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This Is Not Good News For Any EWU Program

6

60s Savage

Active member
EWU is restructuring programs, cutting positions to fix $3.6 million shortfall, might hit the coaching staffs or athletic operations?

Mon., April 15, 2019, 5 a.m.

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2019/apr/15/ewu-restructuring-programs-cutting-positions-to-fi/
 
This is not a personal attack on the leadership of the current EWU president . However, it makes you wonder what the EWU search committee was thinking when they hired this woman. (In the spring of 2014 the faculty of Southern Oregon University held a vote of no confidence in Cullinan and two of her top administrators. 83% of the faculty participated in the vote, with 76% of those faculty voting no confidence in Cullinan's leadership.) This gal might be great at managing people but it appears that she is not a leader that can get things done all across the board. How can it be that CWU can get money for the football field upgrades but we can't. Hopefully EWU has not lost the opportunity to use their football momentum to make them relevant. With both Idaho and UC davis joining the conference things have just gotten tougher. I believe academics should always be first but let's be realistic here. Gonzaga or other universities just don't have their applications skyrocket for no reason. Sometimes athletic success spurns potential students to want to go where a school has a winning tradition of some sort. Dr Arevalo was great at putting Eastern on the map and got the ball rolling which was no easy task. I believe that Dr, Cullinan and the trustees are living off the residuals and the residuals are drying up. IMO its like a deer looking at a set of headlights.
 
In the spring of 2014 the faculty of Southern Oregon University held a vote of no confidence in Cullinan and two of her top administrators. 83% of the faculty participated in the vote, with 76% of those faculty voting no confidence in Cullinan's leadership. [2]
 
60s Savage said:
Just curious, does anyone know the amount Eastern spent for, and during the trip to The Championship Game at Frisco?
Click to expand...

Are you referring to the total including all athletic staff or just admin people? There were a lot of admin people there that it seemed like a perk.
 
I believe that NCAA provides a portion of the expense incurred in travel, lodging, meals, etc, could be wrong on that, but what travel, lodging, meals for the trip was paid with university funds, team expenses$________
and guest travel expenses $__________ ? Rough numbers, nearest hundred or nearest thousand would be fine. Since we're on the subject, how many "non-essential" guests did EWU finance? At one point there was a request for contributions so the band and cheer leaders (rightly so!) could participate, but that should be school expense.

My interest in asking is for an idea of what the financial situation (restraints) might be for a 2020 revisit to Frisco. Go Eags!
 
I recall that about the time AD Bill Chavez left there were reports or rumors that the department was in the red; any info on how that was resolved? I think about that time, the legislature bailed WSU out from its stadium construction overrun???
 
EdubU10 said:
EAGLEFUZZ said:
There seems to be a leadership issue here
Click to expand...

BINGO
Click to expand...
When enrollment at other Washington Universities was up, at or near capacity, Eastern's was down thus adding to the deficit.
"The operating budget passed by the Senate on April 4 proposed about $130 million in state funding for EWU in the 2019-21 biennium. This is 9.7% more than the state funding provided in the 2017-19 biennium and 25.9% more than the state provided in the 2015-17 biennium."
 
I think this represents all our concerns when President Mary C was hired. We'll see how this plays out. At her previous position, she basically received a no-confidence vote by that school's faculty.

Having said that our AD was specifically brought in to address raising outside funding from alumni & boosters. The fact of the matter EWU doesn't have the academic profile that UW, WSU and Western Wash. EWU doesn't produce high-income graduates as Western Wash does. EWU did add engineering programs the past few years that will produce alums w/ greater ability to donate down the road.

Univ of Montana has the same issue, declining student enrollment due to the fact that MSU is the STEM school (engineering, technology, mathematics, etc.) They offset it with the funding from the former CEO of the Washington Group (why their stadium is named after him).

The solution here is to donate not only to the revenue sports (men's fball & bball) but also academically.

NDSU got to where they are today is two-fold, great coach and boosters. according to this article from 2017, they raise $5M PER YEAR AND THE ENTIRE SCHOLARSHIP FOR THE ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT!!!!!

https://www.inforum.com/sports/4332556-big-bison-bucks-ndsu-athletics-booster-club-reaches-unforeseen-funds

The big reason for this is the oil boom that has taken place in North Dakota. The AD's office in partnership with the EAF & Alumni Assoc needs to step up.

As an alum myself, I try to do my part. Wondering who else feels the same way I do. We all know how special the EKG family is. Let's keep it going. We currently own our conference in football, let's keep it that way.
 
sammamisheag said:
I think this represents all our concerns when President Mary C was hired. We'll see how this plays out. At her previous position, she basically received a no-confidence vote by that school's faculty.

