Into All the World
New Engineering Program Brings Together Global Service and Professional Experience
W Jaren Koot and Diego Camacho take water samples near Pucutuni, Peru.
Walls go up on one of the two schools built in Honduras.
ALLA WALLA UNIVERSITY’S Edward F. Cross School of Engineering will offer a global humanitarian engineering emphasis program beginning fall 2014. Students in the program will complete core engineering classes as well as courses in religion, business, culture, and ethics. Also required will be an international service or work experience, such as participation in Engineers Without Borders, student missions, or Peace Corps, or work with a non-governmental organization or company. WWU first Engineers Without Borders projects in Honduras sparked a move to offer more students the chance to experience global service, as well as earn academic credit for their involvement. The first project saw the completion of two school structures and related infrastructure improvements in Honduras in 2010 and 2012. The chapter’s current project is working with the community of Pucutuni, Peru, to design and install a new water system for the town. “Engineers should have an understanding of global development issues and build cultural awareness,” says Curt Nelson, professor of engineering and founder of the WWU chapter. “We hope students will learn to recognize humanitarian needs and build a team to meet those needs, and perhaps most importantly, reflect on their place in society.” Along with developing such understanding and awareness, Nelson says, this program will help students be better prepared for careers in international development work, and to work with multinational companies. Doug Logan, dean of the School of Engineering, observes that there is a trend in engineering education toward providing student training for working effectively in a global setting. “The new program will enhance our students’ competitiveness in the global economy.”
For more information on the global humanitarian engineering emphasis program, visit engr.wallawalla.edu/ghee
BRIAN ROTH
Social Work Professor Passes Away THE WILMA HEPKER School of Social Work and Sociology recently lost one of its longtime faculty. Nancy Peters, a Walla Walla University social work professor, died on April 5 following a heart attack. Peters, who taught for the school since 1998, was the program coordinator for WWU’s master of social work program in Missoula, Mont. “Nancy was a muchloved social worker, teacher, friend, mentor, and colleague,” says Pam
Cress, dean of the School of Social Work. “It is difficult to imagine life without her.” “What do you say about someone who lived and breathed the essence of social work, who is gone from us too soon?” says Doreena Drury, master’s of social work program assistant. “We were not done with her professional wisdom, her advocacy for her students, her friendship. She will be missed by all who knew and loved the beautiful person she was.”
Throughout her career, Peters specialized in grief therapy, including writing resource material, conducting therapy groups, advising grief outreach agencies, and presenting lectures and workshops on separation and loss issues. Prior to teaching at WWU, Peters had taught at New Mexico Highlands University as a visiting professor. She held a doctoral degree from Capella University, a master’s
I CANTORI
Choir Receives Gift for New Music
degree from New Mexico Highlands University, and an undergraduate degree from the University of Alaska.
The Ann Stookey Fund for New Music program awarded $36,400 to underwrite the commissioning of new music by five choral organizations, one of which is Walla Walla University’s I Cantori choir. Composer Paul Ayres is currently writing the sponsored choral piece. It is a choral setting of “The Lord’s Prayer” in Aramaic. The song’s world premiere will be on May 16, 2015, at the Spring Choral Concert at the University Church.
Westwind Summer 2014
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