WSU continues to stay ahead of schedule for balancing its budget
From Pullman Radio News 1/21/2019
Washington State University is once again ahead of schedule for balancing
its budget. WSU is in the 2nd year of a
three-year plan to solve what was an annual 30 million dollar budget shortfall.
President Kirk Schulz has announced that if current mid-year projections
hold, the 2019 fiscal year deficit will end up under 4 million dollars. Schulz now expects next year’s budget to have
a surplus. That would get WSU back in
the black for the first time in 5 years.
The three-year plan calls for the university to cut its annual budget
deficit by 10 million dollars annually.
Last year WSU drastically exceeded targets by reducing the budget
shortfall by 22 million dollars.
………….
WSU closing in on its operating budget goal
January
30, 2019 from WSU News
If
current financial projections hold, WSU’s operating budget could be back in the
black by next year.
WSU President
Kirk Schulz, in his latest monthly letter to faculty and staff, announced
that the university appears to again be ahead of schedule in its three‑year
push to erase what had been a $30 million annual operating deficit.
“I
am pleased to report that if mid‑year projections hold, we expect to finish the
current fiscal year at the end of June with something less than
$4 million in deficit spending,” Schulz wrote. “Looking ahead,
we anticipate that revenues should exceed expenses in the next fiscal year (FY 2020) — for
the first time in five years.”
A
series of strategic investments in previous years that included expanded
classroom space, the new medical college, development of WSU Everett,
construction of new athletic facilities and other priorities had required WSU
to begin drawing down its central reserves to help cover the annual cost of
operating the university system.
The Fiscal
Health Initiative was launched in 2017 as part of a budget‑balancing
plan approved by the Board of Regents. The goal is to reduce the annual
operating deficit by $10 million per year over three years, then
focus on replenishing central reserves, which had fallen from about
$200 million in fiscal year 2013 to just under $100 million four years
later.
The
first‑year reductions significantly exceeded expectations,
trimming the operating deficit by $22 million.
That
momentum appears to be holding in the second year as well.
“This
outstanding result has been achieved because most of the campuses, colleges,
and administrative units have continued to reduce spending,” Schulz
wrote. “I appreciate the efforts of leadership, faculty, staff, and
students who are all working together to restore our fiscal health and build
financial reserves.”
Regular updates from
the university’s major units will be available in the coming weeks on the Fiscal
Health website.
:::::::::::::::::
From the desk of Kirk Schulz, WSU President
January 2019
Dear Faculty and Staff:
Greetings as we approach completion of the fourth week of
spring semester. I trust that you enjoyed some downtime during the holiday
period and that the semester is off to a good start. Noel and I returned from
the break feeling refreshed and excited about the spring after some family
travels.
I have been reading an excellent book about institutions
such as ours in recent weeks. Land Grant Universities for the Future—Higher
Education for the Public Good by Stephen M. Gavazzi and E. Gordon Gee examines
how land‑grant
universities have both thrived and struggled in recent decades.
As I have reflected on the authors’ conclusions, it has
challenged me to think about how we can expand WSU’s mission to meet the future
needs of the state of Washington. It’s a question we might all consider.
If you are interested in reading the book—and I encourage
you to do so—please contact me directly. I will also share additional insights
from my own reading in upcoming campus letters.
Spring semester will see continued efforts across the WSU
system to advance initiatives that simultaneously strengthen the foundation of
the University and enhance our ability to transform lives and contribute to the
public good.
Below are brief updates about three of these important
initiatives: fiscal health, long‑term
planning, and advocacy for the University in Olympia during the legislative
session. Please don’t
hesitate to reach out to me directly if you have questions, comments, or
concerns about these efforts.
Advancing our fiscal health
We continue to make much progress in restoring our
institutional fiscal health. As I wrote to you previously, our ongoing goal is
to reduce spending by $10 million per year in order to eliminate a structural
deficit that had reached $30 million annually.
This last fiscal year, we significantly exceeded our target
by reducing the overall deficit from $30 million to less than $9 million. I am
pleased to report that if mid‑year projections hold,
we expect to finish the current fiscal year at the end of June with something
less than $4 million in deficit spending.
Looking ahead, we anticipate that revenues should exceed
expenses in the next fiscal year (FY 2020)—for the first time in 5 years.
This outstanding result has been achieved because most of
the campuses, colleges, and administrative units have continued to reduce
spending. I appreciate the efforts of leadership, faculty, staff, and students
who are all working together to restore our fiscal health and build financial
reserves.
In the coming weeks, look for fiscal health updates from
major units across the WSU system on our Fiscal Health website. The site will
continue to provide updates going forward.
