Trustees discuss university outreach in Seattle

February 10, 2014

Paul Cocke

for Western Today

[ Editor’s Note: After each Board of Trustees meeting, Western Today provides a recap of decisions and discussion. ]

Western’s Board of Trustees on Thursday, Feb. 6, and Friday, Feb. 7, met at the Bell Harbor Conference Center in Seattle, with Thursday’s meeting devoted to a wide-ranging discussion on progress made in enhancing connections in Seattle.

The discussion also included four former trustees: John Warner, Howard Lincoln, David Cole and Maya Ackerman, and Dan Guy, president of the WWU Foundation Board of Directors and Keith Boyd, president of the Alumni Association Board of Directors.

Stephanie Bowers, vice president for University Advancement, discussed the many improvements to outreach and connections made in the Seattle area, from which Western draws a large percentage of students and where many alumni live.

Bowers noted that opening a Seattle office for Western has been a benefit in many ways, and she described upcoming fund-raising and marketing efforts in the Seattle area. The trustees, both current and former, said that Western has made tremendous progress in fostering stronger ties to the Seattle area and offered some suggestions on highlighting Western’s academic excellence with prospective students, employers and donors.

In other business, the trustees:

  • Approved a construction contract for Nash Hall fire sprinklers and interior improvements, and a consultant contract for Ridgeway Kappa.
  • Approved 2014 Summer Session tuition and fees.
  • Approved the awarding of honorary degrees to: Pauline Dyer, longtime leader in land and marine conservation efforts in the state of Washington, and Gary Locke, former Washington state governor, U.S. secretary of Commerce, and U.S. ambassador to China.
  • Heard a presentation by Steve VanderStaay, vice provost for Undergraduate Education, on accreditation.
  • Heard a presentation by Brian Burton, associate vice president for Academic Affairs, on strategic planning and budgeting.
  • Eileen Coughlin, senior vice president and vice president for Enrollment and Student Services, provided an update on a possible expansion of the Edens North residence hall.
  • Received a briefing on the 2014 supplemental legislative session by Sherry Burkey, associate vice president for University Relations and Community Development.
  • Heard an update by Stephanie Bowers on fund raising.

For more information on the trustees’ meeting, visit the board's website.

The dates for the next regular meeting of the Board of Trustees are April 3 and 4, 2014.