In December WICHE broadened the scope of its Northwest Academic Forum (NWAF) to include academic leaders in all WICHE states and renamed the organization the Western Academic Leadership Forum (WALF). Through WALF academic leaders from member institutions and agencies partner to build a stronger future for higher education in the West, sharing information, resources, and expertise as they address issues of common concern and work together on innovative solutions. WALF will hold its annual meeting in Anchorage, hosted by the University of Alaska Anchorage, on April 22-24. The program, themed “Taking Stock: Strategic Leadership in Changing Times,” will focus on the strategies that academic leaders are using to maintain quality with budget cuts at unprecedented levels. Experts on the national and regional fiscal crisis will address the plenary sessions. Breakout sessions will focus on benchmarks and best practices in student and faculty success and retention. Provosts, vice presidents, directors of academic affairs, and directors of research from public and private master’s level and doctoral-granting institutions, along with chief executive and chief academic officers of systems and statewide agencies from the WICHE states, are invited to attend. For more information about the annual program, visit WALF online. WICHE’s Mental Health Program is holding a conference on rural mental health in Denver on March 5-6. “From the Bench to the Ranch” will bring together rural mental health researchers, providers, policymakers, consumers, and funding agencies to discuss how to adapt current evidence-based practices to rural and frontier communities and create new evidence-based practices for them. Visit Regonline to learn more, including the agenda, speaker list, and poster abstract submission information

February 2009  | Share this on Twitter | Post this on Facebook