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Rep.
Phyllis Gutierriez Kenney, a prime sponsor of legislation
allowing UW Tacoma, UW Bothell and WSU Vancouver to
admit freshmen, applauds Gov. Christine Gregoire as
she signs House Bill 1794 May 4 in Carwein Auditorium.
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UWT
to admit freshmen, sophomores
A
brief but festive ceremony in Carwein Auditorium May 4 marked
the beginning of a significant period of change for UWT.
Gov.
Christine Gregoire chose the UW Tacoma campus as the place
to sign House Bill 1794, legislation that will allow UWT,
UW Bothell and WSU Vancouver to begin to develop into four-year
universities. In addition, the law enables WSU Tri-Cities
to offer select lower-division courses and a four-year degree
in bioengineering.
“I
am committed to addressing the needs of higher education in
our state,” Gregoire said at the signing ceremony. “We've
had a ‘no vacancy’ sign up at our colleges and universities
for too many students for too long. We must create more room
for students to get the education they need to compete in
our 21st-century economy. This bill, passed with strong bipartisan
support, will help us meet that need.”
In
March 2004, the House passed HB 2707, which required all of
the state's upper-division campuses to re-evaluate their plans
for the future in light of an expected college enrollment
boom within the next five years. UWT responded with a full
study of the campus' ability to enroll more students and proposed
plans to increase enrollment and admit a small number of freshmen
and sophomores starting in Fall 2006.
“As
UW Tacoma expands over the next decade, we’ll see a dramatic
expansion of seats available for transfer students, but at
the same time we’ll be growing a program for freshmen
and sophomores to meet an equally important need,” UWT
Chancellor Patricia Spakes said. “There is a huge population
in Pierce, Kitsap and South King counties, and these people
have not had access to a public, four-year degree program
in their region. Soon, that will change, and in the process,
we will better serve our transfer students.”
The
Legislature approved UWT's request and provided 100 new FTE
for Autumn 2005 and 225 FTE for Autumn 2006. Of those, 125
will be set aside for freshmen and sophomores.
A
steering committee is being formed to begin the planning process.
Working groups will focus on curriculum; facilities, budget
and administrative support services; and student services.
Social Work Professor Bob Jackson will lead the steering committee.
For more information about the steering committee and working
groups, visit the UWT
Future Web site.
Autism
Center funded by Legislature
Also
on May 4, Gov. Gregoire signed a bill creating the Caring
for Washington Individuals with Autism Task Force, which will
recommend ways to improve autism services, and celebrated
the funding of the UW Autism Center at UWT.
In
the final budget, the Legislature fully funded the Autism
Center. The center opened with one-time funding, so without
this addition to the operating budget, it would have been
closed.
"The
Autism Center staff is thrilled that we have received funding
for the next two years," Director Allison Brooks said.
"Now we can continue the work that we started on the
UW Tacoma campus."
The
Autism Center, a satellite of the UW Autism Center in Seattle,
opened on the UWT campus in November and has been serving
30 families, treating children with autism and providing training
for professionals in schools, physicians, psychologists and
speech therapists in dealing with the disorder.
Celebrate
UWT's best on May 25
Please
join us to honor the winners of staff, faculty, student and
community awards at the second annual Founders Day award presentation
at 4 p.m. Wednesday, May 25 in Carwein Auditorium.
On
this very special Founders Day, we will celebrate UWT's 15th
year serving the South Sound and recognize the staff, faculty
and student stars on our campus.
Read
more about the award winners:
A
multicultural rite of passage: Dr. Carlos Cortés speaks
at UWT
Dr.
Carlos Cortés, a nationally respected author and professor,
will present lectures, workshops and a one-man play about
growing up as a person of mixed ancestry at a special two-day
event May 16 and 17.
The
play, "A Conversation with Alana: One Boy's Multicultural
Rite of Passage," will begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 17
in the Washington State History Museum, across the street
from the UW Tacoma campus. A student discussion, community
leaders meeting and lecture on diversity and equity in schools
will precede the play. The UWT Education Program and the Center
for the Study of Education and Poverty are sponsoring Cortés'
visit to UWT as a welcome to UW Tacoma's new chancellor, Patricia
Spakes.
Cortés
will participate in the following free events:
Monday,
May 16
- Student
discussion, 12:45 p.m., student lounge (Mattress Factory
building). Co-sponsored by the Latino Student Organization.
This event is open to all UWT students.
- UWT
and community leaders meeting, 3 p.m., St. John Baptist
Church.
Tuesday,
May 17
- Class
presentation, 3 p.m., Cherry Parkes room 106. Cortés
will speak in UWT's Diversity and Equity in American Schools
course.
- "A
Conversation with Alana: One Boy's Rite of Multicultural
Passage," 7 p.m., Washington State History Museum auditorium.
The play tells the story of growing up in racially segregated
and religiously divided Kansas City. A book signing will
follow the performance.
Officials
break ground on housing/parking project
Tacoma
Mayor Bill Baarsma joined UWT Chancellor Patricia Spakes at
a groundbreaking ceremony for the new housing and parking
building on the north end of campus Wednesday, April 27.
The
building, called Court 17, is a public/private development
consisting of a three-story, 309-car parking garage to help
meet the parking needs of UWT students, faculty and staff,
and a five-story, 129-unit apartment building.
Construction
on the garage is expected to begin within a few weeks and
be completed in late 2005. The apartment complex is scheduled
to open in late 2006. Apartments will be available to the
public at market rate, but preference will be given to UWT
students, faculty and staff.
The
garage will be financed, owned and operated by the University;
the apartments will be financed, owned and operated by Lorig
Associates, a Seattle developer. The garage portion of the
project is funded with $3 million provided for Phase 2 of
campus construction, a $1 million low-interest loan from the
City of Tacoma and $3.1 million in bank financing.
UWT
faculty member on Emmy-winning production team
Assistant
Professor Bill Kunz (IAS), was part of an NBC production team
that won the Emmy for Outstanding Live Sports Turnaround last
week at the 26th annual Sports Emmys.
The
team was honored for their work on the Bravo channel during
the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Kunz worked in the International
Broadcast Center as a producer for Bravo's daytime broadcast.
This
is Kunz' fourth Emmy for sports broadcasting. He is a 20-year
veteran of Olympic telecasts.
A
recent UWT graduate, Jen Reed, applied for a job as an assistant
on the program and accompanied Kunz to Athens to learn more
about broadcasting.
The
full list of winners is on the Emmy
Web site.
Faculty
and Staff Notes
Alice
Dionne (Continuing Studies) has been accepted to
the Harvard School of Business summer institute Management
and Leadership Executive program. Dionne will be attending
the institute during the last two weeks of June with other
university administrators from across the nation.
Dr.
Jerry Finn has been hired as a professor in the Social
Work program.
Linda
Ishem has been hired as an assistant professor in
the Urban Studies program.
Dr.
April Boutillette Brinkman has been hired as a full-time
lecturer in the Urban Studies program.
Faculty
members Divya McMillin, Emmett Joseph
Sharkey, James Gawel, John
Banks, Beverly Naidus (IAS), Zoe
Barsness (Milgard School of Business) and Janice
Laakso (Social Work) have been promoted to associate
professor for the 2005 academic year.
Faculty
members Peter Horak (IAS) and Belinda
Louie (Education) have been promoted to full professor
for the 2005 academic year.
See
Administrative
Snapshot for more information on faculty hires and promotions.
Administrative
Snapshot: A look at issues and projects at UWT
If
you are working on something you think should be included
here, please contact Inside Track at uwtnews@u.washington.edu.
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