Spotlights

Dean's Fund  

Gifts to the Dean’s fund enable us to respond to emergent student & faculty needs. Your gift will help provide the best possible learning experience for our students by supporting student research, scholarships, faculty & program support, technical equipment & innovative technology, student travel, ADEI initiatives, and special project seed support. 

 Advancing Technology Engineering Facility– Capital Campaign Project  

Western’s new advanced technology engineering and computer science building is a direct response to the needs of Washington state industries and employers. The building will be a place for collaboration and connection with spaces that foster innovation, investigation, and inspiration. Physically and culturally accessible, it will be a hub where industry experts, faculty, and students come together to co-create the technology and engineering solutions for today and tomorrow. Gifts of $1,000 or more provide name recognition in the new building!  

 Alma Clark Glass Scholarship   

The purpose of this scholarship is to reduce or eliminate anti-Black racism in STEM through productive relationships with and among Black and African American communities in the United States. The scholarship aims to support the success of students working toward this goal. The scholarship is named after Alma Clark Glass, who studied biology at WWU in 1906. Alma was the first Black person to enroll at Western.   

 Joann Otto Microscope Fund  - Matching opportunity! 1:1 Match up to $4,000

The Joann Otto Microscopy Fund supports student research and helps maintain the Biology department’s suite of research grade microscopes. These fluorescence microscopes allow super-resolution imaging of fluorescent proteins in cells, generating 4D reconstructions of proteins in cells, and high throughput analyses of fluorescently-tagged cells. The most recent microscope uses a laser that pulses 80 million times per second to analyze macromolecular complexes in living cells!  Through course-based research experiences and faculty-led research projects, students use these microscopes to learn quantitative fluorescence microscopy and image analysis. After graduation, students leverage their microscopy skills to work in biotechnology firms, biomedical research institutes and top-notch PhD programs.   

Donations will go toward purchasing new filters and brighter light sources, acquiring new image analysis software, and upgrading workstations to interface with new high-speed cameras. Ultimately, these funds will allow our microscopes to remain at the cutting edge of optical light microscopy to serve the next generation of WWU students.     

Why Give to CSE?  

Our mission is to serve the science and engineering needs of Washington State and the global community by advancing scholarship and educating thoughtful leaders & problem solvers. We know that some Western students have found this time to be very challenging. As a community it is important that we collectively recognize our ability to help, and to keep our focus and priorities on equitable access to education, inclusion, and providing opportunity.  

Impact  

We need to ensure that circumstances beyond their control do not keep our talented and driven students from achieving their goals.  We also know that these times have not affected all students equally. If you're able, I invite you to support us this year.  

WWU has a national reputation for high quality, hands-on research and learning opportunities for its students. CSE is a shining star amongst its fellow colleges, boasting seven departments and two multidisciplinary programs. Our faculty participate directly in the classroom and laboratory instruction of our students in programs that emphasize independent student scholarship and the development of creative & innovative thinking.  

Graduates from our CSE are prepared for a wide variety of professional opportunities in each of the disciplinary areas & are ideally prepared for pre-professional programs that require scientific & technical backgrounds. Thank you for partnering with us in creating opportunities for our stellar students!