Central Washington University's 15th President
Jim Wohlpart became Central Washington University’s 15th President in 2021. Strongly committed to the university’s mission of preparing students for enlightened and productive lives, Wohlpart has made civic engagement, sustainability, and diversity hallmarks of his administration. He has promoted Central as a welcoming, inclusive institution that seeks to make education accessible to all.
Wohlpart came to Central from the University of Northern Iowa, where he was Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs from 2015-2021, including a stint as Interim President.
Prior to that, he served in a number of administrative and academic positions at Florida Gulf Coast University, including as Dean of Undergraduate Studies (2011-2015), Associate Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences (2005-2011), and Chair of the Division of Humanities and Arts (2000-2005).
He holds a PhD in English from the University of Tennessee, MA in English from Colorado State University, and BA in English and Philosophy from the University of Tennessee.
Wohlpart is author or co-editor of several books and peer-reviewed publications, including, Walking in the Land of Many Gods: Remembering Sacred Reason in Contemporary Environmental Literature, Unspoiled: Writers Speak for Florida’s Coast, and A Voice for Earth: American Writers Respond to the Earth Charter.
“I am honored to be appointed the next president of Central Washington University. I look forward to elevating success for all students through inclusive and engaged learning and academic excellence in order to fully realize the transformative power of higher education. Together, we’ll engage the challenges that face higher education through a collaborative leadership that arises out of an empowered, informed, and engaged community.”
- Jim Wohlpart
Introducing President Jim Wohlpart
Central Washington University has appointed Jim Wohlpart, PhD, as its 15th president. Throughout his career, Jim has devoted himself to expanding educational opportunities for all, enhancing campus sustainability and inclusion, and promoting student civic engagement.
Sasha Linsin Wohlpart is CWU’s First Lady. Wohlpart, the wife of president Jim Wohlpart, has an MS in environmental science from Florida Gulf Coast University and a BS in geology from East Carolina University. She taught environmental biology of southeast Florida at Florida Gulf Coast University from 2007-2015. During that time, she also team-taught interdisciplinary courses in sustainability, carbonate geology, and in marine science.
Her research has appeared in a number of peer-reviewed publications, including Green Theory and Praxis: The Journal of Ecopedagogy and in the forthcoming, Making the Sustainable University: Trials and Tribulations, to be published by Springer Nature.
Wohlpart is a former member of the Cedar Falls Community School Board, including a stint as vice president of the board, and was member-at-large on the Legislative Resolution Committee for the Iowa Association of School Boards.
Wohlpart’s civic involvement has also included serving on the Cedar Falls, Iowa YWCA Board of Directors, the Board of Directors of the Volunteer Center of Cedar Valley, and the Cedar Falls Lions Club.
