EWU president search: California State University’s Shari McMahan touts K-12 outreach as she closes out candidate tours, forums

The search for Eastern Washington University’s next president appears to be coming to a close.

Shari McMahan, provost and vice president for academic affairs at California State University, San Bernardino, was the last of the four finalists in the running for the job to participate this week in meetings with university leadership, public forums and building and campus tours.

McMahan, who made the rounds Friday, is vying to serve as EWU’s 27th president against Monroe Gorden Jr., UCLA’s vice chancellor of student affairs; EWU Interim President David May; and Dr. John Tomkowiak, founding dean of the WSU Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine.

The EWU Board of Trustees is expected to review the public feedback submitted from this week’s sessions Saturday, at which time the board plans to meet behind closed doors in executive session. Trustees have said the board’s final decision on the president will likely come at a later date.

As did her fellow finalists, McMahan introduced herself and took questions from EWU campus community members during open forums Friday in both Cheney and Spokane.

Here are some of the highlights from the Cheney forum:

Why EWU?

McMahan said the profile for the president’s position is what drew her to apply.

She said she found that EWU has had concerns and experiences similar to some that she’s dealt with over the course of her career. McMahan is the first female provost in the history of California State University, San Bernardino, having started her tenure in September 2016, a role she took after 16 years at California State University, Fullerton.

In that respect, McMahan said she now wants to work in a place where she feels she can make a difference.

“I feel like I can contribute to building a campus climate, to helping put the past behind to be able to move forward together, to be able to dream big,” McMahan said, “to be able to share publicly what Eastern is and how to get every student that’s college eligible … hopefully going to Eastern.”

McMahan, an avid hiker and a lover of the outdoors, also described the Cheney area as beautiful.

Enrollment, retention

McMahan recalled how she once went out to meet with third graders to bring them backpacks with her school’s logo on them.

“I can’t tell you how important that is to see that logo,” she said. “To see the eagle on a backpack in an underserved area of town to plant a seed that you could get to college one day.”

Developing relationships in the K-12 system is critical to reach prospective college students, McMahan said.

Asked how she planned to use institutional and regional data to increase first- to second-year student retention, McMahan cited an 85% retention rate she said California State University, San Bernardino saw prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

She spoke more to the university’s processes that kick off, she said, when the student applies to the university, starting with outreach from university deans to respond to their interest.

Then with the orientation process, McMahan said administrators “make sure everybody’s on board” in welcoming not only the students, but their families as well. McMahan said the school’s affinity groups also do their own outreach.

“That is pretty strong,” McMahan said of the metric. “It’s strong because we’re intentional in every activity we do.”

Promoting philanthropy

Make a big deal out of it.

That’s what McMahan said to a question asking how she would foster philanthropy among students, faculty and staff in the name of supporting the university.

She said California State University, San Bernardino has a component in the school’s giving plan that allows employees to give a portion of their paycheck to nonprofit entities across the region. The school celebrates those donors by bringing out an In-N-Out Burger truck and giving them meal tickets.

“It’s celebrating those wins as an institution to try to cultivate an atmosphere where you want to give back to the institution,” she said. “Share those stories. Listen to the students. The students are our biggest advocates.”