Governor Names Newest WSU Regent

PULLMAN, Wash. — Washington Gov. Gary Locke has named Connie Millard Niva of Everett, a 10-year member of the Washington State Transportation Commission — three years as its chair — to Washington State University’s Board of Regents.

Niva will join the board at its June 13 meeting on the Pullman campus.

“I am very pleased to join the regents of Washington State University,” Niva said. “There is little question that a strong university system in our state is critical to the economic future of Washington. Not only is higher education a dynamic engine that develops new technologies, but is essential to train the workforce of the future. I look forward to being a part of the effort to strengthen the state’s support of WSU.”

Niva, a 1962 WSU honors graduate with a bachelor’s degree in bacteriology and public health, earned a master’s degree in public administration from Seattle University.

“We are delighted with the selection of Connie Niva as a new regent for WSU,” said WSU President V. Lane Rawlins. “Connie is eager to begin her term. She is a Cougar and has a wonderful record of service to the state and to higher education. We look forward to a very productive interaction with Regent Niva.”

The new regent served as a member of the Everett City Council from 1986-89 and as a congressional liaison for the Puget Sound Water Quality Authority from 1990-92. She also is a member of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Transportation and the Snohomish County Citizens for Improved Transportation.

She has served in various government and community capacities. Niva is a founding board member of the University of Washington’s Center for Women and Democracy. She is chair of the Snohomish County Housing Hope Board of Directors and a member of the Puget Sound Regional Council Transportation Policy Committee.

Previously she was a member of the United Way of Snohomish County Board of Directors.

Niva has served as a visiting professor in Seattle University’s Institute for Public Service and as a lecturer and laboratory administrator at the University of Washington Medical School. She also established a hospital laboratory for St. John Eye Hospital in Jerusalem.

The WSU regent also has been active with the Everett Area Chamber of Commerce and the League of Women Voters of Snohomish County.

Niva is married to Jud Marquardt and has four adult children and three grandchildren.

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