Greetings,

This month's column is the second in a series on the topic, "Here's Where We Stand." Last month, I reviewed our economic impact. This month I'd like to focus on our students. CWU has a long history of providing access and opportunity to higher education in the state of Washington. The result has been that we've achieved a diverse student body that includes, at once, the most accomplished graduates from our state's high schools and those who are still hitting their stride. It includes students who enter college right out of high school and those who enter or re-enter higher education later in life. We educate students who are the first in their family to attend college and those whose families have long and strong histories of involvement in higher education. We have students who come here as freshmen and students who transfer into Central either before or after completing an associate of arts degree. We educate students on our residential campus and at our university centers and even enroll program cohorts at other settings including community colleges. Our students reflect increasingly diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds, both on the residential campus and at our centers. I thought it might be interesting for you to get the big picture concerning our current students.

• Average high school GPA of entering freshman: 3.2
  
  
• The average SAT scores of entering freshmen at CWU: 991
  • Quartile 1 = 890; Quartile 4 = 1090
  
  
• The percentage of undergraduate students who are the first in their family to go to college: 30
  
  
• The percentage of undergraduate students who are Pell Grant eligible: 28
  
  
• The percentage of undergraduate students who are students of color: 19.2
  
  
• The percentage of students of color on the residential campus: 17.5
  • The largest percentage of that group being Hispanic
  
  
• The percentage of students of color at our centers: 28.6
  • The largest percentage of that group being Asian
  
  
• The average age of undergraduate students: 22.4
  • On the residential campus: 21.3
  • At our university centers: 28.1
  
  
• The percentage of our undergraduate students who are women: 52.1
  • On the residential campus: 49.3
  • At our university centers: 67.3
  
  
• The number of international students enrolled as matriculated students at Central: undergraduate: 140; all: 166
  
  
• The percentage of our undergraduate students who are transfer students: 53.6
  
  
• The anticipated annualized average enrollment for FY 2008: 9,675 (head count) and 9,000 (FTE).
  • At Ellensburg: 8,000 (head count) and 7,675 (FTE)
  • At Des Moines: 625 (head count) and 500 (FTE)
  • At Lynnwood: 600 (head count) and 460 (FTE)
  • At Moses Lake: 40 (head count) and 20 (FTE)
  • At Pierce County: 125 (head count) and 110 (FTE)
  • At Wenatchee: 100 (head count) and 85 (FTE)
  • At Yakima: 185 (head count) and 150 (FTE)
  
  
• The percentage of CWU undergraduates who are from the state of Washington: 97.2
  • The percentage from western Washington: 60.1
  • The percentage from eastern Washington: 34.7
  • The percentage from central Washington: 2.4
  
  
• The top ten academic interests for entering freshmen: business administration, elementary education, psychology, biology, law and justice, accounting, art, communication studies, computer science, and journalism
  
  
• The top ten academic interests for transfer students: business administration, elementary education, accounting, law and justice, psychology, biology, communication studies, art, exercise science, and interdisciplinary studies - social sciences
  
  
• Six-year graduation rate of students who enter as freshman: 54.5
  • National six-year graduation rate for similar schools: 47.0
  
  
• Three-year graduation rate of students who transfer in with an AA: 78.9
  
  
• Freshman to sophomore retention rate: 77.0
  • National freshman to sophomore retention rate for similar schools: 73.5

A couple of these numbers point to the great value that CWU adds for our students. Although CWU--compared to like schools--is listed among moderately selective institutions for incoming freshmen, our retention and graduation rates considerably exceed those of similar schools. It's one of the best sources of evidence that we are helping students find their potential, mentoring them to stay in school and make steady progress toward a degree, and being the kind of student-centered campus that we advertise. Central is clearly a place where we transform lives; thank you for all you do to provide a transformative experience for our students.

Jerilyn S. McIntyre
President

CWU TOP STORIES

CENTRAL CONTINUES TO MAKE CAMPUS SAFETY TOP PRIORITY

The recent shootings at Northern Illinois University underscore the complex challenges campus public safety professionals face in protecting lives and property at colleges and universities nationwide.

