Ne wsletter Spring 2014: N°2 - Council of · PDF fileNe wsletter Spring 2014: Issue N°2 Washington State “Dream Act”, also known as the “Real Hope ... seen by standard....

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A Quarlerly Newsletter WINTER 2013A Quarterly Newsletter Spring 2014: Issue N°2

Washington State “Dream Act”, also known as the “Real Hope Act” Enacted Undocumented students now eligible for State Need Grant

This year marked the successful passage of a multi-year effort to afford undocumented students access to our state’s largest student financial aid program, the State Need Grant. Officially known as the Real Hope Act, Senate Bill 6532 passed both the House and Senate with bipartisan support. At the bill signing, Governor Jay Inslee thanked prime sponsor Sen. Barbara Bailey and long-time advocates Reps Zack Hudgins and Bruce Chandler. The Governor also thanked former Rep. Phyllis Gutiérrez Kenney, who has long championed the issue of equal access to higher education for Washington’s children of immigrants. The bill was signed into law on February 26, before a crowd of hundreds in the Legislative Building’s State Reception Room. Remarks by the Governor can be found at the following link: http://governor.wa.gov/news/speeches/20140226_DreamActSigningRemarks.pdf

“Today we’re allowing dreams to come true. There’s really nothing better a state could do.”

Governor Jay Inslee

Photo credit: Elliot Suhr

© Office of the Governor © Office of the Governor

Issue N°2 2014

Council of Presidents | Spring 2014 2

Legislative Update Challenges remain for our state’s public colleges and universities

The 2014 legislative session came to a close on March 13, in the first on-time adjournment in four years. The 2013-15 biennial operating budget marked a turning point in higher education funding; however, challenges remain for our state’s public colleges and universities. The 2014 supplemental operating budget maintained budgeted levels and made modest investments in STEM and related programs while extending the freeze on resident undergraduate tuition increases.

A number of key higher education initiatives passed that will impact our communities and campuses:

® The Dream/Real Hope Act (SB 6523) – Allows eligible undocumented students to qualify for the State Need Grant program

® Higher Education Efficiencies (HB 2613) – Provides for operational efficiencies including pay-period adjustments, capital construction pre-design processes, and streamlined reporting requirements

® Veterans’ Tuition (SB 5318) – Removes the one-year residency requirement for veterans recently separated from the military

® Student Achievement Goals (HB 2626) – Endorses the Washington Student Achievement Council’s two recommended goals for increasing educational attainment in the 10-Year Roadmap for Higher Education in Washington:

P All adults in Washington, ages 25-44, will have a high school diploma or equivalent

P At least 70% of Washington adults, ages 25-44, will have a postsecondary credential

® College Bound Scholarship Study (SB 6436) – Creates a workgroup to study the College Bound Scholarship Pprogram and make recommendations for making the program viable

Council of Presidents’ staff will work throughout the interim to proactively plan for the 2015 legislative session, a year in which the major issue will be prioritizing higher education funding. In addition, we will once again be working with institutional leaders and colleagues from the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges and the Office of Financial Management to develop our annual efficiency legislation. Finally, we will be working along side institutional representatives and educational partners in implementing the 12 recommended action steps in the WSAC’s Roadmap and updating the 2012 Strategic Action Plan.

Issue N°2 2014

Council of Presidents | Spring 2014 3

Dr. Arévalo is the first Latino president at any public four-year college or university in the state of Washington.

EWU President to RetireArévalo will retire with more than 42 years of higher education experience

Eastern Washington University’s 25th president, Dr. Rodolfo Arévalo, has announced he will retire effective July 15, 2014, after an eight-year tenure that brought the university to new heights in academic success, facility enhancement and athletic profile.

Arévalo, who will retire with more than 42 years of higher education experience, successfully guided the university through the state of Washington’s recent budget crisis while overseeing enrollment growth that has set new records each of the past four years.

“President Arévalo’s leadership and accomplishments during this historic time at Eastern have been outstanding,” said Paul Tanaka, chair of EWU’s Board of Trustees. “Dr. Arévalo’s thoughtful and measured approach to the many challenges and opportunities the past eight years has put the university, and its students, in a remarkable position to succeed.”

“I speak for the entire board when I say Dr. Arévalo will be greatly missed, and we wish him well in his retirement.”

Most recently, Arévalo successfully negotiated a groundbreaking faculty compensation contract that received national accolades. He also launched a new strategic plan aimed at the continued improvement of student retention and graduation rates. During his tenure, enrollment passed the 12,000 mark for the first time in university history. Under Arévalo’s leadership, Eastern also launched the first-ever comprehensive fundraising campaign, which will conclude in July.

