WGU Washington continues to disrupt the higher education space with an innovative, student-first model. With higher education costs soring and the needs of the workforce rapidly changing, WGU Washington offers a flexible and affordable online model that provides students with the ability to learn independent of time and place. This approach makes higher education more accessible by allowing individuals to fit their education into their lives, not the other way around.
We are honored to partner with WGU Washington to continue to raise awareness and build thought leadership for the university and its leadership through a combination of news coverage, placement of content and pursuit of awards.
For instance, we worked with WGU Washington Chancellor Tonya Drake on a series of opinion pieces highlighting mission-driven initiatives for the university such as employment resources for military spouses and state funding for low-income college students. We hope this fuels further discussion and thought about how to address these important issues.
More recently, we worked with Rob Smith at Seattle Business magazine to feature Tonya and her mentor, Edmonds Community College President Emeritus Jean Hernandez, in a cover story about the importance of cultivating the leaders of tomorrow. Giving back and paying it forward is part of Tonya’s DNA and is also a value that is evident in the university’s student-centric approach.
Outlined below are the earned media coverage highlights we secured on behalf of WGU Washington after naming Dr. Tonya Drake as chancellor in the spring of 2018.
- Seattle Business: Mentoring Promising Female Talent Cultivates Tomorrow’s Seattle Business Leaders – 05/01/19
- 425 Business: Secrets of Success – 04/22/19
- The Herald (Everett): Commentary: Turning a grant into the promise of education – 4/07/19
- NBC (KNDU/KNDO): #SheDidThat Lifetime Campaign Honors Local Teacher – 04/05/19
- The Columbian: Drake: Transformed grant invests in future – 03/24/19
- The Daily News (Longview): We must invest in Washington’s future – 03/22/19
- Seattle Business: Daring Women Q&A: Tonya Drake, Chancellor of Western Governors University Washington – 01/30/19
- LinkedIn (longform article): Trends Impacting Access to Higher Education in 2019 – 12/27/18
- The Herald (Everett): Commentary: Employers need to reach out to military spouses – 11/11/18
- Tri-City Herald: On Veterans Day, think also of military spouses – 11/08/18
- Seattle Business: 2018 Community Impact Awards: Job Training – 10/26/18
- Seattle Business: The Winners: 2018 Community Impact Awards – 10/26/18
- The Herald (Everett): Evergreen Speedway driver also racing on East Coast – 08/08/18
- Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s The Military Wire: WGU Positions Veterans for Success in High Demand Cyber Security Field – 06/25/18
- The Seattle Times: State WGU leader aims to double student enrollment – 05/07/18
- KING 5: Celebrate WGU Washington’s largest graduating class this weekend – 04/26/18
These results are encouraging but our charge continues. There is plenty more to come – stay tuned.