WWU: past and future

Supporters at Western Washington University Foundation's annual business luncheon today will be treated to the business savvy of Jim McNerney, chairman, CEO and president of The Boeing Company.

But they'll also be able to note the university's achievements under its own outgoing CEO, President Karen Morse, and ponder its potentials.

Morse, who retires in September after 15 years of overseeing the university's growth in students, faculty and academic stature, will introduce her successor at the Seattle Business Forum. Bruce Shepard, currently chancellor at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, will be stepping into the job in a few months.

Morse, who has the longest tenure of any sitting state president, still hopes to settle the university's first faculty union contract before she leaves. But her legacy is impressive.

Western ranks 17th in its category among master's degree-granting institutions in the West and — among those that are public — second only to Cal Poly by U.S. News and World Report.

Shepard was an early favorite in a national search for Morse's successor.

His accomplishments at Green Bay — among them, creating regional partnerships, increasing enrollment of students of color and running a successful $21 million private fundraising drive — dovetail well with Western's values and challenges.

He should fit in fine at the foundation lunch. WWU Foundation's mission is to support the university's education mission by fostering partnerships with and financial support from the private sector.

The annual event is one of several ways the foundation raises money for scholarships for Western students. Before the salad is even served today, the event has raised a record $125,000 in sponsorships.

Participants have both a past and a future to celebrate.