March 3, 2006

The Board of Regents of Washington State University met pursuant to call in Open Meeting at 9:00 a.m., on Friday, March 3, 2006 at the Consolidated Information Center, Rooms 210-214, WSU Tri-Cities, Richland, Washington.

Present: Regent Elizabeth Cowles, Chair; Regents Kenneth Alhadeff, Theodore Baseler, Francois Forgette, Laura Jennings, Joe King, Justin Leighton, Christopher J. Marr, Connie Niva, and V. Rafael Stone; President V. Lane Rawlins, Provost and Executive Vice President Robert C. Bates, Vice President for Business Affairs Greg Royer, Vice President for Information Systems Mary Doyle, Vice President for University Relations Sally Savage, Vice President for Equity and Diversity Mike Tate, Vice President for Development Len Jessup, Senior Assistant Attorney General Antoinette Ursich, Faculty Senate Chair Ken Struckmeyer, ASWSU President Isaac Wells, GPSA President DaVina Hoyt, Alumni Association President Larry Arcia, Chair of WSU Foundation Board of Governors Mikal Thomsen, WSU Spokane Chancellor Brian Pitcher, and WSU Tri-Cities Interim Chancellor David Lemak.

1. Chair of the Board of Regents. Regent Cowles welcomed everyone to the Board meeting. She introduced Theodore P. Baseler who was recently appointed by Governor Gregoire to the WSU Board of Regents in the seat formerly occupied by Regent Peter Goldmark. Regent Cowles also introduced Mr. Oscar Cerda from the Governor’s Office who is the Central Washington Liaison.

2. President of the University. President V. Lane Rawlins also welcomed everyone to the Board meeting. He thanked Interim Chancellor David Lemak for hosting the March Board Meeting and asked him to say a few words.

Interim Chancellor Lemak provided a summary of the Tri-Cities campus programs. He then introduced Dr. Terry Young, professor of Education who was named the 2006 recipient of the International Reading Association’s Outstanding Teacher Educator in Reading Award.

3. Minutes.It was moved and seconded that the Board of Regents approve the minutes of the January 27, 2006 Board meeting. Carried.

4. Reports from University Groups:

Faculty Senate Chair Ken Struckmeyer reported that the General Education Program approval at WSU Vancouver has been briefly delayed. He added that they need further discussion on whether there will be different General Education requirements for degree programs with the same university degree titles offered at the various WSU locations. He also reported that Faculty Senate is appointing a committee to look at the entire General Education Program to see what they can do to financially support and enhance the program. The Faculty Affairs Committee is researching Faculty Emeritus Status and the privileges that go along with emeritus status and will develop a process for granting such status. The Academic Affairs Committee has been working on the student conduct code in the areas of discipline and grades given when a student has been caught cheating or plagiarizing. He also reported that the Pac 10 Faculty Senates will meet in May to collaborate in areas of academics, library resources, international programs and research.

GPSA President DaVina Hoyt reported that the current GPSA Bylaws do not have an Initiative Process in place for the GPSA population to vote on any initiative. She added that they will be voting on an amendment to the Bylaws in order to add the Martin Stadium initiative to the ballot.

ASWSU President Isaac Wells reported that students will be voting on the Martin Stadium initiative at the upcoming election. He also reported that there are six individuals running for ASWSU President and that he will be able to introduce the President and Vice President at the next meeting. He reported that ASWSU had a successful term in Olympia with Dan Schafer as their Student Lobbyist. Some of the bills that passed included increased financial literacy education, fair options in the bundling of textbooks for sale to the students and the term for the Student regent has been extended one month. He also reported that with the help of the WSU Foundation, ASWSU has founded the ASWSU Student Initiative Development Endowment. The endowment provides an opportunity for future ASWSU administrations to assist new student groups who have financial needs for their projects and initiatives.

Alumni Association President Larry Arcia reported on the new membership goals of the Association. He indicated that last year the goal was to enroll 3,000 new members by the end of June 2006. They have already surpassed that goal by 1,000 bringing the total membership to its highest level in WSU history of 20,000. They have set a new goal of 23,000 by June 2007 which will bring them to the average of WSU peer institutions. He conveyed that the Alumni Association will continue to deploy their “Membership Matters” campaign to further increase the size and influence of the Association and to provide necessary support for the University’s key initiatives and play a role in helping to achieve the goals of a WSU Campaign. Lastly, he reported that the Alumni Association continues recruiting leadership for each of the Alliances. WSU Alumni Alliances are focused on student recruitment and retention, scholarship assistance, and job placement. In conjunction with their Board meeting and Black History Month, the Alliances collaborated with the Alumni Association and the Office of Equity and Diversity to bring Dr. Cornel West to campus which drew a crowd of nearly 2,500.

