EWU president search: Candidate John Tomkowiak, founding dean of WSU College of Medicine, talks enrollment, staffing

The public showcase of Eastern Washington University’s presidential candidates continued Thursday with Dr. John Tomkowiak, founding dean of the WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine in Spokane.

Tomkowiak is the third candidate this week to go through the rounds of meetings with university leadership, as well as public forums and building and campus tours. He followed UCLA Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Monroe Gorden Jr. on Tuesday and Interim President David May on Wednesday.

The fourth and final candidate – Shari McMahan, provost and vice president for academic affairs at California State University, San Bernardino – is scheduled for the same itinerary Friday.

On Thursday, Tomkowiak introduced himself and took questions from EWU community members during forums in Cheney and Spokane. The university’s Board of Trustees will collect feedback on the candidates through 5 p.m. Friday.

Here are some highlights from Thursday’s forum in Cheney:

Enrollment

EWU posted a total headcount of 10,892 students for the fall quarter, according to the Office of Institutional Research, down nearly 1,500 from the previous fall.

The 8,441 undergraduates enrolled last fall was the lowest number the university has seen in the past decade, down from a 10-year high of 12,411 in 2014.

Posed with the question of how he would work to address declining enrollment and better reach prospective undergrads in Washington, Tomkowiak said all universities should work to ensure high school students are aware of the options available through the Washington College Grant program.

“We need to be a part of that solution,” he said. “We don’t need to own it completely, but we absolutely need to be a part of it.”

Likewise, for EWU specifically, Tomkowiak said opportunities may exist to graduate a greater number of students debt free.

His third suggestion was about communicating “the value that (EWU) gives not only to the students who come here, but to their families and then the communities that they go back to.”

“How do we think about how we want to serve our students and our communities and sort of re-up our investment in those things that we do well or in those things that we know the community and our students need?” Tomkowiak said. “I think the book should be open on that.”

Diversity

Tomkowiak touted work he has done over his career in the name of diversity, equity and inclusion.

At Rosalind Franklin University in Chicago – where he served in several positions, including executive vice president for clinical affairs and president of the Rosalind Franklin University Health System – Tomkowiak worked with the school’s chief diversity officer to train staff on diversity and inclusion. He said he served as an instructor for faculty and staff.

At the WSU School of Medicine, Tomkowiak said the diversity policy was the first policy instituted at the college.

“We wanted to make sure that everyone appreciated it was a part of our DNA,” he said. “Our strategy at the college, and the strategy that I think the best institutions have, is one that diversity, inclusion, equity, social justice, belonging isn’t just in one office.”

As a licensed psychiatrist, Tomkowiak said he was trained early on to “never make assumptions.”

Staffing

Alexandra Cassano is the president of Local 931, the union that represents members of EWU’s classified staff.

Classified staff encompasses a variety of roles, Cassano said, including workers in the president’s office, academic affairs, student affairs and facilities. Workers in these areas have seen “massive cutbacks” over the past two years, however, with some caused by the COVID-19 pandemic while others were planned earlier, Cassano said.

Asked by Cassano about his plan to support staff as the university recovers, Tomkowiak framed his responses along his outlook for Cheney and Spokane, saying the cost of living has “outpaced our ability to pay people what they deserve.”

Tomkowiak said he supports creating a culture where staff understand their role in the university’s mission, and “that they have a voice and a seat at the table” with decision-making.

He said the university needs to figure out ways to generate the revenue needed to keep workers at EWU, whether that’s through asking for more funding from the state Legislature, public-private partnerships or increased fundraising.

“Everyone needs to feel valued and supported in their role,” Tomkowiak said. “Some of those things can be done without financial resources, but yet they’re hard to do.”