November 21, 2003

The Board of Regents of Washington State University met pursuant to call in Open Meeting at 9:20 a.m., on Friday, November 21, 2003, in the Cascade Ballroom II, The Westin Hotel, 1900 Fifth Avenue, Seattle, Washington.

Present: Regent William D. Marler, President; Regents, Kenneth Alhadeff, Elizabeth Cowles, Angela S. Cox, Peter J. Goldmark, Steven R. Hill, Joe King, Christopher J. Marr, Connie Niva, and V. Raphael Stone; President V. Lane Rawlins, Provost Robert C. Bates, Vice President for Business Affairs Gregory P. Royer, Vice President for University Relations Sally P. Savage, Vice President for Student Affairs Charlene Jaeger, Vice President for Information Systems Mary Doyle, Vice President for Development Richard Frisch, Senior Assistant Attorney General Antoinette Ursich, Faculty Senate Chair Ron Brosemer, ASWSU President Jesse Aspuria, Vice Chair WSU Foundation Executive Committee Mikal Thomsen, Chancellor of WSU Vancouver Hal Dengerink, and Chancellor of WSU Tri-Cities Larry James.

1. Opening Remarks. Vice President Stone opened the meeting for President Marler who joined the meeting shortly thereafter.

2. President of the University. President Rawlins welcomed everyone to Seattle. He briefly spoke on the historic joint meeting that the WSU and UW Boards will hold in the afternoon and commented that the emphasis on quality that both Universities are focusing on is important to the future of the state. He noted that the actions taken during this meeting from a budget perspective is a manifestation of the WSU Strategic Plan..

3. Minutes. It was moved and seconded that the Board of Regents approve the minutes of the October 24, 2003 meeting. Carried.

4. Reports from University Groups:

Faculty Senate Chair Ron Brosemer reviewed his report as submitted to the Board. He highlighted one major item that Faculty Senate will be voting on next week is that students who intend to graduate with a degree in the College of Business and Economics must maintain a minimum g.p.a. of 2.5 in the college courses. This proposal is the result of reorganization for accreditation purposes. This proposal could set precedence throughout many colleges in the country.

ASWSU President Jesse Aspuria reviewed his report as submitted to the Board. He highlighted the Multicultural Fundraising Event that will be held on December 10. He also mentioned that WSU was awarded close to $34,000 for Childcare Grants from the Higher Education Coordinating Board. The review committee recommended that this money be used to expand evening program capacity, provide funding to students with children and who need financial assistance, advertising and supplies. He also talked about the process used for students to purchase Apple Cup tickets. They are in the process of developing a football ticket allocation system where each urban campus is allocated tickets.

WSU Foundation Vice Chair Mikal Thomsen reported for Chair Mark Suwyn. He highlighted that the Faculty Awards Committee is collaborating with the Faculty Senate Awards Committee to implement a faculty awards program sponsored by the Foundation and the Office of Research. The focus of the awards will be to provide funding for projects of junior faculty members; and professional leaves for associate professors to provide assistance in obtaining grant funding. He said the first awards would be presented in April 2004. He also added that the WSU Foundation Executive Committee and the WSU Foundation Planning Committee have had discussions on the next steps in the implementation of the new governing structure for the WSU Foundation. It is expected that at their Spring Board of Trustees meeting they will have a slate of nominees for the Board of Governors along with a draft of the revised By-laws. Lastly, he commented that even though the Suywns will be moving to Nashville, they intend to complete their term as Co-Chairs, however there will be occasions when he will attend in their absence.

Regent Stone commented that is has been extremely beneficial to have representation from the Foundation Executive Committee at the Board of Regents meetings and thanked Regent Hill and Vice President Frisch for their assistance to make it possible.

5. Executive, Planning, Budget and Athletics Committee. Regent Marler reported that Karl Boehmke provided a report on the operating budget that comes before the Board for action. They had an athletics update from Athletic Director Jim Sterk, and they discussed a potential educational initiative that would benefit P-12 and higher education. The initiative will have more clarity after the beginning of the year and he would be reporting back to the Board. The committee also discussed the Joint Resolution between WSU/UW which will be addressed in the afternoon meeting with the University of Washington Board of Regents.

Karl Boehmke provided a presentation on the 2003-05 Operating Budget.