Having said that our AD was specifically brought in to address raising outside funding from alumni & boosters. The fact of the matter EWU doesn't have the academic profile that UW, WSU and Western Wash. EWU doesn't produce high-income graduates as Western Wash does. EWU did add engineering programs the past few years that will produce alums w/ greater ability to donate down the road.

Univ of Montana has the same issue, declining student enrollment due to the fact that MSU is the STEM school (engineering, technology, mathematics, etc.) They offset it with the funding from the former CEO of the Washington Group (why their stadium is named after him).

The solution here is to donate not only to the revenue sports (men's fball & bball) but also academically.

NDSU got to where they are today is two-fold, great coach and boosters. according to this article from 2017, they raise $5M PER YEAR AND THE ENTIRE SCHOLARSHIP FOR THE ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT!!!!!

https://www.inforum.com/sports/4332556-big-bison-bucks-ndsu-athletics-booster-club-reaches-unforeseen-funds

The big reason for this is the oil boom that has taken place in North Dakota. The AD's office in partnership with the EAF & Alumni Assoc needs to step up.

As an alum myself, I try to do my part. Wondering who else feels the same way I do. We all know how special the EKG family is. Let's keep it going. We currently own our conference in football, let's keep it that way.
Click to expand...

What I read as the difference in the inforum article is how hard Pat Simmers and the executive team of Team Makers worked to raise money and they asked and asked and asked to raise those funds. When the previous leaders of the EAA wanted to build the press box side guys like Thorne Tibbets and many other boosters had a fision and beat the bush to raise that money. When Chaves and co had the vision for red turf they had drawings of the field and they asked. I am hoping that with the vision on paper so people can see what they are "buying" they will beat every bush to raise the money quickly. We should be 10 years down the road with this and building a practice facility. There are also a LOT of basic things needed like, did you know the football locker rooms do not even have air conditioning? That blows me away!
I do have confidence Lynn and her staff can get it done in spite and regardless of who the controls EWU administration.
 
According to The Spokesman Review The BOT has approved a budget with a $3.6M cut (3%). It appears that the cuts mainly affect faculty and support positions. Discouragingly, Eastern enrollment has dropped nearly two thousand since 2016; but this indicates that a certain degree of RIFing is appropriate. Anyone have intel regarding any Athletic Department budget cuts? Long term facility expansion plans revised as a result of the budget meeting?
 
According to The Spokesman Review The BOT has approved a budget with a $3.6M cut (3%). It appears that the cuts mainly affect faculty and support positions. Discouragingly, Eastern enrollment has dropped nearly two thousand since 2016; but this indicates that a certain degree of RIFing is appropriate. Anyone have intel regarding any Athletic Department budget cuts? Long term facility expansion plans revised as a result of the budget meeting?
 
This is how we solve this problem, relying on state funds isn't the answer.

Google NDSU's fundraising efforts for the past 10 years.
 
sammamisheag said:
This is how we solve this problem, relying on state funds isn't the answer.

Google NDSU's fundraising efforts for the past 10 years.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately there is no Baaken oil field in Washington.
 
60s Savage said:
According to The Spokesman Review The BOT has approved a budget with a $3.6M cut (3%). It appears that the cuts mainly affect faculty and support positions. Discouragingly, Eastern enrollment has dropped nearly two thousand since 2016; but this indicates that a certain degree of RIFing is appropriate. Anyone have intel regarding any Athletic Department budget cuts? Long term facility expansion plans revised as a result of the budget meeting?
Click to expand...
Only in government... Enrollment has dropped steadily since 2016 under this president and the BOT extends her contract through 2022. :wall:
 
Blaming the state and athletics seems to be the narrative, hard to believe anyone would take that seriously. The most significant metric a university president has is enrollment. Growth of your foundation is important too. Enrollment going down in a state with population and economic growth at our level is hard to understand, especially when you compare with WWU and especially CWU. What does this administration say? Due to the strong economy this is the "new normal" for EWU. Speechless on that one, no idea what that even means. Pathetic excuses for a failed administration.

Rewarding this president with a contract extension needs to be explained by someone. Why reward failure?
 
The hard truth is that the school needs to work harder for a online presence. Too many kids are going to George Washington online school and other online because of their situations and such. I would bet if you looked at other schools in our state there is a decline as well. Students like the online option and from what I can tell EWU doesn't offer much or advertise it.
 
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