through taking dual enrollment classes, either College in the High School from CWU or Running Start from Wenatchee Valley College, starting in 10 th grade. For the past two years, CWU has joined Wenatchee High School to present to ninth graders and their parents on this opportunity. • On Thursday, January 29, 2026, Asher Cai, CWU Women’s Basketball, broke the Great Northwest Athletic Conference record for the most points. The former record was 2001; she ended up at 2006 after that game. She currently has 2132 points, and the team is currently in first place in the GNAC. • After completing a national search for the position of Vice President for Student Engagement and Success, Verónica Gómez-Vilchis has accepted the role on a permanent basis. • Dr. Zoë Higheagle Strong has been busy since she started with us about a month and a half ago, meeting with members of the university and local communities, organizing events, and listening. Zoë is a member of the Nez Perce Tribe and a descendant of Yakama Nation and Umatilla. • President Wohlpart and AVP Higheagle Strong attended the winter convening of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians. They learned about federal and state issues that affect tribal sovereignty and rights, climate change and sustainability, and education and health. The upcoming CWU convenings: a ceremonial celebration and listening session and OSPI’s Office of Native Education Language and Literacy summit were announced to the group. • With the appointment of Verónica Gómez-Vilchis as the VP for Student Engagement and Success and the arrival of AVP Higheagle Strong, our Executive Leadership team is now complete. • Focus on external affairs, as suggested by the Board to President Wohlpart last summer, can now be fully embraced. Board Committee Reports • Executive Committee and Governance o Committee Report (Gladys Gillis) Trustee Gillis reported that the executive committee has been meeting with President Wohlpart regularly about his goals (shared governance, a sustainable budget, and equity and belonging). They discuss these goals every time they meet, along with updates from the Governor’s office on budget, legislative activity, enrollment updates and projections, and upcoming board agendas. In addition, they discuss any updates on pending legal issues. o Board Policies (Dania Cochran) Dr. Cochran walked board members through suggested revisions to board policies. Board policies consist of eight sections with 37 policies total. The Board is the Policy Executive, and Dr. Cochran, as Secretary to the Board, is the Policy Writer. In the fall, Dr. Cochran began reviewing the Board policies with Thomas Pedersen. As they reviewed policies, referencing the Shared Governance document, they found nine policies that needed to be updated with common language and began drafting a new policy to be considered: a Board of Trustees Statement on Shared Governance. Based on conversations between summer and fall 2025, the Board Executive Committee was recommending that the Board no longer approve student policies or the Faculty Code. Authority for student policies has been delegated to President Wohlpart, who then delegated this authority to Verónica Gómez-Vilchis, VP for Student Engagement and Success. The Board had a discussion regarding where Faculty Code authority should sit. It was decided that since the BOT Academic Affairs Committee has been tasked with working with the Faculty Senate Executive Committee on the Faculty Code and shared governance, it would be best to keep that authority with the board until they have completed
8 Board of Trustees Minutes February 19-20, 2026
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