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The Board of Trustees participated in an engaging discussion with a panel of Western alumni and supporters who are entrepreneurial leaders in the region’s emerging and established technology fields.

Stephanie Bowers, vice president for University Advancement and executive director of the ²ÝÁñÉçÇø Foundation, and Julie Hill, manager of Corporate Partnerships, invited the panel to discuss preparing students for the future with a focus on the technology industry and entrepreneurship. Panel members included:

• Nate Vogel (’96), director for Global Sales, Tableau Software;
• Josiah Johnson (’99), co-founder and VP, Society Consulting;
• Danny Mason (’07), director for Software Development, Expedia;
• Nona Larson, Engineering and Operations manager, PACCAR;
• Karen Clark Cole, CEO, Blink UX.

Panelists praised Western for preparing graduates with advanced critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, which are increasingly important in technology fields.

Vogel said that his company is looking for “people who think differently” and “when you are up there at Western you learn to think differently.”

Panelists also noted the increasing need for Western graduates skilled in a wide variety of fields, particularly technology-related. Estimates are that there are thousands of technology-related jobs in the region currently unfilled.

The trustees also engaged in an interactive discussion with Gene Sharratt, Washington Student Achievement Council director, and Maud Daudon, WSAC Board Chair (and CEO of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce) on efforts by the WSAC to promote educational attainment at all levels in Washington – a continuum of quality education from early learning through college. Western Board of Trustees Chair Karen Lee also is vice chair of the WSAC.

In other business, the trustees:

• Heard a presentation by Earl Gibbons, vice provost for Extended Education, on the progress of Western’s activities in the West Puget Sound, including the university’s new instructional site at Olympic College’s campus in Poulsbo. Western is represented in Poulsbo by three tenured and tenure track faculty members and two staff based at the facility. They join Western staff already serving at Olympic College in Bremerton and Peninsula College in Port Angeles. Gibbons said that Western’s outreach has been warmly received by Western’s community college partners, as well as local governments, community groups, and businesses throughout the service area.
• Heard a presentation by Erika McPhee-Shaw, director of Shannon Point Marine Center, on activities at the university center in Anacortes, including very McPhee-Shaw also discussed some of the opportunities and challenges facing SPMC as it plans for the future.
• Heard a presentation by Marc Ravaris, project coordinator, of Western’s involvement with the Low Income Housing Institute Mentoring project in Seattle, which matches student mentors recruited from North, Central and South Seattle Community Colleges with LIHI residents. Mentors engage in one-on-one tutoring with LIHI residents once per week to develop digital, job hunting, and soft skills. From learning to communicate electronically to creating a resume or applying for a job online, the partnership is aimed at empowering LIHI residents with the skills they need to succeed, and mentors with a way of making a positive difference in their communities. The project is based in Seattle and lasts for one year. Western’s primary role is to recruit mentors, provide online training regarding cultural sensitivity and adult education, and to conduct pre- and post-project research.
• Approved construction contracts for: Ridgeway Kappa Renovation; classroom and lab upgrades; and Haggard Hall Digital Media Commons.
• Heard an update on the 2015 legislative session by Becca Kenna-Schenk, director of Government Relations. Stephanie Bowers provided an update on ²ÝÁñÉçÇø’s comprehensive campaign.

For more information on the trustees’ meeting, see:

The dates for the next regular meeting of the Board of Trustees are April 9 and 10.