WSU Budget Requests

The Land Grant University for the 21st Century

WSU-Specific Packages:

#1. Salaries for Faculty, Staff and Grad Students

Washington State University strongly endorses an average salary increase of five percent each year for all its employees. Compensation must be set at a competitive level for higher education institutions to recruit and retain high-quality faculty, staff, and students. WSU trails all of its seven Global Challenge peers in salaries. For full professors, WSU is more than $6,000 per year behind the seventh-ranked school and nearly $34,000 per year behind the top-paying schools. For associate professors, WSU was more than $14,000 behind the peer average. For assistant professors, WSU trailed the peer average by $7,000 per year.

 #2. Core Computer Systems – Phase 1, Student systems $ 16.0 million

 $14 million one-time operating, $2 million permanent operating, $ 8 million capital

The $16 million total operating funding request outlined above plus $8 million in capital requests will provide Washington State University with an up-to-date core student system that will support registration, admission, financial aid, grades, learning systems, transcripts and bill payment for approximately 24,000 WSU students at all campuses. Current student systems are about 30 years old and not designed to provide the services of a world-class research university. In fact, the systems were near failure during the start of the 2006-2007 academic year. When the system went down, WSU was unable to communicate class assignments or process tuition payments

Washington State University requests growth in enrollment at all campuses in the next biennium to accommodate the same level of admissions that it has accepted in the last two academic years. WSU is requesting a total of approximately 1,500 undergraduate and graduate students at all campuses to sustain this level of new admissions. More than 500 of the total enrollments are at the Spokane, Tri-Cities and Vancouver campuses. In addition, this request will prepare 300 more students in high demand fields such as nursing, science, math, teaching and engineering to meet the needs of the Washington economy.

Funding is requested for creation of the new WSU School for Global Animal Health to provide practical, innovative solutions to infectious disease challenges through research, education, global outreach, and application of disease control at the animal-human interface. The funding will secure eight faculty positions, four of which will be key senior level, internationally recognized faculty, to launch the school in the areas of animal-human disease transmission, vaccine development, disease surveillance and global animal health policy. The School of Global Animal Health will advance science, people, and policy to discover novel approaches for disease intervention and delivery of preventive health care for animals and humans.

This request improves campus safety at Washington State University with additional police officers, police training and equipment, inter-local police and fire agreements, the installation of public address systems within buildings, and the acquisition of electronic locking devices for major buildings. The funding will provide permanent funding to further develop emergency practices, plans, and programs statewide.  About $1.8 million of the request is one-time funding.

This proposal adds vital scientific capacity to Washington State University’s ability to respond to unprecedented challenges in agriculture at this critical time. Energy costs are impacting the ability of farmers to produce their crops and transport them to market.

Disease and pest threats such as honey bee colony collapse disorder, sudden oak death, grape leaf roller virus, etc. are just some of the new devastating threats to growing crops. Food-borne illness events such as the recent recall of tomatoes and beef products have raised new human health concerns about the safety of our food supply. This package increases funding for the Washington State Pesticide Commission and it also bolsters WSU programs at numerous locations around the state including the university’s research and extension centers in Mount Vernon, Puyallup, Wenatchee, Prosser, and Pullman.

$1.6 million is requested by Washington State University to restore the funding for graduate programs that was cut in the 2007-09 biennial budgets. This will provide expansion from current levels for graduate student appointments. Most or all of the funding will be used for graduate student research assistants or teaching assistants in WSU’s focused areas of investment: including Global Animal Health, Clean Technologies, Plant Biosciences, and Agriculture. With this funding, WSU will recruit 30 new Ph.D. students per year.  This investment positions WSU to grow the size and quality of its graduate programs as it meets the challenges of producing the talent necessary to drive the economy expected in a globally competitive environment.

This request funds a research, instruction and public outreach program which partners with local government and businesses. It accelerates energy efficient building practices for this state’s homes and businesses. It consolidates both new and existing faculty and staff from many disciplines, supported by several funding sources, into a unified WSU effort.

Hundreds of building professionals will receive continuing education programs in building efficiency from WSU and WSU students in professional programs such as engineering and architecture will now graduate with more expertise in energy efficiency for buildings.

A $2 million state biennial operating package for new research and master’s degree graduates in health informatics at Spokane is requested by Washington State University and the Inland Northwest Health Services (INHS), a private non-profit organization. Health Informatics is the use of information technology in health care such as telemedicine and electronic medical record (EMR) systems. This research and technology is used to improve clinical care, safety, quality and cost. The request is for a director, three research faculty and support including four graduate research assistants.

WSU and the Washington State Commission on Hispanic Affairs propose creation of a professional and academic center headed by two faculty members that study policy issues related to Latinos/as and Native Americans. This would be the first such research center established in the Northwest. Given the increasing demographics of these populations and the challenges that continue to grow year by year, research unique to the Northwest is needed. The request funds two faculty positions to lead a coordinated research effort to study social, political, immigration, economic, labor, health, and educational issues that continue to impact Latino/as and Indigenous peoples across the state and region.

A WSU research and clinical center is requested for Southwest Washington in partnership with Education Services District 112 and healthcare professionals to identify autistic students in public schools and to provide critical intervention services for both the children and their families. The center will review and set up school-based programs to determine the efficacy of interventions in a real-world setting. It will provide research, consulting, diagnostic, and follow-up services to support autism spectrum students.

A $1 million biennial budget 2009-2011 decision package is requested by Washington State University to sustain a proven seven-county volunteer citizen model for Puget Sound water quality restoration and environmental monitoring. Without permanent state funding, the existing program will be in jeopardy. Counties currently served are: Island, Clallam, Jefferson, Skagit, Snohomish, San Juan, Whatcom.

Funding is requested for four exempt staff scientists to convert the Applied Science Laboratory in Spokane into a contract research organization (CRO). The proposed model would be far more nimble than conventional university organizations in implementing partnerships between the university and private businesses. This model would be a pilot at WSU Spokane that could be spread to other disciplines at other WSU campuses in future years.