Foundation
Western Governors University was founded in 1997 by 19 governors, led by Roy Romer when he was governor of Colorado, Michael O. Leavitt when he was governor of Utah, and Jim Geringer when he was governor of Wyoming. As of 2008 Geringer remains directly involved with WGU as Chairman of the Board of Trustees.
The Chairman is Jim Geringer, Governor of Wyoming 1995–2003; and the Chairman Emeritus is Michael O. Leavitt, Governor of Utah 1993–2003. Member Governors include Sean Parnell, Jan Brewer, Jerry Brown, John Hickenlooper, Eddie Calvo, Neil Abercrombie, Butch Otter, Mitch Daniels, Brian Schweitzer, Dave Heineman, Brian Sandoval, Susana Martinez, Jack Dalrymple, Mary Fallin, John Kitzhaber, Dennis Daugaard, Rick Perry, Gary Herbert, Christine Gregoire, and Matt Mead. The support from governors for WGU is bipartisan; of the 20 governors, 14 are Republicans and 6 are Democrats.
According to the school's mission, WGU aims to "...improve quality and expand access to post-secondary educational opportunities by providing a means for individuals to learn independent of time or place..." WGU's Promise states that the institution helps its "students achieve their dreams for a degree and career success by providing a personal, flexible, and affordable education based on real world competencies." According to WGU, as a nonprofit it aims to focus on the needs of individuals with modest incomes, first-generation college students, minorities, and those who live in rural locations. WGU students are eligible to apply for federal financial aid and the university offers a number of scholarship programs.
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Famous quotes containing the word foundation:
“To apologize is to lay the foundation for a future offense.”
—Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914)
“Remember that whatever knowledge you do not solidly lay the foundation of before you are eighteen, you will never be master of while you breathe.”
—Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl Chesterfield (1694–1773)
“I believe that the mind can be permanently profaned by the habit of attending to trivial things, so that all our thoughts shall be tinged with triviality. Our very intellect shall be macadamized, as it were,—its foundation broken into fragments for the wheels of travel to roll over.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)