Regional Anchor / Regional Impact
Goal Statement (Draft)
We promote economic vitality through educational programs, scholarly research, and dedicated service. Our commitment is firmly rooted in enhancing wealth creation and the well-being of our community while remaining nimble to its ever-changing demands.
Desired Outcomes (Draft)
- 100% of graduating EWU students will participate in internships, work experiences, extended community service activity, or academic research project by winter 2029. The university will collect 12-month job placement data for 100% of all graduates by 2027.
- EWU will share results via a public-facing website using appropriate tracking, reporting, and sharing mechanisms, including at least 25 alumni success stories per year.
- EWU will develop a compensation/investment strategy that creates a culture of community engagement and incentivizes participation for applied learning, fine and performing arts, and community engagement, targeting a 25% annual participation rate among faculty by fall 2029.
- EWU will define and map the region and regional trade area via data-driven analytics. Using the results of this analysis, EWU will perform shared urban and long-term planning with Cheney and the West Plains. EWU will strategically develop and track relationships with Cheney, West-Plains, and Catalyst-related organizations in order to create professional partnerships and develop opportunities for students.
- EWU will increase alumni involvement in non-giving activities. EWU will create an investment model for 16 departments to develop alumni-driven alumni/student mentoring and job-finding activities or programs. These programs will be based on best practice models and will focus on talent and skills development, not just job placement.
- EWU will foster a sense of regional belonging, connection, and understanding among students, employees, and faculty. Each department will create a pro-belonging and onboarding policy, and a centralized administrative unit will organize or fund annual activities.
- EWU will inventory and track the work that faculty and staff do as board members and community collaborators. EWU will compare institutional investments in this area with institutional academic and economic priorities. In areas where EWU lacks presence, EWU will develop strategies and investments to position EWU faculty and staff in those places and annually publish an overview of regional collaborations and outcomes.
- EWU will identify, prioritize, and fund at least one major sustainability focused initiative as it establishes itself as the regional authority on the topic. Potential examples include the following:
- A Clean Energy Technology Center formed by an interdisciplinary team of faculty potentially including those from engineering, political science, economics, and planning.
- A Water Resource and Policy Institute formed by an interdisciplinary team of faculty potentially including those from biology, environmental science, political science, American Indian ed, and philosophy faculty.
- A Pacific Northwest Institute for Prairie Restoration formed by an interdisciplinary team of faculty potentially including those from biology, American Indian education, history, recreation, and English faculty that focuses on the natural and cultural histories and significance of regional prairies and how to restore them.
- An Inland Northwest Environmental Restoration Center focused on restoring local ecologies, raising awareness of landscapes, and supporting regional communities: e.g. forever chemicals at Fairchild Air Force Base, waterway remediation in Coeur d’Alene and the Spokane River, nuclear waste management at Hanford, prairie restoration on the Palouse, and community revitalization in areas severed by highways.
- EWU will develop a multi-year investment and change-management plan that aligns major state and institutional investments in infrastructure with the development of faculty, student, and community engagement programs. Systematically applied across the institution, this plan will be incorporated into the annual plans of all campus units.
