Message from the Interim Dean

As we approach the end of May and warmer weather ahead, the campus has calmed down, with classes over and our faculty colleagues on nine-month contracts away doing research. One of the most challenging parts of the end of the academic year is saying goodbye to our student employees.

I’ll miss speaking with Janai Johnson at the libraries’ Information Desk, where she was always ready to help anyone with their research. I was delighted when she shared that she had been accepted into the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine, which is a major accomplishment. We will miss Ryan Minton’s work in Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, where over the years he learned how to take on any project and complete it well. Ryan will take with him his knowledge of how archives work to his graduate studies in history at the University of Oregon. And lucky for us, Alana Williams will continue on in the systems department this summer. Her leadership in the Digital Audio Collective has been outstanding.

Not all of our graduates this year are undergraduates. When I participated in graduation for the College of Arts and Sciences, it was lovely to see Humanities Librarian Erin Hvizdak in regalia near the front of the class of 2025 to receive her master of arts degree in history. Erin completed her thesis earlier this spring, titled “Death Becomes Her: Posthumous Evocations of Legendary Women of Color from the 18th- and 19th-Century Atlantic World.” Her committee members raved about the excellence of her work and defense.

Erin’s research, and that of her colleague and Digital Collections Librarian Talea Anderson, was so compelling, both of them received faculty fellowships from the WSU David G. Pollart Center for Arts and Humanities. Talea will work on a book project on the history of vegetarianism, demonstrating how it has evolved from antiquity into the 21st century. These are highly competitive fellowships, and for the first time to have not one, but two librarians receive the award is amazing.

Erin will be on sabbatical next year to conduct her research, mostly in France and Louisiana. I asked Erin what she most enjoys about working at the WSU Libraries, and she said, “Honestly, the best part of my job is that I get to nerd out about (mostly historical) research every single day with students and faculty who are so passionate about and interested in their topics. I have learned so much from them about things I never even considered or thought I would be exposed to. Being a librarian is like being in school all of the time without worrying about grades.”

Also in this issue of Browse, we also celebrate the recipient of the 2025 Library Excellence Award, Josie Cohen-Rodriguez of the WSU LGBTQ+ Center. I first met Josie in 2022 as she engaged in collaborative work with MASC Interim Head Lotus Norton-Wisla. Over the last few years, Josie’s work with WSU Libraries has led to collaborative research articles, grants, and student engagement with MASC collections. Josie and Lotus have worked together to develop the WSU Queer Archives, a project that fosters a community of belonging and contributes to a more complete record of LGBTQ+ campus life in the archives.

If you enjoyed Bruce Ramsey’s column on religious freedom and the Pledge of Allegiance in this issue, he will speak at an in-person author event on June 26 at Third Place Books in Seattle (17171 Bothell Way NE, Lake Forest Park, WA 98155). Please come if you can and help support the WSU Press. Wishing you all a wonderful start of summer.

Trevor