WWU president celebrates graduates' achievements in community

When I arrived at Western four years ago, my biggest shock was discovering the perception by some of our state's top leaders that public higher education was largely irrelevant to the important issues facing our state. Since then, there has been a 180-degree shift in the views of many of these leaders. They now understand that higher education is not part of the problem, but a primary part of the solution for our state - to meet the demands of an innovation economy that depends on a well-educated work force and to produce the thoughtful leaders and citizens so important to our democracy. And, equally important, to make sure that Washington's sons and daughters are in a position to reap the rewards that an innovation economy brings with it.