Posting the
Rawlins Legacy
Lane Rawlins' seven years as president was capped with one
of the most successful legislative sessions in the history of
WSU. If legislators see freshmen students attending WSU
Vancouver, a new pedestrian mall down the center of the Pullman
campus, a new UW medical school students in Spokane, a
reinvigorated apple breeding program, ten new scientists
working on biofuels at WSU Tri-Cities, or a new WSU PhD nursing
student...they know it happened with a big push from a WSU
president.
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May 10, 2007 No. 19
Olympia perspective
on the Rawlins
presidency
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Legislature adjourns
Sunday sine die
It was the session that the governor told legislators to go to school on education,
from early learning to graduate school. It proved to be more controversial for P-12
and a productive session for higher education.
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April 23, 2007 No. 18
Notes at adjournment
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Final conference puzzle
solved: A $508.6 million operating budget for WSU
Student enrollments will increase on all campuses for a total of 850 new WSU
slots, agricultural research will be boosted by $5.3 million, and salaries will
bump up by an average of 3.2 percent on Sept. 1. Its all part of the final
compromise operating budget bill unveiled April 21. All in all, House-Senate leaders
decided to fund a multitude of new programs at WSU from bio-products to medical
education to small business assistance that were parts of various House, Senate,
and Governor's budget plans. But in an apparent effort to fund as many programs
as possible, the budget for many major requests were trimmed. Nevertheless,
the result is a 17.9 percent increase in state funding for the university in the
next biennium.
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April 22, 2007 No. 17
Compromise operating budget
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Legislature poised to
pass record WSU construction budget. Construction dollars to
finish the Pullman Life Sciences building is the highlight of a record $180.6 million
WSU construction budget released late last night by Senate and House negotiators.
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April 21, 2007 No. 16
Compromise capital budget
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Legislature approves
WSU constitutional amendment for ballot. Spring blooms are starting
to fall from the "sine die" tree as the Legislature may be entering its
final days. Today is the final day for most bills to pass the Legislature in some
form. The WSU-sponsored constitutional amendment that allows for trust land permanent
funds to be invested partly in stocks has been approved by the Legislature. It now
goes to the voters.
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April 13, 2007 No. 15
Bills must pass both houses
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The big three issues
for WSU in House-Senate operating budget negotiations. Negotiations
are under way between House-Senate negotiators over the 2007-2009 biennial operating
budget (House Bill 1128.) The Senate version passed 30-17 on Saturday. The House
version passed 62-35 on March 26. There are dozens of differences between the two
WSU budgets. However, Washington State University is urging lawmakers to give a
priority on three key issues before setting WSU’s final budget.
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April 2, 2007 No. 14
Conference Negotiations
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Senate
budget news bittersweet. Senate leaders Wednesday proposed
a 2007-2009 operating budget for Washington State University, providing some tasty
enhancements but disappointments that will be harder to swallow. The Senate budget
provides substantially more enrollments than the other budgets. However, tuition
funds that normally go for student support have been diverted to pay for base salaries
of faculty and staff. Agriculture research funding is far below the House level.
The budget provides for a 7 percent tuition increase.
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March 29, 2007 No. 13
Senate Operating Budget Proposal
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House
Appropriations proposes $515 million operating budget for WSU next biennium with
more money for agricultural research. A new operating budget
bill boosts new funding for agricultural research from the governor's level of $3
million to $9.5 million.
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March 22, 2007 No. 12
House Operating Budget Proposal
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Rep. Fromhold
proposes $180 million construction budget for WSU.
$58 million for the Pullman Life Sciences building, $29 million in new funding for
the WSU Vancouver campus, and $59 million in critical dollars to improve and preserve
existing facilities are winning approval in the state House of Representatives.
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March 19, 2007 No. 11
House Capital Budget Proposal
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House overwhelmingly approves
WSU constitutional amendment.
Substitute House Joint Resolution 4215 passed the state House of Representatives
last week, easily garnering the necessary two-thirds house majority on a 92-2 vote.
Today is the final day for bills that do not have budget impact to pass the originating
house. The House operating and capital budgets are expected to be out next week.
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March 14, 2007 No. 10
Floor Cut-Off of 2007 Session
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House Subcommittee
funds Spokane medical students, Vancouver Engineering. The WSU partnership
with the University of Washington and Eastern Washington University to create more
education programs that produce additional doctors and dentists has been recommended
for funding. There are 55 new health science students added to the WSU budget
in the proposal. Start-up funding for Electrical Engineering at WSU Vancouver is
included. It provides 815 new total enrollments for the WSU system, 87 percent of
the WSU request. Here's the report on Feb. 28, the deadline for bills to pass out
of the original policy committee.
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February 28, 2007 No. 9
First Cut-Off of 2007 Session
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WSU Constitutional Amendment
Introduced. A state constitutional amendment to allow equity investment
in higher education permanent fund trust monies has been introduced in each house
of the Legislature at the request of WSU.
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February 5, 2007 No. 8
Bolstering Capital Investment
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Gregoire proposes historic
higher education budget. A 2007-2009 biennial budget proposed today
by Gov. Christine Gregoire would deliver Washington State University its best operating
budget package in years and the most state construction funding in WSU history.
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December 19, 2006 No. 7
Governor's proposed budget
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Democrats' tide hits Legislature.
The tide that flowed for Democrats nationally has seeped into the
Washington legislative election, giving Gov. Christine Gregoire’s political
party a commanding majority of both houses of the Washington Legislature.
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November 9, 2006 No. 6
Election Results
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PNNL, WSDA and WSU push
$6.7 million biofuels and bioproducts program. The budget request
that promotes manufacture of fuels from Washington-grown crops and forest products
was supported by President Lane Rawlins last week in discussions with the governor’s
budget staff here in Olympia. The 2006 Legislature assisted new fuel plants being
built in this state to relieve reliance on foreign petroleum products. But some
of these plants still rely on palm oil and other “feedstock” materials
imported from countries like Indonesia, Malaysia, and Canada. This proposal was
drafted by WSU, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and the Washington State
Department of Agriculture.
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October 18, 2006 No. 5
WSU Bioproducts Partnership with
PNNL and WSDA
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Universities unite to educate future health professionals in Spokane.
More Doctors, Dentists and Nurses for the Inland Northwest: A cost-effective plan for
educating doctors and dentists in Spokane was presented to the state Higher Education
Coordinating Board Thursday by WSU President Lane Rawlins and UW President Mark
Emmert. Keeping with their tradition of the research institutions working
together, Emmert and Rawlins delivered the institutional budget requests jointly
before the board, sitting side by side. To punctuate their cooperation, the presidents
described a program with the University of Washington, Washington State University
and Eastern Washington University working cooperatively. Together, they requested
$12.8 million for expansion of programs into Spokane. It is the first major resident
enrollment expansion of the UW School of Medicine in 30 years. WSU submitted an
additional request for nurses, including a Phd program based in Spokane.
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September 29, 2006 No. 4
Joint proposal for more health care professionals
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