practices, career-connected learning, and internship opportunities. Finally, within the impact pillar, we are thinking about programs, facilities, and infrastructure. These include things like the MS in Mental Health Counseling, the Construction Management Endowed Professorship, the Center for Financial Planning and Well-Being, the Multicultural Center, the North Academic Commons, and the First- Generation Student Success Center. Vice President Elstone shared information on a new idea that emerged as a fundraising priority in the campaign. The First-Generation Student Success Center will create pathways from admission to graduation to career for students. First-generation students bring extraordinary strengths to CWU, which include resilience, perseverance, family and community commitment, leadership, cultural wealth, and aspirations for future generations. Yet, navigating college can be difficult. Nationally, first- generation students are twice as likely to leave college before earning a degree. We have strong programs like CAMP, TRIO, and JumpStart to assist these students. However, some of these programs are under threat of being cut by federal funding, so rethinking how we can support these students is very important. The idea is to bring together many of the different resources and have a one-stop shop that prioritizes focus and support for these students. The First-Generation Student Success Center is something we would build over time. Functions of the center would include a welcome center, peer mentoring hub, career preparation, workshops, community, alumni engagement, and family programming. It would be a place where students can find community, meet mentors, prepare for careers, connect with alumni, build confidence, celebrate milestones, and develop leadership. This would be a three-phase solution: Vice President Elstone explained the process for setting campaign goals. They have been gathering a lot of data to make informed decisions. They have been assessing staffing capacity. Goals need to be both ambitious and reachable. There will be lead goals and sub-goals. We may not hit all the goals, but that is okay if we are reaching towards them. The proposed campaign goals were shared without associated numbers. The numbers will be announced on October 9. The lead goals include total commitments, grow the endowment, and increase engagement of all constituents through the campaign. The sub goals will be around the dollars to be raised in each of the three pillars: opportunity, experience, and impact. Trustee Jenkins noted that one of the aspirations of the campaign is to grow our culture of philanthropy across the university community. As ambassadors for the university, each of us can play a role in advancing the campaign. Please attend the launch on October 9 and continue philanthropic support in ways that align with the campaign priorities. • Invest in the potential: The First-General Student Center fund. • Build community: supersize the peer mentorship program. • Create a home: a named, endowed Center, with matching state funds.
The morning session adjourned at 11:43 a.m.
Board members attended lunch with the Executive Leadership Team from 12:00-1:00 pm. No business was conducted.
The afternoon session was reconvened at 1:15 pm.
Board Committee Reports • Executive Committee and Governance
7 Board of Trustees Minutes July 16-17, 2026
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