January 26, 2007
The Board of Regents of Washington State University met pursuant to call in Open Meeting at 9:00 a.m., on Friday, January 26, 2007 at Lighty Student Services 405, Pullman, Washington.
Present: Regent Connie Niva, Vice Chair; Regents, Theodor Baseler, Elizabeth Cowles, Francois Forgette, Laura Jennings, Kyle Smith, V. Rafael Stone, and Michael Worthy; President V. Lane Rawlins, 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 Chuck Pezeshki, ASWSU President Zach Wurtz, GPSA President Jason Doss, Alumni Association President Doug Tracey, Chair of WSU Foundation Board of Governors Larry Culver, and WSU Vancouver Chancellor Hal Dengerink.
Absent: Kenneth Alhadeff, Robert C. Bates, Vicky Carwein, and Brian Pitcher
1. Vice Chair of the Board of Regents. Regent Niva welcomed everyone to the Board Meeting. She read a resolution to the Board honoring Mary Jo Rawlins for improving the patio at the President’s Residence. Carried.
Mrs. Rawlins thanked the Board.
2. President of the University. President Rawlins recognized Regent Ted Baseler for his leadership in establishing the 2002-2006 Chateau Ste. Michelle Diversity Scholarship Banquet and Concert Events which has raised in excess of $1,000,000 for higher education scholarships.
4. Minutes. It was moved and seconded that the Board of Regents approve the minutes of:
November 17, 2006. Carried
November 18, 2006. Carried
December 11, 2006 and December 12-13, 2006. Carried.
5. Reports from University Groups:
Faculty Senate Chair Chuck Pezeshki extended a special thank you to Regents Niva, Jennings, and Stone for their work on the presidential search and for allowing Faculty Senate to have the opportunity to participate in the process. He added the Faculty Senate passed policy on academic integrity. He also indicated that they are working collaboratively with Business Affairs and the Commission on the Status of Women to construct a business plan for the proposed Early Childhood Education and Care Center.
GPSA President Jason Doss reported on the Wiley Research Exposition that will take place on February 20, 2007. The exposition provided the opportunity for graduate and professional students to show their research. He also reported that they have started the process for the March elections and that filing will begin in February for those interested in running for GPSA President and Vice President. He reported that GPSA has formed a survey committee with the purpose of realizing GPSA strengths and weaknesses across campus and to gather ideas to improve their service to students. He also reported that GPSA has set a new record in senate attendance from their recruitment committee for bringing in new senate members from underrepresented departments. Lastly, he reported with the full appointment of senators to various GPSA, presidential, and university committees, they were able to achieve their goal of improving committee involvement, which marks the second goal completed in their strategic plan.
ASWSU President Zach Wurtz recognized ASWSU student leaders and administrative officers. He reported that ASWSU is eager to see how incoming President Dr. Floyd will guide WSU down its future as an institution and that feedback from students on his selection has been extremely positive. He reported on the success of their Cougar Leaders Retreat which was held at the Schweitzer Events Center. He also reported on the upcoming fundraising gala in Seattle at the Experience Music Project at the Seattle Center.
Alumni Association President Doug Tracey highlighted on the success of the recently launched program “Wine by Cougars” wine club which is focused on strengthening the link between WSU and the state’s wine industry. He added that since the inaugural May 2006 release, WBC has nearly achieved three times its first-year membership goals. He also reported that the Alumni Association is on track to reach their strategic goals of 23,000 members by June 30, 2007. He reported that the Alumni Information Network is hosting “WSU Day at the Capital” on January 29 and that this event provides the opportunity for alumni to interact with state leadership and learn more about WSU’s top priorities for the upcoming legislative session. He also reported on the many events the Alumni Association has been engaged in with regards to diversity events, holiday events, and the WSU Press Book Fair. Lastly, he reported that through improved online technology, the Association is now communicating to a larger and broader base of alumni and friends. CougNews e-newsletter received numerous accolades for its inaugural December 8 release, and has a growing subscriber base of more than 42,000 alumni and friends. The new website will be launched soon making it easier for alumni to engage with and support WSU.
