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In the News
2.9.2010 Federal Appropriation will Allow EWU Institute to Reach Rural Communities
2.2.2010Get Lit! Headliners Announced
2.2.2010EWU Police Target Students in Safety Campaign
2.2.2010Love is in the Air in February at EWU
1.26.2010EWU President Reveals College Consolidation Plan
1.12.2010Eastern Students Design New Logo, Website for Department of Corrections
1.5.2010Eastern Notifying Students and Alumni after Computer Security Breach
12.22.2009Snow Reminder
Announcements
Donation Launches Campaign for Red Turf at Woodward
 Former Eastern Washington University football standout Michael Roos of the Tennessee Titans has pledged $500,000 toward the university's "Red Turf" project at EWU's Woodward Field.
The project is slated to take on a very unique twist with the installation of the red synthetic playing surface. The red artificial field will be the first of its kind, not just in NCAA Division I football, but in the entire country.
Eastern Athletic Director Bill Chaves, who is working with associate athletic director for development Marc Hughes on the project, said EWU needs to secure additional funding through private contributions before actual replacement can be started. It is hoped that the project can be funded and completed in time for the 2010 season.
"There is no doubt that one of Boise State's claim to fame has been their blue turf and like it or dislike it, it has certainly brought them a tremendous amount of notoriety," said Chaves. "In a similar vein we have a tremendous opportunity at Eastern to do the same by differentiating ourselves with the red turf while providing a superior playing surface."
The project was jump-started with a generous initial gift from Roos and his wife Katherine, who are both graduates of Eastern. Roos graduated in 2005 with a double major in Finance and Economics, and Katherine graduated in 2004 with a degree in Urban and Regional Planning. They now reside in Nashville, Tenn., where Roos earned All-Pro honors for the Titans in 2008. He has started all 80 regular season games as a Titan, plus two playoff games, 21 pre-season games and the 2009 Pro Bowl.
"We cannot thank Michael and Katherine enough for their generous gift," said Chaves. "As former student-athletes, their leadership takes the thought of 'learning, earning and returning' to an entirely new level. Our hope is that this will inspire others to join Michael and Katherine in helping complete this project. We are sincerely grateful."
EWU President Rodolfo Arévalo echoed comments made by Chaves in appreciation of the gift. "In this most challenging of budget environments it is difficult to allocate funding to areas outside the classroom, which makes external support of this magnitude so critical," said Arévalo. "Michael and Katherine are to be commended for their philanthropic efforts with Eastern and their community through their foundation, the Michael Roos Foundation."
"I am grateful for my time at EWU," Roos said. "Not only did I meet my wife during my time at the university, but Eastern's leadership, coaches and football program paved the way for my professional success in football. It is exciting to be able to give back."
Eastern head football coach Beau Baldwin sees several significant advantages thanks to this investment. "First of all, the generosity and loyalty Michael Roos has shown to our football program at EWU are unparalleled," Baldwin said. "Top to bottom, the players and coaches -- everyone associated with our program -- knows it's a sizable and generous gift, and can't be more excited about the opportunity to play and practice on the new surface.
"It's huge for recruiting because potential student-athletes can see the progress we are making and the positive direction of our program," he continued. "With all the different events that can take place at Woodward Field and a stronger game-day experience, it's bound to bring more exposure to our program. We already feel proud about the great things we are doing, but hopefully this project will help us be even bigger and better."
Besides the obvious advantages of synthetic turf in inclement weather, Baldwin's team typically has additional practice issues late in the season in dealing with darkness and class schedules. With artificial turf, the Eagles can practice on their game field under the lights at their convenience with minimal field condition worries.
"When all is said and done, the most important aspects of this Red Turf project are the ways it benefits student-athletes at EWU," he added. "It gives us a surface that's better to play on, and it's extremely important for us to be able to practice on our game field more often."
Built in 1967, the stadium has had a grass field since its inception. Modern artificial turf provides a safe, fast, low-maintenance surface for football, and is particularly desirous in regions with inclement weather. Eastern will be the sixth of nine universities in the Big Sky Conference to convert to artificial turf. The turf installation will also benefit EWU and the environment through a savings of approximately 300,000 gallons of water per year.
To pledge a donation to the campaign for the See Red/2010 Stadium Project, which will bring red turf to Woodward Field, go to: https://co.clickandpledge.com/advanced/default.aspx?wid=32036&Trk=wgme020210 Desk Replacement Guided By Student Feedback
 It is said that they who are comfortable can concentrate on trivial things, but in reality, it's hard to concentrate on anything when you are uncomfortable -- especially your professor's lecture.
Thus, the removal of 1,086 tablet armchairs, 700 chairs, 60 lab stools and 90 tables from EWU classrooms, all replaced with newer versions whose designs were decided upon by the students, themselves.
A project that began last year with a well-received student survey which had students rate their favorite out of four models of tablet armchair classroom desks, culminated this fall in a massive out with the old and in with the new turnover of classroom furniture on campus.
