Fall 1999 State of the University Address to the Faculty

STATE OF THE UNIVERSITY ADDRESS
President Karen W. Morse
Fall Faculty Luncheon, September 16, 1999

WELCOME

Welcome back! It is good to see you here today as we initiate the 1999-2000 academic year.

I am very pleased to introduce our new Provost, Andy Bodman whom you and our search committee helped me to select last spring, and his wife, Iris. Please welcome Andy as he takes the reins of our academic enterprise.

I want to thank Andy for joining us --- and to express my gratitude to Professor Steven Senge and other members of the search committee, who recommended Andy. Andy will join our efforts as we enter the new millenium, a time of enormous opportunity for Western. He brings a depth of experience in higher education and shares my hope and vision for Western’s future as a nationally preeminent University of its kind. His experience will help us capitalize on our rich heritage, our recent successes, and our increasing national reputation. We are fortunate, indeed, to have him join us.

I want to recognize our retired faculty. You have helped shape this University’s past -- and its future. Please stand so we may thank you for your contributions.

I am always pleased to salute our returning faculty, who have done so much to enhance Western’s ever-growing reputation as a quality University dedicated to the student. I am impressed by--- and grateful for --- your efforts and accomplishments.

Would you all now join me in welcoming our newest faculty members. Will the new faculty please stand? You are our future. Thank you for joining our efforts.

INTRODUCTION

This fall gathering begins an extraordinary year. Each September for the past six years, I have delivered a state of the university address. The chief message has remained constant:

First, my goal is to develop Western into a nationally preeminent university.

Second, while much is changing, Western faculty and students continue a legacy of learning that is vital and dynamic.

This year is distinctive because of the unique opportunity it gives us to celebrate the birth and life of our university – You’ve seen the banners, it’s official. Western is 100 years old and we initiate, this fall, our second century.

SAVOR OUR HERITAGE

Let’s take a few extra minutes to savor Western’s heritage before returning to the end of the 20th century and our current challenges. Who were we 100 years ago?
A New Whatcom Normal School was officially chartered by the state in 1893, to meet the need for teachers. Two years later the legislature appropriated funds for Old Main -- constructed in 1896 on donated land and at a cost of $45,000. Additional money for faculty salaries, equipment and maintenance wasn't appropriated until 1899. The New Whatcom Normal School therefore formally opened for classes on September 6, 1899 with 88 students. By the end of the year, the class had swelled to 300. Talk about enrollment pressures!

STUDENTS

Knowing about these beginnings gives us hints about the nature of that new educational enterprise, but information about that first class tells us more about the task of the faculty. For example,

• All of those first 88 students were young people who intended to become teachers. The law required that girls be 15 and boys 16 years old for admission. Only 29 were over 18. Six were experienced teachers.
• Other requirements for admission included evidence of good moral character, an 8th grade certificate, and good health.
• About 25% of the students, compared to our present 12%, were from Whatcom County – which means, like today, the majority came from beyond our local boundaries. This is particularly poignant when we remember that roads were wagon roads, and that students were advised to travel here by train or by steamer from Seattle rather than on I-5.
• The context from which students came is also enlightening. At the time,
• We were not far removed from the Western frontier days. The Northern Pacific Railroad was completed only 16 years before we opened, the year some of the freshman might have been born.
• Diversity was an issue -- the country was under the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act passed amid riots in Seattle and Tacoma against the influx of Chinese laborers, resulting in immigration of workers from Mexico and Japan.
• In 1899, only one U.S. home in 13 had a telephone, probably fewer than that here in the Northwest Corner. A trustee refused to serve as chair because he didn’t have phone access to campus.
• Educational costs were low. A room could be rented for $3 a week. Tuition and textbooks were free. Students paid a $10 library fee -- $5 to be refunded at the end of the year if books were returned in good condition.