Launching the long‑term
system‑wide planning
process
As I interact with faculty, staff, and students at all 6 of
our campuses, I am often reminded that Washington State University is truly
Washington’s state university.
I have also come to appreciate during the past few years
that each campus is unique and seen as a linchpin of economic growth and upward
mobility for the community in which it resides. While all of our faculty,
staff, and students are bound together as members of the Cougar
family—regardless of location—it is important that we continue to look for ways
to be more efficient as a university system while maintaining the individuality
and uniqueness of our campuses.
Thus, as we embark on a new University strategic planning
effort, we must embrace the distinctiveness of each campus and recognize that
we are a complex system of diverse geographic locations. As a Cougar family, we
will formulate our first‑ever WSU system strategic plan.
We will also need to create a distinct plan for the Pullman campus as well as
for each of our other campuses.
WSU Vancouver and WSU Everett recently completed new
strategic plans. Planning efforts are underway to create plans at WSU Tri‑Cities,
WSU Spokane, and the Global Campus.
We must link our next set of strategic plans with our budget
and spending. At virtually any university, you can track priorities by
examining the places the institution continues to invest discretionary monies
that are either new or non‑designated funds. As we
develop our new strategic plans, it is my goal that the way we budget and the
way we plan our future are done in concert, and that the process involves
significant engagement with faculty, staff, and students.
Our strategic plan website is a good way to track the
planning process. The site, which is in the process of being updated, will
provide regular updates and information about how you can contribute to the
effort.
Advocacy in Olympia
With the beginning of the 2019 legislative session in
Olympia earlier this month, many members of the University community will visit
with elected officials over the course of the session. We are fortunate to have
one of the most talented government relations teams in the state, whose members
work year‑round to advance University legislative and
funding priorities.
Each year WSU brings a concise list of priorities to the
capitol for consideration by Governor Inslee and the legislature. As reported
previously, our top priorities this session include base funding for the Elson
S. Floyd College of Medicine to pay for 60 medical students (years 3 and 4) and
a planned increase in the size of the starting class from 60 to 80 students
beginning fall 2019.
Additionally, in cooperation with the University of
Washington, we are advocating for a 4% salary increase for faculty and staff in
each year of the biennium.
You may read or hear news and information from various
sources about the state budget, our legislative priorities, and new legislation
impacting public higher education. If you have concerns or would like more
information, please feel free to reach out to Colleen Kerr, vice president for
government relations and external affairs, at any time.
You can find regular updates about progress on WSU’s
priorities and other issues of interest to public higher education on our
government relations website and in WSU Insider.
I appreciate all that you do each day as we continue our
Drive to 25. Again, feel free to reach out to me with your questions or
concerns. Good luck as the semester progresses.
Go Cougs!
Kirk
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WSU MEN’S BASKETBALL: Stars a bit too bright
Cougars can’t stay in reach of tall, talented UCLA club,
sustain 87-67 loss
By COLTON CLARK of the Lewiston Tribune Jan 31, 2019
PULLMAN — Before an unsatisfactory start to the season left
former UCLA coach Steve Alford jobless in December, he had often outlined
“selfishness” as a hitch in the Bruins’ off-kilter exhibit of basketball.
The dishes weren’t there; the solo dribbling was. And
utilizing each of their four- and five-star prospects was uncommon — one or two
guys wanted hasty shots and the spotlight.
However, when up against undersized and underskilled
Washington State on Wednesday night, UCLA paraded out the cohesion Alford so
desired. Although they did take (and make) plenty of turn-and-gun 3s, the
Bruins also managed countless runs through a shared effort of drives and
drop-offs in the paint and put five in double figures.
Those were the prevailing factors in UCLA’s 87-67
dismantling of the Cougars at Beasley Coliseum before an announced 2,497 fans.
“They were beating us
from the perimeter in, not from inside out,” said WSU coach Ernie Kent, whose
team has lost 10 of its last 11. “I thought we did a good job of sitting on
those bigs early on in the game, but the perimeter game is really what broke us
down.”
Inside maneuvers from the Bruins (12-9 overall, 5-3 Pac-12)
— who happen to be the second-lengthiest team in the NCAA behind Syracuse,
according to Kent — fell on blind Coug eyes. Former five-star recruit Kris
Wilkes and Prince Ali, in particular, penetrated with patience, won one-on-one
battles and kept finishing. They each netted 16 points.
If that wasn’t the case, they’d kick it back toward the arc,
or elsewhere in the paint, where points were acquired more often than not. UCLA
shot just under 60 percent overall, and during an eight-minute span in the meat
of the second half, the Bruins assembled cleanly a 25-8 run to take charge of
what was once a tight game.
In that same stretch, WSU (8-13, 1-7) coughed it up six
times — it had 11 total giveaways to 13 assists.
