Board of Trustees Recap for Feb. 10
Editor’s Note: After each Board of Trustees meeting, Western Today provides a recap of decisions and discussion.
Trustees Recognize WWU Women’s Soccer Team
Western’s Board of Trustees on Friday approved a resolution celebrating the WWU Women’s Soccer Team, which won the NCAA Division II National Championship on Dec. 3, 2016 by defeating three-time defending champion Grand Valley State.
The trustees heard from team Head Coach Travis Connell and Steve Card, director of WWU Athletics, on how well the team played. Card described the free kick by team member Emily Webster, providing the margin of victory in the national title game, as “the greatest free kick in Western’s history.”
A number of the team attended the trustees’ meeting, and the trustees and others in attendance gave the national champions a standing ovation.
In other business, the trustees:
- Heard a presentation by Provost Brent Carbajal and Steve VanderStaay, vice provost for Undergraduate Education and Western’s accreditation liaison officer, who described requirements for regional accreditation and campus preparations for the onsite, comprehensive evaluation March 27-29. Western is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). Accreditation affirms the transferability of Western degrees and credits among other regionally-accredited universities, and the eligibility of students and faculty for federal grants and assistance. Western’s 7-year accreditation concludes in March when a team of 10-12 evaluators will visit the campus for the onsite evaluation.
- Approved adoption of amendments to Western’s Student Rights and Responsibilities Code. The intent of updating the code is to bring it in line with federal guidance from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, Violence Against Women Act, federal Title IX, and state law.
- Heard an Olympia update by Becca Kenna-Schenk, director of Government Relations, on the ongoing legislative session. She praised the effective outreach by students in Olympia during Student Lobby Day, and thanked the trustees for their support in Olympia. Kenna-Schenk said the current legislative session is scheduled to end April 23. But due to significant differences on how to fund K-12 education in order to comply with the McCleary court decision, a special session or special sessions as in past years may be needed before a final biennial state budget is approved by the legislature.
- Heard a presentation from Bryce Hammer, Associated Students vice president for Government Affairs, on AS organizational restructuring.
- Approved awarding a consultant contract for the design of a project to move disAbility Resources for Students and Veterans Services to Wilson Library.
- The dates for the next regular meeting of the Board of Trustees are April 20 and 21.
- The Thursday afternoon trustees meeting, which was scheduled to include a presentation on student success, was canceled because of WWU being closed for the day because of weather.
Meeting documents are available at the Board of Trustees website.
Click here to see video recordings of the meeting: