BELLINGHAM – Ronald H. LaFayette, President Emeritus of North Seattle Community College, will urge new graduates to keep their own connections with Western Washington University when he addresses graduates and guests at Western’s summer Commencement ceremony at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 21 in Carver Gymnasium.

LaFayette, who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Western, retired in 2010 following a decade as the vice chancellor and president of North Seattle Community College. At North Seattle CC, LaFayette worked closely with Woodring College of Education to help create pathways for NSCC students to become teachers. He received Woodring’s Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2009, and is also a member of the WWU Alumni Association board of directors.

Joseph E. Trimble (Psychology/Woodring) recently delivered an invited lecture on cultural measurement equivalence and its role in multicultural mental health assessment. The lecture was presented at a specially invited conference on Culturally Informed Evidence-Based Psychological Practices sponsored by Instituto de Investigacion Psicologica at the Universidad de Puerto Rico de Rio Piedres, the Asian American Center on Disparities Research at the University of California Davis, and the Center for Multicultuiral Psychological Research at Michigan State University.

The Compass 2 Campus Western Washington University Mentorship Initiative is a pilot program implemented by House Bill 1986 which passed both Houses of the legislature on April 21, 2009.

The program is designed to increase access to higher education by providing an opportunity for 5th grade students from traditionally underrepresented and disadvantaged backgrounds in Whatcom and Skagit counties to be mentored by university students.

Bill Warner (Woodring College of Education) has completed the requirements to be named an American Society for Quality-Certified Six Sigma Green Belt. As such, Warner has reached a significant level of professional recognition, indicating a proficiency in and a comprehension of Six Sigma principles and practices, according to a press release from the society.

Western Washington University Associate Professor of Secondary Education Tim Keiper was selected as a Fulbright Scholar recipient – a prestigious international educational exchange program designed to increase mutual understanding between people from the United States and other countries – for the 2010-11 academic year.

Keiper will travel with his family to Tanzania, where he will work in the teacher- preparation program at Mt. Meru University in Arusha (see photo at left).

Joseph E. Trimble (Psychology/WCE) recently was appointed to serve a distinguished term on the Health Disparities and Equity Promotion special emphasis scientific review committee by the Center for Scientific Review at the National Institutes of Health.

Joseph E. Trimble (Psychology/WCE) recently was selected to be a member of the 10- to 12-person Independent National Children's Study Monitoring and Oversight Committee. The committee will monitor National Children's Study data and the safety of study participants.