WSU News Archive

By Beverly Makhani, Honors College

PULLMAN, Wash. – The threat of bioterrorism and the challenge of electrical/electronic waste will be examined in two free, public common reading lectures at Washington State University this week.

 

Thomas Preston

Jerry Goodstein

"The Bio-Terror Threat for Future Presidents” by Thomas Preston, WSU professor of political science, will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 10, in Todd 216. "The Global Challenge of E-Waste: A Stakeholder Perspective” by Jerry Goodstein, professor of business administration/management at WSU Vancouver, will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 12, in Todd 276. E-waste refers to discarded electrical and electronic devices.  

 

The biological weapon threat to state security often is underappreciated by scholars and practitioners "who tend to focus on nuclear proliferation,” Preston said. The rapid pace of biotechnical revolution coupled with the rise of terrorist groups make biological warfare "a far more dangerous and likely ‘new face of terrorism’ in the coming years,” he said.

 

Goodstein will discuss: What is meant by "e-waste," why it represents a global challenge and possible strategies that key stakeholder groups - such as manufacturers, governments and consumers - can adopt to confront that challenge.

 

Preston has written four books and researches bioterrorism. He is director of the political science master’s program in global justice and security studies and is on the board of directors for the Institute for the Study of Intercommunal Conflict at WSU.

 

A faculty research associate at Syracuse University and also at CRISMART (the National Center for Crisis Management, Research and Training) at the Swedish National Defense College in Stockholm, Preston also serves as a consultant for various U.S. governmental departments and agencies.

 

Goodstein is faculty director of the WSU Vancouver master’s of business administration program. He researches restorative justice in organizations and corporate and stakeholder responsibility. He is on the editorial board and serves as associate editor of the journal Business Ethics Quarterly.

 

His interest in e-waste emerged after he saw a television program about it in 2005. He has since investigated the topic and integrated discussion of e-waste into his undergraduate and graduate business ethics courses.

 

"As our programming around this year’s common reading book for freshman, ‘Physics for Future Presidents,’ draws near its close, we are quite pleased to hear what Drs. Preston and Goodstein will tell us,” said Karen Weathermon, co-director of the WSU Pullman Common Reading Program. "They are both quite accomplished in their fields and knowledgeable on topics that relate to subjects raised in this year’s book.”
 
Common Reading Tuesdays is the weekly lecture series by faculty and other experts that aligns with topics from the year’s common reading book.

 

The last lecture for 2011-12 will be by WSU alumnus Richard W. McKinney, deputy undersecretary of the U.S. Air Force for space programs.   He will present "How Does the Air Force Use Space?” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 18, in Todd 116.

 

For more information, visit the Common Reading Program website.

 

Contacts:
Karen Weathermon, University College/Common Reading, 509-335-5488, kweathermon@wsu.edu
Beverly Makhani, Communications Director, University College, 509-335-6679, makhani@wsu.edu

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