Admitted Student Days

I will describe some research studies that illustrate how our thought processes can sometimes mislead us and give some tips for making better choices.

Taught by: Kristi Lemm, Professor, Department of Psychology

Faculty Bio: Dr. Lemm teaches social psychology and statistics and her research interests include stereotyping and prejudice, gender identity, and LGBTQ+ issues.

We will discuss social media and the ways that various platforms and features of social media create user identities, communicate messages, and prompt or change behaviors. We will also explore the ethical issues involved with data collection and algorithms in an increasingly online world.

Taught by: Stephanie Gomez (she/her/hers/ella), Assistant Professor, Department of Communications Studies

Faculty Bio: Dr. Gomez’s teaching and research interests include critical media studies, critical/cultural studies, and the representation of race, ethnicity, gender, and nationality in the media. Her other interests include reading all genres of books, watching TV, and hanging out with her dog, Estrella.

Come and join this discussion about how language and communication skills develop through complex interactions between children and their family members during everyday activities.

Taught by: Heather Moore, Ph.D. CCC-SLP, Speech-Language Pathologist and Professor, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders

Faculty Bio: Dr. Moore teaches undergraduate and graduate courses at Western, focusing on pediatric speech and language development and disorders. Her research centers on the efficacy and efficiency of parent-implemented naturalistic communication assessment and intervention. She believes that professional confidence grows as students begin to view themselves as critical thinkers who can apply knowledge learned in the classroom to real life applications.

Line breaks are fundamental to how poems make meaning—they can create music, interrupt expectations, emphasize, and make surprising connections—and yet how they work is often mysterious, below the surface of a reader’s conscious understanding. In this sample class, we’ll investigate this fundamental poetic art, breaking some lines ourselves.

Taught by: Stefania Heim, Associate Professor, English

Faculty Bio: Stefania Heim is a poet, scholar, translator, editor, and educator dedicated to the intersections between these pursuits. The author of two award-winning collections of poetry, she researches modern literature and its relationships to social life and interdisciplinary knowledge.

This session will ask students to grapple with the question “What Is Poetry?” We’ll examine a variety of poems. The session will also expose students to some of the tools poetry professors use to close read and analyze poetry. By the end of the session, students will know whether they truly hate poetry or if they’re just being dramatic when they say "I hate poetry."

Taught by: Dr. Caskey Russell, Dean of Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies

Faculty Bio: Caskey Russell is a professor and dean of Fairhaven College. He teaches courses in literature, film, Indigenous Studies, and songwriting. He is a Western alum—he received his BA and MA from Western and his Ph.D. from the University of Oregon. He’s originally from Seattle and is a member of the Tlingit Tribe of Alaska.

Have you ever wondered if you can change systems of inequality? Do you worry about the state of the world but do not know where to begin? What if we thought of the justice system as a system that heals rather than punishes?

Join me in this short introduction to law for social justice, where you will learn about activists and leaders, and non-western philosophers who continue to create a more just and equitable society.

Taught by: Ceci Lopez, Assistant Professor, Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies

Faculty Bio: Ceci Lopez graduated from Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies, where she wrote a concentration on Law, Diversity and Public Policy. Ceci holds a JD and an LLM in Taxation from the University of Washington School of Law. After graduating from law school, Ceci received the prestigious Christine Brunswick Public Service Fellowship from the American Bar Association Section of Taxation. This two-year fellowship allowed her to provide free legal assistance to low-income taxpayers and micro-entrepreneurs who had issues with the IRS. After the fellowship ended, Ceci began her own law firm, where she continues to work with low and moderate income individuals with tax and business matters. Her law firm provides services in a sliding fee scale and no one is turned down because of inability to pay. In addition, all her services are provided in both English or Spanish. Ceci seeks to bring a social lens to the practice of law and into the classroom. In the classroom, Ceci enjoys guiding students through developing an understanding and making connections about the impact of legal language in the development of culture and also, how culture shapes the law. Students benefit from Ceci's experiences as a learner of English as a Second Language and a first generation immigrant to the U.S., her journey through education and the decisions that lead her to follow a career in law.

In this presentation, Dr. Debi Hanuscin will introduce students to the profession of elementary teaching, discussing challenges new teachers face, and how students can ensure they are best prepared to meet these in their own teaching careers.

Taught by: Dr. Debi Hanuscin, Professor, Elementary Education and Science, Math, & Technology Education (SMATE)

Faculty Bio: Dr. H is an award-winning former elementary teacher and professor who has co-authored several books on teaching. Working with Dr. Hanuscin, WWU elementary students have co-developed curriculum materials in partnership with local museums and informal education organizations, co-presented at national conferences, and co-authored manuscripts for publication. She currently serves as advisor to students in the General Science Bachelor of Arts in Education Program (Elementary BAE).

This session will discuss how the financial accounting information from the financial statements can be useful in the capital market and how the accounting choices matter in the decision-making process.

