WSU Regents push for Pullman beautification

WSU’s Board of Regents convened yesterday afternoon to address a wide range of university affairs – from a project aimed at beautifying the gateways into the Pullman campus, to the possibility of a student union building at Tri Cities.

For students on the verge of graduating, one of the most popular spots to take pictures is the welcome sign on the south end of campus, at the corner of Stadium Way and Highway 270.

In 2011, the Student Advisory Board began thinking of ways to make that sign a more prominent and defining feature of the campus – a better place to photograph regalia-clad students.

“We need to clean this area up in a very significant way,” said WSU President Elson S. Floyd to the regents at their meeting in the CUB.

The new sign is one of many changes to take place during the first phase of WSU’s Gateway Improvement Project, which has a total budget of $1.25 million.

“We are very sensitive to the landscape and to the topography that’s in this particular area,” Floyd said, describing how the new sign, made of basalt rocks, will complement the rolling hills.

Floyd said he hopes to prevent the project from interfering with graduation photo opportunities.

“We would like to begin construction on this relatively soon,” he said, although an exact start date is yet to be determined.

The regents also heard from members of the ASWSU at the Tri Cities campus, who testified for the construction of a student union building.

ASWSUTC President Rigo Leon said 19 percent of the student body at Tri Cities – a total of 1,426 undergraduate and graduate students – voted in support of implementing a $100 fee at the beginning of one semester.

This money, Leon said, would be used to construct a student union building complete with a quiet study lounge, a social lounge, a computer lab, fitness facilities, food service and a convenience store.

Floyd said more feasibility studies and talks with WSU administrators would be necessary to facilitate such a large project.

The regents also conferred Jordan D. Schnitzer, a native of Oregon and substantial donor to the university, with an honorary doctorate of fine arts.

Schnitzer is the president of Harsch Investment Properties and manages the company’s commercial real estate assets in Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada and Arizona. He and his family foundation have funded and organized more than 90 exhibitions of work from his collection at museums across the country.

The regents will continue their meeting at 8 a.m. today in room 204 of the CUB.​