Core to Career
Core to Career Cohorts
Name | Course Subject & Number | Course Title | UCORE Designation |
---|---|---|---|
Mariana Amorim | SOC 102 | Social Problems | [SSCI] |
Mark Billings | SOE 110 | The Environment, Human Life, and Sustainability | [PSCI] |
Christopher Clarke | ECONS 102 | Fundamentals of Macroeconomics | [SSCI] |
Kristin Cutler | SOC 101 | Introduction to Sociology | [SSCI] |
Marlene Gaynair | HISTORY 111 | American History Since 1877 | [HUM] |
Samantha Gizerian | NEUROSCI 105 | Meet Your Brain | [BSCI] |
Tomie Gowdy-Burke | HUMANITY 103 | Mythology | [HUM] |
Nanda Grow | ANTH 220 | Perspectives on Race | [EQJS] |
Shawna Herzog | HISTORY 271 | Southeast Asian History: Vietnam to Indonesia | [DIVR] |
William Kabasenche | PHIL 103 | Introduction to Ethics | [HUM] |
Laura Kuhlman | ENGLISH 210 | Readings in American Literature | [HUM] |
Xinmin Liu | CHINESE 121 | Modern Chinese Culture | [HUM] |
David Martin | ENGLISH 101 | College Composition | [WRTG] |
Brenna Miller | HISTORY 105 | Roots of Contemporary Issues | [ROOT] |
Iolanda Palmer | ART 103 | 3D Art and Design | [ARTS] |
Catherine Perillo | SOIL_SCI 201 | Soil: A Living System | [BSCI] |
Alejandro Prera | ECONS 101 | Fundamentals of Microeconomics | [SSCI] |
Marsha Quinlan | ANTH 203 | Global Cultural Diversity | [DIVR] |
Rachel Sanchez | ENGLISH 101 | College Composition | [WRTG] |
Matt Stitcher | PHIL 103 | Introduction to Ethics | [HUM] |
Mandy Strey | H_D 205 | Developing Effective Communication and Life Skills | [COMM] |
Name | Course Subject & Number | Course Title | UCORE Designation |
---|---|---|---|
Tammy Crawford | SPMGT 101 | Sport and Popular Culture: Trends and Issues | [DIVR] |
Julian Dodson | HISTORY 105 | Roots of Contemporary Issues | [ROOT] |
David Hampson | MATH 140 | Calculus for Life Scientists | [QUAN] |
J. Gutierrez Illan | ENTOM 101 | Insects and People: A Perspective | [BSCI] |
Nik Overtoom | HISTORY 120 | World History I | [DIVR] |
Somava Pande | COM 101 | Media and Society | [SSCI] |
Mary Kay Patton | HD 205 | Developing Effective Communication and Life Skills | [COMM] |
Michael Ritter | POL_S 101 | American National Government | [SSCI] |
Emily Sablan | MATH 105 | Exploring Mathematics | [QUAN] |
Danhong Zhang | MATH 202 | Calculus for Business and Economics | [QUAN] |

Name | Course Subject & Number | Course Title | UCORE Designation |
---|---|---|---|
Daryl Deford | STAT 212 | Statistics | [QUAN] |
Teena Edwards | COM 102 | Public Speaking in the Digital Age | [COMM] |
Ken Faunce | HISTORY 105 | Roots of Contemporary Issues | [ROOT] |
Michael Goldsby | PHIL 201 | Psychology of Communication | [QUAN] |
Amy Heile | ENGLISH 101 | College Composition | [WRTG] |
Jeanette Martin | MATH 171 | Calculus I | [QUAN] |
A.J. Miller | MUS 262 | Rock Music: History and Social Analysis | [ARTS] |
Eugene Smelyansky | HISTORY 105 | Roots of Contemporary Issues | [ROOT] |
Michael Thomas | ENGLISH 105 | College Composition for Multilingual Writers | [WRTG] |
Erin Tomson | COM 102 | Public Speaking in the Digital Age | [COMM] |
Lora Tsui | COM 102 | Public Speaking in the Digital Age | [COMM] |
Kate Watts | ENGLISH 101 | College Composition for Multilingual Writers | [WRTG] |
Katy Whalen | HISTORY 105 | Roots of Contemporary Issues | [ROOT] |
Anna Whitehall | HD 205 | Developing Effective Communication and Life Skills | [COMM] |
Organizers
- Chris Cooney, Dept. of Management, Information Systems, and Entrepreneurship
- Joe Hewa, Dept. of Human Development and Center for Transformational Learning and Leadership
- Clif Stratton, DAESA/UCORE and Dept. of History
- Zach Rost (staff)
An Awareness Gap
Public and private employers in Washington state and beyond demand that our graduates leave WSU with specialized, technical skills developed through major fields of study as well as transferrable skills, or core competencies. These are offered through WSU’s UCORE program and expanded through major fields of study and co-curricular activities.
These competencies help our graduates be adaptable in an ever-changing economy and society.
Undergraduates, and faculty and advisors who mentor and counsel them, are often unable to articulate “career readiness” to potential employers. The Core to Career initiative aims to close this awareness gap. It is not enough for undergraduates to encounter disparate opportunities to develop and apply transferrable skills; they must also be able to see connections among them, to development them coherently and consistently across WSU’s undergraduate curriculum, and advocate for themselves in career and life beyond WSU.
A Work in Progress
Core to Career began with a generous donation from long-time WSU faculty member Carl Hauser, who is committed to the ideals of a broad general education. The initiative takes as its inspiration several successful models at other institutions, including Georgia State University, University of Minnesota’s College of Liberal Arts, and Clemson University.
Like each of these programs, WSU’s Core to Career aims to build faculty capacity to prepare graduates for growth within and adaptation to an ever-changing employment landscape.
At WSU, this multi-year process began in Fall 2021 with an invited inaugural faculty-fellows cohort. These educators will introduce students to career competencies in their First-Year Experience (ROOT) and Foundational Competencies (WRTG, COMM, QUAN) UCORE courses.
The intention is that the fellows program will expand to other lower-division UCORE courses and campuses beyond Pullman in subsequent cohorts. The goal is that by 2024, it would be relatively difficult for a four-year matriculating undergraduate not to engage the habits of mind and action that signal career readiness in their first two years.