CWU president has both eyes on the future

ELLENSBURG, WASH. -- Engaging ("I don't tell jokes particularly well. I don't tap dance. But I think I'm an approachable person.")

Self-deprecating ("If I'm the smartest person at the institution, I want to be at another institution.")

Accessible ("I readily hand out my cell phone number to everybody.")

On message (he has a doctorate in communication.)

All that, plus James Gaudino has the reputation for being a high-energy, consensus-building kind of guy.

And that might be just what Central Washington University needs in a budget-crunching, economically challenging era.

Gaudino took over as the 14th president of the institution earlier this month, leaving behind his position as dean of the School of Communication and Information at Kent State University in Ohio. He replaced Jerilyn McIntyre, who spent eight years in the position.

He came to Ellensburg raring to go, chatting with students, greeting faculty, meeting townspeople, conferring with staff and hosting a campus forum, all in his first few days.

And although he proclaims he still has much to learn about the university and its 10,000 students, he's clear about what he hopes to accomplish.

Gaudino is eager to build a national reputation for Central, emphasizing its strengths, distinctive character and "telling its story."

Describing music, construction management, engineering technology, accounting and psychology as some of the school's excellent disciplines, he also stresses that CWU knows clearly what its focus is.

"We're good at people," he said.

"Some universities have identify conflicts -- should they emphasize research or focus on professional programs or liberal arts -- but I have a sense that there's a strong commitment to student learning and teaching here."

That commitment is displayed by the amount of time faculty members spend in the classroom, as well as their availability to students, he maintains.

Highlighting what he considers the dynamic connection between faculty and students, he noted that faculty members still accomplish a "remarkable" amount of research as a component of their teaching.

"That's what's great about this place," he underscored. "And we've got to find ways of articulating that student/faculty contact, that learning environment so people know what we do."

Skillfully imparting information is one of Gaudino's fortes, according to a former colleague at Kent State University. "Jim is very personable, has lots of good ideas and could talk to anyone about anything," said LuEtt Hanson, associate dean of College of Communication and Information at Kent State.

"We were absolutely sorry to lose him, and we know how lucky (Central) is to have him," she added.

*****

In Ellensburg, Gaudino hopes to increase student diversity, where about 20 percent of the student body is minority, and to broaden people's perspectives as well as opinions. He considers it part of the transformative nature of an academic environment.

After all, it worked for him. He described his blue collar upbringing, with a father who was a trucker and quarry worker and a stay-at-home mother. He was the first person in his family to attend college -- reluctantly at first but his parents insisted -- and considers himself fortunate to have had teachers and professors who sparked his intellectual curiosity.

He knows, though, that getting to college requires increasingly intimidating amounts of money. With 80 percent of Central students receiving some kind of financial aid, he hopes to build funding sources in order to increase scholarships and loans.

Gaudino also believes in the concept of extending financial aid to immigrant students who don't have legal residency status as long as they have good academic records.

"There's a social advantage to creating opportunity and helping people get educated," he explained.

In the past, however, the state Legislature has rejected the idea.

Describing himself as an advocate of participatory decision making, Gaudino has no intention of ruling by fiat.

That invitation for feedback has impressed the president of the faculty senate, Matt Manweller, who underscored Gaudino's honesty and transparency.

"He gives straightforward answers even if it's difficult to take," the political science professor noted. "That promotes confidence. You're not going to hear clichés coming out of him."

Retaining good faculty is a priority for Gaudino. Even though he's facing potentially large reductions in state funding, he also wants to see faculty salaries rise, particularly for associate and full professors.

"Faculty salaries here are below comparative norms. We want to correct that," Gaudino said.

*****

The budget picture is still a bit blurry, he noted, but he knows the state cuts won't be good.

He's expecting a $2.5 million reduction in funding this fiscal year, which began in July, and perhaps another $4.2 million the year after. During this fiscal year, the university's sources of revenue in the operating budget are slightly more than $96 million.

At a recent forum for faculty, staff and teachers, he described the problems of making cuts just when he wants to bolster academic programs.

