The Bellingham Herald

• WWU students won't pay more for bus passes, but university will
  Western Washington University students will not see an increase next year in the transportation fee they pay nor will they have their late-night shuttle service cut, a university spokesman said.
  
  According to a draft deal between the university and Whatcom Transportation Authority, the university will pay about 25 percent more over the next three years for prepaid bus passes for students. The money will come from reserves.
  

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• Recent downfalls a teachable moment for WWU students
  There are plenty of teaching moments these days for business ethics classes. Unfortunately, many of the examples in the news are of the "what not to do" variety.
  
  With the sentencing last week of Bernard Madoff to 150 years in prison, one con artist has been put away but for some, the loss of trust remains. The Madoff case was one of many examples used in Craig Dunn's business ethics classes at Western Washington University. Dunn, an associate professor in the College of Business and Economics, said he and his students explored the Madoff case last semester, and one disturbing conclusion was that there really isn't much to do from a regulatory standpoint.

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• Two Vikings make national all-academic team
  Western Washington University distance runner Jordan Welling and steeplechaser Eric Brill have been named to the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association NCAA Division II Men's Track & Field All-Academic Team announced today.

Crosscut.com

• New leader navigates budget cuts at WWU
  His mantra is "transparency," yet the most controversial decision of Bruce Shepard's first year as president of Western Washington University was opaque.
  
  Western folk from the greenest freshman to the most senior professor are invited, even instructed, to "call me Bruce," yet some of those who work with him believe he is less comfortable and skilled in one-on-one meetings than working with a crowd.
  
  Shepard, who succeeded Karen Morse as head of the Bellingham campus, is candid and forthright in an interview and has the best relations with the student press of any president in recent years. Faculty members, focused on the effects of budget cuts and continuing economic troubles, give him good marks for a process in which every jot and tittle of the university budget is online and the president constantly asks for suggestions to better the process.

Tacoma News-Tribune

• WWU to offer weekend MBA at Everett's University Center
  Western Washington University's College of Business and Economics will offer a weekend MBA program in Everett starting next January.
  
  Classes will be held on alternating Fridays and Saturdays at Everett Community College's University Center and will take 24 months to complete.

First Science

• International team of students and scientists depart for the Siberian Arctic
  Scientists and undergraduate students from across the United States and Russia are departing July 2 for a month-long field course in the Russian Arctic. The program, known as The Polaris Project, is training future leaders in arctic research and education, and informing the public about the impacts of climate change.
  Andy Bunn, a faculty member at Western Washington University, comments, "I did not appreciate the massive changes underway in the Arctic before traveling to Siberia last year. Yet, that change is just likely beginning. I'm excited to return this year and to see this anew with the fresh crop of students. They are the luckiest undergraduates in the country."