Provost Office

Partnerships

During the past several months, Washington State University has initiated meetings with Eastern Washington University, Gonzaga University, Whitworth College, the Community Colleges of Spokane, the University of Washington, and the University of Idaho. The primary motivator for the meetings has been the creation of a Health Sciences Consortium; however, several smaller meetings between provosts, college deans, and faculty have resulted both in concrete ideas for joint programs and plans for future collaboration. In addition to existing educational partnerships, there are potential partnerships with business, industry, and the health care community. These partnerships may result in academic programs and joint degrees, in internship opportunities for students, or in research collaborations. In order to strengthen the potential for future collaboration, the Presidents and Provosts of the higher education institutions in Spokane and have met and have agreed to meet on a regular basis to discuss long term educational strategies for Spokane. These meetings will focus on finding ways to enhance coordination, collaboration, and partnerships in providing educational programs in the greater Spokane area. During the initial meeting, five areas of programming were discussed. These were liberal arts, business, education, engineering, and allied health. Included in the discussion was a review of WSU's list of proposed programs. The University of Idaho will participate in discussions on engineering and the University of Washington will be invited to participate in discussions on the health sciences.

Another initiative, the Higher Education Leadership Group formally created by the Spokane Chamber of Commerce, will make great contributions in this area. During its first year, the Higher Education Leadership Group will be chaired by Bill Robinson, President of Whitworth College, and Dave Broom, Immediate Past Chair of the Spokane Area Chamber of Commerce. This group, a unique partnership of chief executive officers from business and industry in Spokane and the presidents of Spokane's higher education institutions, will expand the dialog between higher education and business for the purpose of supporting the economic growth of the region.

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Comments and questions submit to: mlmrogers@wsu.edu Revised 10/22/98.
Copyright © 1996 Washington State University.
URL: http://www.wsu.edu/provost/spokane98.htm

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