To the University Community:
As we begin the new year, I wanted to provide an update on the first step in a several-step process that will lead to a state budget allocation for Central. As most of you know from reading the newspapers, Governor Gregoire released both her capital and operating biennial budgets before Christmas. Overall, they are good budgets for CWU. On the capital side, she recommends funding for renovation of Dean Hall ($23.2 M), predesign money for a remodel and expansion of Hogue ($3 M), and $24.4 million for combined utilities and "minor works" preservation and program activities. The governor's recommendations recognize the importance of these two buildings and of infrastructure projects to CWU and are consistent with the combined list submitted by the six state baccalaureate institutions.
In her operating budget, Governor Gregoire proposes 50 general enrollment FTE at the graduate level for $750,000 and 330 FTE in high demand enrollment at $4.9 M for Central. The high demand enrollment allows us to focus on recruitment in areas that are important to the state including math and science, special education, technology, and business. The governor's budget also includes a cap on tuition increases, which she has set at 5 percent each year for the regional universities, and provides $500,000 across the two years of the biennium to expand the services of our federally funded Student Support Services program to more students.
Governor Gregoire's budget recommends that the temporary 1.6 percent salary increase awarded for the current year be added to the base and carried forward and that increases of 3.2 percent and 2 percent be awarded on 09-01-07 and 09-01-08 respectively. She also provides funding for the collective bargaining agreements within higher education, effective July 1 of each year of the biennium. In addition to CWU-specific funding, the governor's budget includes funding to the HECB to increase access to financial aid, including allowing half-time students to be eligible for some programs -- a provision which will require legislative policy action, and to expand GEAR Up to up to 30 more school districts. She also provides funding for the HECB to develop a statewide, web-based advising system. All of this is good news for CWU, and we appreciate Governor Gregoire's attention to higher education, specifically, and to education in general in this budget proposal. Although this is an overall very promising budget that we hope will remain strong throughout legislative deliberations, there are a few areas in which we asked for funding that were not included in the budget.
- First, we had hoped to receive funding for most or all of our state-underfunded enrollment. This would have required an allocation of approximately $8 M. In the end, this budget proposes $5.65 M.
- Second, this budget does not include a recommendation to make permanent a temporary increase in tuition waiver authority that was granted last biennium and subsequently does not include corresponding funding for the requested authority.
- Last, recruitment and retention funding, state funding to enhance our Wildcat Transitions program, and state funding to augment our disability support services did not make it into the governor's budget.
Even so, we feel encouraged that the Governor has taken seriously the recommendations of the Washington Learns steering committee and endorses whole heartedly the premise that an investment in education is an investment in the economic and social health of the state.
Ann Anderson and I, along with other university officials, will be working with our legislative delegation and legislative committee chairs to promote CWU's funding needs and will keep you informed as we go through the legislative session. In the meantime, I wish everyone associated with Central Washington University a prosperous and peaceful 2007.
Sincerely,
Jerilyn McIntyre
President
PAPSS PREPARES FOR A PAIR OF PRESENTATIONS
In January, CWU´s 2006-07 Performing Arts and Presidential Speaker Series will feature a world premiere theatrical presentation and an overview of the burgeoning alternative fuels sector.
The Central Theatre Ensemble will present the debut productions of "Blankity-Blank!" on Jan. 25-27 and Feb. 1-3, at 7 p.m., and Feb. 4, at 2 p.m., in the Milo Smith Tower Theatre.
The tongue-in-cheek melodrama, by author and director Scott Warrender, is one of the most original musicals ever. It provides the audience with fill-in-the-blank forms to determine key character and plot lines. While every performance will be different, all will lead to a climactic decision by audience members, who will make a choice from among five possible endings.
General admission tickets are $12, while students with I.D. will be admitted for $6. Since each performance will be original, audience members bringing a "Blankity-Blank!" ticket stub to the box office will receive half´price admission for a second show.
On Jan. 31, at 7:30 p.m. in the Student Union Ballroom, new fuel sources being developed from crops, such as ethanol and bio-diesel, will be the topic of discussion. It will led by Michael Ott, executive director of BIOWA, a trade association for bio-based products with a focus on alternative fuels.
BIOWA creates partnerships to help ethanol and bio-diesel plants create more products more efficiently. Ott´s talk will cover the ramifications of making fuel from corn, soybeans and other feedstock and highlight future employment opportunities for university students.