EWU's director of facilities services, Karen Wichman, explained that the Classroom Inventory Project subcommittee, which includes staff from Construction and Planning, Registrar's Office, Facilities Services and Information Technology, led the replacement effort. The subcommittee determined that many of the university's classroom tablet armchair desks were old, falling apart and not suitable for students, Wichman explained.
The subcommittee decided it was best to round up some replacement options and let the students pick which option they liked best.
"We wanted to get something the students wanted to use," Wichman said. "We ended up getting really positive results."
The tablet armchair desk selected was voted for on over 50 percent of the student surveys.
Wichman said the survey itself ended up giving credence to the subcommittee's decision to move forward on replacing the desks. She said a student contacted her that knew about the survey, telling her that the uncomfortable desks were a common complaint.
"She had been involved in getting feedback about EWU from students and when the students were asked what they hated about EWU, they replied, 'The desks.'" Wichman said.
Most of the desks that were replaced in Martin and Williamson Halls classrooms had been in place since the opening of those buildings and weren't even replaced during the remodeling phases of those buildings.
"They still had EWSC tagged on the bottom," Wichman said.
After deciding upon the new classroom furniture style, the university ordered the favored units for installation this academic year. During the summer, six semi-trucks arrived on campus carrying the new desks. The desks were stored in the Reid School gymnasium before they were distributed to classrooms, with the boxes containing the desks almost completely filled the gym from floor to ceiling.
The Transportation and Surplus Property departments teamed up and removed the old desks and chairs for surplus, and replaced them with the new units. They completed the effort before the start of the new school year.
In addition to providing the students with a more comfortable and ergonomic desk and chair, the replacement project also improved classroom space utilization, occupancy and allows for standard templates for classroom furniture organization.
Wichman said that this year's project was not the end of the effort.
"We couldn't do everything this time," she explained.
"Hopefully, we'll get more money, because we have a lot of fixed-seating in classrooms that needs to be replaced."
The first phase of the classroom furniture replacement project cost about a half million dollars in capital funds, Wichman said. An obstacle to finding money to replace more of the old classroom furniture may be the governor forcing universities to shift capital funds into their operating budgets, which looks like a likelihood for the rest of the biennium. Film Festival Features EWU Student's Film
The Spokane International Film Festival brings the best of world cinema's narratives, documentaries, and short films to those who call the Inland Northwest home.
The films at SpIFF 2010 represent over 20 nations, have won dozens of awards, and include submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The opening night feature, Soundtrack for a Revolution, is on the shortlist of 15 contenders for Best Documentary.
Other premieres at SpIFF 2010 include the World Premiere of Pups, a documentary about football players at Gonzaga Prep, the U.S. premiere of Encirclement, and the Pacific Northwest premieres of La Danse: The Paris Opera Ballet, Ajami, and Musica en Espera.
SpIFF 2010 also features the work of local and regional filmmakers.
New to SpIFF 2010 are Filmmaker Forums, where you can learn about the experience of filmmaking from visiting filmmakers. Hear their stories of how they became filmmakers, how their projects went from "Action!" to "That's a wrap," and how a film gets from them the filmmaker to you the audience. From basic questions about what it takes to get a film made to specific questions about their work at SpIFF, the filmmaker forum asks you to engage our visitors in discussing film.
SpIFF launches on Jan. 28, at 7 p.m. with The Mouse that Soared, Soundtrack for a Revolution, and the opening party at AMC River Park Square. Committee looking For Trustees' Medal Nominations
The Medals and Awards Committee is seeking nominations for the 2010 Trustees' Medal. The Trustees' Medal, the university's highest form of recognition for faculty achievement, has been in existence since 1978. The award consists of a bronze medallion and $1,500. The award will be presented during Commencement on June 11, 2010.
Recipients of the award for the past six years are:
Dr. Sarah Keller-2009 Dr. Margaret O'Connell-2006
Dr. Barbara Brock-2008 Dr. Ray Hamel-2005
Dr. Gail Hicks-2007 Dr. David Cornelius-2004
The Trustees' Medal is given to recognize the outstanding accomplishments of Eastern Washington University faculty in one or more of the following areas:
* Teaching excellence.
* Significant professional contributions in research and scholarship.
* Substantial contributions to the development of academic learning processes, programs and curriculum.
The nomination (20 pages maximum, including supporting documentation) must provide evidence of sustained substantial and significant contributions to the university and must include:
1. A letter of nomination.
2. Supporting letters from a broad cross-section of the university community, including fellow faculty both internal and external to the department, administrators, staff and students.
3. Curriculum Vitae.
4. Suggested supporting materials: a) summaries of student evaluations; b) evaluation of publications (e.g., indicate if a publication is reviewed, not reviewed, local, national or international).
Nominators should use the attached form. If you nominated a faculty member within the past three years for this award and would like to reactivate the nomination, please send a new letter of nomination indicating that you are reactivating the application along with any new supplemental materials.
On behalf of the members of the committee, I urge you to give careful consideration to our request for nominations. Please note that the deadline for nominations is Apr. 2, 2010.
Sincerely,
Ronald H. Dalla, Ph.D.
The University Medals and Awards Committee
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