TCAC August 1999 Report
Response to Report

Letter from UWB Chancellor, Warren Buck, to Provost Lee Huntsman

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON, BOTHELL

September 21, 1999

Provost Lee L. Huntsman
Office of the Provost
Box 351237

Dear Lee,

I have carefully reviewed the report of the Tri-Campus Advisory Committee and have discussed it with Stan Slater. I find the report to be very thoughtful and thorough, and to provide many useful suggestions for how the Three Campus University of Washington System might function most effectively. Instead of summarizing this report, I would like to highlight a few items that I think are particularly worthy of note or that should receive immediate attention.

First, I strongly agree that the quality, dedication, and enthusiasm of the faculty shape the quality of student experiences. It would not be productive to focus on student-related issues absent consideration of faculty issues. If each campus has high quality, motivated faculty whose aspirations complement their respective campus missions, high quality student experiences are almost assured. Thus, we must create an environment in which all faculty members have the opportunity to flourish. For faculty members at UWB, this means finding a way to balance the traditional faculty roles of teacher, scholar, and provider of service to the program, the campus, the university, and the profession with the unique challenge of building institutions that could quintuple in size by 2010.

Second, I support the following recommendations:

Key faculty members should be hired a year before a new program or a new option within an existing program is initiated. These faculty lines and the associated funds should not be tied immediately to new enrollments.
The funding metrics for UWB should be reviewed and refined as appropriate. The current metrics are based largely on the cost studies from UW-Seattle and WSU-Pullman. The environments on these campuses are substantially distinct from those on the UWB campus. For example, UWB is in a rapid growth mode, does not have lower-division students that generate economies of scope, has lesser opportunities for economies of scale due to its smaller size, and has a much larger proportion of part-time students. Each of these factors make education at UWB a more costly proposition than at UWS.
Additional three campus collaborations should be funded through the Provost's Office. A relatively small pool of funds could be used to facilitate the sharing of personnel among the three campuses. These funds might be used primarily to fund the differential between a UWS faculty member's salary and UWB's budgeted amount for that activity. The TCAC report provides other examples of how these funds could be productively used.

Lee, the Three Campus University of Washington System is off to a great start and I am delighted to be a part of it. UWB is already successful and will only play a more important role in the System and in the Puget Sound region in the years to come. Our challenge as leaders is to ensure that the Three Campus System fulfills its potential. I believe that, individually and in total, the recommendations of the TCAC are both far-sighted and relatively modest. I look to you and Dick's leadership to see them realized and to continue working with you and Dick to manifest a stronger and healthier Three Campus System.

Best Wishes,

Warren W. Buck, Ph.D.
Chancellor and Dean

TCAC August 1999 Report Index Index of Responses

TCAC August 1999 Report Response to Report

Letter from UWB Chancellor, Warren Buck, to Provost Lee Huntsman

TCAC August 1999 Report
Response to Report