PULLMAN, Wash. – The Board of Regents of Washington State University will hold a regularly scheduled meeting Sept. 11-12 on the Pullman campus to consider action items on a number of issues, including a consultant’s report on the feasibility of creating a new WSU medical school in Spokane.
Other actions items on the agenda will be proposals related to capital construction, the naming of campus buildings and approval of a collective bargaining agreement with WSU classified employees.
The meeting will begin at 1:30 p.m., Sept. 11, in the Compton Union Building, Room 204, with a meeting of the Regents’ Executive Committee, to be followed by consecutive meetings of the Regents’ Finance & Audit, Academic and Student Affairs, and External Affairs committees. Each committee session will convene immediately following the completion of the previous session.
The Academic and Students Affairs Committee meeting is expected to commence at 2:45 p.m. Thursday, with a presentation by MGT of America, Inc., the consulting firm hired earlier this year to conduct a study of the feasibility of creating a medical school on the campus of WSU Spokane. Following the presentation, representatives of MGT and the WSU administration are expected to be available to discuss the consultant’s findings with representatives of the news media. Regents are not expected to take any action related to the feasibility study prior to their meeting on Friday.
The Regents will re-convene at the same location at 8 a.m. on Friday to initially hear reports, including reports from the WSU Faculty Senate, Graduate and Professional Student Association, Associated Students of WSU, Associated Students of WSU-Tri-Cities, WSU Administrative Professional Advisory Council, WSU Alumni Association and WSU Foundation.
The Regents are expected to take action Friday on a number of items, including:
- Separate recommendations to rename The WSU College of Communication’s Murrow West building on the Pullman campus as “Keith M. Jackson Hall” and to name the Northside Residence Hall II capital project on the Pullman campus, as “Global Scholars Hall.”
- A proposal to proceed with design and construction of the Spokane Teaching Health Center (STHC) project, with a total budget not to exceed $16,250,000. The project would relocate Providence’s family and internal medicine residency programs and clinic to the Spokane campus in order to provide primary care to the underserved and address the lack of medical residency positions in Eastern Washington. This project would also provide inter-professional, team-based clinical and primary care opportunities for the faculty and students in the Colleges of Nursing, Pharmacy and Medical Sciences.
- A proposal to proceed with design and construction of the Digital Classroom Facility project on the Pullman campus with a total budget not to exceed $60,000,000. The technology-rich building is intended to provide robust systems and flexible infrastructure to accommodate the rapid pace of technology changes.
- A proposal to proceed with design and construction of the Police Department Building project on the Pullman campus with a total budget not to exceed $7,500,000. The WSU Police Department currently occupies the Public Safety Building located in the center of campus. The aging building does not support unobstructed vehicular access, which is necessary for efficient police response.
- A proposal authorizing the issuance and sale of bonds or other obligations to be used for the Digital Classroom Facility, the Teaching Health Center, and the Police Department Building projects; with proceeds not to exceed $78,500,000, a maximum term not to exceed 25 years, and a maximum interest cost rate not to exceed 5.5 percent.
Contact:
Robert L. Strenge, WSU News, 509-335-3583, rstrenge@wsu.edu