“I thought we started out great and (in the) second half I
thought we started out focused,” Kent said. “But we were fatigued mentally. We
really struggled to comprehend at times the defensive rotations. … They
certainly made us pay and a lot of it had to do with their length.”
The Bruins boasted three starters who towered over Wazzu’s
tallest. Among them was 7-1 center Moses Brown, a five-star freshman who had 16
points and a game-high seven rebounds. His presence alone was generally enough
to clear some traffic for UCLA, which outboarded WSU by 13 and racked up 40
points from down low.
“There’s obviously a lot of length down there and you just
gotta try your best to keep them off the boards,” Coug forward Jeff Pollard
said. “That’s something that we really should’ve locked in on — keeping them
off the glass.”
Kent admitted the early game plan was to “mix up defenses,”
but the Cougars were never in enough rhythm to do so. Hence, the Bruins
gradually made use of backdoor cuts and steady paint infiltration to pick apart
WSU’s man defense, which Kent said worked better than he expected for a longer
period of time.
In fact, it helped Wazzu own the edge for the majority of
the first half, when it was firing efficiently and answering UCLA makes. A
great deal of the Cougars’ success came from midrange jumpers or treys, a
strategy Robert Franks employed, but said wasn’t part of the blueprint.
“We were forced to
take the long shots,” he said. “The game plan was to get it in the middle of
their zone. … End of the shot clock or when offense was stagnant, we were
forced to throw up a long 3.”
Franks, WSU’s catalyst, buried two 3-pointers in the final
minute of the first half and went into the break with 15 — he ended the night
with a game-high 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting.
Those two Franks triples were in response to an abundance of
Bruins buckets. UCLA hit seven first-half 3s to take a seven-point advantage at
intermission, and WSU implemented a fresh scheme — aside from rotating defenses
to beat UCLA’s size.
“Just trying to run them off the 3-point line,” Franks said
of UCLA’s deep game, which came in as the league’s ninth-ranked. “Give ’em no
open looks and try to make them beat us midrange or inside.”
The Bruins logged only two second-half 3s, but that’s when
inside invasions began to occupy the scoring and generate WSU defensive mental
breakdowns.
“Our margin for error was very small,” Kent said.
WSU freshman forward CJ Elleby, who mostly handled point
guard duties due to the Bruins’ magnitude, chipped in 15 points and tied a
game-best with eight assists, but he was responsible for four turnovers.
UCLA (12-9)
Hill 1-2 1-2 3, Brown 6-7 4-7 16, Hands 4-5 0-0 10, P.Ali
5-8 4-4 16, Wilkes 7-13 0-1 16, Riley 2-4 6-6 10, Olesinski 1-1 1-2 4, Nwuba
0-0 0-0 0, Singleton 2-3 0-0 6, Smith 0-4 0-0 0, Bernard 2-4 2-2 6. Totals
30-51 18-24 87.
WASHINGTON ST. (8-13)
Franks 8-14 2-2 21, Elleby 6-16 1-2 15, Pollard 1-1 2-4 4,
Daniels 2-7 0-0 6, A.Ali 2-6 0-0 5, Wade 0-1 0-0 0, Cooper 0-0 0-0 0, Kunc 2-3
0-0 6, Cannon 1-2 0-0 2, Robinson 2-3 1-2 6, Skaggs 1-4 0-0 2. Totals 25-57
6-10 67.
Halftime_UCLA 44-37. 3-Point Goals_UCLA 9-19 (Singleton 2-3,
Hands 2-3, P.Ali 2-4, Wilkes 2-6, Olesinski 1-1, Riley 0-1, Bernard 0-1),
Washington St. 11-31 (Franks 3-7, Kunc 2-3, Elleby 2-4, Daniels 2-7, Robinson
1-2, A.Ali 1-4, Cannon 0-1, Skaggs 0-3). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_UCLA 34
(Brown 7), Washington St. 20 (Franks, Wade 5). Assists_UCLA 15 (Hands 8),
Washington St. 13 (Elleby 8). Total Fouls_UCLA 10, Washington St. 18. A_2,497
(11,671).
…………
UCLA at WSU men’s basketball game 1/30/2019 notes from WSU
Sports Info
Senior Robert Franks led WSU with a game-high 21 points…he
had 15 of his points in the first half.
Franks has reached the 20-point plateau 11 times in 16 games
this season…he’s scored in double figures in 15 of his 16 games.
Freshman CJ Elleby finished with 15 points…he had 10 of his
points in the second half.
Elleby has reached double figure scoring 18 of WSU’s 20
games this season and the last six games.
