Administrative Snapshot: December 2005
Names of key participants appear in brackets at the end of most items.

>> NEW THIS MONTH

Enrollment management

Administrators are working to improve recruitment and retention at UWT by developing better data, working with recruitment targets and program goals and continuing to recruit and retain transfer students. Enrollment management will be developed as a function under the chancellor for the next three years, combined with strategic planning and institutional research. In addition, a number of faculty have been actively working during the summer to strengthen our community college transfer agreement, and the university will be hiring for a shared admissions/transfer position. [Patricia Spakes]

Administrative searches

Search committees have been appointed for three administrative positions. Shahrokh Saudagaran, dean of the Milgard School of Business, is chairing the committee searching for a vice chancellor for administrative services; Jan Rutledge, associate vice chancellor for finance and administration, is leading the committee searching for an assistant to the chancellor for equity and diversity; and Dan Garcia, Assistant Chancellor for Student Affairs, is head of the committee searching for a director of institutional planning and research. UWT administrators are working to develop clear decision-making processes, position titles, organizational structure and expectations regarding roles and responsibilities throughout campus administration. [Patricia Spakes]

Career Discovery Week will be held Jan. 23-27 on the UWT campus. The event, coordinated by the UW Alumni Association in partnership with academic advisers on all three UW campuses, is a career education and exploration event for UWT students and alumni. At UWT, we will offer a week of sessions on a variety of career topics, including alumni panels from IAS, Business and Social Work, presentations on the next level for Nursing and Education students, and insight about the job outlook for 2006. The event will culminate with the South Sound College Fair, an opportunity to explore graduate school options in the South Sound area. [Sue Dahlin, Judy Colburn]

Assembly Hall

Thomas Hacker Architects has been selected as the architect for the new Assembly Hall/Commons project, which is to be located on the site of the existing Dawg Shed. They are under contract with the UW Capital Projects Office. This Assembly Hall/Commons project will be funded by $7.5 million from the state Legislature and an additional $2.5 to 5 million in private donations to be raised by UWT. The combined multipurpose hall and student commons area will provide much-needed presentation and gathering spaces for UWT faculty, staff and students. Its 500-seat capacity and flexible format will provide a forum for a wide variety of academic functions, job fairs, lectures and banquets as well as collaborative meeting areas and informal gathering spaces. Two public forums on this project have been held to date, with a third scheduled for 12:45 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 15 in SCI 309. Students, Staff, and Faculty are highly encouraged to participate. [Milt Tremblay]

Three-campus marketing communications

Communications, marketing and admissions staff from Tacoma, Bothell and Seattle are meeting weekly to develop recommendations for improving how the university coordinates marketing communications messages across the three campuses. Tacoma participants on this group include Mike Wark, director of Public Relations and Communications, and Dan Garcia, assistant chancellor for Student Affairs. The focus is on ensuring consistent messages are given by each campus, as well as on finding ways the campuses can help each other reach enrollment goals. This group’s work is overseen by a leadership group that includes Patricia Spakes, UWT chancellor, Steve Olswang, UWB chancellor, a representative of the Provost’s office, the vice president for Student Affairs, the dean of Arts & Sciences, and the director of Admissions at UWS. Mike Wark chairs the council, which expects to conclude its work early in February. [Mike Wark]

Campus growth update

Mirai Transportation Planning & Engineering has been hired to look at the impact of closing Market Street on traffic patterns and ways to mitigate those effects. The group will also analyze the economic development impact on the downtown core on either side of the campus. Community leaders and representatives from the City of Tacoma were involved with selecting the consultant and will serve on a small steering committee. There will also be a larger advisory group composed of community, city, UW and UWT representatives. Letters of invitation have been mailed to potential committee members. [Steve Smith, Milt Tremblay]

Student health resources

Printed health information is now available on the first floor of the Mattress Factory building. A vending machine with selected over-the-counter medications for sale will be available within weeks, and a Web page with health resources in the region is ready to go live. Work has also begun to provide additional or improved insurance options and services for students in the future. Work will next begin on the possibility of providing a healthcare facility on the campus. [Sharon Fought]

Small-projects consultant selection

BCRA Architects of Tacoma have been selected as the architectural consultant to assist in the development and construction of a number of small projects on the UWT campus during the next two to three years. Many of these projects will focus on providing amenities that will help make UWT a complete four-year campus. Additional projects may include campus beautification, building improvement and preservation and safety projects. BCRA has assigned Terry Bills as the UWT contact. Terry has hit the ground running and is reviewing several options for accommodating campus growth. [Milt Tremblay]

First-year student data

Sharon Fought is working with Jane Decker and Mary McGuire from UW Bothell, along with staff from UW Seattle, to analyze data from incoming UWS freshmen who live off-campus and come from the region served by UWT. The group anticipates this information will help inform them about the type of student who might be interested in attending UWT as a freshman. The return rate is over 10%. The sample and the results will be available later this quarter. [Sharon Fought]

Housing/parking

Phase 1 of the Court 17 parking garage/apartment complex is about 85 percent complete and the 309-stall parking garage portion of this project is anticipated to be operational in early 2006. The 129-unit apartment complex, which will be privately managed, should be ready for occupancy by Fall of 2006. Court C will remain closed during construction. [Milt Tremblay]

• View a PDF of the 2003 campus master plan (CAUTION: Very large file)

Space inventory

Sharon Fought and Noreen Slease will meet with unit directors to verify specific office assignments for emerging office space needs, including new faculty and staff and those anticipated in Autumn 06. [Sharon Fought]

UWT data reports on SIS

Reports in the electronic fact book on the Student Information System (SIS), available for internal use, have recently been updated. New ‘graduates’ data and summary faculty workload data will be the next reports to be posted. FERPA training is required to use the database, and use is currently restricted to UWT staff and faculty advisers. Some of the information is confidential. More information is available on the DataPlus Web site. If you have questions about the SIS application, contact the Director of Information Technology at ppow@u.washington.edu. [Sharon Fought]