To the Campus Community:

During the last academic year, we began the university-wide strategic planning process necessitated by the anticipated "expiration" of our 2001-2006 plan. One of the important questions we faced was how radically the existing plan should change.

Members of the President's Cabinet and I felt that the mission and vision statements of the university continue to describe our direction for the immediate future. At the same time, we recognized that, even though the university has substantially met many important subsidiary goals for each of the major goals in the 2001-2006 plan, each major goal can still be more fully achieved if additional subsidiary goals are identified to guide action and resource allocation during the next five years.

As I did when I arrived at CWU in 2000, last fall I established a Strategic Planning Synthesizing Committee that was widely representative of the campus and community. I asked committee members to solicit and integrate input from students, faculty, staff, administrators and friends of Central that would:

• Identify strengths, weaknesses, and challenges; and
• Affirm goals and suggest new subsidiary goals

Many of you participated in the online survey or in one of several forums that were held throughout the year. Most noteworthy, particularly to those who participated in development of the 2001-2006 plan, was the much more positive tone of comments and their convergence toward common themes. In addition, the committee was encouraged to see much greater participation in the process by students, staff and faculty at our university centers. This confirmed the wisdom of having separate academic and student life goals for the Ellensburg campus and the university centers in both the old and new plans.

Following the survey, Synthesizing Committee members developed a complete list of strengths, weaknesses and challenges that became a framework of interpretation for considering and discussing goals and subsidiary goals in the new plan.

Two important findings emerged from this process and from the feedback the committee received:

• Individual units and divisions have made extraordinary progress over the past five years; however
• They have tended to work somewhat in isolation from each other

These findings are reflected in recommendations to achieve better collaboration and integration across various campus units and divisions. The process also highlighted the continuing importance of effective internal and external communication and aggressive marketing of the university and accomplishment of its students and employees, which are themes that reoccur throughout the new plan.

Finally, despite extraordinary improvements during the past half-decade, members of the committee were convinced from survey responses and during the forums that the university must continue to focus on civility, inclusion and diversity so that past gains will not be lost and new benchmarks will encourage even greater adherence to these important principles.

By April, the Synthesizing Committee had refined the wording of the six goals and recommended a set of subsidiary goals for each. The President's Cabinet reviewed and made minor adjustments to the list, which was then submitted for review and approval to the Board of Trustees. I am pleased to report that board members approved the new 2006-2001 university strategic plan during its meeting on June 9. I want to thank all of those who participated in this important process, and I particularly want to express my appreciation to the Synthesizing Committee members for their diligent efforts and hard work on this important campus initiative.

The goals and subsidiary goals of the 2006-2011 strategic plan are as follows:

GOAL 1: Maintain and strengthen an outstanding academic and student life on the Ellensburg campus.

• Integrate existing undergraduate initiatives to bring greater coherence to the undergraduate experience
• Integrate international experiences and global education in curricular and co-curricular initiatives
• Enhance communication and collaboration among divisions and community members
• Recruit, support, retain and graduate well-qualified, diverse and motivated students who will benefit from the CWU educational and social experience
• Increase opportunities for and encourage greater student participation in extracurricular and co-curricular activities
• Clarify the role, function and desirable size of graduate education at CWU

Goal 2: Provide for an outstanding academic and student life at the university centers.

• Enhance communication between the university centers and the Ellensburg campus to provide seamless processes for faculty, staff and students
• Develop collaborative relationships with partner community colleges to maximize resources, share costs and be a contributing partner of each center's growing community
• Develop new academic programs that respond to the needs of the local communities and ensure timely and consistent delivery
• Deliver student services that respond to the interests and desires of the student body at each center

Goal 3: Strengthen and further diversify our funding base and strengthen infrastructure to support academic and student programs.

• Implement a comprehensive fund raising campaign by cultivating, soliciting and stewarding constituents
• Increase the number of external grants and contracts awarded to CWU
• Explore alternative revenue sources through public/private partnerships
• Continue efforts toward maintenance and preservation of campus buildings, upgrading of campus infrastructure and stewardship of natural resources

Goal 4: Build mutually beneficial partnerships with the public sector, industry, professional groups, institutions and the communities surrounding our campuses.

