President Wohlpart delivers inspiring address focused on CWU values, potential

Central Washington University’s short- and long-term outlook remains extremely positive and, despite some ongoing adaptive challenges facing higher education across the United States, our future is bright.

This was the primary takeaway from CWU President Jim Wohlpart’s State of the University address on Friday, September 29, on the Ellensburg campus.

Wohlpart delivered a hopeful and realistic overview of the university, focusing on the crucial work the campus community has done over the past two years in developing our Vision, Mission, Values, and Strategic Plan that will guide the institution for the next five years.

“Our work will be to lift up, to elevate, and to sustain the diverse languages, histories, and cultures that our students, faculty, and staff bring to our community,” the president said to the near-capacity crowd of 200 faculty, staff, and students. “We will focus our efforts on expanding access to a high-quality university education to more students, to students who have been historically excluded, and to ensure their success.”

He went on to say that when we think about why we, as faculty and staff members are here, we should look to our unifying value of student success.

“We are here to create pathways for students of all backgrounds to reach their academic and professional goals,” he said. 

Wohlpart provided a series of anecdotes about current students and alumni to illustrate how influential CWU is in the lives of our students. The success of our students is felt by their families and, in turn, their home communities.

As one example, he pointed to the success of recent College of Business graduate Matthew Braganza, a first-generation college student who is pursuing a master’s in accounting at Cornell University. Another recent success story was McNair Scholar Nick Puentes, who earned acceptance into the highly selective National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program.

Recent Douglas Honors College graduates Emma CrowE and David Torem earned the president’s praise for representing CWU at last year’s United Nations Green Summit in Thailand. He also called attention to the success of 2000 graduate David Puente Jr., who now serves as the director of the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs.

“We are opening doors for students and allowing them to be successful in realizing their dreams,” Wohlpart said. “We are creating futures for students who may not have known that these futures were possible.”

The president lauded the participation and support of the entire CWU community in developing the university’s new Vision, Mission, Values, and Strategic Plan over the past 18 months. He noted how critical this newly defined direction—one that took into account input from shared governance groups across the institution—will be for CWU as we build a foundation for lasting success.

At the same time, we can’t rest on our laurels. He implored CWU faculty, staff, and students to “live into” our new Vision, Mission, Core Values, and Strategic Plan if they are going to pay dividends.

“Now we have a Vision, Mission, Values, and Strategic Plan that are asking us to do things differently—to think differently and to act differently,” Wohlpart said. “We have included in our strategic plan initiatives that will engage and shift our culture. But we must engage these initiatives if this work is going to come to life.

“We cannot let our past stifle the opportunities we have to create a future filled with promise,” he continued. “We must recognize that our work is counter cultural. It is too important to be ignored or slowed. There is too much at stake.”

One of the primary ways CWU will increase our vitality in the years to come is by engaging our local communities on a different level than we have in the past. Wohlpart talked about CWU’s robust plan to build a regional technology and innovation hub, along with our pursuit of two potentially “game-changing” grants from the Gates Foundation.

He also talked about CWU’s opportunity to expand higher education access through newly acquired legislative funds to help pay for College in the High School credits for all students, not just those who can afford those credits. Central already serves the largest number of students statewide through College in the High School. With this new funding, our pool of prospective students grows significantly.

“Now, the state is covering the cost of these classes, opening them up to a broader demographic of student,” Wohlpart said. “If we can have high school students from across the state take several Central classes and get to know us, we may create a pipeline into the university.”

After touching on CWU’s progress with our capital projects—including a new $103 million North Academic Complex, set to break ground this fall—Wohlpart elaborated on some of the priorities for the 2024 legislative session. These include supplemental budget funding for students’ basic needs, including a food pantry coordinator and interns, a gender-based violence prevention coordinator, and financial literacy coaches.

Another way CWU will be seeking to improve the student experience is by introducing a values-based performance management program, which will be introduced this fall with help from Wohlpart’s former colleague, Dr. Kris De Welde.

“How do we create a culture that allows every individual at Central to show up for the whole person that they are, able to share the various races, ethnicities, genders, sexualities, and abilities that employees represent in an environment of safety and belonging?” Wohlpart asked. “How do we make the fullness of our humanity central to how we come together in community?”

Similarly, the university will institute a values-based enrollment management strategy that will center around CWU’s new marketing tagline, “Create Your Future.” Wohlpart explained that CWU wants to welcome students into a partnership where we work with them as they create a future for themselves.

“The work you do with students is active and engaged and deeply personal: you help them find out who they are and forge a pathway out into the world as engaged professionals, active citizens, and life-long learners,” he said.

Wohlpart concluded his address by reminding the audience of why we, as faculty and staff, are here. He encouraged everyone to remember the true purpose of our work: to change lives.

“The work you do day in and day out provides opportunities for our students to learn and grow and realize their potential,” the president said. “And then they go out into the world and make it a better place to live, to work, and to learn.”