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June 2, 2021
Vol. 119 NO. 9
President Gaudino: His closing words Outgoing President Gaudino reflects on 12 years he served as CWU’s President By Sean Bessette As the school year comes to a close, so does James Gaudino’s tenure as President. Gaudino shared some of his favorite and least favorite moments over the past 12 years and provided an update to some of his university-wide goals before his successor, A. James Wohlpart, steps in. University-Wide Goals Retention Rate The pandemic has not been kind to the university’s retention rate, according to Gaudino. “We were on the right trajectory, but then, somewhat not surprising, COVID,” Gaudino said. The retention rate won’t be known until the fall, but Gaudino said he’s had students tell the university that they’ve dropped out because of the online environment and the lack of face-toface interaction. Faculty and Staff Diversity According to Gaudino, CWU’s diversity among faculty and staff has continued to improve, but this isn’t the easiest metric to improve. “We bring in, you know, 2,000 plus students every year. We don’t bring in 2,000 plus faculty and staff every year,” Gaudino said. “So we only have an opportunity to hire when, you know, someone leaves for whatever reason.
Gaudino is proud of the progress the university has had towards diversifying the faculty and staff with the somewhat limited opportunities. “When we look at our success rates among our opportunities to diversify, it’s quite good,” Gaudino said. “We are leading the state there.” Carbon Footprint Reduction CWU is continuing to make progress towards lowering its carbon footprint, according to Gaudino. “One of the things we do that we’re very, very proud of is that we build new buildings to LEED [Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design] standards and that’s important because one of the criteria of a LEED certified building is its carbon footprint,” Gaudino said. When a university vehicle needs to be replaced, CWU is purchasing an all-electric or hybrid vehicle instead of a gas-powered one. There will be an all-electric campus police car seen on campus next fall, according to Gaudino. Gaudino pointed towards the hire of Kathleen Klaniecki, CWU’s sustainability director, as an additional measure towards reducing the school’s carbon footprint. According to Gaudino, Klaniecki is involved in the decision-making process of issues, trying to point out sustainable solutions.
Gaudino, Page 5
Courtesy of the CWU Flickr
CWU makes admissions tests optional By Libby Williams
CWU has announced that the SAT and ACT are both optional for all applicants starting fall 2021. This decision comes after about a year of discussion, and will be a permanent change, even after the pandemic.
“It’s something that many schools have been talking about for a really long time,” said Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Life Michelle DenBeste said. “The pandemic
kind of pushed the conversation forward, which to me is good. We’re agreeing to make SAT or ACT scores optional for admission. No one need feel like they have to take them.”
DenBeste started working at CWU in May of last year, right at the start of the pandemic. She said there has been a team discussing this
Page 3 Study abroad suspension
Page 5 Chimpanzee talk
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Goodbye CWU
End of the year celebration
Admissions test, Page 3