Reserved seats are $15, general admission is $7 and students with I.D. will be admitted free.
More information is available at http://www.cwu.edu/president/series/. Performing Arts and Presidential Speaker Series tickets are available at the Student Union box office.
CWU HELPS MAKE IT A HAPPY HOLIDAY FOR KITTITAS COUNTY FAMILIES
This year, more than 280 deserving Kittitas County kids received gifts through the fifth annual CWU holiday giving program.
The gifts, purchased and wrapped by sponsoring CWU employees, were collected in the Office of the President and distributed through Head Start/ECEAP (Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program), the state Department of Social and Health Services´ Division of Children and Family Services and, for the first time this year, CWU´s Early Childhood Learning Center, in Brooklane Village, and Rainbow Center, in Michaelsen Hall.
In addition, Facilities Management Department and Business Auxiliary Custodial Services staff members annually adopt families through the Community Christmas Basket. This year, seven families were adopted. Adopting a family means providing a certificate for a turkey or ham and other non-perishable food items for their Christmas dinner, along with a gift for each family member. Three pickup trucks with food and gifts for those seven families were delivered to the Armory on Dec. 13.
CWU SHINES AT PRESTIGIOUS AUDIO-VIDEO COMPETITION
CWU had eight current students and recent graduates take high honors, including seven first place awards, in 10 different categories at the recent regional segment of the National Broadcasting Society´s 44th Annual Student Audio & Video Production Competition.
"The fact that we won in so many different categories is evidence that we have two very strong programs here, broadcast journalism and film-and-video studies," says Robert Fordan, CWU communication professor. "The judges were broadcast journalism and video production industry professionals. It´s nice that our entries impressed those who make a living in the field."
CWU´s first place winners have been automatically entered into the national competition. Those winners will be announced at the national convention in Chicago, which takes place March 27 through April 1.
The National Broadcasting Society (NBS) is comprised of colleges and universities across the country offering broadcast, film and video, or mass media programs. Central´s NBS chapter was formed in 1992.
Previously, CWU received national first place awards in 2001 for best "Sports Feature" and for the top "Comedy Segment" in 2005.
CWU HELPS EASE THE NATION´S NURSING SHORTFALL
A well-documented nursing shortage is taking place in the U.S. It´s estimated that, by 2015, there will be more than 17,000 openings for nurses in Washington state hospitals alone. Exacerbating the problem is a corresponding shortage of nursing teachers.
"We´re finding that, sometimes, there is a year to a year-and-a-half wait to get in to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program," says Dr. Melody Madlem, CWU Department of Health, Human Performance, and Nutrition (HHPN) professor. "Because of this delay, I knew that we needed to create a valuable degree program for these students."
That thought led to development of the new CWU pre-nursing specialization under the university´s Bachelor of Science degree program in public health. Through it, students are qualified to become entry-level public health prevention and health educators upon graduation, while they pursue admission into a BSN program, if they so choose.
CWU´s program varies from other pre-nursing programs in that it presents students with public health theory and practice as part of their professional preparation.
Washington Secretary of Health Mary Selecky is among those who came out in favor for the new CWU specialization. In her letter of support, she said, "We are eager to see new programs implemented to educate young people in the field of public health; tomorrow´s workforce."
CWU currently has about 70 majors in its public health bachelor´s degree program.
Jim ARMSTRONG has accepted the role of director of the CWU Office of Alumni Relations. He was selected following a nationwide search. A partner in Ellensburg´s Howe/Armstrong Consulting, he has also served as executive director of the Ellensburg Chamber of Commerce and eastern Washington director of the Cascades Conservation Partnership. He currently sits on several Ellensburg and Kittitas County boards. Armstrong holds Bachelor of Science degrees in political science and English from Oregon State University and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Oregon School of Law.
Charles REASONS, law and justice, was invited to make the keynote presentation at the Vancouver Police Department´s 10th annual Homicide Investigator´s Course in Vancouver, British Columbia, on Sept. 18. Reasons presentation, based on his sabbatical research, was titled, "A Tale of Two Cities: Homicide in Seattle and Vancouver." Some 250 homicide detectives from across North America attended the weeklong course.