"These types of events are rare on college campuses, but we must closely examine each one and take what lessons we can from them to prevent future tragedies," said Steve Rittereiser, assistant vice president for business auxiliaries and public safety. "In addition, as Central's police chief, I'm responsible for constantly assessing our local response capabilities and strategies."

Rittereiser goes on to say maintaining campus safety and security is a coordinated effort involving the university community along with city, county, and state officials. He further notes that most school attacks are not impulsive and rarely do they occur without prior noteworthy problem behavior.

"It's important to remember that our foremost strategy is preventive; to have people report 'red flag' behavior to university officials when it's observed," he adds. "Calling 911, or the offices of the Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, Human Resources, Student Health, Counseling and Wellness Services, or telling a supervisor, resident advisor, or housing area coordinator are all appropriate responses."

Upcoming changes to Central's emergency management response plan will include improvements to the university's alert notification system, including new technology that will allow for immediate emergency messaging in multiple formats.

To sign up for, or to learn more about, CWU's current e-mail alert system, visit www.cwu.edu/~its/emerg-notice.html. The system is open to all CWU employees and students, as well as parents and other interested individuals.

In addition, the CWU Public Safety and Police Services brochure, available at www.cwu.edu/~police/safetyatcwubrief.pdf, contains additional information about safety and emergency preparedness at Central.

CWU STUDENT FARRELL MEETS COMEDIAN FERRELL

CWU student William Farrell had a big surprise when he tried to accept his Cancer for College Scholarship in Seattle in January. As his name was called, actor and comedian Will Ferrell jumped up on the stage and said, "Thank you so much! I'm not in college and I never had cancer, but I'm going to keep the money anyway."

Ferrell, the actor, is a longtime supporter of the charity, which provides tuition assistance to college students coping with cancer. He became involved when his former college roommate and friend, Craig Pollard, who is also a cancer survivor, founded the charitable organization, to which Ferrell devotes both his time and money.

CWU student Farrell, a junior majoring in Asian Studies and a member of ROTC, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in the fall of his sophomore year. Although he had to withdraw from school that quarter, the 20-year-old resumed his studies the next term while still undergoing treatment.

About the actor's appearance, Farrell said, "I was really surprised! I didn't expect him to show up for the event. He was really cool, and hung around and talked to us for a while."

CWU TO AID THE NATION'S WINE INDUSTRY

The wine industry in the U.S. is expanding rapidly, with wine sales accounting for more than $23 billion annually. But, in the face of stiff international competition, America's wine producers must take steps to ensure quality in every bottle. Thanks to support from U.S. Representative Doc Hastings, CWU will be able to assist the state and national wine industry with that effort.

Recently signed into law as part of the federal budget bill, CWU received $191,600 to establish the Wine Quality Testing and Education Initiative. It will allow for comprehensive research, analysis, and education to improve wine quality and contribute to the continued vitality of the wine industry in Washington and throughout the nation. Amy Mumma, winner of the prestigious international "Wine Woman 2005" award and coordinator of CWU's World Wine Program, will lead the effort.

The vast majority of the nation's wineries are small operations that do not have laboratory facilities or testing expertise to ensure consistent quality. The Wine Quality Testing and Education Initiative will help those in the industry understand common chemical and biological faults found in various U.S. wine regions and how the quality of wine is negatively impacted by them. The initiative will also provide information to help winemakers prevent and correct such faults by adapting their processes.

Phase one of the initiative will focus on research. The project calls for a random sample of wines from five top U.S. wine regions, Washington, Oregon, California, Texas, and New York. Wine from each region will be tested to determine the most common faults.

Phase two will focus on education within those five regions to build awareness of faults as a general issue and disseminate region-specific research findings.

CWU TO CELEBRATE WOMEN'S ACHIEVEMENT FOR TENTH STRAIGHT YEAR

A decade ago, the Center for Student Empowerment held its first Women's Achievement Celebration. It was designed to "celebrate and publicly acknowledge individuals who have helped women with their life journey." The tenth annual Women's Achievement Celebration will take place on March 5. The semi-formal event is scheduled for 6 p.m. in the Sue Lombard dining room.

The featured speaker will be Zabrina Jenkins, corporate counsel for Starbucks Coffee and a member of the CWU Foundation Board of Directors. Jenkins earned her Bachelor of Science in finance from Central, her Master of Science from the Syracuse University School of Education, and her Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the Syracuse University College of Law, where she also received the Vice President's Outstanding Graduate Student award.

