APPROVED June 10, 2016 WESTERN WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES MEETING MINUTES THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2016 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Karen Lee called the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of Western Washington University to order at 3:07 p.m., in the Boardroom, Old Main 340, in Bellingham, WA. Board of Trustees Karen Lee, Chair Sue Sharpe, Vice Chair Earl Overstreet, Secretary Betti Fujikado Chase Franklin John M. Meyer Seth Brickey Western Washington University Bruce Shepard, President Brent Carbajal, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Eileen Coughlin, Senior VP, Vice President for Enrollment and Student Services Richard Van Den Hul, Vice President for Business and Financial Affairs Stephanie Bowers, Vice President for University Advancement Steve Swan, Vice President for University Relations and Community Development Molly Ware, Faculty Senate President Belina Seare, Associated Students President Kerena Higgins, Assistant Attorney General Paul Cocke, Director of University Communications Barbara Sandoval, Assistant to the President and Secretary to the BOT Elissa Hicks, Assistant Secretary to the Board of Trustees 2. PLANNING TOGETHER FOR EXPANDING SPACE FOR THE ETHNIC STUDENT CENTER AND MULTI-CULTURAL SERVICES Eileen Coughlin, Senior VP & Vice President for Enrollment and Student Services and Abby Ramos, Associated Students Vice President for Diversity presented plans for the Ethnic Student Center that had been vetted by both the University and the Associated Students. Ramos said that, in her current role, she meets with the Ethnic Student Center (ESC) students biweekly during the academic year and the plan presented today includes the ESC student’s feedback. Coughlin explained that some form of expansion of the ESC has been a priority for her office since 2014, adding that this project is important to the University’s ability to serve underrepresented students since the current ESC no longer meets the needs of the students due to a lack of adequate space. Both Coughlin and Ramos said that the inadequate ESC has impacted both the student experience and the University’s ability to serve students, which they hope to fix with the current plans for expansion. Coughlin and Ramos both said that discussions for the new ESC have include the following main focuses: Page 1 Active Minds Changing Lives APPROVED June 10, 2016 • The culture center must contribute to identity development and validation; • The culture center must provide programs and services that encourage the broader university community to increase its knowledge of ethnic identity; • The culture center must be student-centered and serve as an advocate for students; and • The culture center, through programs and services, must bridge the gap between disciplines and administrative areas by encouraging collaboration. Coughlin outlined a tentative budget for the project that is subject to both Associated Students Bond Referendum approval and Board of Trustees approval for an ongoing fee for the ESC that is anticipated to go before the students before the end of this academic year. Regarding the architectural planning process moving forward, Coughlin said that she plans on reconvening the project Steering Committee and incorporating it with the newly forming ESC Student Executive Planning Committee. She said that the ESC Student Executive Planning Committee will provide a critical link between the Steering Committee and the general ESC membership, providing input and feedback in designing a space that will work for everyone. The University Steering Committee, working with the architects, will review preliminary programmatic requirements based on feedback from students in the fall. Coughlin said that the Committee will then continue detailed programmatic and space planning with active involvement of the ESC Executive Committee, leading toward appropriate bond financing steps and construction contracting processes which will be brought forward to the Board of Trustees. Trustees had questions about what happens if the student referendum fails approval. Ramos said that the Associate Students Board of Directors would try again the following academic year for another approval after some further student body issue educational efforts. Trustees also asked what the ESC students are looking for the most in the remodeled space. Ramos said that the priorities listed by the ESC students include a kitchen space for ethic cooking, a dance room and performance space for ethic and cultural events, a storage space and a study area with a dedicated ethnic focused library and additional computer resources. Trustees asked if there were best practice models available for a revamped ESC. Coughlin and Ramos both said that there are many different models currently being used, it just depends on the evolution of the university and the ESC’s role on campus. 3. APPLYING WESTERN’S STRENGTHS TO CRITICAL STATE NEEDS: 2017 – 2019 DECISION PACKAGE PROPOSALS President Shepard said that this is a preliminary look at all of the potential items for a future 20172019 budget proposal, which makes it more like a wish list than a solid plan at this point. He said that all the included proposals were developed by Western’s bottom-up planning process. Shepard then said that after Board discussion at the April meeting, and after receiving feedback from the University Planning and Resources Council (UPRC), the President, Vice Presidents and Deans will develop a list of recommendations, and share those recommendations with the UPRC and the campus community for comment prior to returning to the Board in June for its penultimate review. He said that this planning schedule will allow time for consideration by the new President prior to the Board taking action in August to adopt a proposed 2017-19 budget request. The Vice Presidents then gave a brief description of each of the proposals from their respective areas. Trustees had questions regarding the student success and achievement proposals. Linda Beckman, Budget Director for Enrollment and Student Services and Leonard Jones Director of Page 2 Active Minds Changing Lives APPROVED June 10, 2016 University Residences responded by saying that all of the proposals address the emotional and mental health of students on campus as well as address multicultural organizations, tuition waivers for veterans and grad school teachers and college focused career services such as job placement and student degree selection and transfer student assistance. Trustees expressed support for the student health and counseling items saying that those services are critical to student success, process and experiences while at Western. They also said that they see in these proposals a focus on the bigger issues that truly support Western’s vision of supporting and standing for the needs of Washington State. Trustees also stated that they appreciated the opportunity to look and provide feedback this early in the development process. 4. EXECUTIVE SESSION MAY BE HELD TO DISCUSS PERSONNEL, REAL ESTATE AND LEGAL ISSUES AS AUTHORIZED IN RCW 42.30.110. Chair Lee announced that the Board would not convene in Executive Session. The Board adjourned the meeting for the day at 4:56 p.m. Page 3 Active Minds Changing Lives