WSU Foundation Board of Governors Chair Larry Culver reported that the Foundation has been very busy. He summarized the Progress Report by reporting half-way through the year, the Foundation had a goal of 60M, they bumped it up to 75M and that they are on track of reaching that goal. He added that December was a strong month and that January is becoming equally strong. He noted that the endowment will cross over into the $300 million level, a goal that has taken a long time to achieve. He commended the Investment Committee for its leadership and expertise. He also reported on the upcoming Board of Governors meeting in San Francisco, and the Spring Board of Trustees Spring meeting at Skamania Lodge. Lastly, he thanked the volunteer leadership serving on the WSU Foundation Board of Governors, the Regents, and the University’s administration and academic leaders for their support. He added that in order for the campaign to be successful, all of us will need to partner together to support this World Class institution and that the Board of Governors are excited about the campaign and will provide tremendous support giving, and receiving gifts to reach our goal.
6. Executive, Planning, and Budget Committee. Regent Niva reported that the committee received a report from Vice President Tate regarding a statement of opportunity of hosting the 2008 National Presidential Debate in Spokane. She also reported that Athletic Director Jim Sterk provided very impressive data regarding WSU athletes. She added that WSU is ranked 4th in the PAC 10 in the all student-athlete graduation rate (behind Stanford, Washington, and California) and that WSU is ranked 2nd in the PAC 10 in male student-athlete graduation rate (behind Stanford). She reported that the committee also received a report from Kristine Growdon on Federal Relations. She mentioned that there is discussion of bringing some members of Congress and staff to campus. She also reported that they were given an enrollment update, a report on legislative strategies and directions and a report on the 2007 legislative priorities of the operating budget.
President Rawlins added that the Governor’s Budget is a very strong budget financially and it is important that we support it. He added that the Governor has made a commitment to bring funding to the institution that is commensurate with a group of states that she has identified as being globally competitive. He added that the Governor understands that in order to be competitive in the world in the long-run we have to build strong research institutions and we need to have the proper funding.
7. Regional Campus and System Reports.
WSU Spokane. On behalf of Chancellor Pitcher who was unable to attend, Chancellor Hal Dengerink reported that Spokane recently was awarded a $1,333,000 research by the US Department of Agriculture to study environmental and behavioral interventions to address childhood obesity and also a $1,500,000 grant from the prestigious W.M. Keck Foundation. This award will allow the research team to develop new methods and equipment for measuring brain function, regulation of sleep, and mechanisms by which sleep loss degrades performance and sufficient sleep sustains performance in humans and other animals. He added that WSU Spokane has also completed Phase I excavation work of the new Nursing building, and Phase II projects are proceeding as scheduled. He added that the City of Spokane was awarded an EPA Smart Growth grant to support planning for development of a small area south of the Riverpoint campus. The grant funded a smart growth workshop in October with presentation by external specialists and students of the WSU Interdisciplinary Design Institution. The city will utilize this process and a team of external consultants to refine principles and strategies to encourage development of these city blocks and the entire University District area.
WSU Tri-Cities. On behalf of Chancellor Carwein who was unable to attend, Chancellor Dengerink reported that the four-year Implementation Plan for WSU Tri-Cities passed unanimously by the Higher Education Coordinating Board. He added that the construction of the Bioproducts, Science and Engineering Laboratory is proceeding nicely and is scheduled to open this fall. He also reported that implementation of the freshman plan is coming together and that they currently have thirteen freshman admitted. He indicated that fundraising for the Class of 2011 scholarship program continues to progress.
WSU Vancouver. Chancellor Dengerink reported that the Vancouver campus continues to engage in community services in a variety of ways. He added that in December, ASWSUV organized a successful clothing, toy and food drive to serve three local charities. A student organization, Cougars for the Cure, sponsored a Christmas tree sales lot, with proceeds being donated to a local cancer patient and his family. He added that faculty and staff participated in the Clark County YWCA gift drive and gave over 75 gifts to families supported by the YWCA. He reported that three WSU Vancouver business students will represent all of WSU in the National Collegiate Sales Competition near Atlanta, Georgia, in March. He said that the students will compete against teams from nearly 40 other leading universities. He also reported that WSU Vancouver has participated in the WSU system wide efforts towards academic planning and that the Academic Council has drafted themes specific to the Vancouver campus. The Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs presented the draft to the faculty in early January. Chancellor Dengerink added that a delegation of faculty and graduate students from WSU Vancouver and Pullman visited the University of Havana, Cuba, in December and returned with a signed agreement to plan a study abroad program for WSU at the University of Havana.
