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Editor’s Note: After each Board of Trustees meeting, Western Today provides a recap of decisions and discussion.

Trustees OK Preconstruction Services Contract for New Interdisciplinary Science Building

Western’s Board of Trustees on Friday approved a contract with BNBuilders of Seattle of $364,571 for pre-construction services for the planned new campus Interdisciplinary Science Building.

BNBuilders was hired as the project General Contractor/Construction Manager (GC/CM) for work proposed to begin in January 2019. A construction contract award is scheduled for the April 2020 Board of Trustees meeting, assuming Western receives construction funding from the state Legislature.

released on Thursday, includes $60 million in construction funding for Western to construct the new building.

Becca Kenna-Schenk, executive director of �������� Government Relations, told the trustees that the ncluded in the governor’s budget must also get legislative approval. She said the governor’s budget includes significant new revenue, including a proposed capital gains tax, and that additional revenue would fund the construction of the new building.

In other business, Western President Sabah Randhawa briefed the trustees on the recent and later student forum with Randhawa, vice presidents and college deans – following recent incidents of racist vandalism on campus. Randhawa said he was “deeply troubled” by the racist incidents, that students of color had every right to feel safe on campus and that equity and inclusion is important work for the entire campus.  Randhawa said he will be continuing conversations with students, including on the demands they presented at the forum.

Natasha Hessami, Associated Students vice present for Government Affairs, told trustees that she was at Western a few years ago during the Yik Yak threat against the former AS president, who is black. She noted that the burst of campus energy after the Yik Yak incident has waned on campus and said that students now are “seeking systemic change.”

In other business, the trustees:

• Met Thursday in a joint session with the �������� Foundation Board of Directors. They heard a presentation on Western’s new from Provost Brent Carbajal, Donna Gibbs, vice president of University Relations and Marketing, and Stephanie Bowers, vice president for University Advancement. Western’s first large-scale brand advertising campaign is intended to support the foundation’s initiative to raise funds for student research, study abroad and recruitment scholarships, yet be flexible enough to serve as a foundational framework for the Western brand.
• Heard a presentation on an internal audit report on , a federal statute requiring colleges and universities participating in federal financial aid programs to maintain and disclose campus crime statistics and security information. Antonia Allen, director of Internal Audit at Western, said the audit discovered 50 findings that needed correction (including many that after being identified by the audit are in the process of being corrected). She said that the U.S. Department of Education had fined a number of colleges across the nation that were out of compliance with the act, Allen said the majority of Western’s Clery issues were the result of a decentralized response to Clery requirements on campus as well as a lack of resources.
• Head an update from Natasha Hessami, Associated Students vice present for Government Affairs, on the new Student Senate as well as lobbying for student priorities at the Legislature.
• Heard an update from Faculty Senate President McNeel Jantzen, who discussed efforts to follow up on recommendations of the campus task force on preventing and responding to Antisemitism, including providing training to faculty, staff and students to better understand antisemitism and other expressions of hate.
• Heard a on Western.
• Heard Part of that discussion included initial planning for a new $65 million, 400-bed residence hall slated to open in fall 2021. The exact location of the new residence hall is still being analyzed.
• Heard an update on

      The next regular meeting of the Board of trustees will be Feb. 7 and 8. Meeting documents are available at the Board of Trustees website at