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The WICHE Commission

The WICHE Commission oversees the development of WICHE programs and assures that the Western Regional Educational Compact is carried out for the benefit of the residents of the West. WICHE’s 48 commissioners are appointed by the governors of the 15 Western states and the U.S. Pacific Territories and Freely Associated States. The commissioners are leaders in higher education and include state higher education executive officers, college and university presidents, legislators, business and community leaders, and other key partners. In accordance with the organization’s bylaws, the WICHE Commission has three primary responsibilities:

  • Fiduciary duty, including oversight of the organization’s finances
  • Provide strategic direction for the organization through approval of WICHE’s annual Workplan
  • Select and evaluate the WICHE president

The commission also appoints members of the WICHE Legislative Advisory Committee which, though not technically a formal commission committee, is composed of WICHE-region legislators as well as several commissioners.

Upcoming WICHE Commission Meetings

2023
November 9–10: Riverside, California
2024
May 6–7: Nevada
November 14–15: Hawaiʻi
2025
May 5–6: Utah
November 13–14: Colorado

View Previous Meeting Agenda Books

WICHE Commissioners

*Executive Committee Member

ALASKA

Tom Begich

Executive Director, Nick Begich Scholarship Intern Fund

* Pearl Brower

President and CEO, Ukpeagvik Iñupiat Corporation

Sean Parnell

Chancellor, University of Alaska Anchorage

ARIZONA

John Arnold

Executive Director, Arizona Board of Regents

* Kathleen Goeppinger

President/CEO, Midwestern University

Todd Haynie

President, Eastern Arizona College

CALIFORNIA

Christopher Cabaldon

Mayor-in-Residence, Institute for the Future

Ellen Junn

President Emerita, California State University, Stanislaus

* Robert Shireman

Director of Higher Education Excellence and Senior Fellow, The Century Foundation

COLORADO

Jim Chavez

Executive Director, Community College of Denver Foundation & Governmental Affairs

* Antwan Jefferson

WICHE Vice Chair, Associate Dean for EDI and Clinical Associate Professor, University of Colorado Denver

Angie Paccione

Executive Director, Colorado Department of Higher Education

HAWAI'I

* David Lassner

WICHE Immediate Past Chair, President, University of Hawai'i

John Morton

Vice President Emeritus, University of Hawai'i Community Colleges

Colleen Sathre

Vice President Emeritus, University of Hawai'i

IDAHO

Rick Aman

President, College of Eastern Idaho

* Matt Freeman

WICHE Chair, Executive Director, Office of the Idaho State Board of Education

Dave Lent

Senator, Idaho State Legislature

MONTANA

Laurie Bishop

Representative, Montana State Legislature

* Clayton Christian

Commissioner of Higher Education, Montana University System

NEVADA

Catherine (Cathy) Dinauer

Executive Director, Nevada State Board of Nursing

* Fred Lokken

Professor, Truckee Meadows Community College

NEW MEXICO

* Barbara Damron

Professor and Senior Advisor to the Dean, University of New Mexico

Bill Soules

Senator, New Mexico State Legislature

Patricia Sullivan

Associate Dean, College of Engineering, New Mexico State University

NORTH DAKOTA

Danita Bye

Board Member, North Dakota State Board of Higher Education

* Kyle Davison

Senator, North Dakota Legislature

Mark Hagerott

Chancellor, North Dakota University System

OREGON

* Ben Cannon

Executive Director, Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission

Hilda Rosselli

Educational Policy Consultant

Lisa Skari

President, Mt. Hood Community College

SOUTH DAKOTA

* Larry Tidemann

Retired, South Dakota Legislature

Diana VanderWoude

System Vice President, Sanford Health

U.S. PACIFIC TERRITORIES AND FREELY ASSOCIATED STATES

* Frankie Eliptico

Representing CNMI, Vice President, Administration and Advancement, Northern Marianas College

Rodney Jacob

Representing Guam, Attorney, Partner, Calvo Fisher & Jacob LLP

Kalani R. Kaneko

Senator, Republic of the Marshall Island

UTAH

Patricia Jones

CEO, Women's Leadership Institute

* Ann Millner

Senator, Utah State Legislature

David Woolstenhulme

Commissioner of Higher Education, Utah System of Higher Education

WASHINGTON

John Carmichael

President, Evergreen State College

* Michael Meotti

Executive Director, Washington Student Achievement Council

Gerry Pollet

Representative, Washington State Legislature

WYOMING

* Fred Baldwin

Senator, Wyoming State Legislature

Kevin Carman

Provost and Senior Vice President, University of Wyoming

Joseph Schaffer

President, Laramie County Community College

Full agendas for the WICHE Commission biannual meetings and related committee materials:

WICHE Commission Action

Resolution in Support of the State Role in the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement

On November 4, 2021, the WICHE Commission passed a Resolution in Support of the State Role in the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement in which the Commission:

  1. Affirms that the Unified State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement as signed by the four Regional Compacts and NC-SARA, is the legal basis for the interregional state authorization reciprocity agreement and its coordinating governance;
  2. Suspends all changes involving SARA policy and SARA applications until a revised policy modification process is developed and approved by each of the four regions so that all policy changes may be subject to this revised process;
  3. Supports enhancing states’ and territories’ control of their delegated administrative agent by reserving a majority of NC-SARA board member seats for representatives of the states and territories, complementing the Regional Compact presidents’ role in serving on the NC-SARA board and states’ and territories’ central position in the forthcoming policy revision process; and
  4. Directs the WICHE president to continue to make all reasonable efforts to accomplish these objectives, including collaboration with the W-SARA Regional Steering Committee, other Regional Compacts, the NC-SARA Board, and other key partners, such as the attorneys-general.
Click Here for Full Text

For more information, please contact:

Laura Ewing

Executive Assistant to the President and to the Commission


303.541.0204

lewing@wiche.edu