CWU EMPLOYEES
Civil Service new hires: Stacii McKeon, Records Analyst, Business Services and Contacts; Michell Brach, Office Assistant 2, Student Union Operations; Melissa Marks, Secretary Senior, Finance & OSC; Daneill Sharp, Program Assistant, Registrar Services; Scott Stalnaker, Program Assistant, Study Abroad & Exchange Programs; Karen Flowers, Secretary Senior, Law and Justice.
Civil Service job changes: Lisa Plesha, Program Support Supervisor I, Financial Aid; Dawn Danton, Fiscal Specialist, Wildcat Shop; Chris Huss, Information Technology Specialist 4; Financial Affairs; Catherine Gibb, Secretary, Government Relations; Eric Twaites, Campus Police Sergeant, Public Safety and Police Services; James Skibeness, Maintenance Mechanic 2, Facilities Management.
Exempt new hires: Jim Armstrong, Director, Office of Alumni Relations; Rebekah Post, Study Abroad Advisor, Office of International Studies and Programs; Michael Horne, Training and Organizational Development Administrator, Human Resources.
To view current job openings at CWU, go to http://www.cwu.edu/~hr/jobs/index.html.
SHARED LEAVE NEEDED
Tina Klampher and Heidi Wixson, information technology services, and Lisa Stowe, chemistry, are in need of shared leave.
CWU employees may donate leave to a fellow employee:
- 1) who is suffering from or has a relative or household member who is suffering from an extraordinary or severe illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition; or,
- 2) who has been called to service in the uniformed services; and,
- where the fact of either 1) or 2) has caused or is likely to cause the employee to take leave without pay or terminate his or her employment.
You may donate annual (vacation) and sick leave in eight-hour blocks. A minimum balance of 80 hours of annual leave must be maintained. Excess annual leave (that over 240 hours) that will otherwise be lost may not be donated. A minimum balance of 176 hours of sick leave must be maintained. All or a portion of your personal holiday may also be donated.
The shared leave donation form can be downloaded from the HR forms section of the Human Resources home page (http://www.cwu.edu/~hr/forms/shared_leave_donation_form.doc) or requested from the HR office by calling extension 1202. Requests to donate leave must be approved by your supervisor before forwarding to HR and are subject to approval by your department head and Human Resources.
EMERGENCY INFO LINE ADDS TOLL-FREE ACCESS
In addition to dialing 509-963-2345, you may also now call 866-419-8512 from within the state to access CWU´s campus emergency information line. The phone line is operational 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to alert faculty, staff and students of times when classes on the Ellensburg campus or at any of the six university centers will be canceled or delayed and university offices closed.
The automated system will have updated information by 6:45 a.m. on days when normal operations will be limited or suspended by snow, flooding, power outages or other such safety situations. The system is then updated when new information becomes available.
Central faculty and staff using on campus phones can access the same information through the university´s voice mail system by calling ext. 2345.
When campus officials deem closures or delays necessary, notification will also be made through announcements on local radio and television stations and on the CWU closures Web site at http://www.cwu.edu/closures.html.
HHPN OFFERS SKI/SNOWBOARD CLASSES
For those wishing to learn to ski or snowboard, or to further hone their skills, CWU physical education activity program will offers four classes through the Mission Ridge Ski School. Sponsored by the health, human performance, and nutrition department, the classes will be held on four consecutive Sundays - Jan. 21 and 28, and Feb. 4 and 11, 2007 -- with instruction individualized to accommodate ability levels from beginner through expert.
This is the least expensive way for individuals to learn or improve their skills, while simultaneously earning university credit through PEID 128/129. Participants must provide their own skis and poles, or snowboard and boots (which are included in one of the packages), water repellant clothing and regular school insurance or other accident insurance. Space is limited. For additional information, call ext. 1911.
PREPARATION BEGINS FOR "SOURCE 2007"
CWU´s 2007 "Symposium On University Research and Creative Expression"(SOURCE) has been scheduled for Thursday, May 17, 2007. The university-wide forum showcases scholarly work by undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff and alumni. The aim is to foster awareness and appreciation of the high quality of scholarship at CWU in all disciplines and at all academic levels.
SOURCE will feature oral and poster presentations, artwork and performances. Information, including submission instructions, can be found at http://www.cwu.edu/~source/. The submission deadline is April 11, 2007.
Faculty and staff willing to volunteer as session chairs should contact Ethan Bergman at bergmane@cwu.edu. Those willing to serve as judges for student presentation awards may contact Gina Bloodworth at bloodwog@cwu.edu.