WSU News Archive

By Hope Belli Tinney, WSU Today

When Bill Moos was athletic director at the University of Oregon, the football stadium was north of campus and across the Willamette River. Here at WSU, he said, the stadium is an integral part of the university, and that’s the way it should be.

 

“We’re all in this together,” Moos told senators at Thursday’s Faculty Senate meeting. Moos, who was invited to speak to the group by Faculty Senate Chair Max Kirk, said he’s primarily responsible for WSU’s 500 student-athletes, but he believes a strong athletic program elevates the entire university.

 

Strong athletic programs help with student recruitment, he said, and with fundraising as well. When the football team is winning, he said, it’s a lot easier to find generous donors.

 

WSU has the smallest athletic budget in the Pac-10, he said, with revenues of about $30 million, compared to Oregon’s nearly $80 million. According to Moos, between 75 and 80 percent of the athletic department budget is self-generating, either from ticket sales, television revenues or fundraising. Athletic scholarships, which are set by the NCAA, are the main outside source of funding.

 

During his 30 minute talk, Moos said he has heard people say WSU will be booted from the Pac-12 to make room for Boise State, but that’s not going to happen.

 

“This is an academic conference as much as it is an athletic conference,” he said. WSU fits the profile of top tier research universities, as do new Pac-12 members Colorado State and the University of Utah, he said, but Boise State does not.

Ken Struckmeyer, vice chair of the Faculty Senate, asked if it might be possible for the Pac-12 to facilitate meetings between academic officers at the member institutions, and Moos encouraged him to write a proposal.

 

In other business, the senate discussed a proposed change to the Faculty Manual that would create a more formal process for how affected faculty are notified if the Provost’s Office determines that a program must be cut because of budget constraints. The proposal was up for discussion only.

 

Mike Kallaher, chair of the faculty affairs committee, and Cathy Claussen, a committee member, presented the proposal.

 

According to Kallaher’s memorandum introducing the proposal, the intent of the policy is to ensure that decisions to eliminate programs have a sound basis, are as transparent as possible and are made with appropriate faculty input. The policy sets forth a timetable for notification and response so that decisions can be made in a timely manner, but with opportunities for faculty input.

 

The Faculty Senate brought a similar proposal to the Board of Regents last spring, but the Regents voted it down, saying it was overly prescriptive. According to Claussen, the current proposal affords the administration a little more flexibility, but still provides faculty with some protection in the event of program closures.

Changes to Six Learning Goals

Senators also discussed proposed changes to WSU’s Six Learning Goals. David Gaylord, professor in the School of Earth and Environmental Science, said he believes the learning goals need to be revised along with the general education plan revision, not in advance of it. The general education committee is accepting comments through today on a draft plan of a new general education program and hopes to bring a formal proposal to the senate in early January.

 

Tom Tripp, chair of the general education committee, said the Washington State Higher Education Coordinating Board (HEC) created the first four learning goals and gave them to WSU and the other state colleges and universities. The second two goals were created by faculty at WSU and were the only ones that could be substantively changed.

 

But over the years various units have modified the goals slightly so now there are three or four different versions. The current proposal, he said, attempts to create one version that guides the entire university experience, and not just general education requirements.

At 5 p.m. the discussion was tabled because FSHN 101 is used by another class at that time. The next Faculty Senate meeting is set for Oct. 28.

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