February 13, 2026

Highlights and Shadows

Highlight...did you hear? The Seahawks won.

Shadow...I think classroom attendance may have suffered on Parade Day.

Highlight...the facilitators of the four employee affinity groups hosted an open house this week in the Inclusion and Advocacy Center to talk to those who might be interested in starting one or attending one. Please feel free to reach out to any of these facilitators if you weren’t able to make it and have interest in attending or creating an affinity group:

• Asian & Pacific Islander Employees — Samantha Simms
• Community Against Patriarchy — David Dorratcague
• Employees Navigating Eldercare — Eric Murray
• LGBTQIA+ — Shannon Bath

Shadow...our mid-year budget review shows us to be pretty far behind expectations this year. While enrollment is up, other factors are negatively hitting the budget. We estimated $400,000 from vacancy savings (open positions), but we’ve had no vacancies this year. We estimated routine benefits expenditures, but those increased unexpectedly by $600,000. And despite great recruitment efforts, federal policy and attitude towards international students means lower-than-expected enrollment, $500,000. We are actively working on trying to mitigate the shortfall for this year. We ask all employees to hold back on spending for the rest of the year unless something is absolutely necessary. Budget Managers are having meetings with the Finance Team to determine how we trim spending.

As well, we are holding on filling an open AA3 position in CCF and an IT Analyst position in IT Services. In March and April, we will be making further decisions on how to mitigate our lack of funds with regards to all areas of the budget. We felt it prudent to hold on hiring these two positions until we have determined how to balance the budget. Other positions, like the VP of Student Learning and faculty searches continue to move forward.

Highlight...we are beginning an Administrator on Duty rotation beginning next week. Every night when we have evening classes (Monday through Thursday), and Administrator will be on campus and on call in the event of an emergency. Those emergencies could involve ICE, or medical situations, or working with Campus Safety on other issues that might arise. We will soon be distributing contact numbers to our evening instructors. The AOD will remain on campus until 8:45 PM given that most classes adjourn at 8:30 PM.

Highlight...did you attend the Maker’s Fair on Wednesday? For a third year, this has been a growing and cool idea to highlight student, staff, and alumni creations. Items were on sale and many of the Makers appreciated the opportunity to show off their talents and put a little money in their pockets. Congrats to the UWB team for their efforts.

Shoutouts

Thanks to Ryan Higgins for gently reminding us that not all employees have the privilege of working the 3-2 (on-campus, remote) shift due to the commitments of their positions. Lab Techs, Facilities Folks, some IT Techs, and a handful of others are required to be on campus when students are present. A shoutout to those employees who maintain those schedules on behalf of the students and the campus. It is appreciated.

Shoutouts can be sent to FLShoutout@cascadia.edu.