SENATE RESOLUTION

2000-8726

By Senators Hale, Sheahan, Honeyford, Rossi, Kohl-Welles, McCaslin, Rasmussen, Long, Winsley, McDonald, Hochstatter, Stevens, Sheldon, B., Johnson, Zarelli, Heavey, Brown, Sheldon T., Costa, Kline, Goings, Snyder, Franklin, McAuliffe, Loveland, Fraser, Bauer, Wojahn, Prentice, Haugen, Spanel, Hargrove, Shin, Thibaudeau, Gardner, and Morton

     WHEREAS, Sam and Pat Smith moved to Washington State in 1985 and have represented Washington State University for the past fifteen years; and

     WHEREAS, Dr. Samuel H. Smith will resign his presidency at Washington State University at the end of the 1999‑2000 academic year, July 1, 2000; and

     WHEREAS, Dr. Smith has served Washington State University and the state with honor and distinction; and

     WHEREAS, Dr. Smith, through his hard work and leadership, has transformed Washington State University from a single campus in Pullman to a nationally recognized, statewide university; and

     WHEREAS, Dr. Smith increased student access to Washington State University by establishing WSU Learning Centers in eleven counties and expanding WSU's presence in underserved areas with four branch campuses in the Tri‑Cities, Spokane and Vancouver; and

     WHEREAS, Dr. Smith presided over the most successful fundraising campaign in the history of Washington State University. Campaign WSU, the university's first comprehensive fund‑raising effort, raised more than $275.4 million and had the highest alumni‑giving rate of all public universities in the country, a remarkable spirit of giving to the institution that continues today; and

     WHEREAS, Dr. Smith led academic programs and research efforts that resulted in Washington State University's recognition in national rankings as one of the best public universities in America, including a 1999 #1 ranking as the most wired public university in the nation; and

     WHEREAS, Dr. Smith is recognized as a proponent of distance education, overseeing Washington State University's membership as a founding institution in the Western Governors' University and will participate in the National Governors' Association 2000 Winter Meeting addressing "New Visions of Post‑Secondary Education"; and

     WHEREAS, Dr. Smith presented the Justin Smith Morrill Memorial lecture at the 1998 National Association of State Universities and Land‑Grant Colleges annual meeting, an honor given for significant contributions as an educator in promoting the land‑grant tradition of the "liberal and practical education of all people"; and

     WHEREAS, Dr. Smith is the current chair of the Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land‑Grant Universities, formed to help define the future direction of public state and land‑grant universities and to recommend an action agenda to speed up the process of change; and

     WHEREAS, Dr. Smith chaired the Executive Committee of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, one of a series of leadership positions he held during a major reorganization of NCAA governance; and

     WHEREAS, Dr. Smith has helped improve the climate for women at Washington State University to such a degree that the Association for Faculty Women of WSU has named an award in his honor.  The award will be presented to those who have "a strong and continuous record of leadership in advancing the role of women on campus, or in leadership at the community, state or national level in private, government or professional organizations"; and

     WHEREAS, Dr. Smith, in keeping with the institution's mission and his own personal avocation, has proven his stalwart and enthusiastic support for Washington State's agricultural community by strengthening WSU's Cooperative Extension offices in all thirty-nine of the state's counties and creating the President's Agriculture 101 Group to protect and promote Washington's agricultural interests for the good of the citizens of the state and its trading partners throughout the world; and

     WHEREAS, Dr. Smith was president in 1998 when the Washington State Cougar football team were Pac‑10 champions and competed in the Rose Bowl for the first time in sixty‑seven years bringing pride and joy to the hearts of countless long‑suffering Cougar fans; and

     WHEREAS, Dr. Smith and Pat have chosen this time to finally focus on their family and themselves while their health and energy still afford them the opportunity;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the Washington State Senate honors Dr. Samuel H. Smith for the dedicated service and commitment shown in his work and the innumerable contributions to Washington State University, to its students, faculty and staff and to the greater community of the state of Washington;

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be immediately transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to Dr. Samuel H. Smith, the Board of Regents of Washington State University, the Higher Education Coordinating Board and Governor Gary Locke.

I, Tony M. Cook, Secretary of the Senate,

do hereby certify that this is a true and

correct copy of Senate Resolution 2000-8726,

adopted by the Senate February 16, 2000.

TONY M. COOK

Secretary of the Senate