His time as president was also marked by a tremendous growth in facilities, including a new recreation center, the first new residence hall in decades, the state-of-the-art renovation of the school’s largest academic building and the installation of the iconic red turf at Roos Field.

Arévalo came to Eastern in April 2006 from the University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA), where he served as provost and vice president for academic affairs. He is the first Latino president at any public four-year college or university in the state of Washington.

Eastern Washington NEWS, January 24, 2014

© Eastern Washington University

Issue N°2 2014

Council of Presidents | Spring 2014 4

Twelve out of 26 student applicants at The Evergreen State College have received a 2014 Benjamin A. Gilman Study Abroad Scholarship, winning a total of $46,500, with individual students winning $3000 to $5000 for a year’s study overseas.

Applicants from all over the U.S. compete for these federally funded scholarships. Evergreen’s 46.15 percent success rate places the college third among all competing colleges and universities in the nation. UC Berkeley and Syracuse University, with 35,000 and 20,000 students respectively, came in first and second place. Evergreen has 4,400 students.

Michael Clifthorne, Evergreen ‘s academic advisor for international programs, believes Evergreen’s unique approach to study-abroad programs keeps the small liberal arts and sciences college competitive against universities several times the size.

“The study-abroad programs at most schools focus on traditional European destinations, whereas Evergreen faculty focus on a much broader scope of countries, especially Latin America,” Clifthorne said. “The structure for the programs is different, focusing on social justice and community organizations, giving students real connections with real people on the ground.”

One scholarship winner did admit to hesitation before pursuing the award. “At first, I didn’t want to apply because I was intimidated by the competition. However, when most of my peers who applied won, my perspective dramatically changed and I decided to apply,” said Evergreen student Quinn Snow. Snow is using the Gilman Scholarship to fund an independent study project in Japan.

Other Evergreen Gilman recipients are pursuing independent studies ranging from studying language in the Middle East to music in South Africa and animal behavior in the tropical rainforests of Ecuador.

“Study abroad takes us out of our comfort zone. Students return transformed, especially students who are the first in their families to attend college,” Clifthorne said. “After working and studying in such a different setting then they’ve previously experienced, students are rewarded with a fresh, vibrant perspective on living.”

The Benjamin A. Gilman Scholarship for Study Abroad was founded in 2000 as a part of the International Academic Opportunity Act and named after U.S. Congressman Ben Gilman.

Evergreen NEWS, February 12, 2014

For more information: https://www.evergreen.edu/studyabroad/

Evergreen Students Win Big With International Scholarships The programs focus on social justice and community organizations, giving students real connections with real people on the ground

Michael Clifthorne, academic adviser for international programs, talks with a student about study abroad.

© The Evergreen State College

Issue N°2 2014

Council of Presidents | Spring 2014 5

Most modern electronics, from flat-screen TVs and smartphones to wearable technologies and computer monitors, use tiny light-emitting diodes, or LEDs. These LEDs are based off of semiconductors that emit light with the movement of electrons. As devices get smaller and faster, there is more demand for such semiconductors that are tinier, stronger and more energy efficient.

University of Washington scientists have built the thinnest-known LED that can be used as a source of light energy in electronics. The LED is based off of two-dimensional, flexible semiconductors, making it possible to stack or use in much smaller and more diverse applications than current technology allows.

“We are able to make the thinnest-possible LEDs, only three atoms thick yet mechanically strong. Such thin and foldable LEDs are critical for future portable and integrated electronic devices,” said Xiaodong Xu, a UW assistant professor in materials science and engineering and in physics.

Xu along with Jason Ross, a UW materials science and engineering graduate student, co-authored a paper about this technology.

Most consumer electronics use three-dimensional LEDs, but these are 10 to 20 times thicker than the LEDs being developed by the UW.

“These are 10,000 times smaller than the thickness of a human hair, yet the light they emit can be seen by standard measurement equipment,” Ross said. “This is a huge leap of miniaturization of technology, and because it’s a semiconductor, you can do almost everything with it that is possible with existing, three-dimensional silicon technologies,” Ross said.

The UW’s LED is made from flat sheets of the molecular semiconductor known as tungsten diselenide, a member of a group of two-dimensional materials that have been recently identified as the thinnest-known semiconductors. Researchers use regular adhesive tape to extract a single sheet of this material from thick, layered pieces in a method inspired by the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics awarded to the University of Manchester for isolating one-atom-thick flakes of carbon, called graphene, from a piece of graphite.

