Message sent to campus from President Shari McMahan on May 30.
Dear campus community,
Last October, the Board of Trustees (BOT) charged me with identifying an identity for Eastern to strengthen and define our position in the region. With 18 private colleges/universities, six public universities and 34 community colleges, many of which are offering an applied baccalaureate degree, we need to differentiate. After consulting with my leadership team, I put together an Identity and Marketing Workgroup consisting of faculty from each of the colleges and supported by staff members, all of whom brought diverse perspectives on Eastern’s role as a liberal arts university, our history and future opportunities in the regional community.
After eight months of reviewing workforce data, examining current marketing efforts, aligning conversations with the strategic plan outputs, and considering feedback from campus constituents, the Identity and Marketing Workgroup presented to the BOT a recommendation to position Eastern as a polytechnic university, focusing on applied learning with a foundation on liberal education. The Board saw the opportunity to differentiate EWU from peer institutions and approved moving forward and testing this recommendation with various groups.
Next Steps
To maintain transparency and ensure the campus is informed as we move into summer break, I want to provide a look ahead. The next step in this process will be for our marketing consultants idfive, under the direction of University Relations, to market test various aspects of the polytechnic model and relevant terms with current and prospective students and their families. The survey will gauge what connects, where we can leverage existing brand awareness, and where we may have work to do which will be critical to our success. These survey results will then inform the development of core messaging pillars and determine how we move forward.
This will be an on-going process for Eastern. As you may have heard from the Board of Trustees meeting, there are no formal requirements for a polytechnic university; we are able to determine what that means for our students and academic programs which will take time. I encourage you to remain open to change, stay engaged in discussions, and visit the Identity and Marketing website for updated FAQs.
I look forward to collaborating on this important direction for EWU.
In gratitude,
Shari
Dr. Shari McMahan
President
Eastern Washington University
214 Showalter Hall, Cheney, WA 99004
president@ewu.edu | 509.359.6362
ewu.edu
