About CWU 2011

Central Washington University

Learn.Do.

Live.

• One-to-one care that lifts up students from all walks of life

• Small classes and faculty passionate about teaching

• A commitment to real-world learning that takes students beyond the classroom

• Unique programs unlike any others in the Northwest

• Convenient location: a beautiful, historic, and safe community

What sets us apart

“Central is like home for a lot of us. We learn so much here. We become knowledgeable here.

We find nurturing here.”

~Andre Dickerson, Biology, Senior

Class size by the numbers• 80: Number of students Central’s largest classroom holds. Most are much smaller.

• 21-to-1: Student-to-faculty ratio at CWU. Small classes allow students to interact with each other and with faculty.

• 0: Number of CWU classrooms that hold 700 students.

CWU faculty place a high priority on

teaching and on direct contact with students.

Taking students beyond the classroom…

Central’s commitment to learning, discovery, and individual attention takes students beyond books to “road test” what they’ve learned.


Music faculty, students, and alumni perform at the Northwest’s premier concert facility, Benaroya Hall in Seattle.

Taking students beyond the classroom…Wildcat athletes compete and band members and cheerleaders perform at the 67,000-seat Qwest Field in Seattle.


Geology students site GPS stations throughout the region, including on top of the Northwest’s most famous volcano, Mt. St. Helens.


Construction management students build a real house.


Students who want to become teachers work in a real high school classroom on campus in Black Hall.

Taking students beyond the classroom…Anthropology students learn to test construction sites for historical and cultural artifacts. They used what they learned to find a woolly mammoth, 1,000-year old weapons, “string gold,” and more.

DID YOU KNOW..?Two Central softball players received a coveted national ESPY award for Best Moment in sports for a simple act of sportsmanship carried out on the field. Their story is still being told on billboards across the country.

• A live application of learning excites students and faculty and makes learning relevant.

• Research ignites curious young minds and enhances the learning relationship among professors and students.

• Students are prepared for real-world career settings.

• Graduates are ready to put their knowledge to work on day one.

Real-world experiencesand research

Real-world experiencesand research

• Undergraduate students partner with faculty across the university to discover new ideas and technologies.

• Students use what they learned to answer questions about the world they live in and share that knowledge with national audiences.

• Learning is more than a classroom activity at CWU. It’s how students live. Living Learning Communities bring together residents with similar interests, cultures, and more.

DID YOU KNOW..?Central Washington University is the only university in Washington that makes involving undergraduates in research a condition of faculty tenure and promotion.

Programs unlike any others in the Northwest

CWU is the only place in the Northwest to earn degrees in aviation, sports marketing, wine studies, musical theater, paramedicine, and more.

College of Business

• Is among the top 5 percent of business schools in the world to earn accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business

• Links students to business professionals through an advisory board of business leaders and a speaker series featuring business executives

• Offers the only undergraduate program in the state for sports business management

“The college’s programs pushed me to exceed beyond my own internal goals and expectations. The education I received was one of high caliber that provided me with the knowledge and confidence to

excel in today’s global business environment.”

~Kathy Elser, Accounting, ‘89Senior VP of finance and administration/CFO

Boeing Employees Credit Union

College of Education

• With 1,400 students enrolled and 600 graduates each year, it’s the largest of Central’s academic colleges.

• It is the sixth largest teacher education program in the country.

• Graduates dominate the ranks of annual state and regional educator of the year awards.

DID YOU KNOW..?A recent national review agency placed CWU’s College of Education in the top 1 percent in the nation.

Department of Music

• The Northwest’s premier music program

• Recognized regionally and nationally

• In 2011 faculty will premier original work at The Kennedy Center

• The Music Building has earned four national awards for acoustic and design excellence

Jazz, symphonic, and choral studies performance groups auditioned and won the coveted right to perform at these prestigious national festivals:

• The College Band Directors National Association conference in Seattle• The American Choral Directors Association conference in Chicago• The International Horn Society conference in San Francisco

Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute

• It’s the only program in America studying and promoting communication between humans and non-humans.

• Chimpanzees at the institute use the signs of American Sign Language (ASL).

• Chimpanzees are raised in an environment in which their human family members use only ASL, much like that of a child who is hearing impaired.

