SPOKANE – The Board of Regents of Washington State University heard an update on the presidential search process and approved several building projects Friday during the board’s regularly scheduled meeting on the WSU Spokane campus.
Regent Connie Niva, a member of the presidential search advisory committee, updated the board on the ongoing search for a president to succeed V.Lane Rawlins, who will be retiring in June.
Niva said the committee has been gathering public input about what people want in a new president and what they see as the future direction for the university in meetings around the state. So far, meetings have been held in Pullman, Vancouver, the Tri-Cities and Spokane.
Meanwhile, Niva said, the consulting firm that is helping with the search, Greenwood and Associates, Inc., is making nationwide contacts seeking potential candidates for the position. Information about the search is available at http://presidential-search.wsu.edu
In other business, the regents approved the design for an undergraduate classroom facility for WSU Vancouver. Along with classrooms, the building will include seminar rooms, computer labs, faculty offices and student study spaces. Estimated cost of the project is $28 million. The state approved $3.65 million in funding for the building in the 2005-2007 biennium and will be asked for the remainder in the upcoming biennium. Construction is scheduled to begin in fall 2007 and conclude by spring 2009.
The regents approved the schematic designs for a clubhouse, along with cart storage and maintenance facilities, for the Palouse Ridge Golf Course, now under construction on the Pullman campus. The facility will provide an inside dining area that will seat 100, along with a patio and tented area to allow the course to host tournaments and other social events. Total project cost is $4 million.
It will be funded through private donations and through an internal loan from university real estate funds that will be repaid through golf course revenues. Construction is expected to begin in April 2007 and be completed over the summer.
The regents approved a $1.3 million expansion and remodel of the McCluskey Services Building on the Pullman campus.
The regents also approved a $4.4 million supplemental budget request to the legislature to help defray rising energy costs. Despite conservation efforts, WSU’s energy bills have risen from $13.5 million in 2004 to an estimated $18.6 million in 2007.
The regents next scheduled meeting will be in Pullman Nov. 17.