FACULTY
Lamentably, we don’t know a lot about the first faculty. We have no biographies and few oral histories. We do know that:

• The faculty of fall 1899 started with a student:faculty ratio of 15 to 1, but that changed rapidly as enrollment grew and the ratio rose to 50 to 1.
• Of the 6 faculty who started the year, two had Ph.D.s; one had a masters in science, one had a Ph.B., a bachelors of philosophy, and two had normal school degrees.
• Faculty salaries ranged from $900 to $1000 a year.
• What became the Wilson Library then had 1200 volumes.

We have come a long way in 100 years, by any measure. As the institution has evolved to ultimately become Western Washington University in 1977, the beauty of the campus, the quality of the faculty and the student body, and the breadth and depth of the curriculum have increased.

As we celebrate the foresight of the founders of Western Washington University, we also celebrate the commitment faculty have demonstrated through the years. You have created the legacy of learning that has brought us to this exciting juncture in our history.

A SHIFT TO THE PRESENT

As we shift back to the present, we still recognize a need for teachers -- but how much more we expect of our graduates as we also recognize needs for university-prepared individuals in a multitude of fields. Today's classrooms present challenges that were unimaginable for the six faculty in fall 1899.

• You have access not only to a campus library, but ready access to electronic data, including the Internet. While these resources serve us, they also increase the challenge to keep up with current developments in our fields…and in our pedagogy, which increasingly will be shaped by technology. I acknowledge that the incorporation and use of technology in the classroom produces enormous stress on you as faculty. My goal is to facilitate your efforts through opportunities for training and technical support.
• Salaries continue to command attention, but we have made progress in that arena and I pledge to continue that progress as resources allow. I also pledge to increase the amounts in specific budget areas that I have initiated since being here: equipment funds, grant matching funds, start-up monies, and faculty workstations.
• Growing enrollments and the accompanying issues of additional faculty and space require us to plan carefully for the future. We have come a long way from the institution in 1899 that educated nearly all who could come and could require all students and faculty to attend a weekly general assembly.
• Today’s students face high demands for admission --- not for proof of good moral character and good health --- but for proof of superior preparation to gain admission to this University. Our freshman class brings in an average GPA of 3.5 with high SAT scores. The quality of our students has increased a great deal in the past decade, changing both their expectations and our reputation in the process.
• Our graduate programs are becoming stronger and better and I have asked the Provost to evaluate and give attention to our role in graduate education. I pledge to facilitate excellence in all of our academic programs.

One other observation about our students:

• The vast majority is still young --- but 18-22 years of age, not 15 or 16. And the freshmen have had a different life experience than all of us here. For example:
• Most were born in 1981. They have no meaningful recollection of the Reagan Era and did not know he had ever been shot.
• They were 11 years old when the Soviet Union dissolved. They don't remember the Cold War, and the Vietnam War seems as ancient to them as World War II.
• The expression "you sound like a broken record" means nothing to them, since the Compact Disc was introduced when they were a year old. And personal computers are no big deal.

These examples give us context on how students lives were shaped by different forces than ours. They also help refresh our perspective on the need to often revisit and change what and how we teach.

A review of last year's achievements gives me great optimism for our prospects to address the challenges for the new year, indeed, for the new century and the new millenium….. Now there's a challenge for long-term planning!

1998-99 was productive even though it was an interim year in terms of permanent academic leadership. Dean Dennis Murphy ably assumed the role of Interim Provost and provided strong, steady leadership. A reception will be held in his honor in the solarium on September 23 at 4:00. Please come -- we all owe him our gratitude for a job well done. Thank you, Dennis.

I want to focus on four aspects of the past year. The budget, academic initiatives, off-campus education, and diversity in our university community.

First, Budget:

Whatcom Normal School's first biennial budget was about $33,000. As we begin the centennial year, we do so with a biennial budget of about $200 million – what a difference 100 years makes!

Western fared well in the legislative session -- we received the best budget in ten years. Al Froderberg and Judy McNickle were extremely effective in making our case. Most state employees will receive raises of 3% each year of this biennium with an increase also provided to cover a hike in cost of benefits. Thanks to our commitment to use budget flexibility to address salary needs, we have been able to grant faculty and exempt staff increases of 4.5% this year, to be followed by planned increases of 5% next year.