WSU Foundation Board of Governors Chair Mikal Thomsen expressed his enthusiasm on the appointment of Ted Baseler to the WSU Board of Regents. He also commented how exciting it is to see the Tri-Cities campus and how wonderful it is that the Board Meetings are scheduled at all the WSU sites. He reported that the Board of Governors had a successful meeting in early February and that Larry Culver as chair elect will take over the helm in early Fall. He added that the Spring Board of Governors meeting will be held in Seattle this year towards the end of May. He noted that the Progress Report is $1.5 million ahead of last year and that more importantly money has been raised from 3,000 more alumni this year than last year which is a 20% increase.

5. Executive, Planning, and Budget Committee. Regent Cowles reported that the committee received an overview on the operating and capital budget request for the next biennium and that the Board will be approving the budget requests for the next two years at the May meeting. She thanked Greg Royer and his staff for the real estate presentation at the committee meeting. She indicated it is evident how far the University has come on creating a better atmosphere for the students and creating more healthy activities. She added that they also discussed improvements that will be made to the policies and procedures relative to managing real estate.

The Board took action on the following recommendation:

Board of Regents Bylaws – It was moved and seconded that the Board of Regents approve the revisions to the Bylaws. Carried.

6. System Report. WSU Spokane Chancellor Brian Pitcher reported for Hal Dengerink who was unable to attend. Chancellor Pitcher reported that President Rawlins and Provost Bates led discussions at the Academic Planning Workshop. He added that they received considerable and favorable response to the workshop. He also reported that the Chancellor’s Council held discussions with the Academic Deans to begin development of a university wide academic plan. He added that they have had a focused discussion concerning the development of new degrees in Informatics and Digital Technology and Culture across the system. While these degrees overlap in their purpose, they have developed separately on different campuses which make it apparent that there is much to be gained from joint planning of these degrees and possibly make them a single degree program.

7. Academic, Faculty, and Student Affairs Committee. Regent King reported that Committee discussions reminded him how difficult it is to manage major research organizations with competing constituencies. An item on the agenda as simple as revisions to the student conduct code quickly created a discussion on protecting the rights of minority constituencies vs. academic freedom and freedom of expression issues and how extraordinarily difficult it is to successfully manage such complicated matters. He also complimented the quality of WSU’s management team in dealing with these complex issues. He added that the committee also spent much time discussing retention and scholarship that they were not able to finish all the items on their agenda.

8. Report from the Provost and Executive Vice President.Provost Bates commented on the complexities that come before the areas of Academic, Faculty and Student Affairs. He added that he appreciates the assistance the Attorney Generals Office and the Faculty Senate provides. He also reported that the May meeting will be another full meeting for areas of discussion on the S&A Fee Allocations, delivery and conceptualization of the undergraduate experience and graduate education. He also reported on the Bachelor of Science in Agricultural and Food Systems degree proposal that is moving forward to the Higher Education Coordinating Board. He announced that Dr. Candis Claiborn was named the Dean for the College of Engineering and also provided an update on the several searches that are currently underway.

9. Report from the Interim Vice President for Student Affairs. Interim Vice President Jamison reported that in order for the University to help the students be successful and to improve services to them that they need more input from students. He reported that they have conducted focus groups and surveys asking students specific questions. Some of the information being gathered highlights what the students think they will be doing to be successful, who plays a major role in that success and what can the University be doing? A survey they call BESSIE (Beginning College Student Survey of Engagement) was given to the fall 2005 entering cohort of WSU freshmen as part of a national pilot project. About 1,700 surveys were completed for nearly a 60% return rate. He went over a few of the results and indicated that once all the data is gathered and analyzed they will provide a full report to the Board.

10. Report from the Vice President for Equity and Diversity.Vice President Tate reported on the work that they have been doing over the last 1.5 years to improve as a world class institution. One of the areas that need increased attention and leadership is retention, achievement or scholarship, and graduation rates particularly among students of color. The data that was reviewed pointed out that students of color are not continuing their academic programs to graduate at WSU. He reported that they are now reviewing the data in what students want and what support programs affect their success.

There was much discussion on retention, scholarship and graduation of minority students and how to gather the correct information as to why some of the students are leaving the university earlier, and where they are going when they leave the University. The Regents indicated their desire for the University to keep gathering the data, and to keep moving in the direction of finding ways to improve the graduation rate.

