for the Faculty and Staff of Washington State
University
from Provost Robert C. Bates
Number 2
August 2003
Welcome to the start of the new academic year. I extend a special welcome to all the new faculty and staff members joining Washington State University at our campuses, research and Extension locations across the state. You bring a wealth of talent and expertise that will enhance WSU's teaching, learning, discovery and service.
For those of you away this summer, I am pleased to report that two distinguished WSU faculty members have agreed to take on dean appointments, one permanent and one interim. In mid-June, I appointed Michael Griswold, professor and former director of the School of Molecular Biosciences as dean of the College of Sciences. A leading authority in male reproductive biology, he has filled a number of administrative posts in the college including interim dean.
In mid-July, James Zuiches announced his plans to complete eight productive years leading our College of Agriculture and Home Economics, and I announced the appointment of R. James Cook as interim dean. One of our members of the prestigious National Academy of Sciences, Jim Cook is highly regarded for his research in plant pathology and biotechnology.
Welcoming our new and returning students is a top priority for many of us right now. I am delighted to note that our incoming freshman class on the Pullman campus is the most qualified in WSU history. While we will not know our precise numbers until the official tenth day count, we are projecting a double-digit increase in high-ability freshmen this fall compared to last year, which also saw a record number of students with 3.6 and higher grade point averages.
In addition, as President Rawlins is expected to tell reporters today, 24 of the 25 students chosen as Distinguished Regents Scholars are enrolling this fall, while 17 did last year. Overall, we expect 198 Regents Scholars to join us this fall, compared to 125 last fall. These exceptionally talented students are among the state's very best young scholars, and we're delighted to have them as members of our academic community.
During the past two years, we have focused intensely - and successfully -- on recruiting high-caliber undergraduate students. That effort will continue. This year, however, we begin a parallel initiative to recruit high-quality graduate students.
As we all know, the reputation of a research university is built on the caliber of its Ph.D. programs. Our goal is to increase the number of graduate students seeking doctoral degrees in selected disciplines by 20 percent by fall 2004. Those broad disciplines are biotechnology, sociology, plant biochemistry, environmental engineering, materials science, and management information systems plus the MBA program. All disciplines, however, will benefit from this work, as we commit to a sustained recruitment program for graduate students.
Active participation from faculty is critical to this initiative's success. The Graduate School and the Office of Marketing Communications are working with the faculty in these selected areas to build recruitment models for that can be spread throughout the University in coming years. The approach ranges from a more defined presence on gradschools.com to faculty in these departments traveling to feeder universities in the region.
The inauguration of WSU's new Shock Physics Building on Wednesday, August 27, is an important milestone in the history of research here. The building, constructed with state support, houses our Institute for Shock Physics, WSU's first such research entity with long-term federal funding. The inauguration ceremony for the building, located at College Ave. and Stadium Way, is at 10:30 a.m. Public tours of will be offered starting at 9 a.m. and 1:15 p.m.
Distinguished guests from Congress, federal agencies and national laboratories are joining us for this special day. At 2:30 p.m., they will participate in a public panel discussion on "The Role of University Research and Education in National Security." U.S. Rep. George Nethercutt and I are co-moderators for the panel discussion to be held at Kimbrough Concert Hall.
Another milestone directly linked to our strategic plan is the start of construction of the Johnson Hall addition known as the Plant Biosciences Phase 1 building. This four-story research and teaching laboratory building, extending along Stadium Way, will provide critical facilities for our expanded research initiatives in biotechnology. An environment for world-class research requires cutting edge facilities of the type this new building will provide.
While we continue to build on our strengths in the basic and applied sciences, we are also gaining important external support in other areas. Noteworthy is the recent $100,000 federal grant for development of our Plateau Center for American Indian Studies, a unit of our College of Liberal Arts, and for the Northwest Regional Native American Project, a consortium of WSU, the University of Idaho, Montana State University and Oregon State University, inaugurated by our College of Liberal Arts.
The Plateau Center for American Indian Studies will foster research and projects that address the needs and issues of the Plateau tribal peoples. The center will also work with tribal representatives to upgrade the university's curricular programs and its collections of artifacts and documents to facilitate the successful transition of American Indian students from tribal schools and colleges to WSU's undergraduate and graduate programs.
In the financial area, we have both major challenges dealing with the cuts in our state appropriations made by the Washington Legislature and very positive results in the areas of research support and private giving.
While tuition increases are offsetting some of the cuts in state appropriations, that is not enough. We recognized that we needed to reduce all area budgets by 3 percent effective July 1. The deans and I have been working through budget issues together this month, while vice presidents are doing the same in their areas. The next step is budget hearings in September and October to determine opportunities to invest resources in university priorities. In that process, we will link budget decisions to the strategic plan. The 2003-05 university budget will be finalized at the end of October.
While the state budget has been difficult for public education, we have a very positive upward trend in research funding. Sponsored program expenditures, our chief measure, were $117.6 million last year, up 13 percent from the previous year. And the dollar value of grant submissions was up 19 percent, thanks to faculty members proposing larger, multidisciplinary research projects.
Private giving to WSU reached $48.8 million in donations and private grants for 2002-2003, the second highest level in the 24-year history of the WSU Foundation. We added 15 endowed scholarships, six endowed graduate fellowships and four endowed professorships and chairs during the year. Given the tough economy and a trend of declining private support at many universities, this growth in private support for WSU is a testament to the loyalty of our alumni and friends, their support of our strategic priorities and to the hard work of our faculty, deans and development officers.
Clearly we have made positive strides in areas where we can determine our own destiny. The year ahead will challenge us to do more of that as we implement additional aspects of our strategic plan.
To provide all of you with updates on WSU decisions and progress, there will be more opportunities to interact face to face with the university's leaders this year. I hope you take time to participate. This fall, the opportunities include:
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September 16, President Rawlins gives his State of the University Address at 4:10 at Bryan Hall.
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September 24, WSU's vice presidents have an open forum at noon at CUE 518.
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October 14, I will have a Provost's Dialogue at noon at the CUB Cascade Rooms.
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December 2, President Rawlins will have his Dialogue at noon at the CUB Cascade Rooms.
Again, welcome to the new academic year. I look forward to seeing many of you in the days and weeks ahead.
Sincerely,
Bob Bates
URLs and links to more information:
Office of the Provost
Face to Face with WSU Leaders
http://www.wsu.edu/dialogues-forums/
Michael Griswold named dean of the College of Sciences
http://wsunews.wsu.edu/detail.asp?StoryID=3953
James Zuiches steps down, R. James Cook named interim dean of the College of Agriculture and Home Economics
http://wsunews.wsu.edu/detail.asp?StoryID=3993
Institute for Shock Physics
Robert C. Bates is Provost and Academic Vice President at WSU.