The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
“We’re committed to continuing that upward trajectory”
By Seth Mensing, WCU
Western Colorado University’s Board of Trustees heard from senior staff about significant developments related to housing, enrollment, and the general education curriculum at a meeting on March 27.
Board approves housing financing plan
Western CFO Ian Higgins asked for and received board approval for a resolution that would allow Western to issue a bond of up to $12 million to finance the construction of housing on the east side of campus to address the needs of faculty and staff.
The project will include 36 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments on land currently owned by the Western Colorado University Foundation at the east end of College Avenue. The builder, Buena Vista-based Fading West Development, plans to break ground this fall after the state’s Joint Budget Committee gave the project final approval on March 14. Tenants could move in as soon as the fall of 2026.
“This project really is about investing in our people by addressing one of the biggest barriers to attracting and retaining talent in Gunnison,” said Western’s VP for finance and administration Ian Higgins. “Providing stable, attainable housing for our faculty and staff is essential to the long-term health of Western.”
Enrollment on the rise
Vice president of marketing and enrollment Leslie Taylor had more good news for the board. She reported that her departments had seen an increase in the number of applications and admitted students to almost every degree program on campus. Deposits, which show students are committed to Western, also increased for the first time in four years.
Numbers in each of the categories – applications, admitted students and deposits – were a five-year high.
“Seeing this kind of across-the-board growth is a sign that our strategies are working and that Western’s messaging is resonating with students and families,” Taylor said. “It tells us that prospective students see opportunity here, and we’re committed to continuing that upward trajectory.”
Re-envisioning general education for the 21st Century
The board also heard from associate provost Dr. Kelsey Bennett and Western watershed director Dr. Steven Coughlin, who gave a presentation on the University’s new Western Watershed General Education program, developed by a faculty-led task force starting in the fall of 2023.
The initiative to modernize the current general education curriculum stems from Goal #3 of the University’s Strategic Plan, part of which is to improve the value of a Western degree by strengthening the liberal arts education that lies at the heart of the undergraduate curriculum and increasing its relevance to students’ professional, personal and civic lives in the 21st century.
On March 3, after two years of work, Western’s faculty senate strongly supported the new general education curriculum, which will launch in the fall of 2026.
“It is a tremendous achievement for the faculty to have envisioned and ultimately approved the Western Watershed General Education curriculum,” Dr. Bennett said. “Because general education courses comprise about a third of the curriculum students will take through graduation, it is important that its offerings collectively provide all students plenty of space for reflection, for the testing of ideas through meaningful dialogue and engagement with their professors and peers, as well as tools they need to succeed both in and beyond the classroom in their professional lives.”
Western’s Board of Trustees will meet again on May 9. For more information, please visit western.edu.
