Colleagues:

More than a hundred well-wishers showed up to congratulate the Western Washington University X PRIZE Team during a recognition ceremony on campus Thursday, Aug. 5. Team members, recently returned from the finals of the Progressive Automotive X PRIZE competition at Michigan International Speedway, were at the event along with their car, Viking 45.

During the finals of the contest, Viking 45 achieved the equivalent of more than 110 miles per gallon with ultra-low emissions. WWU finished in the Top 10 of more than 130 cars that started the competition.

Western President Bruce Shepard announced today that he will recommend to Western’s Board of Trustees on Friday that they approve an option on the state’s “furlough bill” that will not require university employees to take furlough days or for the university to be closed.

“After thorough review and many discussions on campus, it became clear to us that employee furloughs or campus closure would create far more problems than any savings realized,” Shepard said.

More than a hundred conversations with community members, civic leaders and advocates for Western Washington University have been completed as part of President Bruce Shepard's 100 Conversations initiative.

Results from those conversations have been made available online on the 100 Conversations website.

Shepard sent a message to participants on Tuesday, June 8, recapping what has happened as the initiative progressed. Among those items:

Western Washington University President Bruce Shepard sent a message to the campus community Wednesday afternoon explaining the university's current plans for complying with the state's legislation on furloughs. The full text of Shepard's announcement is available below and on the president's website at http://www.wwu.edu/president/documents/FromPresidentsDesk/June22010.shtml.

The full text of the president's Wednesday, June 2, message:

Colleagues:

A public forum on the proposed 2010-11 operating budget will take place at 3 p.m. Tuesday, May 18, in the Old Main Theater on the Western Washington University campus.

The proposed adjustments to Western Washington University's 2010-2011 operating budget are now online, WWU President Bruce Shepard said in an e-mail message to the campus community this afternoon. The adjustments are necessary because the Washington state Legislature reduced funding for the university in its supplemental budget.

Western Washington University President Bruce Shepard has posted a new blog entry in which he discusses the state of Western's strategic plan and looks to the future at next steps for the university.

Those wishing to comment on the president's post may use the link at the bottom of the entry; all comments will be sent to Shepard's e-mail account.

Western Washington University President Bruce Shepard made this presentation Friday, May 7, to roughly 175 "Western Advocates," community members who have taken an active interest in the university.

In his presentation, Shepard discusses the results of the 100 Conversations initiative and asks for feedback from the attendees.

A PDF of the materials Shepard used in his presentation is available via the link below.

Video from Western Washington University President Bruce Shepard's Friday presentation regarding the results of the 100 Conversations initiative will be available online at roughly 3 this afternoon. The video will be on the Western Today website as soon as it is available.

Shepard's Seattle presentation was to a group of 175-or-so "Western Advocates," community members who have taken an active interest in the university. The presentation was videocast live on Friday, May 7. A PDF of the files Shepard used in his presentation is available below.

Western Washington University President Bruce Shepard appeared on the "Up Front" television program from KING 5-TV this past weekend to talk about the cuts to state institutions of higher education in the recent budgets.

This video is also available on the KING 5 website here.

A presentation by Western Washington University President Bruce Shepard recounting what he has learned from the 100 Conversations initiative will be videocast and audiocast live beginning at roughly 10 a.m. on Friday, May 7.

Shepard's presentation will be to a group of 175-or-so "Western Advocates," community members who have taken an active interest in the university and will take place just before the Seattle Business Forum.

Western Washington University President Bruce Shepard has posted a new blog entry in which he discusses the status of the 100 Conversations effort. The blog post is available online at http://www.wwu.edu/president/blog/posts/10.shtml.

In his post, Shepard lays out the history behind the 100 Conversations initative and outlines some of what the university has learned so far.

Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed visited the Western Washington University campus this morning to chat with students and WWU President Bruce Shepard. The visit was part of Reed's week-long college civics tour, during which he's visiting 23 schools throughout the state to promote students' participation in government.

Western Washington University President Bruce Shepard sent a message to the campus community on Tuesday evening, April 13, regarding the budget situation at WWU. The Washington state Legislature approved a budget Tuesday morning, and Gov. Christine Gregoire now needs to sign it for the budget to take effect.

Western Washington University President Bruce Shepard appeared on TVW Thursday evening on the show "Inside Olympia." Shepard recently was interviewed by host Austin Jenkins for the show.

In addition, Bill Lyne, a professor of English at WWU, also was interviewed for another segment in the same program for his role as a faculty member and as the president of the United Faculty of Washington State. A third guest on the show is Mike Bogatay, from the Washington Student Association.

Western Washington University President Bruce Shepard is seeking nominations for the 2010 Exceptional Effort Awards.

In an e-mail sent to WWU faculty and staff Monday, Shepard acknowledged the professional skills and dedication of those on campus:

Western Washington University President Bruce Shepard has posted a new blog entry titled "Stop using my taxpayer dollars to support an activity that is insulting, offensive, and errant."

Read the latest blog entry on Bruce's Web site at http://www.wwu.edu/president/blog/posts/8.shtml.

Western Washington University President Bruce Shepard posted a new blog entry this morning on what one person called the "Starbuckization" of Wilson Library. Check out Bruce's new post here. In his post, Bruce talks about the Library's plans to create a "learning commons," part of which would be a new cafe, study and relaxation area.