In the short term, Gaudino talked about freezing positions, travel and training and increasing income by enrolling more students.

Even though tuition traditionally doesn't fully cover the cost of educating a student, adding students could increase the coffers if they enrolled in course sections that aren't full.

Another option is to enroll more non-traditional students, for instance in continuing education classes.

More fundraising is also on the horizon, Gaudino said.

"We may have to think more like a private university than a public one in terms of revenue," he pointed out.

He underscored that he'll strive to avoid any draconian, structural cuts that have major effects on student learning.

Michael Ogden, professor of film and video studies and vice president of the United Faculty of Central, mentioned that he was aware before Gaudino came that he had a reputation as a "can-do" person who had revitalized other organizations. "I had high expectations, and they haven't been disappointed," Ogden said.

Cautioning that he wasn't speaking for the entire union which represents faculty members, Ogden described Gaudino as likable and direct and thinks it bodes well that one of the new president's first acts was to discuss budgetary options openly in the campus forum.

Gaudino made it clear during the forum that he doesn't intend to follow the lead of Western Washington University in eliminating the football team. A high-school and college (until his knees gave out) player himself, he thinks it would be a mistake to ax the program, arguing that athletics affect a large number of people.

Student Brent Weisel thinks Gaudino will be sensitive to undergraduate needs as he contemplates budget cuts.

"He's such an approachable person. Dr. (Jerilyn) McIntyre was also that type, so I'm thrilled that we have that kind of individual again," said Weisel, who is executive vice president of the Associated Students of CWU.

*****

In light of all the talk of belt tightening, Gaudino knows that his own salary has raised eyebrows on and off campus.

His base salary is $290,000, about $60,000 more than his predecessor, McIntyre, was earning. Gaudino defends the amount, maintaining that he's at the lower end of the presidential salary range.

"This may not be all that acceptable to your readers, but that (salary) reflects market forces," he said. He explained that he was making a similar amount as a Kent State dean and will be working more hours and have more responsibility and more visibility in his new job.

For people of Gaudino's generation -- he's 59 -- the name Kent State conjures memories of the eponymous 1970 shootings, where four students were killed by members of the National Guard during an anti-war protest.

Gaudino was a student at the Air Force Academy that year and vividly remembers the sadness and shock he felt, hearing about the incident. "And a twinge of guilt, knowing that a piece of the world I was preparing myself for had something to do with that."

He went on to serve in the Air Force, in California, Germany and Turkey, from 1972 to 1980.

Move ahead to 2003 -- after earning a Ph.D. in communication from Michigan State University and directing a national communications association for 15 years in Washington D.C. -- he landed at Kent State, where his office overlooked the shooting site.

"That made it very real again," he recalled. "It no longer marked a historical event; it was more the loss of young lives."

*****

Now he's focusing on the young lives in Ellensburg, determined to enhance student success.

However, Gaudino is also planning a little off-campus time. There's the 1935 Dodge pick-up truck his grandfather gave him when he was 16, which he intends to restore enough to be able to drive down Pearl Street. Acknowledging it will be a challenge, he noted, "I'm a klutz. I have no mechanical ability."

Or, there's the Yakima River for fly fishing, the golf course (he once had a 9 handicap) for playing a quick nine or the Stuart Range for exploring ("I still have my college hiking boots.")

His wife Katie has accompanied him to Ellensburg but his two sons are in college, one a senior studying avionics at Kent State and the other working toward a masters in fine arts in guitar at the University of Louisiana.

Outside interests aside, Gaudino will be putting in plenty of office time. But don't expect the buck to always stop there.

"I hope I'm not the person everyone relies on to have the answer," he said. "But I'm willing to bring every part of the community together to solve a problem.

"So talk to me."

Central Washington University details

* NUMBER OF STUDENTS: 10,000

* FACULTY AND STAFF: 1,500

* DEGREES OFFERED: More than 160 undergraduate and master's degrees.

* ALSO: Founded in 1891, the Ellensburg campus is the main location. Starting in 1975, CWU also opened six branch centers around the state.

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