Evergreen proposes to change its name to Evergreen State University
The Board of Trustees at The Evergreen State College had two serious discussions on June 8, including a conversation about the future of the four-year public liberal arts school.
What’s under consideration? A name change that would replace The Evergreen State College with Evergreen State University. The name change proposal, plus other proposed changes to the college’s curriculum, have won the approval of the faculty, according to data shared at the meeting.
On the name change alone, 90 faculty were in favor of it, six were opposed and five abstained.
The proposal is set to be affirmed by the board on Thursday, and if it advances, the name change proposal would ultimately have to come before the state Legislature.
According to a conceptual plan for the college, the change to Evergreen State University would “reflect the complexity of our institutional mission and structures,” according to plan.
But it was also clear Monday, based on comments sprinkled throughout the 90-minute meeting, that the name and curriculum changes are seen as ways to boost flagging enrollment at the school.
About 2,800 students enrolled in fall 2019, which is 40 percent lower than a decade ago, The Olympian reported in December.
“We are in a crisis,” said Trustee Monica Alexander during Monday’s meeting. “We need people.”
The university would be comprised of an undergraduate college with interdisciplinary schools, plus a School of Graduate and Professional Studies.
“The names and structures of the Interdisciplinary schools for undergraduates will be developed during the summer and fall of 2020, and approved through a vote of the faculty by the end of fall 2020,” the conceptual plan reads. “The new structure will commence in academic year 2021-2022. This new structure will be evaluated during the summer of 2024.”
Under questioning from the trustees, other ideas emerged.
Evergreen also is considering a dual-credit program similar to Running Start, which allows students to earn high school and college credit concurrently.
One such idea is to build a program around Evergreen’s organic farm, which would allow high school students to earn college credit in farming, said Jennifer Drake, Evergreen’s provost and vice president of academic affairs.
Trustee Alexander, who attended Evergreen, said she joined the school on faith that it was going to offer good programs. But she also acknowledged that she didn’t always understand the program descriptions. She recalled taking a course called “Lawyers and Clowns,” which turned out to be about the history of the Supreme Court.
She urged those at the meeting to inject some clarity into the college’s course offerings.
“We need to create an entrance that people can get their arms around, and their parents most of all,” she said.
Trustee Fred Goldberg asked what had changed among faculty to overwhelmingly support the proposal.
Faculty member Paul Przybylowicz, who teaches environmental studies and agriculture at the school, had an answer.
“Faculty finally realized how dire the situation was,” he said. “Our energy was needed, otherwise Evergreen could just be an academic question.”
Evergreen commencement
The Class of 2020 is set to have a virtual commencement at 1 p.m. Friday. But during a discussion about commencement, Trustee Ed Zuckerman pointed out that Black Lives Matter has called for a statewide general strike on Friday.
President George Bridges suggested the college could acknowledge the moment during commencement.
“We’re not insensitive and we don’t want to be insensitive,” he said, adding that “a note of silence and listening might be appropriate to acknowledge the recent tragedy (of George Floyd’s death).”
“I don’t foresee us not holding commencement,” Bridges added.
Before Monday’s meeting ended, Zuckerman returned to the topic of commencement and was more direct in his assessment of the situation.
“I implore us to be open-minded to the possibility that the right course of action is to cancel commencement on Friday,” he said. “That may just be the right move.”
This story was originally published June 9, 2020 at 5:45 AM.
