to do the hard work together. She added that she would like to honor the fact that she has heard from the Faculty Senate that they do feel chronically unheard and have for a while. The Board also needs to decide whether the Faculty Code is a policy. Currently, it is not considered a policy which is creating concern among faculty. • Trustee Nellams reported that for him, communication and relationship building will be the focus moving forward. • Chair Hensler added that one of his goals when he became chair was to do more of the work at the committee level and have committee chairs report back to the full board at the public meetings. The hope is for board committees to do deeper dives into institutional topics and report back so collectively everyone will know what’s happening on campus. It is not the board’s role or responsibility to be in the day-to-day operations. They are here to help move the university forward. • Trustee Jenkins stated she is excited about the opportunity to address issues and to move forward with a growth mindset. Keeping at the forefront that we are in service of our students and all of us need to work collaboratively and keep that in mind. • Trustee Charbonneau added that he cares deeply for CWU and wants to make sure that the university moves forward in a way that makes sense. When you have difficult situations, it is easy to forget your blessings, and it’s easy to forget about all the amazing things happening here. The board is going to ensure that the student experience stays the number one focus. President’s Report President Wohlpart reminded the group that at the July Board Retreat the Board asked that we ground ourselves in our collaboratively developed Vision, Mission, and Values which provide us with our north star as well as with our Shared Governance framework which provides us with an understanding of how we interact together across our various roles through honoring each other’s expertise. The Board of Trustees approved the initial Vision, Mission, and Values in 2022. These statements are living statements, so when we had the opportunity to do some reflection, we brought all the shared governance groups together. They supported an update to our Vision, Mission, and Values. The Board of Trustees are the only ones who have the authority to approve a vision and mission statement, so on Friday, May 16, 2025, the Board of Trustees approved the updated vision statement: “Central Washington University will be a model learning community of access and opportunity.” The new vision statement remains aspirational for our community. While we have made great strides to take down barriers to higher education, there is still much work to do. We have a vested interest in making certain that the opportunities that we know help students achieve at high levels are available to all students. We continue to make strides towards building our capacity to be a learning community, willing to investigate our current practices, policies, structures and systems, be curious and humble, and then embrace new ways to do things. Our Mission Statement tells us how we will move towards achieving our aspirational vision, focusing on the development of “high impact practices, sustainability, and authentic community partnerships.” We have heard a great deal in our meetings and in the State of the University about the work we are doing in all three areas. With the arrival of Dr. Higheagle Strong, we have now turned focused attention to building relationships with tribal nations. We also developed a unifying value and three core values to guide our programs, projects, and initiatives. Our unifying value of student success is the central driving
4 Board of Trustees Minutes February 19-20, 2026
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator