June 25, 2026

Summer is Here

Note that Cascadia is now in 4-10 mode through the week of August 31. Friday Letters will be delivered on Thursdays.

Since we last chatted:

• we graduated 583 students (with puppies^*),
• we had our final Trustee meeting of the 25-26 academic year,
• we celebrated the Summer Solstice (did anyone ride their bike in the parade?),
• and the USA beat Australia 2-0 in the World Cup.

It’s been a couple of weeks!

^*And yes, we had four puppies help deliver the President’s message at graduation. The 13 week-old stole the show.

Thank you to everyone who donned robes and walked with us in graduation. Also, thanks to those who volunteered to help and wore those snazzy blue t-shirts. As always, we are amazed and thankful to Becky Riopel for organizing the grand event. She gets a shoutout for the week.

It’s a light Friday Letter this week and we’ll take next week off as well. Later in the summer, you’ll hear from each of the executive team members as they report on happenings in their areas. We’ll be focused on starting summer quarter with an enrollment increase of 19.6% over last summer. We’ll also be working to orient our new VP, engage in strategic planning and accreditation preparations, finish annual employee evaluations, and get in those much needed vacations.

Shoutouts

Congratulations to Dr. Victor Begay!

Victor was selected as an AIIS Scholar for the 2026-2027 academic year by the University of Washington. The AIIS scholars’ program is a year-long research and writing seminar designed to provide intellectual and financial resources that support completion of research projects (e.g., dissertations, articles, book-length monographs, and other research products.). UW selects eight scholars to participate in monthly seminars that showcase their works-in-progress.

Remember, shoutouts can be submitted to FLShoutout@cascadia.edu.