Those being honored this year are CWU professors Drs. Bang-Soon Yoon, political science, and Jack Dugan, sociology; along with Patryk Cutler, clinic manager for Planned Parenthood of Central Washington.

In addition, the "Keys to Success" award will be presented to Dr. Chenyang Li, professor and chair of the philosophy department, while "Presidential Recognition" awards will be made to Dr. Anne Denman, anthropology professor emeritus; and Joan Baird Glover, who serves on the Kittitas Valley Community Hospital board of commissioners and the advisory committee for the Kittitas County Board of Health. The "Lifetime Excellence in Service Award" will be presented to talent agent Phyllis Parsons, owner of the Parsons Company, and the "Student Empowerment" award will go to senior Kim Rewinkel, from Sunnyvale, Calif., who is majoring in Asia/Pacific Studies and minoring in Women Studies.

Tickets are $16 for general admission and $10 for CWU students with I.D. They're available at the Student Union and Recreation Center (SURC) ticket counter and at the Ellensburg Chamber of Commerce. Students can also pay for their tickets using their CWU Dining Card at the Center for Student Empowerment (SURC 252). The price includes a catered dinner, with a vegetarian option.

For more information about the Women's Achievement Celebration, call ext. 2127.

"EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH" FOR JANUARY RECOGNIZED

Jody Scheffelmaier, biological sciences instruction and classroom support technician, has been named by the university's Civil Service Employee Council as the "Employee of the Month" for January. At a recent surprise ceremony, she received a certificate and $125 from the president's discretionary fund, through the CWU civil service employee recognition program.

Those nominating Scheffelmaier noted:

• "Jody's responsibilities are many and require a technical background and an understanding of biological principles, teaching, and research. Her undergraduate and graduate degrees in biology and her training as a medical technician give her the necessary tools, and her years of experience have honed them to perfection";
• "Jody is an excellent supervisor of student employees. Through the years she has given many students the opportunity to learn the technical skills associated with a large biology lab operation"; and,
• "Since she too is a biologist, she is not only a member of the support staff, but rather a colleague working with faculty to bring a quality program to our students."

University students, faculty, and staff, along with members of the Ellensburg community, are encouraged to make nominations for the Employee of the Month award. Nomination forms are available at the CWU human resources office, through employee council representatives, and online at: www.cwu.edu/~hr/ec/.

NOTICE CORNER

ARTS AND HUMANITIES 'R' CENTRAL ON TV
The College of Arts and Humanities has launched a new television program that highlights the department's programs and people. According to Dean Marji Morgan, who serves as the program's host, it's designed to let the region know about the college and the work of its faculty, students, and alumni.

Titled Arts and Humanities R Central, the series is being aired Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. to the campus community and throughout the Ellensburg area on KCWU TV, which is available to Charter Communications subscribers.

"We're trying to convey the message that the [Arts and Humanities] disciplines are central to everyday lives and solving everyday problems," said Morgan. "The series will help educate the public about what we do."

Production and filming began in late January. The first program features internationally acclaimed artist and CWU Distinguished Alumna Nancy Worden ('77, art), a jeweler who has pieces in collections all over the world.

The second show will feature history professor Mike Ervin, who also serves as director for the Center for Latino and Latin American Studies (LLAS), and LLAS students Lacey Yanez and Francisco Lopez . Morgan plans to spotlight the new musical theatre program in the series' third installment.

Rick Spencer, KCWU station manager, notes,"There are so many people on campus who deserve to have their story told or research profiled that we would like every college or department to have their own show on Channel 15. All it takes is one ambitious producer working about four hours each month to put out a quality program. And no previous television experience is necessary."

CWU SEEKS SCIENCE HONORS PROGRAM DIRECTOR
The College of the Sciences and the Science Honors Program is now accepting applications for a nine-month, tenure-track position at the assistant/associate professor rank to begin next September. This appointment includes a 50 percent assignment as the Science Honors Program Director and a 50 percent assignment as a faculty member. The ideal candidate will have strong administrative skills, budget experience, and a passion for working with students and faculty to encourage productive research collaborations.

