Senior University Administrators
About the Leadership Team
The president's leadership team is composed of the senior university administrators who serve as the university's officers and who report directly to the president. They work closely together with the president, trustees, and academic leadership to provide advice, develop and implement university-wide initiatives, and oversee operation of the university.
The leadership team meets with the president on a weekly basis and attends the Board of Trustees meetings. It is composed of ten members, not including the president.
President's Leadership Team's Org Chart
- Name:
- Andrew Morse
- Title:
- Chief of Staff
- Phone:
- 509-963-1425
- Email:
- Andrew.Morse@cwu.edu
- Full Bio
- Name:
- Andrew Morse
- Title:
- Chief of Staff
- Phone:
- 509-963-1425
- Email:
- Andrew.Morse@cwu.edu
- Name:
- Dania Cochran
- Title:
- Executive Office and Project Manager
- Phone:
- 509-963-1384
- Email:
- Dania.Cochran@cwu.edu
- Full Bio
- Name:
- Dania Cochran
- Title:
- Executive Office and Project Manager
- Phone:
- 509-963-1384
- Email:
- Dania.Cochran@cwu.edu
- Name:
- Michelle DenBeste
- Title:
- Provost / Vice President of Academic and Student Life
- Phone:
- 509-963-1400
- Email:
- michelle.denbeste@cwu.edu
- Full Bio
- Full Bio
- Name:
- Michelle DenBeste
- Title:
- Provost / Vice President of Academic and Student Life
- Phone:
- 509-963-1400
- Email:
- michelle.denbeste@cwu.edu
Michelle DenBeste is a Pacific Northwest native who earned her BA in Russian and East European Studies from the University of Washington before completing her MA and PhD in history at Southern Illinois University. She previously served as Dean of the College of Social Sciences at California State University, Fresno, where she was the chief academic, fiscal, accreditation, and administrative officer. Prior to becoming dean, DenBeste was chair of the Department of History at Fresno and principal investigator on several national grants. She has been a tenured professor in Fresno’s Department of History since 2009. DenBeste will begin her new position at CWU on May 18, 2020.
- Name:
- Paul Elstone
- Title:
- Vice President of University Advancement
- Phone:
- 509-963-1494
- Email:
- Paul.Elstone@cwu.edu
- Full Bio
- Name:
- Paul Elstone
- Title:
- Vice President of University Advancement
- Phone:
- 509-963-1494
- Email:
- Paul.Elstone@cwu.edu
- Name:
- Jonathon Henderson
- Title:
- Interim Executive Director of Institutional Effectiveness, Research, and Planning
- Phone:
- 509-963-3280
- Email:
- Jonathon.Henderson@cwu.edu
- Full Bio
- Name:
- Jonathon Henderson
- Title:
- Interim Executive Director of Institutional Effectiveness, Research, and Planning
- Phone:
- 509-963-3280
- Email:
- Jonathon.Henderson@cwu.edu
- Name:
- Joel Klucking
- Title:
- Chief Financial Officer / Vice President of Finance and Administration
- Phone:
- 509-963-2421
- Email:
- joel.klucking@cwu.edu
- Full Bio
- Full Bio
- Name:
- Joel Klucking
- Title:
- Chief Financial Officer / Vice President of Finance and Administration
- Phone:
- 509-963-2421
- Email:
- joel.klucking@cwu.edu
Joel Klucking has served as Chief Financial Officer since February 2016. An Ellensburg native and 1990 CWU Accounting program alumnus of CWU, Klucking worked for Starbucks Coffee Company for more than 17 years, where most recently he managed the Sarbanes-Oxley compliance program and ran the day-to-day operations of internal audit for the company. Returning to CWU 2011, Klucking served as finance manager for the President’s Division, and later added the CWU Foundation operations to his role. He was subsequently named associate vice president of Finance & Business Auxiliaries where he was responsible for financial services, business services, procurement and contracts, the Wildcat Shop, dining services, catering, conference programs and Wildcat printing.
- Name:
- Lucha Ortega
- Title:
- Interim Vice President for Student Engagement and Success
- Phone:
- 509-963-1515
- Email:
- Lucha.Ortega@cwu.edu
- Full Bio
- Name:
- Lucha Ortega
- Title:
- Interim Vice President for Student Engagement and Success
- Phone:
- 509-963-1515
- Email:
- Lucha.Ortega@cwu.edu
- Name:
- Staci Sleigh-Layman
- Title:
- Associate Vice President for Human Resources
- Phone:
- 509-963-1256
- Email:
- Staci.Sleigh-Layman@cwu.edu
- Full Bio
- Full Bio
- Name:
- Staci Sleigh-Layman
- Title:
- Associate Vice President for Human Resources
- Phone:
- 509-963-1256
- Email:
- Staci.Sleigh-Layman@cwu.edu
Staci has served CWU for more than 35 years, currently serving at Associate VP for Human Resources. After experiencing three other Washington State higher education institutions, she earned a BA in English and MS in Individual Studies: Gender and Organizational Change here are CWU. Because of her institutional knowledge and the relationships she builds and maintains across the university and Kittitas County, Staci considers CWU her professional and personal home.
- Name:
- Virginia Tomlinson
- Title:
- Associate Vice President Information Services and Security
- Phone:
- 509-963-2555
- Email:
- Viriginia.Tomlinson@cwu.edu
- Full Bio
- Name:
- Virginia Tomlinson
- Title:
- Associate Vice President Information Services and Security
- Phone:
- 509-963-2555
- Email:
- Viriginia.Tomlinson@cwu.edu