System Report. Chancellor Dengerink indicated that the faculty and staff of the WSU Libraries are working closely together across the WSU system in several areas. The areas include: 1) senior administrators from the regional campuses and Pullman have a semi-annual WSU Libraries Leadership Team meeting to discuss issues that affect us all; 2) the library faculty and staff at all libraries serve on system-wide Working Groups which make many of the decisions about services and operations; 3) all the campuses contribute to shared electronic resources; and 4) library faculty from all campuses collaborate on research projects. He added that the Library Leadership Team meetings have focused on building system-wide collection development agreements for electronic resources. The focus of these agreements has been on both the financial arrangements for providing system-wide access to core electronic resources, and on assuring that regional campus faculty and students have access to subject-specific electronic resources that are essential for work in their academic programs.
8. Academic Affairs and Equity and Diversity Committee. Regent Niva reported that the Academic Affairs and Equity and Diversity Committee continued to discuss the revisions to the Faculty Manual that the Board will be asked to take action on. The revisions pertain to faculty authored, edited or prepared scholarly material. She also reported that Vice President Tate brought forward the “Diversity Scorecard” which is a tool to help measure access, retention, excellence and campus climate. She also reported that the Student Affairs Committee joined the latter half of this meeting to discuss enrollment. She indicated that the data presented to them resulted in decreases in applications and enrollment. She added that studies are showing that students are attending college closer to home; higher tuition and increased costs at the state’s universities may be making the private schools more affordable and attractive; and in 2006 three more campuses began taking freshmen. She said that most of the challenges faced by WSU and the state of Washington are shared nationally. Some of the challenges facing higher education today include: 1) keeping college affordable; 2) expanding college access to low-income and minority students; 3) improving learning by utilizing new knowledge and instructional techniques; 4) preparing secondary students for higher education; 5) increasing accountability for educational outcomes; 6) internationalizing the student experience; and 7) increasing opportunities for lifelong education and workforce training.
The Board took action on the following:
Revisions to the Faculty Manual. It was moved and seconded that the Board of Regents approve the revisions to the Faculty Manual as outlined in Exhibit A. Carried.
9. Graduate Education Report. Howard Grimes, Dean of Graduate School reported on the Graduate Education Commission Report and the executive summary of the Yardley Research Group. The Graduate Education Commission, co-appointed by President Rawlins and Provost Bates, was charged with examining graduate education issues at WSU and developing a detailed plan for enhancing our efforts in this arena.
10. Report from the Vice President for Equity and Diversity. Vice President Tate thanked Regent Baseler for his leadership. He added that raising $1 million is significant, but what is more significant, is that Regent Baseler said that it is not enough. Equity and Diversity is moving into their next phase of raising money for diversity scholarships and programs. He also thanked ASWSU and the Alumni Association for their partnership and commitment in supporting diversity programs across the country. Vice President Tate also reported on upcoming fundraising events that will be held on the west side of the state and in Pullman.
11. Business Affairs and Information Technology Committee. Regent Jennings reported that annually the State Auditor meets with the Business Affairs and Information Technology committee to go over the results of their audit report and for the eighth consecutive year in a row WSU has had a clean audit. She commended members of the staff of Business Affairs for their fine work. Regents Jennings also reported that the committee reviewed the 2006 Financial Report which is also available on line. She reviewed the action items that went before the Board.
The Board took action on the following:
WAC Code Revisions: Recommendation to Repeal WAC Chapter 504-44, Public Records Chapter, and Adopt New WAC Chapter 504-45. It was moved and seconded that the Board of Regents repeal WAC Chapter 504-44, Public Records Chapter, and Adopt New WAC Chapter 504-45. Carried.
WSU Pullman, Martin Stadium Renovation, Phases I and II. It was moved and seconded that the Board of Regents approve the revised budget of $24,000,000 to cover construction costs in excess of the original budget, and allow for the inclusion of additive alternates to the original program requirements. Carried.
12. Report from the Vice President for Information Systems. Vice President Doyle reported she is working jointly with Vice President Royer to oversee a process to evaluate the current state of administrative systems and to make recommendations, if necessary, as to what course should be taken in the future. She also reported on data security and data intrusion. She said that they have appointed data custodians who are meeting on a weekly basis to strategize how to protect information that we believe could be at risk. She also said that they are working with colleges, departments and individuals to make sure they understand the seriousness of protecting confidential information.
