APPROVED December 11, 2015 WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING MINUTES THURSDAY, October 8, 2015 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Karen Lee called the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of Western Washington University to order at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 8, 2015 in the Board of Trustees Conference room, Old Main 340, at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington. Board of Trustees Karen Lee, Chair Sue Sharpe, Vice Chair Betti Fujikado Chase Franklin Earl Overstreet Seth Brickey Western Washington University Bruce Shepard, President Brent Carbajal, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Eileen Coughlin, Senior Vice President and VP for Enrollment and Student Services Brian Sullivan, Assistant Vice President for Business and Financial Affairs Stephanie Bowers, Vice President for University Advancement Belina Seare, Associated Students President Molly Ware, Faculty Senate President Roger Leishman, Assistant Attorney General Paul Cocke, Director, University Communications Karen Dade, President’s Administrative Leadership Program Fellow Paul Dunn, Senior Executive Assistant to the President Barbara Sandoval, Assistant to the President and Secretary to the Board of Trustees Elissa Hicks, Assistant Secretary to the Board of Trustees Chair Karen Lee opened the meeting by asking for a moment of silence to honor the victims of the recent events at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon. 2. WESTERN CARES – COMMITTED TO BUILDING A HEALTHY CAMPUS COMMUNITY Eileen Coughlin, Senior Vice President & Vice President for Enrollment and Student Services gave a brief overview of various health programs and initiatives offered at Western. She then introduced the participating panelists. • Sara Wilson, Special Assistant to the Vice President, Enrollment and Student Services • Dr. Farrah Greene-Palmer, Suicide Prevention Project Manager • Catharine Vader, Registered Nurse/Wellness Outreach Center Coordinator • Leslie Hall, Library/Archive Paraprofessional 6, Wilson Library • Stevona Burks, Western Graduate Page 1 APPROVED December 11, 2015 • • • • Phaolan Class, Western Sophomore Esmeralda Hernandez, Western Junior Corinne Sudduth, Western Senior Dillon van Rensburg, Western Senior Catherine Vader gave an overview of the BEST SELF health promotion model which was recently introduced on campus. The model is based on six main virtues and 24 characteristics that, when practiced, help to create a strong sense of well-being and increased resiliency. Vader said that students, staff and faculty across campus have been both leading and participating in workshops and that because the model is inclusive, simple, and flexible allows it to be adaptable to any venue or situation on campus, and has proven easy for individuals to implement as an everyday practice. Dillon van Rensburg and Esmeralda Hernandez both provided personal example of how their personal use of BEST SELF has helped them to conquer some of their personal challenges while attending school. Vader has found that students are also using it for interpersonal issues such as practicing kindness during stressful times, dealing with difficult team/group work dynamics, and to self-manage anxiety, which in turn decreases the need for outside or university assistance. Dr. Farrah Greene-Palmer provided the Board with an overview of the BRAVE program, saying that in 2013 Western received a federally funded grant to support suicide prevention initiatives. The BRAVE program is a multi-faceted effort that has involved collaboration from across the campus and includes outreach to at-risk identity groups at Western including queer students, Native American students, veterans, and men. BRAVE uses “upstream” prevention methods – addressing students’ needs when they report emotional distress and not at the point when they are in crisis. BRAVE initiatives include: providing an online training tool for faculty, paraprofessional student leaders and students; developing and hosting campus-wide suicide/mental health awareness events; and promoting Western’s values as a caring and supportive community. When students are identified as candidates for mental health intervention, the Counseling Center is able to step in with after-hours on-call services and same-day appointments for urgent needs. Western students Stevona Burks, Phaolan Class and Corinne Sudduth gave personal examples of how being involved in the administrative side of the BRAVE program has helped them personally and how they see it making a difference on campus with their peers. Trustees had questions regarding how students get access to these programs, the awareness level students have of the programs and the programs were being adopted into the Western campus culture. Vice President Coughlin responded by saying that as the needs and challenges Western students face continue to change her office continues to adapt various programs in response and tries to strengthen the university’s efforts to provide culturally competent services. She also said that the demands for services on campus have outpaced state financial support. Coughlin also said that BEST SELF and BRAVE are both relatively new programs, but that support is growing on campus. She noted that BRAVE is a grant-funded program which will need support to continue after the current biennium. 3. CAMPUS EQUITY AND INCLUSION FORUM Nick Sanchez, Co-Chair of the President’s Taskforce on Equity, Inclusion and Diversity provided an overview of the upcoming Campus Equity and Inclusion Forum. He said the forum came about because of President Shepard’s 2014 Fall Convocation address where he challenged the campus community to more fully embrace its mission to reflect the increasing diversity of its current and prospective students, faculty and staff. In November of 2014 the President’s Taskforce on Equity, Inclusion and Diversity started to solicit suggestions and volunteers to develop new and additional Page 2 APPROVED December 11, 2015 trainings. Over 25 faculty and staff volunteered to teach workshops on a variety of topics, thus the Diversity & Equity Training series was organized to assist Western in achieving its strategic goals related to diversity. The WWU Campus Equity and Inclusion Training Series is a university-wide initiative to empower members of the Western campus community to better understand and thoughtfully engage with the experiences and identities of all community members. Sanchez explained that the mission of the training series is twofold: 1) To honor and endorse existing training and engagement opportunities for Western employees to expand their critical cultural consciousness; 2) To provide a single portal for Western faculty and staff to register for diversity-related training and events. The Equity and Inclusion Training Series welcomes staff and faculty from across the university to attend, design and lead its workshops. Sanchez said that as individuals complete one workshop from each of the four conceptual areas over the course of an academic year, they will receive a certificate of lifelong learning. Trustees were interested in the subject and asked questions about campus engagement and goals for the program at the end of the year. They also expressed that they found the presentation very informative and valuable in their understanding of campus issues. 4. EXECUTIVE SESSION MAY BE HELD TO DISCUSS PERSONNEL, REAL ESTATE AND LEGAL ISSUES AS AUTHORIZED IN RCW 42.30.110. At 4:35 p.m. Chair Lee announced that the Board would convene in Executive Session for approximately 25 minutes to discuss a legal and personnel matter as authorized in RCW 42.30.110 (1)(g)&(i). The Board returned to open meeting at 6:03 p.m. with no action to report and adjourned until Friday, October 9th at 9:00am. Page 3