Messages from the President

Dear Western students,

As you are preparing to have a great time on Halloween weekend, we’d like to take this opportunity to remind you to take care of yourselves, take care of each other, and be good neighbors in your interactions with the greater Bellingham community. 

We hope and expect that you will make good decisions this weekend, but we encourage you to think about more than just your own choices.  Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, make sure to be…

Dear Western Community:

Creating and sustaining a campus that is diverse, inclusive, and welcoming to every single member of our Western community is absolutely central to our mission as a university. During the past academic year Western, with important leadership contributions from our students, has engaged with new urgency in conversations about advancing those goals with concrete action and renewed commitment. As a result of those conversations, a number of new initiatives have…

Dear Western Community:

Last Fall we provided an update on a number of new diversity-related initiatives at Western.  As we approach the end of our strategic planning process and begin implementation of the plan in the New Year, one thing is clearer than ever: creating and sustaining a more diverse, welcoming and inclusive community for current and future students, faculty and staff is absolutely central to advancing our mission as a university.  For, at the core of that…

Dear Western Community:

Friday evening a tragedy occurred at the Cascade Mall in Burlington that impacted lives throughout Skagit County and beyond.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the five victims and the countless others who were impacted by this senseless and horrific action.

Our Western community has been affected by the event in ways that will not be in the news or in ways one would not normally think of.  Some of the victims have ties to…

Dear Western Students:

Although the official start of classes is still several weeks away, I want to take advantage of this quiet time to personally welcome you to the 2016-17 school year at Western! Like many of you, I am also new to this wonderful university and to Bellingham, having just started my official duties as president on August 1. My wife Uzma and I have enjoyed learning our way around campus and our new hometown, meeting new people, and learning firsthand…

Dear Western Community:

This morning I arrived for my official first day at Western, and I can’t overstate how excited I am to finally be at work here on campus.  Since we moved to Bellingham two weeks ago, Uzma and I have been getting to know our way around, enjoying the beautiful summer evenings in Boulevard Park, and generally attending to all the little details of daily life one must after a move.  Last week I also attended a new presidents workshop hosted…

Dear Western Community: I hope you are enjoying the summer and finding an opportunity to relax, take on new adventures or projects, or just indulge in a good book. Over the past two months I have had the opportunity to meet with President Shepard, the Vice Presidents, and student, faculty, and staff leaders to learn about Western and to better understand its culture and operations. While I am still at the beginning of my Western education, what I have learned has only deepened my initial…

Now that the Board of Trustees have finalized my appointment as Western’s next president, I wish to once again express to you how honored I am for the opportunity to lead Western.  As I continue to learn about Western from conversations with students, faculty and staff leaders, I am all the more grateful to be joining this remarkable institution, and excited to be a part of its future.  It is clear that Western’s reputation for high quality undergraduate education, impactful…