PULLMAN, Wash.–Washington State University’s Board of Regents today approved new undergraduate degree programs, upgraded its main computer system and authorized expansion of student recreation facilities.
Meeting in conjunction with WSU’s 101st Commencement week activities, the board approved bachelor’s degree programs in earth science, neuroscience and sports management on the Pullman campus. They also approved extending bachelor’s degree programs in human development, biology, environmental science and English to the growing WSU Vancouver campus, and extended the master’s in nursing degree program to Vancouver and Yakima.
Regents approved the replacement the university’s central IBM 3090 mainframe computer with a $2.1 million Enterprise server from IBM. The purchase of electronic systems to equip new classrooms in Pullman, Spokane, Vancouver and Yakima for distance learning programs delivered electronically through WSU’s Washington Higher Education Telecommunication System also was authorized.
Under authority from the regents, the university plans to construct new student recreation fields. Approximately $1 million will be spent to construct new fields and expand existing areas which are used for intramural sports programs, which at WSU are among the largest in the country. The board also heard a presentation on plans to construct a $40 million student recreation complex. The projects are to be funded through student fees.
Allocations from the services and activities fees to student organizations received regents’ approval. Next year, students will pay $138.50 a semester in S&A fees, which fund facilities, student government, transportation, athletics and various other student activities and organizations.
In other action, the regents authorized the university to negotiate a settlement agreement with the general contractor on the $38 million Veterinary Teaching Hospital, which opened last year. Morgen and Oswood, Great Falls, Mont., has filed a claim seeking $8.9 million from the university for construction delays and changes required for new equipment authorized after the original contracts were signed.
WSU conducts its 101st Commencement tomorrow. The All-University Assembly at 10:30 a.m. in the Beasley Performing Arts Coliseum will feature distinguished alumnus William Julius Wilson, a Harvard sociology professor and an authority on racism and class. Wilson earned his doctoral degree in sociology from WSU in 1966.
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