Olympia Updates

Locke said he wants to consider a comprehensive set of alternatives for administration and governance at EWU and WSU, including consolidation, joint governance, and transferring programs from one institution to the other, among other possibilities. "This is not simply a matter of deciding either in favor of the status quo or in favor of a merger," Locke said in a prepared written statement released Monday. "I expect the board to leave no stone unturned in the search for the best solutions for the citizens of the Spokane area, eastern Washington and our entire state." Locke has directed the HEC Board to give him a preliminary report of its findings on Feb. 15, near the mid-point mark of the 1998 Legislative session. A final analysis should be completed by June 1, the governor said.

Washington State University strongly supports the study, which meets its expectations that the HEC Board, Legislature and governor should lead discussions on the future of higher education in Washington. WSU is hopeful that it will lead to a public hearing in Spokane and recommendations on how to deliver more higher education programs to Eastern Washington's most populous metropolitan area. James Kirschbaum, chairman of the EWU Board of Trustees, pledged cooperation, according to the Associated Press. The EWU board earlier had refused to give school President Marshall Drummond authority to work on merger issues.

This latest development follows a Nov. 28 request by Senate Ways and Means Chairman Jim West that WSU and EWU prepare a proposal to merge into a single institution, a request declined by EWU trustees. The recommendation, which now apparently has gained the governor's interest, has sparked discussion in the Spokane area and among legislators statewide about how higher education programs can be better delivered. Though some Olympia observers believe a merger of the two institutions would be a longer-term undertaking, many expect Spokane higher education issues will surface in some form during the upcoming legislative session. An article in The Spokesman-Review by Grayden Jones today reported that Locke said he would sign a merger bill if one were passed by the Legislature.

Yet there are other options that the board is likely to consider that would not necessarily include the merger of institutions. There is some discussion that it may be time for Spokane to evolve from a "center" model of delivering upper-division and graduate programs to a full research university branch campus model. While WSU branch campuses in Tri-Cities and Vancouver offer a broad range of upper-division education programs housed in permanent education buildings, WSU Spokane has been limited to certain graduate and professional programs largely housed in leased space at the former Farm Credit building in downtown Spokane. WSU Tri-Cities was created to replace the "Tri-City University Center," a consortium of WSU, EWU, Central Washington University, the University of Washington, and Oregon State University. WSU Vancouver was created by the Legislature to replace the Southwest Washington Joint Center for Higher Education which included WSU and The Evergreen State College. The largest growth in students in Vancouver and Tri-Cities came after those centers were eliminated and a full WSU branch campus was established. Spokane has the largest surviving center model as EWU's Spokane programs and WSU are organized under the "Joint Center for Higher Education." Others, such as Sen. Gene Prince, R-Thornton, have urged that EWU should continue as a separate institution, but should consolidate its operations at its original Cheney campus with a revised mission and identity.

Locke indicated his charge to the HEC Board was broad. "I want the board, in consultation with Eastern Washington University and Washington State University, to fully examine how the state can best maximize our public investment in higher education in Eastern Washington and the Spokane area and continue to provide the highest quality education for students." The governor's written statement told the HEC Board to "conduct fact-finding and evaluation" on how the state can best meet "the highest standards of opportunity and excellence" in serving eastern Washington's higher educational needs. He ordered the HEC Board to consider "a range of issues, including duplication of programs and access to education; the impact of a graduate research program on promoting the economic vitality of the Spokane area; the future of the Joint Center in Spokane; the full spectrum of administrative and organizational options, including the possible merger of EWU and WSU and the resulting costs and benefits; and issues of leadership and governance." The directive from the governor is the first major assignment from the governor for Bob Craves, of Costco Wholesale, named last week by Locke chair the HEC Board. The board's staff is directed by former Senate Majority Leader Marc Gaspard.