Messages from the President

Dear WWU Community,

As the end of fall quarter and the holiday season rapidly approaches, managing school commitments, upholding job responsibilities, and finding time to engage in self-care and community well-being can be difficult. This has been made especially difficult recently with the multiple acts of violence we have witnessed in the past few months in our local, national, and…

Dear Western Students,

Welcome to a new school year!…

Dear WWU Faculty & Staff,

June 23, 2022 marked the 50th anniversary of the passage of Title IX, and throughout this academic year the Western community will be celebrating this important milestone and acting on our commitment to a safe, inclusive university community.  Since its enactment, Title IX has had an enduring impact on gender equity by revolutionizing women’s…

Dear Western Community,

Like many of you, I was deeply distressed to wake up this morning and see that the Supreme Court had overturned Roe v. Wade.

Over the past 49 years since that landmark decision, a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion before viability has become embedded in the fabric…

Dear WWU Community,

I am very pleased to share the news that Dr. Jacqueline Hughes has accepted our offer to become Western’s first Chief Diversity Officer and Executive Director of the Office of Equity. 

Jacqueline will oversee the newly created Office of Equity, which brings together two complementary functions—compliance, and community education and development—and…

Dear WWU Community,

Yet again, we find ourselves mourning following the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas yesterday.  My heart breaks for the families who have lost a loved one due to this senseless act of violence, and for all of us impacted by the many tragedies coming so close together.

Too many American lives have been lost…

Dear Western Community,

As you undoubtedly know, this weekend in a neighborhood supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y., an 18-year-old gunman shot 13 people, killing 10 of them. Eleven of his victims were Black.  The gunman responsible for this latest mass shooting in America spent months meticulously planning his attack and posted a racist manifesto online, the content of which makes clear that…

Dear WWU Employees,  

In response to the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus and to protect the health of the community, Gov. Jay Inslee yesterday reinstated a …

Dear WWU Community,

I would prefer not to be sending you more messages on COVID-19, but our actions are being continually informed by the recent increases in COVID-19 cases due to the highly contagious Delta variant. 

As you may know, …

Dear WWU Faculty & Staff,

As more employees make their way back to campus offices and as we prepare for a full campus this fall, I want to encourage you to read the summary of updated community health guidance on Western’s coronavirus information site.

As you likely know, many parts of the country including…