Laurel D. Hansen Scholarship
Cascade Pest Control is proud to initiate the Laurel D. Hansen Scholarship. This scholarship is established in honor of Dr. Laurel Hansen who has contributed over 50 years of service in entomology, urban pest management and the biology of insects, especially ants. The scholarship is designed to allow other pest control operators to contribute and the annual award is handled by the Entomology Department of Washington State University in Pullman, WA.
The Laurel Hansen Scholarship is open students, staff, and faculty in the WSU entomology program but students have priority. A competition for the scholarship will occur each year in the spring. The scholarship competition will be posted here each year. To apply please contact Laura Lavine @ [email protected].
Laurel D. Hansen & Cascade Pest Control
Dr. Hansen received her master’s degree from WSU Entomology Department in 1967 under the direction of Dr. Robert Harwood. Her thesis was titled “Comparison of diapause and non diapause codling moth larvae.”
Her teaching career spans 55 years with 51 years at Spokane Falls Community College during which she also earned her PhD with Dr. Roger Akre.
In 1979, Dr. Roger Akre had encouraged Laurel to pursue her degree about the same time that Kurt Treftz, Cascade Pest Control, requested information on carpenter ants. Laurel intended to study termites with emphasis on social behavior when Roger encouraged her to work on carpenter ants.
Laurel accepted the challenge and with the support from pesticide companies including Cascade Pest Control, Whitworth Pest Control, and Angeles Pest Control she completed her research with a dissertation “Biology of Carpenter Ants in Washington State (Hymenoptera:Formicidae:Camponotus) in 1985.
Laurel’s work helped Cascade Pest Control refine pest management techniques for carpenter ants and other species, such as odorous house ants and pavement ants. Dr Hansen has worked with Cascade in the identification and approach to many other species of insects as well. Her work helped us create a highly professional approach to pest control empathizing accuracy, effectiveness and safety.
While Laurel worked on her PhD, she earned the attention of pest control operators and other industry professionals because of her teaching skills and the ability to make research relevant to pest control. The industry personnel witnessed her entering attics and crawlspaces in coveralls and a mask with her flashlight and tools to demonstrate techniques and to apply research. Laurel teaches information in a respectful and informative way that the PMPs hang on her every word.
After completing her degree, Laurel continued to work with the pest control industry and gave many seminars in Washington, Oregon, California, and British Columbia. Over the years presentations were made to over 15 states and 6 Canadian provinces for industry education and recertification. Her Ant Identification Workshops (over 80) are offered annually in Washington and Oregon and also given in California, British Columbia, and South Carolina.
Dr. Laurel Hanen taught and conducted research at Spokane Falls Community College with an adjunct professor appointment with the WSU Department of Entomology. She retired from teaching at Spokane Falls Community College in 2020 but continues research activities.
She was recognized with presentations internationally on ant biology and management. She is especially proud of her Crown Leadership Award-2006 presented by Pest Control Technology and Syngenta and her induction into the Pest Management Professionals Hall of Fame, Class of 2015. She was also recognized at the International Conference on Urban Pests in 2014 with the plenary address and the Walter Ebeling Memorial Lecture in 2018. Along with John Klotz, UC Riverside, Laurel has authored three books on carpenter ants and other ants. She also authors papers in journals and trade magazines and is an active participant in professional organizations.
Laurel was born to a homesteading farm family in Eastern Washington and was raised and educated there. Agriculture was always in her life as a farmer’s daughter and later as a partner in a farming operation. Her family remains in agriculture with her son farming and daughter living in rural Washington. Entomology in the College of Agriculture, WSU, was a transition for her to move into Urban Entomology. She is a model of the land-grant mission at work because she is a true partner doing mission-driven research and education with tremendous impact on her stakeholders and beyond.
The Laurel Hansen Scholarship is open students, staff, and faculty in the WSU entomology program but students have priority. A competition for the scholarship will occur each year in the spring. The scholarship competition will be posted here each year. To apply please contact Laura Lavine @ [email protected].