Programs such as this,
which increase student’s engagement with science while offering memorable life
experiences, serve as a model of educational excellence and equity.
WSU Tri-Cities has a commitment to hiring faculty who are qualified to teach and
research in their disciplines, and who reflect our community’s diverse population
and needs. Among the ways we target such faculty are by advertising in the
Hispanic Journal, the Diversity Network, and Black Collegian Online. New
professors are expected to have demonstrated their ability to work collegially and
collaboratively with diverse groups both on campus and in the community. For
example, Dr. José García-Pabón, assistant professor in Community and Rural
Sociology, works as the Latino Community Development specialist. His research
focuses on cultural competency as well as creating you and adult leadership and
economic development opportunities.
Courses are designed to expand and enrich understandings of multiculturalism.
This semester’s course offerings include Representations of the Holocaust, Women
Writers, Psychology of Women, the History of Social Movements, and Comparative
Ethnic Studies. Armed with this knowledge, our graduates will truly be poised to
make a difference in the world.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to
the noble struggle for human rights. You will make a greater person of yourself, a
greater nation of your country and a finer world to live in.”
Our goal is to educate and graduate students who make “a career of humanity” – no matter what they do for a living.
Dr. Vicky L. Carwein, Chancellor
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