13. University Development, University Relations and Athletics Committee. Regent Forgette reported that the UDURA committee received a positive report from the Vice President Jessup on fundraising efforts for the month of December. He also indicated that Vice President Savage provided a presentation on updating to the University webpage and that a Richland firm has volunteered to assist with the Tri-Cities webpage and will also do some consulting with WSU’s web design team. He also reported that Athletic Director Jim Sterk provided an excellent report on the NCAA 2006 Graduation Report. The report highlights WSU success on their academic and graduation rate.
14. Report from the Vice President for University Relations. Vice President Savage passed around handouts highlighting the Innovators Program. She added that the Innovators is done in partnership with the Foundation, and one of its principle emphases is to contact key corporate and industry leaders who will be significant to use in terms of our efforts with the campaign and push in graduate and research excellence. She also reported on the overhaul of the university webpage. She mentioned that the last overhaul of six years ago the webpage was geared toward undergraduate recruiting and integrated marketing. The reorganization will include the “influencer goal” and will serve a dual presence highlighting research capacity and the economic impact.
15. Report from the Vice President for University Development. Vice President Jessup reported that the Foundaiton recently began fundraising for Graduate Education and had some very positive results over the month. He thanked Howard Grimes and Mikal Thomsen for their roles in the success of the current results. He also reported on the hire of Brenda Wilson Hale who has accepted the position of Senior Vice President. Ms. Hale comes from Michigan State University. He thanked Larry Culver for his leadership in finding someone of such high caliber.
16. Report from the Director of Athletics. Athletic Director Jim Sterk thanked the Board for attending the basketball WSU vs. Arizona State basketball game. He added that the game was a huge milestone and that it has been since 1950 that the basketball team has been ranked so high. He provided an update on the current sporting events that are taking place and added that the Women’s Track and Field team is currently ranked 16th in the country and there are three All-Americans on that team. He thanked the Board for the Martin Stadium bond sale and indicated that they should know by the end of the month how much the bonds will buy as far as construction. He added that they are working with Business Affairs and Facilities Development to work on Phase III of Martin Stadium and have currently identified a total of $9.5 million in gifts and pledges. He mentioned that for the first time in over a decade, Women’s Tennis has been able to hold indoor tennis matches in Hollingberry Fieldhouse due to the new lighting and surface. Normally they would have to travel to Lewiston to hold their tennis matches. He also went over changes to the 2007 Football Schedule.
17. Student Affairs Committee. Regent Stone reported that the committee received an update from Provost Bates on organizational changes in Enrollment Services. He explained that the changes will allow for closer integration between enrollment management and the academic operation of the university. He also reported that they discussed the Housing and Dining Rate increase of 7.2 percent for Fiscal Year 07-08. He explained that the increase is due to circumstances beyond WSU’s control because of contractual rate increases, cost of living and insurance increases. Regent Stone reported that the committee had received another report on the Diversity Scorecard and asked that they set up priorities, and to identify who is responsible to address the areas of concern. The committee received an update on the search for the Vice President for Student Affairs. Due to the organizational changes in Enrollment Services, the search had been delayed however the goal is to have the position filled by summer. He also reported that the committee had a discussion on retention and went over some of the reasons why students are leaving before they graduate from WSU and looking into services WSU can provide to help them.
18. Report from the Interim Vice President for Student Affairs. Interim Vice President Jamison reported that Spring Semester has begun and that the students are in their third week of classes.
19. President’s Report. President Rawlins said that as reports were being heard today, it has become clear that we have developed an institution that is secure enough to talk openly about the things we need to do. It is a sign of our confidence and security that we know we are not perfect and that we have work to do. He thanked the Board for its contribution to the search and indicated that he has spent significant time with Dr. Floyd. He said he is convinced that the Board has located and hired a man of vision, a man of intelligence, compassion, and commitment, and he is the person to take Washington State University to the next level.
20. Final comments and adjournment. Regent Niva thanked everyone for attending and indicated that the next Board of Regents meeting will be held at WSU Vancouver on March 1-2, 2007.
At 12:00 p.m. the Regents’ Meeting adjourned.
Approved by the Board of Regents at its meeting held on March 2, 2007, Student Services 129, Vancouver, Washington.
SIGNED COPY AVAILABLE IN THE PRESIDENT’S OFFICE