• Increase involvement of students and employees in and with our multiple communities
• Involve business and industry in university activities
• Strengthen relationships with all sectors of higher education and with local, state and federal officials
• Increase opportunities for the public to participate in the life of the university

Goal 5: Achieve regional and national prominence for the university.

• Identify, promote and financially support academic and support programs of regional and national prominence, including spheres of distinction
• Recruit and financially support academically promising students at all campuses and centers
• Develop an aggressive marketing program that highlights prominent academic and support programs of the university, the achievements of undergraduate and graduate students, and the accomplishments of alumni
• Develop appropriate support and rewards for faculty and staff who attain regional and national recognition for academic achievements or achievements in their areas of expertise

Goal 6: Build inclusive and diverse campus communities that promote intellectual inquiry and encourage civility, mutual respect and cooperation.

• Embrace diversity, equity, social justice and cultural responsiveness across the university
• Foster and promote a stimulating and intellectually rigorous community
• Promote effective communication and an atmosphere of civility and respect
• Ensure that all members of the university community are provided equitable opportunities for intellectual development, growth, success and reward

As members of the Strategic Planning Synthesizing Committee began the process of distilling the feedback they had received, preparatory to recommending goals and subsidiary goals for 2006-2011, they reviewed other campus planning documents that were, at that time, in the process of being developed. They wanted to ensure that the university plan was consistent with the work that had been undertaken by various divisions and units on their own planning documents.

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In spring 2005, the work that had been done to that point on those other plans formed the agenda for an integrated planning forum I hosted in the old SUB. Plans that have since been further refined or are now in development are:

• The President's Division Plan
• The Division of Academic Affairs Plan
• The Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management Plan
• The Enrollment Management Plan
• The Division of University Relations Plan
• The Development Team Plan
• The Division of Business and Financial Affairs Plan
• The Information Technology Plan
• The Housing Plan (currently under revision)
• The Communication Plan
• The Campus Site and Development Plan

A few other plans are substantially complete and will be forwarded to the President's Cabinet in the next few months. These include:

• The Human Resources Plan
• The Facilities Management Plan
• The Financial Services Plan
• The Business Auxiliaries Plan
• The Public Safety Plan
• The Emergency Response Plan

The next step will be to ensure that all of these planning documents are fully integrated and well understood by the campus community. To that end, I've asked Dr. Libby Street to schedule another integrated planning forum early in the 2006 fall quarter. Our goal will be to make sure that – as Vice President Corona has sagely observed – we are all building the same car and heading in the same direction. The Cabinet and I will also begin to develop, as we did with the last plan, a set of management objectives that will provide more specific benchmarks for the campus-wide strategic planning goals.

We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the fall forum and to working with you as the campus begins to implement the 2006-2011 plan.

Sincerely,

Jerilyn S. McIntyre
President

Alma Eastwood McConnell, 101, died at her home in Carmel (Calif.) Valley Manor on June 18. She was born on January 11, 1905, in Charleston, W.Va., the third of four girls to John Watson Eastwood and Lula Alma Martin. Her father and grandfather were pioneers in steamship commerce, operating a fleet of stern-wheel paddle boats.

She received a bachelor's degree from Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va., where she served as assistant to the head of the fine arts department her last two years. There she received the Carnegie Art Scholarship to Harvard University making her one of the first female students at that institution.

Alma married Dr. Robert E. McConnell on July 3, 1929, following their courtship at Marshall University where McConnell was a professor. Two years later, they moved to Ellensburg, where McConnell had been named president of Central Washington College of Education, a position he held for 28 years.

In 1959, the McConnells moved to San Francisco where Robert became the Western Region director for the U.S. Office of Education. Before leaving Ellensburg, Alma earned her master's degree in art, which was conferred on her by her husband. She went on to serve for 10 years with the art faculty at San Francisco State University and was later awarded the title of professor emeritus.