In addition to light-emitting applications, this technology could open doors for using light as interconnects to run nano-scale computer chips instead of standard devices that operate off the movement of electrons, or electricity. The latter process creates a lot of heat and wastes power, whereas sending light through a chip to achieve the same purpose would be highly efficient.

UW News and Information, Michelle Ma, March 10, 2014

For more information, contact Ross at [email protected] and Xu at [email protected].

Layers of the 2-D LED and how it emits light.

Scientists Build Thinnest-Possible LEDs to be Stronger, More Energy EfficientUW scientists have built the thinnest-known LED used as source of light energy in electronics

Issue N°2 2014

Council of Presidents | Spring 2014 6

More information is available on the college’s website at www.pharmacy.wsu.edu/prospectivestudents/

Applications will be accepted starting mid-summer for a Washington State University doctor of pharmacy degree program in Yakima offered by WSU and the Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences beginning in August 2015.

“This partnership reflects our strong commitment to aligning WSU educational programs with the most pressing needs of our state,” said WSU President Elson S. Floyd. “Increasing the number and skill sets of those providing health care in rural and underserved areas goes to our fundamental mission as Washington’s land-grant institution.”

The collaboration will allow WSU student pharmacists and PNWU

students of osteopathic medicine to learn to care for patients as a team.

“PNWU embraces an interdisciplinary learning model,” said PNWU President Keith Watson. “With the WSU College of Pharmacy on our campus,

future physicians will share learning space and work in teams with future pharmacists.”

“This advanced model of education prepares future physicians and pharmacists to work as a team providing primary care as efficiently and close to home as possible,” said Gary M. Pollack, dean of the college at WSU in Spokane. “This is a smart model for the future of health care. It supports the nation’s health care reform goals of better health and better health care that is delivered with lower costs.”

Pursuing a pharmacy education in Yakima is expected to particularly appeal to students interested in providing health care in rural and underserved areas after graduation, said Jennifer Robinson, director of student services at the college.

The Yakima community will benefit from the pharmacy

degree program because of the number of outreach activities – such as health screenings and health education – that student pharmacists will conduct in the community, she said.

WSU has had faculty and students in Yakima since the 1990s. WSU pharmacy faculty work as pharmacists at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital and supervise student pharmacists who obtain practice experience there.

Pharmacy continues to be an exceptional career choice: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently projected 14.5 percent employment growth for pharmacists by 2022, with the field adding 41,400 new jobs. Median salary for pharmacists is $116,670 per year.

WSU News, February 23, 2014

WSU to Offer Pharmacy Degree Program at PNWU in YakimaA collaboration to allow WSU student pharmacists and PNWU students of osteopathic medicine to learn to care for patients as a team

Issue N°2 2014

Council of Presidents | Spring 2014 7

Compass 2 Campus students and mentors celebrate the day with WWU Viking mascot. 

Western Washington University college students are working as mentors, tutors and role models for thousands of K-12 students in and around Bellingham. The goal: convince them that college should be part of their educational trajectory

In October 2013, nearly 900 10- and 11 -year-old students filed into the WWU Carver gym in the heart of the Bellingham campus.

In the next few years, the way they perceive themselves — as smart, average, college-bound or not — may change the trajectory of their educational careers.

Western’s goal: convince them that college should be part of their educational trajectory, first by reaching out to them with the fall field trip, and then by sending college students into their classrooms to mentor and tutor them all the way through middle school and high school.

Although much of the national conversation about college-going rates has been focused on high-poverty, inner-city schools, out in semirural and small-town Whatcom County, beyond Bellingham city limits, the number of high-school graduates who go to college also often lags the state average, which is low to begin with.

Fewer than one in four high-school graduates in the Sedro-Woolley and Meridian school districts, for example, go to four-year colleges. Just a little over half of all graduates in surrounding districts go to college at all.

Every quarter, about 400 Western students flood 29 elementary, middle and high schools in the Bellingham area in a program called Compass 2 Campus. Since it began five years ago, the program has reached into 350 classrooms, and an estimated 9,000 school kids.

The program is essentially a three-credit course for Western students, who spend the first three weeks learning instructional basics and how to work with preteens and teens from different cultural backgrounds.

The university won’t be able to measure the effectiveness of the program until its original group of fifth-graders, now in ninth grade, graduates from high school in three years.

Compass 2 Campus is making strides toward improving college attendance by creating a coherent, college-going culture that permeates entire schools.