11. Business Affairs and Information Technology Committee.Regent Niva reported on the action items. She also reported on the actions that will come before the Board at the May meeting. She noted that the committee received a summary of WSU television activities from Vice President Doyle.

The Board took action on the following recommendations:

WSU Prosser, IAREC Center for Precision Agricultural Systems, Schematic Design. It was moved and seconded that the Board of Regents approve schematic design documents, grant authorization to proceed and delegate authority to the President or his designee, to advertise for bids and award a construction contract, provided costs are within funds available. Carried.

WSU Pullman, Martin Stadium Renovation, Phases I and II, GC/CM Selection. It was moved and seconded that the Board of Regents delegate authority to the President or his designee, to issue final determination to utilize the GC/CM and award contract(s), provided a Maximum Allowable Construction Cost can be established within the funds available. Carried.

WSU Pullman, Compton Union Building (CUB) Revenue Bond Selection. It was moved and seconded that the Board of Regents approve a Revenue Bond Resolution to authorize the issuance and sale of bonds to be used for construction of the Compton Union Building Renewal Project. Carried.

WSU Wenatchee, Sunrise Orchards Purchase. It was moved and seconded that the Board of Regents delegate to the President, or his designee, the authority to purchase the Sunrise Orchards, pursuant to the terms of the offer accepted, execute all documents necessary for the purchase, and complete the transaction on behalf of Washington State University. Carried.

WSU Pullman, Students Book Corporation Property Purchase. It was moved and seconded that the Board of Regents delegate to the President, or his designee, the authority to purchase the Students Book Corporation property located at 700 NE Thatuna, Pullman, Washington, and to executive all documents necessary for the purchase. Carried.
(Note to record: Regent Leighton voted to oppose)

WSU Pullman, Lease Agreement between Washington State University and the Students Book Corporation. It was moved and seconded that the Board of Regents delegate to the President, or his designee, the authority to enter in to a long term lease with the Students Book Corporation to lease with the Students Book Corporation to occupy space in the newly renovated CUB beginning Summer 2008, and to execute all documents necessary for the execution of said lease. Carried.
(Note to record: Regent Leighton to oppose)

12. University Development, University Relations and Athletics Committee. Regent Marr first asked Jim Sterk, Len Jessup, and Sally Savage to provide their individual reports. He then reported how evident it has become just by hearing all the individual reports from University Development, University Relations and Athletics, that there is teamwork and communication among all the areas of the University and how nice it is as Regent to know that everyone is working towards a common goal.

13. Report from the Vice President for University Relations. Vice President Savage reported that as Vice President Jessup indicated, the committee reports are becoming more like joint reports as University Relations is working hand in hand with the Foundation to get ready for the fundraising campaign. She also reported on the article that appeared in the Wall Street Journal on Cougars helping Cougars everywhere and the strong ties and value of networking.

14. Report from the Vice President for University Development. Vice President Jessup reported on the Board of Governors meeting. He reported that at the end of January they rose to 32M mark which is ahead of last year. He was pleased to report that Alumni giving has increased by 14% due to the increased membership. He also reported that nationally Alumni giving has been decreasing. He also reported on the Call-a-Coug program and the success of four students who have each raised over $100,000 and that they are breaking records all over the country. The endowment is doing well with a 10% return and brings the total close to $253 million. He provided an update on campaign preparation.

15. Report from the Director of Athletics. Athletic Director Jim Sterk provided an update on all the current sport activities. He mentioned the retirement announcement of basketball coach Dick Bennett and the hiring of Tony Bennett as successor. He also reported on the collaboration among many university constituencies for the Martin Stadium Renovation initiative. He reported that the NCAA released their academic progress report which is part of the president’s reform initiative that is going on in the NCAA. The report grades each institution on athletes who leave the institution whose academic standing is below the required standing. This report takes a historic look at each institution and could also result in the loss of scholarships. He indicated that 65 institutions lost scholarships and was happy to report that WSU did not receive any penalties.

16. President’s Report. President Rawlins reflected on all the important issues of graduation rates, student conduct code, financing of projects, and fundraising discussed at this meeting, and pointed out that you cannot minimize one item over another. He added that these conversations happen because he has a staff that is willing to work together to achieve the goals of the institution’s strategic plan. He thanked his staff and the Board for their continued dedication and looks forward to meeting again during commencement.

At 11:40 a.m. the Regents Meeting adjourned.

Approved by the Board of Regents at its meeting held on May 5, 2006 at Lighty Student Services Building, Room 405, Pullman, Washington.

ORIGINAL SIGNED COPY AVAILABLE IN THE PRESIDENT’S OFFICE