Washington State University is looking toward the future as it looks west to the Seattle football game. Administrators know that increasing the university’s visibility on the west side is about much more than football. It is an opportunity to take the WSU message to a broader and potentially influential audience.
“Because Washington State University is one of the nation’s top public research universities and the state’s land-grant university, the impact of our research is felt not only statewide but worldwide,” said Sally Savage, vice president for University Relations. “It is important to the future of the university that President Rawlins and the university’s leadership team have the opportunity to engage industry leaders, journalists and the broader Seattle audience in a discussion about the vision for Washington State. WSU Week in Seattle has given them the chance to do that.”
“Our goal is to create opportunities to make certain the reputation and status of the university are in line with the quality of our research and instruction,” said Mary Gresch, associate vice president, Strategic Communications and Marketing. “The events in Seattle each September are the result of a collaboration between the colleges, University Relations, the WSU Foundation, Athletics, Student Affairs, the Office of Equity and Diversity and others to build a constituency base in Seattle that supports the academic priorities and important work of the university.”
“There are many aspects of our 2005 activities in Seattle which are beneficial,” said President V. Lane Rawlins, “but none more so than the events which directly support diversity. The Macy’s Annual Diversity Scholarship Luncheon supports our efforts to attract a high-ability, diverse student body. The luncheon has grown every year, and we are very proud of that.
“This year at Qwest Field we are hosting a historic black college that has a place in African American history. I look forward to creating a friendship and working relationship with Dr. Horace A. Judson, president of Grambling. I think there is much we can learn from Grambling State, and I speak for all WSU administrators when I say we are looking forward to this experience.”
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, WSU also will use the game and Grambling’s location in Louisiana to raise money for relief efforts that benefit the region.
For complete details on WSU events in Seattle this weekend, check out www.wsu.edu/seattle.
