News & Events

Two Western Washington University students, Katie Ewen and Shannon Healy, have been named 2020-2021 Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center (NW CASC) research fellows.    The Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center (NW CASC) was established to help safeguard the natural and cultural resources of Idaho, Oregon, Washington a

In the midst of a pandemic, Western Washington University’s total enrollment for fall quarter is higher than anticipated, and the overall percentage of students of color is the highest in the history of the university. Total fall enrollment, at 15,194, reflects a drop of 5.9 percent from total enrollment in fall 2019. In addition, WWU recorded a 10.2 percent increase in graduate enrollment.

Dear Western Community, On Monday, October 12 we celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day, a moment that celebrates and honors Native American peoples and commemorates their histories and cultures.  I am honored to have a growing community of Indigenous people at Western, including 954 students at all Western campuses who identify in some way as Indigenous: American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders.

Even the worst chemical compounds poisoning our environment and our bodies all have one thing in common: they are made up of common chemicals that pose little or no danger to us. What if we could take these harmful compounds apart, removing pieces like we would to deconstruct a LEGO creation, and turn them from a toxic compound into a harmless one?

As Western’s brand-new Marine and Coastal Science (MACS) program nears its first-ever major-application deadline on Dec. 31, Western Today thought it would be helpful for the campus community – and especially the second-year students now on campus who might be considering applying to the major and be part of its first official cohort -- to meet the program’s newest faculty.

What can looking into the past tell us about the future? Western Washington University Anthropology Research Associate Mike Etnier and his colleague, Boston University Research Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Archaeology Catherine West, are hoping that digging deep into Alaska’s past can shed light on how to move forward to conserve and protect one of the region’s most important commercial fisheries: the Pacific cod.

Western Washington University invites the community to join the virtual celebration of summer and fall graduates Saturday, Dec. 12, at noon for an online ceremony featuring video clips from family and faculty, an address by a student speaker, and personalized slides for graduates who made reservations. The prerecorded ceremony will be online at commencement.wwu.edu Saturday at noon. A 6-minute preshow begins at 11:54 a.m.