As in the past three biennia, my highest priority for resource allocation was to the academic areas, with the allocation of more than 60% of our new enrollment dollars assigned there.

Our annual budget decisions were in accord with the recommendations of the campus Budget Advisory Committee – which I thank for its efforts. The sole exception to its recommendation was my decision to increase the first year raise from 4% to 4.5%….no one objected!

There is a cloud on our future, however, and I would be remiss if I didn't note that one budget issue that threatens us is the potential impact, both short and long-term, is Initiative 695, which will be on the ballot in November. I-695 looks simple – reduce license fee tabs to $30 and have any increase in taxes or fees approved by a public vote. It has great appeal on its face, but will have a significant impact on state resources. I urge you all to study the issues surrounding I-695 before voting.

The second, and most important aspect of the state of the university is our academic initiatives and activities, which I am pleased to report is very good.

• This is primarily due to your efforts to change the curriculum at the departmental and program levels and to your individual efforts to enhance your own courses. In addition, the intense activity of the Center for Instructional Innovation, led by Professor Kris Bulcroft, serves faculty exceptionally well as they develop courses geared to a student-centered approach.
• Some of you participated in a structured campus dialog, sponsored by the Center and the Carnegie Foundation to enhance the scholarship of teaching. Western was one of a select group of Universities invited by the Carnegie Foundation to present our use of technology for discussions on the scholarship of teaching. Carnegie continues to turn to Western as it develops Part II of the Campus Conversations Project. Watch in FAST for greater detail about Western's role in this effort that centers on teaching and learning.
• Seven workshops were provided for faculty on Web Essentials. More than 90 faculty from all colleges studied PowerPoint Classroom Applications. This activity directly negates perceptions that faculty are unwilling to change!!
• One of the most visible innovations from last year was the development of our Freshman Interest Groups or FIGS. The FIG pilot project, run out of the Center starting this quarter, links large GUR sections to smaller integrative seminars. Faculty have been working this summer to develop these innovations and we anxiously await the outcome.
• Other notable innovations include:
• A new Institute for Spatial Information and Analysis established in Huxley College.
• A new M.A. in Rehabilitation Counseling and a new full-time MBA program.
• Activities through the Center for Service-Learning, which has provided assistance to 30 faculty to integrate academically rigorous, community-based, service-learning pedagogy into 23 new or existing courses.

This has truly been a year of collaboration and creativity in the ways in which we teach our courses and provide our students with outstanding learning opportunities.
I could say much more about your individual efforts -- you are exceptionally productive -- but we would be here til midnight. Briefly, in addition to being excellent teachers, you have written nearly 200 books and book chapters over 950 journal articles and conference papers, and produced almost 700 exhibits, recordings and performances! And you are consistently successful in attracting grants to support and enhance your work as scholars.

The third aspect relates to off campus education:
What draws students to Western? Key factors are: the quality of the faculty, the beauty of the campus, and our primary mission -- our niche --which defines Western as a residential, traditional university, with intense attention to student-faculty interaction. We all value limiting campus enrollment to maintain these valued characteristics. But we are faced with the reality that as a state University, we have been and will be called on to help to educate an expected "tidal wave" of new students in the next ten years. Furthermore, the reality is that the only way to gain new state resources is to accept new students.

One way of addressing both our desire and our reality is to provide new educational opportunities off-campus, both through face-to-face instruction and distance technologies. We must examine and better define Western's role in off-campus education since our on-campus environment has the potential to be positively affected by such an effort.

I have asked the Provost to lead the dialogue. Please consider your department’s potential role in such an endeavor and assist Provost Bodman in his effort to develop a strategic approach in this arena.

The fourth aspect centers around diversity and community:

Part of improving the learning environment involves ensuring that the university community is a safe and welcoming place to learn for all who come to teach and learn.