The Science Honors Program is a two-year research program for undergraduate students majoring in the physical and biological sciences at Central. For more about the Science Honors Program visit www.cwu.edu/~cots/scihonors/.

Application materials are also available online at www.cwu.edu/~hr/. Screening will begin March 25.

FREE PUBLICITY AVAILABLE FOR CAMPUS-RELATED EVENTS/SERVICES
Throughout the year, student radio station KCWU-FM, 88.1 (The 'Burg), offers free announcements for all events and services involving campus departments and organizations.

To take advantage of this publicity, university-affiliated departments, clubs, and organizations must provide a minimum of three-weeks advance notice when requesting a fully-produced announcement.

Announcement request may be submitted at the KCWU offices in Student Union and Recreation Center 120, or by completing the online form at www.881theburg.com/index.php?loadPage=announcementRequest.

The station reserves the right to revise scripts as necessary for KCWU broadcast purposes and to meet any applicable Federal Communications Commission regulations.

SPHERES OF DISTINCTION PROPOSALS SOUGHT
For the past two years, President McIntyre has funded projects which were submitted in response to a request for proposals in keeping with the university's Spheres of Distinction.

Because of the success of the initiative, another round of projects, dependent on available funding, will receive support during the 2008-09 academic year. However, they must be aligned with one or more of the following "spheres," which were adopted by the Board of Trustees.

• Interdisciplinary Programs and Research;
• Preparation of Professional Educators;
• Programs and Activities Nurturing the Development of Students as Individuals, Scholars, Artists, and Citizens;
• Activities Addressing Regional Needs and Enhancing Regional Resources; and/or
• University Centers.

Proposals, which may be initiated by any staff or faculty member, should be submitted on the form available at www.cwu.edu/president and must be forwarded, with all the necessary signatures, to the appropriate division head no later than April 1.

Division heads will then select and prioritize proposals for submission to the president and, at the same time, inform proposal initiators of the disposition of their individual proposals. The president will select proposals to be funded from among those forwarded to her by the division heads.

PROPERLY ADDRESSING THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY
In response to several recent inquires from campus Macintosh users about how to properly distribute campuswide e-mail, Information Technology Services (ITS) offers these recommendations:

To send an e-mail to all CWU employees, address it to *.cwu. This works from both the client and Web versions of GroupWise. However, it does not work from the Macintosh Mail program.

In some instances, after you've entered *.cwu, GroupWise tweaks and replaces that address with the first address in your "Frequent Contacts" address book. This is because there are CWU addresses in that address book that GroupWise cannot read. To remedy this, delete all CWU addresses from the Frequent Contacts address book, especially those with the GWIA1.CWUGate extension.

An available work-around is to type in the specific GroupWise post offices directly: *.acad, *.emics, *.admin, and *.saffairs which has the same effect as send an e-mail to *.cwu. However, ITS strongly recommends that the *.cwu addressing method is used since using the listservs (faculty@cwu.edu, exempt@cwu.edu, and classif@cwu.edu) consumes roughly 2,600 times more disk storage, takes longer to process and deliver, and slows delivery of off-campus Internet mail to CWU users.

ITS also recommends that these methods for e-mailing the entire campus only be used when delivery to the readers is time sensitive, and when it is applicable to a vast majority of the campus. A recommended option is to use the "Campus Announcements" section of the CWU Intranet.

NOMINATIONS SOUGHT FOR DEPARTMENTAL SCHOLARSHIPS
Each year, the CWU Alumni Association provides $1,000 awards to recipients of departmental scholarships. The purpose of these awards is to honor upperclassmen who have shown exceptional aptitude in their areas of specialization.

Nominees for 2008-09 departmental scholarships are now being accepted. A maximum of two nominations from each department or study area will be accepted. The criteria for selection involves the student's academics, contribution to his or her department, motivation, organizational and leadership activities, and demonstrated financial need.

The application deadline is March 5. A scholarship committee comprised of members of the CWU Alumni Association Board of Directors will make the final selections.

For additional information, call ext. 2752 or visit www.cwu.edu/~cwualum/scholarships.html. The scholarships are funded by revenue generated through the sales of CWU license plates.

