CWU president balances realism, optimism

ELLENSBURG — Central Washington University President Jim Wohlpart delivered his annual State of the University address Oct. 4, providing a snapshot of where the institution is today and where we are heading.

While the tone of Wohlpart’s speech was mostly aspirational, he spoke frankly about the adaptive challenges CWU is facing as we live into our vision, mission, values, and strategic plan. 

“To become a model learning community that allows us to bring our vision to life means that we must embrace new perspectives and new beliefs,” Wohlpart told nearly 300 CWU faculty, staff, and students during his 45-minute address in the SURC Ballroom. 

“Our institution has weathered a steep decline in enrollment over a short period of time, and our enrollment is not going to rebound to pre-pandemic levels anytime soon,” he continued. “Through a new funding process (at the state level) and because of reduced enrollment, our resources have shrunk. We now have the opportunity in front of us to reimagine our work to fit the resources we have.” 

CWU’s peak enrollment was realized in the three years before the pandemic, with a high of 11,677 students in the fall of 2019. The next five years saw in a steady decline, resulting in a total of 8,729 degree-seeking students enrolled in fall 2023. Projected enrollment for fall 2024 is expected to be comparable to last year, with modest increases expected between 2025 and 2028. 

After leveling with the attendees, Wohlpart struck an optimistic tone due to the incremental increases in first-year enrollments and transfer students over the past three years. The number of First-Time in College students (aka freshman) this fall is projected to grow by about 5% over 2023 (1,622, compared to 1,544), and the number of transfer students is projected to increase by nearly 9% (853, compared to 783). 

“We are going in the right direction in terms of growing our new student class, both First Time in College students and transfers, especially as our community college enrollment is beginning to rebound,” Wohlpart said. 

The president explained that there are many factors that have contributed to the loss of nearly 3,000 students since fall 2019 — most notably, the relatively low number of high school graduates in Washington who choose to pursue a postsecondary education.  

Our state ranks near the bottom nationally in this category, and CWU has been working closely with community partners such as the Washington Student Achievement Council, the Yakima Valley School District, Educational School District 105, and Yakima Valley College to help reverse this trend. 

“One of the primary tools that we have to create a culture of belonging is to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion professional development and training,” Wohlpart said, adding that CWU must find ways to make higher education more accessible to underrepresented populations like those in the nearby Yakima Valley. 

That gradual shift will take place over time as CWU continues to forge meaningful relationships across the state, most notably in our own backyard. 

“We must continue to live into our vision, mission, values, and strategic plan because they are the pathway to a brighter future and they put students at the center of our work,” the president said. “As we build our capacity for change, we will better be able to see around the corner to the beckoning future that is awaiting us.” 

One significant change that is expected in the next two to three years is CWU’s transition to becoming a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) — a federal designation for higher education institutions that serve at least 25% Latinx students. 

CWU’s Latinx student population stood at nearly 22% in 2023 and may increase even more this year when the 10-day census numbers are reported later this month. 

While this would be a welcome development for CWU, Wohlpart cautioned that we can’t simply call ourselves an HSI; we need to do everything we can to make this a place where underrepresented students feel like they belong. 

What’s more, we don’t merely want these students to enroll at CWU; we want them to stay. 

“We are committed, as a community, to increasing access to postsecondary education and the success of our students who come through our doors, success which will occur through fostering high impact practices, sustainability, and authentic community partnerships that are grounded in meaningful relationships,” Wohlpart said. 

Three major challenges 

Underpinning the president’s State of the University address were three adaptive challenges facing all higher education institutions in the country: 

• Climate change and sustainability 

• Racial and economic injustice 

• The fraying of our democracy 

On the first challenge of climate change, Wohlpart talked about CWU’s nationally recognized Climate Action Plan and our goal of becoming a zero-carbon emissions campus by 2050. 

The university is installing a geothermal well on the north end of the Ellensburg campus and has plans for additional “GeoEco Plants” after receiving additional state funding this year. Through the help of two Department of Commerce grants, CWU is also investing in its solar infrastructure. 

The second national challenge Wohlpart pointed to for the nation’s higher education institutions is the continued existence of racism and other forms of discrimination that are connected to a deeply unjust economic system. 

“The necessity of engaging and ending discrimination of any and all kinds is an essential component of sustainability and the fraying of our democracy, for without equity and justice we cannot weave together the torn fabric of our society in wholesome and sustainable ways,” he said. 

The third national challenge currently facing our nation, Wohlpart explained, is the fraying of our democracy. 

He described the United States as a multicultural and pluralist society that is not practiced in how to engage difference in meaningful and productive ways, lamenting that “the fabric of our civic and political society has become tattered and torn.” 

“Our democracy in the United States of America is based on a paradox best captured in our motto: e pluribus unum — ‘out of the many, one,’” Wohlpart said. “The ideal of our political state depends upon honoring the rich diversity of our nation, the way in which we are comprised of a wide variety of races and ethnicities, of political and social views, of religious affiliation, of various languages and cultures.” 

In closing, the president revealed that the work we are doing at CWU feels both professional and deeply personal to him. He conceded that the challenges before us don’t have any easy solutions, but he feels inspired every day by the progress we are making together. 

“This is the work we have before us, at Central Washington University, to create hope not through ignoring the challenges we have in front of us but rather through embracing those challenges and working together to find solutions,” Wohlpart said. 

“Our daily work attaches every one of us to something bigger than ourselves, a community that is building its capacity for learning and growing and making change for one single purpose: to increase the access of our students to an enriching educational experience that will ensure their personal and professional success.”