As the mentors talk about how they came to be students at Western, they are also imparting a subtle lesson:

I’m a college student. I’m like you, just a few years older. Study hard, and you can go to college, too.

Excerpt from: Katherine Long, The Seattle Times, March 4, 2014

For more information: https://wce.wwu.edu/c2c/compass-2-campus

Mentors Have Message for Kids: Go to CollegeCompass 2 Campus is making strides toward improving college attendance

© Western Washington University

Issue N°2 2014

Council of Presidents | Spring 2014 8

Central Washington University is the first university in the United States to use a special web and mobile application to help military veterans connect to colleges to earn degrees.

Key components of the Veterans App (VAPP), developed by Edmonds-based Operation Military Family, are a lockbox for online storage of military service records and the ability of users to browse veterans’ service providers by major categories. The VAPP platform also provides a checklist of required steps needed to transition out of the military.

“VAPP will reduce the frustration of navigating complicated state and federal rules and services,” said John Swiney, associate vice president for Enrollment Management. “This puts crucial information at veterans’ fingertips,

and reduces time and travel costs for finding services, benefits, compensation, and training. It also gives service members real-time access to information and services in a designated area.”

CWU is also specifically highlighted on the first-of-its-kind VAPP Checklist pilot program, a web-only application, limited to active service members at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) as they transition

out of the Army. As a select sponsor of VAPP, CWU anticipates veteran recruitment and enrollment, both at Ellensburg and at CWU’s campuses statewide, will grow.

The Veterans App is available at www.vapp.com.

The link can also be found on CWU’s web site under Services, and on Admission’s and Veteran’s web pages under Related Links.

Swiney said CWU sought out VAPP to accommodate the dramatic increase in new veterans at Central—175 percent in just three years. He said the new app allows service members to personally connect to VA representatives.

“We want to do everything we can to make application to CWU as simple and stress-free as possible,” explained Swiney.

“More than 20,000 veterans from JBLM will be going through the Active Duty Transition Process in the next two years. And those who investigate education through the VAPP checklist process will always see CWU’s Preferred Sponsorship Logo linking to our VAPP Web page,” said Swiney, adding that VAPP is formatted for both Web and mobile devices.

CWU News, 2014

For more information: http://www.vapp.com/

CWU First University to Launch Mobile App for VeteransA lockbox for online storage of military service records

APP will reduce the frustration of navigat-ing complicated state and federal rules and services,” said John Swiney, associate vice president for Enrollment Management.

Issue N°2 2014

Council of Presidents | Spring 2014 9

2014 marked the passage of another round of efforts on the part of the public baccalaureates and community and technical colleges to identify areas where changes in state law could improve business practices, reduce or eliminate unnecessary or duplicative reporting requirements, and save valuable resources. HB 2613 includes the following items:

® Permissive authority to prorate paychecks for faculty on nine-month appointments.

® Permissive authority to change payroll fre-quency from semi-monthly to bi-weekly.

® Increase the pre-design project limit from $5 million to $10 million.

® Improved clarification and streamlined reports related to student financial aid and tuition setting authority.

This is the fourth efficiency bill to pass the Legislature since 2011; each passed with overwhelming, bi-partisan support and support from a myriad of higher education stakeholders. Prior legislation includes:

® HB 2259 (2012) – Eliminated a duplicative campus safety reporting requirement.

® HB 2585 (2012) – Granted flexibility in the areas of travel, procurement, and payroll.

® HB 1736 (2013) – Permits colleges and uni-versities to use or accept electronic signa-tures for any human resource, benefits, or payroll processes that require a signature. Also established a workgroup to streamline and improve building and vehicle state level reporting requirements.

We are very proud to work with an outstanding team from each of the public baccalaureates and the SBCTC to increase institutional efficiency and effectiveness and thank policymakers for their strong endorsement of our efforts during the past three years. We look forward to continuing our collaborative efficiency efforts in 2014 and beyond.

For more information, news, and reports about Washington’s six public baccalaureate institutions, and higher education, visit the Council of Presidents website at: www.councilofpresidents.org

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HB 2259 bill signing with former Governor Christine Gregoire Left to right: Chris Mulick, WSU; Steve DuPont, CWU; Jane Sherman,

WSU; Paul Francis, COP; Laurel le Noble, COP; Julie Garver, TESC;

Margaret Shepard, UW; Jane Wall, COP; Annie Manning, WSU;

Rep. Larry Seaquist; Sherry Burkey, WWU

Legislature Approves Joint Public Higher Education Efficiency Efforts