SHARED LEAVE DONATIONS ARE NEEDED
The following CWU staff members are in need of shared leave: Nancy Jo Tutino , accounting; and Frank Metz, Connie Bennett, and Gayle Mothershead, facilities management. 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 eighty hours of annual leave must be maintained. Excess annual leave (more than 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.

Shared leave donation forms can be downloaded from the forms section of the Human Resources home page at www.cwu.edu/~hr/forms/shared_leave_donation_form.doc. Forms may also be requested from the HR office at 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 Human Resources.

CENTRALIGHTS

In the Shadow of Death: Restorative Justice and Death Row Families, co-authored by Sarah BRITTO, law and justice, was named one of the Outstanding Academic Titles for 2007 by Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries. The Association of College and Research Libraries' publication is billed as the premier source for reviews of academic books, electronic media, and Internet resources of interest to those in higher education. Only ten percent of the 7,000 works reviewed are included on the outstanding titles list.

Dave DARDA, biological sciences, presented an invited public lecture at Yakima Valley Community College (YVCC) on Jan. 29. The presentation, part of YVCC's Visiting Lecture Series, was titled Andy Rooney's Eyebrows, the Human Tailbone, and that Thing that Hangs Down in the Back of Your Throat: Oddball Anatomical Structures and the Stories they Tell. Approximately 200 people attended the presentation.

On Saturday, Feb. 23, Larry GOOKIN, music conducted the Asia Pacific Activities Conference (APAC) International Honor Band during a performance in Kobe, Japan. The concert, part of the 2008 APAC Band Festival, was hosted by Canadian Academy, Kobe. The honor band was comprised of high school musicians from China, Japan, Korea, the Phillipines, and Thailand. Gookin was joined in Japan by CWU music education majors Mark CLAASSEN, senior, and Daniel BECKER, sophomore, who worked with the saxophone and clarinet sections respectively.

Lila HARPER, English and graduate studies, presented a paper titled Issues of Dress in Women's Travel Narratives at the 2007 Modern Language Association national meeting in Chicago, Dec. 27-30.

After twenty-nine years on staff at CWU, Colleen ROSE, human resources, retired from the university on Feb. 21. Rose, who also served in positions within the Brooks Library and at CWU-Yakima, was secretary to the Civil Service Employee Council and helped coordinate twenty-four Employee Appreciation Awards ceremonies. She says she looks forward to spending more time with her family, hobbies, charitable work, and traveling. Rose worked for the state for thirty-two years.

Sharon ROSELL, physics, along with physics majors Travis PETERSEN and Steve VOGT, and physics minor Annette HINTHORNE, held a hands-on physics workshop for the St. Andrew's Catholic Church preschool on Feb. 20 in Lind Hall.

Becky WATSON, public relations and marketing, was recently selected as a VIP member of the Cambridge Who's Who. VIP members are considered leaders in their profession because of the high level of their accomplishments in and contributions to their field. Cambridge Who's Who is billed as the world's fastest-growing publisher of executive, professional, and entrepreneur biographies.

CWU EMPLOYEES
Civil Service new hires: Lynn Bethke, Museum Collections Manager, Anthropology; Mari Sorey, Instruction and Classroom Support Technician 2, Chemistry; Marilyn Lowe, Secretary Senior, Finance and OSC; Lisa Sully, Food Service Worker Lead, Dining Services; Linda Shepard, Fiscal Specialist 1, Geological Sciences; Matthew Burvee, Instruction and Classroom Support Technician 4, Industrial and Engineering Technology; Nancy Doolittle, Program Coordinator (Family Resource Center), Center for Student Empowerment; Erin Sargent, Secretary Senior, Physics; Jonathan Betz, Instruction and Classroom Support Technician 3, Biology.

Civil Service job changes: Karol Barker, Procurement and Supply Support Specialist 2, Purchasing; Steven Mohr, Information Technology Technician 2, KCWU Radio; Susan Lund, Administrative Assistant 4, Enrollment Management; Patricia Rice, Secretary Senior, University English as a Second Language.

Exempt new hires: Peter Richmond, Electrical Engineer, Facilities Management; Sellie Clark, Professional Development Math Coordinator, Mathematics; Michelle Cyrus, Assistant Director (Non-traditional Student Programs and Services), Center for Student Empowerment.

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