Hard Work Ahead For WSU’S Rawlins

Later this week, V. Lane Rawlins likely will become the next president of Washington State University. He follows in large footsteps - as he knows, having served on WSU’s faculty under two beloved predecessors, Glenn Terrell and Sam Smith.

Indeed it appears to be Rawlins’ familiarity with WSU that made him the lone finalist for the job.

This might well be the strength that the Board of Regents thinks it is. Familiarity would be a weakness, however, if it gave Rawlins any inclination to cozy up to the university’s status quo, comforting faculty made nervous by public demands for change in higher education.

WSU is a fine university. Under Smith it became known for expansion and technological innovation.

At the same time, WSU has problems. A continuation of vigorous, forthright presidential leadership is the only way to replace the school’s nagging old weaknesses with new strengths.

Unfortunately, the regents sent a signal that was more timid than vigorous, when they chose not to let the public and the WSU community meet and evaluate other finalists for the presidency. Regents had pledged openness earlier, but cast that pledge aside, they said, because Rawlins towered above the other finalists.

This one disappointment, however, already has begun to fade. Students and faculty seem delighted with Rawlins.

We hope they are delighted for the right reasons, because hard work lies ahead. Happily, Rawlins’ record suggests he has the needed skills. During his presidency at the University of Memphis, research funding has tripled, $100 million in campus renovations commenced and there is a push to make that school a “destination” known for academic excellence and information technology.

WSU’s academic reputation lags, according to the respected ratings by U.S. News & World Report. This is aggravated by a notorious boozing culture and an often disappointing athletic program. Soft enrollment demand at the Pullman campus underscores the situation.

Other schools have bounced back from problems worse than WSU’s. Western Washington University did it. Likewise, Eastern Washington University.

A remedy, made credible by extensive public input, is available: It’s the new statewide master plan unveiled by Washington’s Higher Education Coordinating Board. This plan calls on universities to put students first. To expand course offerings in high-demand areas such as information technology - a strength at WSU. To offer courses via the Internet - also a strength at WSU.

The plan asks universities to develop academic “centers of excellence” - stellar programs that attract highly motivated students, eager to learn from professors, not from teaching assistants in some cavernous lecture hall. WSU has fine programs on which to build - in agriculture, bio-science, engineering and computer science, to name a few. Its branch campuses, including Spokane’s, hold promise to become centers of excellence in such fields as health sciences and urban design.

WSU has brought enormous benefits to our region, and we hope Rawlins will move aggressively to enhance its contributions.