In his last state of the university address, Central Washington University president Jim Gaudino stood in front of a green screen in a prerecorded video, outlining the progress the institution has made on goals he set during last years speech.

For the past several years, I have reported by all measures, the state of the university is excellent, Gaudino said during the prerecorded video. I have applauded the hard work of the faculty and staff, administrators and our alumni, and I thank you all for your commitment to our students. I also told you Central is on the cusp of greatness, even in the face of our current challenges, I firmly believe that to be true.

Gaudinos first goal was to increase freshmen to sophomore retention from 71 to 80% in five years. The rate improved last year from 71 percent to 73 percent. He also noted that this years sophomore class is the largest in 10 years.

Gaudino attributed these increases to identifying and helping students that need it as soon as possible. He then laid out a more aggressive goal of increasing that number to 85% retention in the next 10 years.

The key to reaching that milestone will be using data analytics to anticipate when a student needs help, Gaudino said.

In line with his next goal of increasing workforce diversity by 5% in five years, Gaudino outlined several examples of students of color excelling at CWU because of their mentor relationships with people who they could identify with. Gaudino said due to adopting policies requiring people of color on all search committees and increasing the diversity of hiring pools, that number was up 1.5% from last year.

Gaudinos third goal from last year was to enhance sustainability efforts on campus. He listed a host of accomplishments, including Wildcat Farms development, compostable containers from dining, and switching to sustainable copy paper.

During the video, Gaudino recognized professor Bobby Cummings with a new award, the Lifetime Achievement in Diversity award, one that will be named after her.

I speak on behalf of the many people youve inspired, supported, taught and mentored, when I say thank you and congratulations, Gaudino said.

In a prerecorded statement, Cummings said the award makes all of her work over the years worth it.

Im so happy to receive this because it validates all of the service, all of the social justice work Ive done on this campus for over 25 years, she said. I dedicated my life to being a person who is part of the greater good who sees the best in all human beings and fights for their dignity and worth to be recognized in this universe.

Gaudino also recognized several other award recipients, including:

2020 Henry L. Alder Award for Distinguished teaching Brandy Wiegers, department of mathematics

2020 Washington State Family and Consumer Science Educator of the Year award Professor Jodi Musser, business marketing and FCS career and technical education

Gaudino also mentioned two honorary doctorate recipients. Ron Sims, a former Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development in the Obama administration, and General James Mattis, former defense secretary in the Trump administration.

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In prerecorded message, state of the university address highlights progress on last years goals - Daily Record-News