Upon retirement, they relocated to Walnut Creek, Calif., where Alma continued with her art and contributed several articles to Sunset Magazine. She also mounted several solo-exhibitions at California galleries.

Alma, preceded in death by her husband in 1976, moved to Carmel, Calif., in 1980 and continued an active life style with art, travel and local service.

She was a member of several honor societies, including Kappa Delta Pi, Alpha Psi Omega, Phi Mu and Sigma Sigma Sigma, and the P.E.O. Sisterhood, a philanthropic educational organization for women. She is listed in Who's Who of American Women 1981, Four Thousand Women of Achievement, Who's Who in the West and the Dictionary of International Biography.

Alma and Robert had two sons, Robert Eastwood McConnell, married to Beverly Ann Vincent of Tucson, Ariz., who preceded her in death in 2005, and Douglas Eugene McConnell, married to Carol Sue Griess of Wonder Lake, Ill. She is also survived by five grandchildren and 12 great children.

The family requests that remembrances be sent to the CWU "Dr. Robert and Mrs. Alma McConnell Endowed Scholarship Fund."

Responding student, faculty and staff member concerns about vehicle traffic on the campus mall system, the CWU Site and Development committee has authorized a trial vehicle closure of the Walnut Mall, between Bouillon Hall and Dean Nicholson Boulevard.

The closure, also approved by the President's Cabinet, went into effect yesterday. It will be evaluated and, possibly, made permanent in October.

That mall is the most actively used corridor on campus by pedestrians and bicyclists. However, campus service vehicles, delivery trucks and off-campus vendors have also routinely used the north-south route.

With the closure of Walnut Mall, those vehicles are now required to use alternate routes to-and-from the middle of campus. The closure is in effect daily from 7 a.m. until midnight. Between midnight and 7 a.m., vehicles that service the mall, such as the garbage trucks, will be allowed access.

The only exceptions to the closure will be for emergency vehicles and other limited use, which will require a permit.

A collaborative effort between CWU and Yakima Valley Community College will bring a new opportunity for students to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Yakima starting next fall quarter. Central received a legislatively funded $126,480 grant, which allows space for 25 full-time students to earn a general studies social science degree at CWU-Yakima. The program, which has not been offered in Yakima before, will help meet local industry need, as well as increase opportunities for historically underserved students.

The degree is responsive to current and projected job openings in the area and provides a wide variety of options to meet employer need and student demand. In Yakima, Kittitas and Klickitat counties, job openings in fields for which program graduates would be qualified are projected to grow nearly 20 percent between 2002-2012.

Students with a general studies social science degree will be qualified for careers as social and human service assistants; community and social service specialists; child, family and school social workers; and social scientists.

The program also includes a cooperative education component through which local businesses and organizations will provide students with field experiences, allowing them to see what they need to do to succeed on the job.

Ken Young, Information Technology Services (ITS) Helpdesk specialist, was honored as the university civil service "Employee of the Month" for May. During surprise ceremonies, he received a certificate and $125 from the president's discretionary fund, through the CWU civil service employee recognition program.

Those nominating Young said:

• "Ken, in his role as the primary Helpdesk resource, is the 'face' of ITS for many of our customers. Ken provides Helpdesk technical support for all students, staff and faculty of the CWU campus community. I see that he strives to develop and communicate information that is timely and accurate for our customers. His friendly and knowledgeable demeanor is how we at ITS want to work with our customers, where we make them feel at ease and comfortable, regardless of the question."

The self-effacing Young noted, "I may be the 'voice' of ITS for callers but, if the rest of the department wasn't doing a superlative job, I don't think an award is what most users would have in mind for me."

Initiated by the CWU civil service employee council, recognition goes to employees who foster a personalized environment that supports members of the university community as well as the mission of Central.

University students, faculty and staff, along with Ellensburg community members, are encouraged to make signed or anonymous nominations for employees of the month. Nomination forms are available from the CWU human resources office, employee council representatives and on-line at: www.cwu.edu/~hr/ec.index.html.