The Board took action on the following:

2003-05 Operating Budget. It was moved and seconded that the Board of Regents approved the 2003-05 Operating Budget (Attachment A). Carried.

6. Report from the Director of Athletics. Athletic Director Jim Sterk provided an update on sports. He covered men’s and women’s basketball, cross-country, volleyball, and swimming. He also reported on the possible bowl scenarios that the football team is still eligible for and noted that they are in the second phase of Bowl tickets sales. Should the Cougars attend the Holiday Bowl, they are almost sold out. Tickets are still available should they go to the Rose Bowl. He hopes to show the Board the Master Plan for Martin Stadium at the next Board of Regents Meeting.

7. Reports from System Chancellors.

WSU Spokane. President Rawlins reported for Interim Chancellor Markin who was unable to attend. He reported on a trip that he and others from the Spokane Community took to Denver and Indianapolis to look at governance models of other campuses.

WSU Tri-Cities. Chancellor Larry James highlighted the Bridge Training Session from his report. He added that a large group of faculty has been using the web-based tool to develop both distance degree courses as well as a supplement to their regular classroom courses in a blended learning environment. He also added that this would be the second year that the Tri-Cities campus has hosted an Apple Cup gathering where many Cougar Fans, Alumni, and Students join to watch the football game and enjoy a BBQ. Last year over 300 were in attendance and he expects this year to be even larger.

WSU Vancouver. Chancellor Hal Dengerink briefly spoke on the trip to Denver and Indianapolis and will take a closer look at what they’ve been able to accomplish with the partnership between the community and the University. He also reported that WSU Vancouver was awarded the Pillar of Economic Development Award from the Columbia River Economic Development Council. He added that ASWSUV sponsored their annual Oktoberfest that was a great success. He also added that the campus had a visit from the Washington State Arts Commission. The Commission was impressed with all the public art that is on the Vancouver Campus.

8. University Development and University Relations Committee. Regent Hill reported that the committee heard a report on endowments relative to peer institution endowments, what some trends were in terms of the amount of money contributed to the endowment and what is happening to the endowment relative to the operating budget. He added that the Committee also heard a report on the development of the Leadership Campaign and the Cougar/Husky Campaign.

9. Report from the Vice President for University Relations. Vice President Savage reported that she provided a recap of the overall Marketing Plan to the newer Regents and to those who wanted a review at a briefing meeting. She said that is was a good way to measure where they were at and helped them to focus on Phase II of the Marketing Plan. She said that Phase II of the Cougar/Husky Campaign begins with the Joint Meeting being held with the University of Washington later today. She added that the joint activities with the University of Washington as well as other partners in the State will focus on the need to fund higher education and to highlight the value research institutions are to the state of Washington. She said that over the next several months President Rawlins will be visible with President Huntsman on the west side of the State as well as to continue developing partnerships with legislators and the executive branch addressing our funding needs. She added that the Graduate Student Recruitment Campaign blends well with both the Undergraduate Recruitment effort and the Leadership Campaign, all of which focus on the quality of research at Washington State University. She added that there will be additional TV advertisements coming up and she will keep the Board apprised of their progress.

10. Report from the Vice President for Development. Vice President Frisch reported on the gifts to date. He indicated that as increasing numbers of graduates challenges us to maintain the alumni-giving rate. He added that generally new alumni are not usually in a position to give and they are working with Student Affairs and ASWSU in educating the current students on the importance of giving back, and they hope to have students already set-up to give before they graduate. He added that under President’s Rawlins leadership, they have created five position papers that will help WSU discuss significant initiatives at WSU with donors. The position papers focus on five areas: Bioinfomatics, Leadership, Performing Arts, Athletics, and the Regent Scholars program. He also provided an update on the Investment Committee and the Deans Development Council.

11. Business Affairs and Information Technology Committee. Regent Cowles reported on the action items and future actions items. She said that they also heard from Mary Doyle on the emergency response systems that Information Technology has in place and how the university is prepared for various types of Information Technology emergencies. She said that the BAIT Committee also heard reports on the Housing and Dining Rates along with the Dining Master Plan. She said that Parking Services is also working on a study that should help develop a rate structure system of 3-5 years. They expect to hear more about this Parking System Study in the near future. She said the committee reviewed a draft of a Real Estate Policy that will come before them in the near future.

12. Report from the Vice President for Business Affairs. Vice President Royer went over the action items as his report.

The Board took action on the following:

WSU Pullman, Hospital Renovation. It was moved and seconded that the Board of Regents delegate authority to the President or his designee, the Vice President for Business Affairs, to approve the selection of the consulting firm that will provide planning and design services, and grant permission to proceed with Presdesign and/or Schematic Design, proved costs are within funds available. Carried.

WSU Pullman, Infrastructure and Road Improvements. 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, the Vice President for Business Affairs, to advertise for bids and award a construction contract, provided costs are within funds available. Carried.

WSU Spokane, Intercollegiate College of Nursing/WSU College of Nursing Building. It was moved and seconded that the Board of Regents delegate authority to the President or his designee, the Vice President for Business Affairs, to issue Final Determination to utilize the General Contractor/Construction Manager (GC/CM) process pursuant to RCW 39.10.030; and subject to issuance of the Final Determination and legislative appropriation, select a GC/CM and award contract(s), provided a Maximum Allowable Construction Cost (MACC) can be established within funds available. Carried.

Designation of Collective Bargaining Negotiator(s). It was moved and seconded that the Board of Regents designate the President, V. Lane Rawlins, to negotiate on it’s behalf for the collective bargaining agreements for Washington State University under the Personnel Systems Reform Act, Chapter 41.80RCW, and further that the Board of Regents authorize the President to delegate this authority to others as he deems appropriate. Carried.

Bailey-Brayton Baseball Field. It was moved and seconded that the Board of Regents approve the total cost of $1,900,000 for the Bailey-Brayton Baseball Field project and delegate authority to the President or his designee, the Vice President for Business Affairs, to award the public works contract within funds available. Carried.

13. Report from the Vice President for Information Systems. Vice President Doyle reported on a project to provide official electronic communication to students. She said that once they workout various concerns, such as security, and legal implications that there will be a significant cost savings to communicate with students electronically.

14. Academic, Faculty, and Student Affairs Committee. Regent Alhadeff reported that their committee meeting began with visiting students representing students of color who shared their concerns about recruitment, retention, climate, faculty of color, along with admissions and tuition opportunities. He added that their presentation reconfirms that we need to continue to do everything possible to enhance diversity at WSU and to provide a welcoming climate where everyone feels safe. Regent Alhadeff also said the committee discussed the actions and reviewed housing and dining rates, and the Housing and Dining Master Plan. He commented that the students have expressed a need for extended dining operating hours, and wider selection of food. The Dining Master Plan is responding to their needs. The Committee also reviewed benchmark information.

The Board took action on the following:

Name Change for the College of Agriculture and Home Economics. It was moved and seconded that the Board of Regents approve the name change from the College of Agriculture and Home Economics to the College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences. Carried.

Name Change for Cooperative Extension. It was moved and seconded that the Board of Regents approve the name change from Cooperative Extension to WSU Extension. Carried.

15. Report from the Provost and Academic Vice President. Provost Bates provided the Board with a copy of the Provost’s Report. He said that this report is an extension of the communications strategy developed with University Relations for implementation of the Strategic Plan. He also included a segment on the report that highlights cluster hiring in the colleges. He said that each College submits a plan to increase diversity in their discipline based on the opportunities that are there for selective hiring and recruitment of diverse faculty. He added that the progress report is posted periodically on the web and is another way to build trust and respect in all that we do among our colleagues and campus community.

16. Report from the Vice President for Student Affairs. Vice President Jaeger reported that the December Commencement Ceremony will have a record number of students graduating this fall. She said close to 600 students will participate in the commencement ceremony. She also noted that 30 students have been called to active military duty and they are working out options for these students to either withdraw with full refund or take incompletes to give them the opportunity to finish their course work at a later time.

17. President’s Report. President Rawlins introduced ASWSU Director of Multicultural Student Services Renna Doud who spoke on the upcoming scholarship fundraising event sponsored by ASWSU. President Rawlins also mentioned the importance of institutional benchmarks and the continued focus on the major goals of the University. He also reported that the current budget setting process was successful and is proud of colleagues and students who make it all possible.

At 12:10 p.m.. the Regents meeting adjourned.

Approved by the Board of Regents at its meeting held at
WSU West, 520 Pike Street, Suite 1101, Seattle, Washington,
On January 23, 2004.

ORIGINAL SIGNED COPY AVAILABLE IN THE PRESIDENT’S OFFICE