“She has been a leader in our professional community at the regional and national level for over 30 years,” said WSU food science professor Barbara Rasco in her nomination letter. While currently serving as vice president for business development and sales at Tate & Lyle, one of the largest providers of food and beverage products in the world, Vaillancourt (M.S. Food Science, ’73) fondly remembers her time at WSU.

Pamela Vaillancourt, graduate of WSU's food science master's program and recipient of the CAHNRS Women’s Leadership Award for Community Leadership and Public Service.

“I worked at Finch’s grocery store,” she said, “and then at the Best Western Pantry as a pastry chef as part of putting myself through college. I belonged to the Food Science Club, and I did a brief stint at Ferdinand’s Creamery as part of a study requirement in dairy science. These experiences definitely nourished my interest in the food industry. Then, with some help from my WSU professors, I was able to secure a summer internship with the Safeway dairies, which really fueled my desire to work in some aspect of food science.”

Vaillancourt is active in many professional organizations, but in 1993 she was selected to participate in the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) pilot program conducted by the New England Fishery Development Program, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, and the FDA, in cooperation with the National Restaurant Association. This inaugural food safety program led to the development of the current HACCP criteria for food safety that is now used by food service establishments across the country, and that has also been adopted internationally.

However, one of Vaillancourt’s most rewarding relationships has been with the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), particularly their student association. “Pam has spent countless hours organizing, moderating, and speaking at conferences and seminars at universities across the Pacific Northwest, including WSU,” one ITF member said. Vaillancourt has also proved to be an accomplished fundraiser as well, and her efforts have resulted in making several student scholarships possible.

Vaillancourt served as the western regional judge for the IFT Student Association’s College Bowl Competition from 2000 – 2007 and continues to serve as one of three judges for the Association’s National Bowl. In 2009, Vaillancourt was bestowed ITF’s highest honor by being named an ITF Fellow in recognition for her “active leadership among food industry principals, her significant contributions to industry quality assurance and product development fields, her active involvement in the food science community, and her passion to foster student opportunities through ITF.”

Vaillancourt is always meeting food science students through the ITF and relishes her role as mentor and friend to students seeking career guidance. “I tell them to call me. If they want help, I’m there. I have one of those Type A personalities,” Vaillancourt admitted, “which makes it hard to not just push on through. [As a student,] I took too many classes, really over did it, and it set me back,” she said. “Learning to pace myself, and learning to listen to advice was very difficult for me, but they were important things to learn.”

Even though Vaillancourt knows that hard work is a key ingredient in anyone’s recipe for success, she suggests that students throw in some other important ingredients — like fun, friendship and, of course, good food. She also advises students to savor the time they spend at college so they don’t miss the unique flavor of their experience. “We only have so much time,” she said.

For Vaillancourt, being a Coug means “being prideful, and rightfully so. My classmates and I got a wonderful education, so we have great jobs and we’re working in our chosen fields. And I met my future husband in a local restaurant here,” she said with a smile, before adding one last thing: “The Misfits Steakhouse was the place to go.”

By Kathryn Ryan

Davidge currently serves as the Canada Research Chair in Women’s Cardiovascular Health and as director of the research division in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Alberta. “The importance of Dr. Davidge’s work is reflected by the support given by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, and the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research,” said Michael Dodson, a professor in the WSU Department of Animal Science. “She holds a coveted Canada Research Chair, a prestigious honor.” In his nomination letter, Dodson emphasized that Davidge’s work “is important to all women.”

In her role as researcher, Davidge spends a great deal of time investigating a variety of medical mysteries. Her current interest and focus is on cardiovascular physiology as it intersects with women’s health.

Sandra Davidge is a graduate of WSU's animal science master's program and recipient of the CAHNRS Women’s Leadership Award

Cardiovascular disease is a major killer. It kills more people than any other disease and is also a major disabler, especially of women. Davidge is a leading researcher, prolific author, university educator, and a division director who works tirelessly to understand and hopefully defeat this crippling disease. Her work — whether it is on pregnancy-related vascular impairment or the way a pregnancy with complications may affect the future cardiovascular health of resulting children, or on any of the myriad cases she and her team work on — is a process of discovering evidence, examining suspects, and arresting the culprit that inflicts such serious pain, damage, and sometimes even death.

Davidge (a dual citizen) was born and grew up in Worcester, Mass. “Even though I was a city girl,” she said, “animals and animal science interested me when I was growing up. As an undergraduate in animal science studying equine and dairy science, I found that research excited me.”

Davidge did her undergraduate work at Amherst and would later earn a PhD. from the University of Vermont, but WSU was where she learned to soar, literally. “I met my husband in Pullman,” she said, “and we both learned to fly. I soloed here on my 25th birthday.” She also recalled a few less lofty moments. “I remember going out at 3 a.m. to do heat detection to measure hormonal levels in pregnant cows,” she said.

Davidge chose WSU over other schools because she wanted to see the West. “WSU has a really strong department and a good national reputation in animal science.” She remembers her fellow grad students and her professors as being “just great,” she said. “It was so enjoyable and so sad to leave.”

At the University of Alberta, Davidge works as part of a team with both students and other scientists, and understands team spirit. “We have good teams, the Bears for men and the Pandas for women, but it’s not the same feeling of identification you got at WSU. Cougar spirit was so much more pervasive.”

“WSU provided the foundation for everything I do,” Davidge said. “There, I learned the basics and the excitement of science. The positive experience at WSU lead me to the career I have.”

By Kathryn Ryan

• Senior in Agricultural Education
• CAHNRS Ambassador

“Being a CAHNRS Ambassador is really an invaluable opportunity. One of my favorite things about being an Ambassador is having the opportunity to acquire a fairly in-depth understanding of each of the programs within our incredibly diverse college. Not only does that improve my personal educational experience, it also allows me to speak with hundreds of high school students so that I can share my knowledge and, hopefully, help them discover which career choice is best for them. One thing that doesn’t cease to be rewarding is watching the look of relief on a high school student’s face after one of the many confusing and intimidating aspects of post-secondary education is broken down and explained for them by an Ambassador.”

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