CWU physics majors David CROSS and Jeremiah EBERHARDT were inducted into Sigma Pi Sigma, the national physics honor society, on June 2, during a ceremony at the home of Michael BRAUNSTEIN (physics).

Christopher SCHEDLER (English) presented a paper titled "Consuming to Excess: Windigo Cannibalism in Gerald Vizenor's Bearheart" at the American Literature Association annual conference in San Francisco, May 25-28.

CWU EMPLOYEES
Civil Service new hires: George Foley, Central Stores Manager, Facilities Management; Charles Stahl IV, Information Technology Specialist 2, Facilities Management; Carla Burrill, Office Assistant 2, Faculty Affairs; Jennifer Scanlon, Office Assistant 3, CWU-Des Moines.

Civil Service job change: Kariann Taylor, Secretary Lead, Biological Sciences; Pat Jack, ITS-3, Information Technology Services.

Exempt new hires: Geoff Foy, Assistant Director of Continuing Education, Continuing Education.

Exempt job changes: Daniel Layman, Interim Director, Dining Services, Dining Services.

To view current job openings at CWU, go to www.cwu.edu/~hr/jobs/index.html.

The Center for Student Empowerment is looking for interested departments, clubs and motivated individuals who would be willing to volunteer at a welcome carnival for nontraditional students and their families on Saturday, Sept. 23.

It will be held between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on the lawn east of the Science Building. General volunteers are needed, as well as others who can create and facilitate activities, games and entertainment suitable for all ages.

To register, or for more information, visit the Empowerment Center in Student Union 250, call ext. 2127 or e-mail ecenter@cwu.edu. The registration deadline is Sept. 8.

Randy Parks, custodian, Conference and Retail Services, and Lee Shapiro, broadcast technician, Multimedia Technology and Instructional Support, are need of shared leave.

CWU employees may donate leave to a fellow employee: 1) who is suffering from or has a relative or household member who is suffering from an extraordinary or severe illness, injury, impairment, or physical or mental condition; or, 2) who has been called to service in the uniformed services; and, where the fact of either 1) or 2) has caused or is likely to cause the employee to take leave without pay or terminate his or her employment.

You may donate annual (vacation) and sick leave in eight-hour blocks. A minimum balance of 80 hours of annual leave must be maintained. Excess annual leave (that over 240 hours) that will otherwise be lost may not be donated. A minimum balance of 176 hours of sick leave must be maintained. All or a portion of your personal holiday may also be donated.

The shared leave donation form can be downloaded from the HR forms section of the Human Resources home page (www.cwu.edu/~hr/forms/shared_leave_donation_form.doc) or requested from the human resources office by calling ext. 1202. Requests to donate leave must be approved by your supervisor before forwarding to HR and are subject to approval by your department head and HR.

TUESDAY, JULY 4
Holiday: Independence Day

THURSDAY, JULY 6
Discover:Student Orientation for freshmen, through July 7

MONDAY, JULY 10
Discover:Student Orientation for freshmen, through July 11

WEDNESDAY, JULY 12
World Wine Program: "Wine Brands & Labels at Risk," 10 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., Mary Grupe Center, $65 (includes buffet lunch and course materials)
Campus-Community Coalition: Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna, "The Nation, State and County - United in Halting Underage and High-Risk Drinking," 6 - 8 p.m., Student Union 210

THURSDAY, JULY 13
Discover:Student Orientation for freshmen, through July 14

MONDAY, JULY 17
Discover:Student Orientation for freshmen, through July 18

For other Juuly 2006 calendar items, visit: http://www.cwu.edu/wv3_cal

WEDNESDAY, JULY 19
Summer first sessions closes

THURSDAY, JULY 20
Summer second session begins
Discover: Student Orientation for freshmen, through July 21

FRIDAY, JULY 21
World Wine Program: "The Dog Days of Summer," 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., Mary Grupe Center, $50 ($25 will go to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary)