Originally published May 5, 2008 at 12:00 AM | Page modified May 5, 2008 at 11:46 AM
Editorial
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.
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.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
Leonard Pitts Jr. / Syndicated columnist: New York terror trials will restore faith in rule of law
Charles Krauthammer / Syndicated columnist: New York trial a propaganda coup for terrrorists

PNW Magazine | Easy As Pie
A little friendly competition between professional pie-baker Kate McDermott and The Seatttle Times' Kathleen Triesch Saul is handled with great taste.
general classifieds
Garage & estate salesFurniture & home furnishings
Sporting goods
just listed
Fabulous 139 pieces Fukagawa Arita #917 China - $475
Moyea SWF to iPod converter - $39
NO CONTRACT, NO DEPOSIT,NO CREDIT CHECK CELL PHONE - $59
More listings
POST A FREE LISTING
shopping
events for Tuesday, Nov. 24
- Black Friday Sale at Michael Cepress Studio a...
- Lizzie's Faves Sale at Lizzie Parker Designs
- Capers November Sale
- Cicada Bridal Party Dress Sale
editors' picks
- Phinney Ridge & Greenwood shopping
- Vintage, consignment and used clothing
- Independent bookstores
- Neighborhood shopping
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Sprouts, raw fish on attorney's 'do not eat' list
- Jerry Brewer | Jerry Brewer: Seahawks can't lean on the Hutch Crutch now
- Woman stabbed by stranger in North Seattle
- Tattoos at Mill Creek church pierce skin, soul
- UW, WSU once again meet to see who's worse
- Food-safety lawyer's wish: Put me out of business
- Husky Football Blog | Ranking the Pac
- Vikings easily beat the Seahawks
- Tugboat sinks at Seattle waterfront pier
- Illegal workers quietly let go
406 - Climate change speeds up since 1997 Kyoto accord
215 - Metro won't cut bus service after all
160 - New Husky recruit: Enes Kanter
106 - Bellevue residents blast new bikini espresso stand
95 - Middleton says Huskies "plan on scoring at least 50 points'' Saturday
86 - Tattoos at Mill Creek Church pierce skin, soul
85 - Seattle woman charged with knife attack on boyfriend's ex
76 - Jerry Brewer: Seahawks can't lean on the Hutch Crutch now
75 - Senate Democrats split on health bill's fate
58
- Sprouts, raw fish on attorney's 'do not eat' list
- Tattoos at Mill Creek church pierce skin, soul
- Food-safety lawyer's wish: Put me out of business
- Illegal workers quietly let go
- Architects, chefs find 'kid' within to build Gingerbread Village
- Rediscovering Moab, 'the most beautiful place on Earth'
- Hutch gets $10M from Bezos family for immunotherapy research
- UW, WSU once again meet to see who's worse
- Children in home day care watching hours of TV, study says
- Taste | The Great Pie Bake-off pits friends and fruit