Our active commitment to diversity has stepped up post Initiative 200. More students of color applied for admission to Western this year (applications from minority students were up nearly 16%), so our efforts to demonstrate that we are a campus that welcomes diversity appear to be succeeding. More must be done
Western will continue to emphasize attracting superior candidates for employment from a diverse pool. Our progress in this area is slow and frustrating -- the competition is steep. And so practices that move us toward the goal of a more diverse faculty and staff will remain an important strategic action for Western.
We must also continue to address concerns about the campus climate created by and for the diverse collection of individuals that comprise the Western community. This fall I will bring a group together to advise us as to what we can and should do to nurture an environment where people can work and study and learn together without concern for artificial boundaries caused by differences.

Administrative Issues

This year, in an effort to improve timely campus communication to you, we will open new web pages for the provost and the president's office. Here are a few examples of activities from last year which, in the future, will be posted to the president's web page:

• Professor Carl Simpson has accepted a new responsibility for institutional research in the Office of University Planning and Analysis. The newly reorganized office integrates strategic planning, budget preparation and allocation, and assessment and accountability standards, and will provide Provost Bodman with valuable information required to evaluate academic programs. Carl brings to this task more than 20 years experience on the faculty and a deep understanding of what we do and why we do it. Thanks, Carl, for taking on this administrative responsibility.
• The new Student Information System is up and running, streamlining critical processes for students for admissions, financial aid, and course catalog and scheduling. Time for correcting financial aid applicant data and revising aid offers decreased from 10 days to 1 day. The system pushed us into the 21st century with web-based and voice-response registration.
• Private fund raising progress was significant. The number of donors increased last year by over 500, and the amount raised this year, $5.6M, surpassed last year by $600,000. I thank each of you who has participated…as a donor, as a project developer, and as an advocate for this institution, in supporting this crucial financial effort. These private dollars support many faculty projects and make a big difference in what we, as a state institution, can accomplish. I pledge to you to continue my efforts in this area.

CONCLUSION: CHALLENGES

Finally, I want to borrow David Letterman’s approach to the top ten….only I’ve cut our list to four ….challenges for the future: Each of these will be achieved through a focus on quality, commitment, and partnership.

First, I challenge us to rededicate ourselves to improve the quality of our undergraduate and graduate academic programs. This means actively supporting our new provost in his efforts to prioritize issues and create opportunities for new development.
Allocations to programs will be selective and based on innovation and contributions to our mission. One example is the support pledged to an invited grant application from Research Corp. and the Murdock Trust Foundation aimed at making us a national model in undergraduate chemistry. The innovative hard work of the department to respond to this invitation required commitment from the department and the administration including the Dean, the Provost, and the President, and will draw great rewards if the grant is funded. I look forward to more initiatives like this.

Second, I challenge us to continue exploring ways to increase interaction with students, including providing students a smoother transition into and through Western. In my conversations with faculty, it is clear that personal attention to students is a core value of Western. Many faculty are developing new ways to improve student intellectual development and contact and, thereby, the learning process. No student should say that s/he was not able to obtain assistance nor do I want any student to say s/he was not challenged in a course.

Third,  I challenge us to continue striving to diversify the curriculum, to increase diversity among our students and personnel, and to enhance our sense of community. It is essential that faculty participate and encourage civil and reasoned discussion among students, faculty, and staff as we address the issues of dealing with a diverse campus and society.

Fourth, I challenge us to increase our activity with the Western Foundation, to provide our programs with additional resources.
I look forward to working with you to accomplish these challenges. Thank you for helping Western evolve to meet the needs and demands of our students today and tomorrow. This evolution honors our legacy of learning, helps us find new ways to raise Western to new heights in the new century, and provides paths to create a better future – not only for this fortunate successor of New Whatcom Normal School, but for the society we serve.

You have every reason to be proud of yourselves and this University. Celebrate our history, our progress, and our future during our 100th birthday year and toot our Centennial horn whenever possible. I particularly want to invite you to join the Provost and me in the faculty reception and Centennial Convocation next Tuesday, to show support for the first new freshmen of our second century.

Thank you -- especially -- for your creative, intelligent commitment to Western. I have confidence in you and your dedication to quality and partnership and pledge my support to your efforts. I am more optimistic about our future than ever before. Best wishes for a successful academic year.