• Home of the first non-human animal to acquire and reliably use a human language.

THE AMAZING WASHOE Washoe came to CWU in 1980. She was the first non-human to acquire a human language. She then taught it to her adopted son Loulis, another first. Washoe died in 2007 at the age of 42. Her accomplishments helped change scientific thought and opened doors in the treatment of non-communicating children by developing successful therapies for language and intervention.

Department of Geology

• CWU’s Geodesy Lab operates 1200 Global Positioning Stations (GPS) from California to Canada.

• CWU’s Pacific Northwest Geodetic Array (PANGA) research facility is the only one in the Pacific Northwest focused exclusively on measuring, monitoring, and mitigating natural hazards with GPS.

• CWU is a leader in the use of GPS technology to forecast the location and intensity of earthquakes.

DID YOU KNOW..?PANGA Director Timothy Melbourne was recently interviewed by National

Geographic for a special that’s scheduled to air spring 2011.

Global Wine Studies

• The only program of its kind in the nation that addresses the business side of wine, from marketing and importing to tasting and sales.

• Internationally acclaimed wine expert Amy Mumma leads the prestigious program.

• Mumma received the 2011 VinExpo Wine Women Award and in 2005 was named international Professional Wine Woman.

DID YOU KNOW..?Seventy percent of the jobs in Washington’s wildly successful wine industry are in wine business.

Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology

• Plentiful sunshine, bio-mass, and wind have drawn a dozen green-energy companies to the Ellensburg area.

• CWU is a leader in the Central Washington Resource Energy Collaborative (Innovative Partnership Zone).

• Degrees are offered in environmental sciences, energy studies, and green jobs specialization in construction management.

A leader in energy conservation, CWU has:• Reduced the use of natural gas and electricity by 13 percent• Cut water consumption by 10 million gallons per year• Earned the governor’s Energy Management Award in 2004• Reduced its carbon footprint while expanding campus

Location, location, location…

Students come to Central Washington University for the convenient location and beautiful setting. In fact, location is one of the top three

reasons students decide to attend CWU.

Location breakdown

• The 80 percent of students who come from western Washington appreciate CWU’s proximity to home.

• CWU is less than two hours from Seattle and three hours from Spokane.

• Historic downtown Ellensburg is just a few blocks away and is filled with eclectic shops, a thriving farmer’s market, and art and jazz festivals.

What’s on campus• Eighteen historic buildings, including excellent examples of Italianate, Classical Revival, Arts and Crafts, and Mission Revival styles

• State-of-the-art new buildings including the Science Building, the Music Building, Hogue Technology Center, and the 400-plus bed Wendell Hill Hall residence hall

• Award-winning, 228,000 square foot Student Union and Recreation Center with a 50-foot climbing wall, a four-court gymnasium, dining services, and a movie theatre

Surrounded by nature

• Four distinct seasons means fun in the sun and snow.

• Closeness to the mountains invites amazing hiking, mountain biking, snow skiing, snowboarding, snow shoeing, rock climbing, hunting, horseback riding, camping, etc.

• Easy access to Yakima and Columbia rivers means boating, wind surfing, river rafting, fly fishing, wildlife watching, kayaking, jet skiing, etc.

CWU BY THE NUMBERS

78,000: Number of CWU alumni across the country

CWU BY THE NUMBERS

13,100: Number of individuals enrolled at CWU

CWU BY THE NUMBERS

8,800: Number of full-time students for

whom the state provides some funding

CWU BY THE NUMBERS

120: Number of student clubs, associations, and intramural

leagues

CWU BY THE NUMBERS

100: Miles between CWU and Seattle

CWU BY THE NUMBERS

80: Percent of students who come to CWU from western Washington

CWU BY THE NUMBERS

65: Percent of graduates who transferred

to CWU from another school

CWU BY THE NUMBERS

21: Percent of students who are people of color

CWU BY THE NUMBERS

9: Number of CWU campuses, placing the opportunity for a degree near Washington residents statewide

CWU BY THE NUMBERS

5: Percent decrease in the cost of education at CWU since 1991

“This is Central. Everybody here has a story to tell. Many of us started out somewhere else, and we came here and

found a home. ”

~Mike Reilly, Mechanical Engineering, ‘08Quarterback, BC Lions