Changes Converge On College Campuses Two Universities Getting New Leadership; WSU Taking Over At Riverpoint; Community Colleges’ Boss Stepping Down

One man will arrive in a ‘94 Jeep Cherokee. Another in a clerical collar.

In varied packages and shapes, university presidents and other instruments of change will arrive this week to shake up Spokane County institutions of higher learning.

In a sort of higher education harmonic convergence, two new presidents will arrive Wednesday, a downtown campus will change hands, an important economic study will be released and a new state research agency will be established.

The events may not be on a par with other July 1 milestones such as the 135th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg or the birthday of the late Princess Diana, but they mark a new beginning for thousands of employees, teachers and students who have endured a year of politically charged upheavals in higher education leadership.

“It’s a coincidence, sort of like three lemons lining up in one of those one-armed bandits,” said Terry Novak, a professor and administrator for Eastern Washington University and Washington State University.

Universities and colleges typically start their fiscal years on July 1, meaning change is more likely on that date. Some of the changes scheduled to occur in local higher education on Wednesday are:

First day of work for the Rev. Robert Spitzer, new president of Gonzaga University.

The 46-year-old Jesuit priest arrives from Seattle University, where he taught philosophy and held business seminars as endowed chair in professional ethics.

He replaces the Rev. Edward Glynn, who was forced out in 1997 after less than one year in office.

The leap to the president’s office is a big one for Spitzer, who never has been a college president or administrator. Gonzaga has about 4,500 students.

Spitzer faces the prospect of budget cuts during his first year in office to adjust for recent drops in enrollment. He must continue to raise money for a new $18.5 million law school and handle any fallout from a soon-to-be-released National Collegiate Athletic Association report on alleged mishandling of funds by former athletic director Dan Fitzgerald.

First day of work for Stephen Jordan, new president of Eastern Washington University in Cheney.

Arriving in his Jeep Cherokee, the former executive director of the Kansas board of regents faces the greatest challenges. And he will get almost no honeymoon period to enjoy his new $135,000-per-year post.

Legislators and state regulators are demanding that EWU stem falling student enrollment, correct mismanagement and restore public trust that had been lost under former President Marshall Drummond. This summer, the university must sort out which programs it should keep in downtown Spokane as the state prepares to sell the Spokane Center building and reassess EWU’s role as a four-year regional school.

Jordan said he has set a packed six-month schedule to travel statewide to meet with legislators, business leaders and educators. The 50-year-old administrator has sent a questionnaire to all EWU employees, seeking feedback on things that need to be changed at the university and a list of its strengths.

“I’ve got a whole pile of these to read in the car on the way,” Jordan said.

Washington State University takes control of the 46-acre Riverpoint Higher Education Park.

Riverpoint, located just east of downtown between Trent Avenue and the Spokane River, has been controlled by the Joint Center for Higher Education. But the Joint Center was dissolved by the Legislature to eliminate public confusion and bureaucracy.

WSU Spokane will be in charge of Riverpoint, although EWU’s business school and other programs use classroom, office and library space there. Bill Gray is dean of WSU Spokane.

Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute becomes a separate state agency with a new 17-member board appointed by the governor.

SIRTI also had been under the Joint Center. SIRTI, led by executive director Lyle Anderson, will continue to develop new technology to spin off into separate companies or to commercialize.

Deadline for the state Higher Education Coordinating Board to finish its first draft of a Spokane economic assessment. The report was ordered by the Legislature to help sort out which programs EWU and WSU should offer in Spokane.

Terrance Brown, chief executive officer of the Community Colleges of Spokane Distict 17, retires after 11 years of overseeing the sixcounty district.

The community colleges are expected to name an acting chief executive soon. The district includes Spokane Community College, Spokane Falls Community College and the Institute for Extended Learning, which serve 23,000 students.

Whitworth College missed getting in on the July 1 changes with completion of the $5.2 million second phase of its Campus Center.

The building, which includes a new 450-foot dining hall and student-life offices, will open July 15.