Taught by:

Professor Shuo Li, Associate Professor, Accounting

Faculty Bio: Shuo Li joined the accounting faculty at Western in 2017. Shuo's primary teaching interest is in financial accounting. He has taught Introduction to Financial Accounting (ACCT 240), Intermediate Accounting I (ACCT 341), and Financial Accounting Research & Communication (ACCT 443/MPAC 543). His primary research interests are financial reporting quality, information intermediaries, corporate governance, audit pricing, and international business. His research has been published in several high-quality academic journals, including the Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Advances in Accounting, International Review of Economics & Finance, and Managerial Auditing Journal.

Professor Jared A. Moore, Associate Professor, Accounting

Faculty Bio: Jared Moore is an associate professor of accounting. He holds a B.S. (Accountancy), Master of Taxation, and PhD (Accounting; 2006) degrees from Arizona State University and is licensed as a certified public accountant (Arizona). Prior to his doctoral studies, Professor Moore worked for seven years in the private sector, specializing mainly in financial accounting and business and individual taxation. Professor Moore’s teaching interests are in the areas of financial accounting and taxation; and his research interests include the interplay between tax and financial reporting, market implications of tax and accounting information, corporate taxes and business decisions, tax avoidance, and tax and financial reporting policy issues.

See Nature. See nature as an integrated system. See People. See people as self-interested-seeing autonomous beings. Can nature teach us…anything?

What will unfold is an impactful story of how we might learn from the rest of nature…and, in the process, enjoy a more meaningful existence. One that is integrated. One that is ethical. One that is sustainable. Can nature teach us…anything...? You be the judge.

Taught by: Professor Craig Dunn, Wilder Distinguished Professor, Business and Sustainability

Faculty Bio: Craig P. Dunn is a Professor within the College of Business and Economics at WWU and Associate Professor Emeritus of San Diego State University, in both instances specializing in business and society issues. In mid-September 2016, he transitioned into Western's Wilder Distinguished Professorship of Business and Sustainability, having previously served for three years as Dean of the College of Business and Economics. His research interests include managerial ethics and values, corporate social responsibility, corporate governance, the meaning of work, and social entrepreneurship. He is active in the International Association for Business and Society (IABS)—publisher of the journal Business & Society—serving on the Board of Fellows as well as Past President. Craig has served on the Advisory Committee of Washington Campus Compact, a statewide organization dedicated to advancing service-learning within the region.

This class will examine the December 2018 arrest in Vancouver, Canada -- at the request of the United States -- of Meng Wanzhou, CFO of China's Huawei, the world's largest telecommunications equipment company. The arrest set off a cycle of hostage taking, trade wars and economic sanctions that upended the race to lead in 5G, the technology of the future.

Taught by: Professor Edward Alden, Ross Distinguished Visiting Professor of U.S.-Canada Economic Relations

Faculty Bio: Edward Alden is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, D.C., and author of Failure to Adjust: How Americans Got Left Behind in the Global Economy (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017). He was the project director for the Council’s Independent Task Force report The Work Ahead: Machines, Skills and U.S. Leadership in the 21st Century (2018).  His first book, The Closing of the American Border: Terrorism, Immigration and Security Since 9/11 (Harper Collins, 2008), was a finalist for the J. Anthony Lukas book prize. He has testified to Congress numerous times, written widely for major newspapers including the New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal, and appeared on CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, Fox News, PBS News Hour and Bloomberg Surveillance. Prior to joining the Council, Mr. Alden was the Washington bureau chief for the Financial Times.

How do the costs of renewable energy, such as solar and wind, compare to more traditional generation technologies? What are the key concerns with integrating increasingly large amounts of renewable energy into our electricity grid? This class will provide an overview of some challenges and opportunities of a clean energy transition.

Taught by: Professor Reid Dorsey-Palmateer, Associate Professor, Economics

Faculty Bio: Reid Dorsey-Palmateer received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Michigan in 2015. His research interests cover various energy economics topics, such as energy efficiency in housing, environmental/energy policy topics, and economic issues with integrating additional intermittent renewable energy generation into the grid. He has recently published in journals such as Energy Economics and Energy Policy. At Western, Reid has taught a variety of classes, mostly connected to energy or environmental fields. In addition to the Department of Economics, Reid is also affiliated with WWU’s Institute for Energy Studies.

If you go to the grocery store right now, you might be surprised by or concerned about the high price of certain products, like eggs. In this class session, we’ll discuss the foundational economic concepts of supply and demand and use these concepts to understand where prices for different types of foods we eat come from. We’ll also consider how aspects of food markets, like product branding and labeling, environmental impacts of food production, and international trade, can affect these prices.

Taught by: Dr. Zoë Plakias, Assistant Professor, Economics

Faculty Bio: Dr. Zoë Plakias is an agricultural and food systems economist. She currently teaches courses in environmental economics, resource economics, and introductory microeconomics. She received her BA in Economics from Western in 2010 and her PhD from the University of California, Davis in Agricultural and Resource Economics in 2016. She returned to Western in 2022 after six years on the faculty at Ohio State University.