Elleby tied his career-high with 8 assists…he also had 8 assists
in his Cougar debut, Nov. 11 against Nicholls…he had 8 of WSU’s 13 assists.
For the second-straight game, WSU shot 50% or better in the
first half (14-for-28).
WSU hosts USC Saturday, Feb. 2 at 4 p.m. at Beasley
Coliseum.
::::::::
Below is some of what Vince Grippi of the Spokane
Spokesman-Review posted related to WSU men’s basketball
Grip on Sports: UCLA, BYU bring back memories for local
college basketball fans
Thu., Jan. 31, 2019, 9:13 a.m.
By Vince Grippi Spokane S-R
A GRIP ON SPORTS • Memories are where the present collides
with the past. So this morning we are going to invoke some memories of college
basketball games past and how they relate to the present. Read on.
• We start in Pullman, where Washington State was shot down
by UCLA last night, just another in a series of tough losses for this season’s
Cougar team. But it hasn’t always been that way – just like Washington hasn’t
always been 8-0 in conference play.
Some of us can remember when Beasley Coliseum was packed for
the Bruins (it wasn’t last night), like that early March day in 1983, when
Brian Pollard found a way to tip-in Chris Winkler miss at the buzzer – or just
after – for a 70-68 win. It was all part of a 26-6, NCAA-Tournament season for
the Cougars. And it was George Raveling’s final home game as WSU coach.
Or there was that other March evening in 2011, when
Washington State was battling for another NCAA berth – the Cougars would come
up short – and hosted the Bruins on Friel Court.
The Cougars’ star, Klay Thompson, wasn’t available, suspended
for a run-in with authorities that only a few years later wouldn’t even be
illegal. Without the future Warriors’ standout, WSU fought the Bruins to the
wire, leading much of the night only to see Ben Howland’s team rally to tie and
then win in overtime.
The next time Thompson was on the court, he scored 43 points
against Washington in a two-point loss at the Pac-10 tournament.
Last night wasn’t anything like those other two UCLA/WSU
games, not in intensity or importance of outcome. This Cougar team isn’t
playing for a postseason berth. It’s playing for pride. It’s playing for
improvement. And, more than likely, it’s playing for Ernie Kent’s future.
•••
WSU: The Cougars jumped out a 5-0 lead last night, which
means from there to the final buzzer UCLA outscored them by 25 in the Bruins’
87-67 victory.
::::
Link to Coug Center story …
Lots of recruiting movement as Signing Day approaches
Less that a week to go to signing day. Let’s catch you up.
:::::::::::::
Subject: WSU men’s basketball Game Notes vs. USC: Feb. 2,
2019
From WSU Sports Info
QUICK HITS
• NATIONAL RANKINGS:
• Scoring:
Robert Franks, 25th (21.2); CJ Elleby, 208th (16.0 ppg).
•
Double-Doubles: Robert Franks, 110th (5); CJ Elleby 209th (3).
• Rebounding:
Robert Franks, 152nd (7.4); CJ Elleby 247th (6.7).
• Free Throw
Pct: Marvin Cannon, 16th (.899).
• Assist/TO
Ratio: Viont’e Daniels, 21st (3.06)
• Assists:
Team, 90th (14.7 apg).
• Scoring:
Team, 89th (77.0 ppg).
• 3-Ptrs Per
Game: Team, 55th (9.2 3fgpg).
• APPROACHING RECORD BOOKS:
• With 22
points against San Diego, Dec. 22, Robert Franks became the 37th Cougar to
reach the 1,000-point plateau...he now has 1,084 career points and ranks 25th.
• With 61
career blocks, Franks ranks 18th in WSU’s career record books...one more (62)
will put him in a tie for 17th.
• With 131
3-pointers, Viont’e Daniels ranks 14th on WSU’s career list and needs just one
to move into a tie for 13th.
WSU LOOKS TO SNAP STREAK AGAINST USC SATURDAY: Washington
State men’s basketball (8-13, 1-7) looks to snap its four-game losing streak as
it hosts USC (12-9, 5-3), Saturday, Feb. 2 at 4 p.m. at Beasley Coliseum.
• The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Network as Daron
Sutton (play-by-play) and Dan Dickau (analyst) have the call.
• All season long, Cougar basketball can be heard on the
Cougar IMG Sports Radio Network with the Voice of the Cougars, Matt Chazanow on
the call.
• Please see page one of today’s notes for the list of
affiliates.
• Live stats are also available at www.wsucougars.com.
COUGARS VERSUS
TROJANS:
• Washington State and USC are meeting for the 123rd time in
the two schools’ histories, as the Trojans hold a 74-48 advantage in the
all-time series.
• The Cougars lead the series at home, 31-26, including a
1-1 mark at Spokane.
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