Dr. James L. Gaudino, dean of the College of Communication and Information at Kent State University, has been named successor as the 14th president of Central Washington University.
Central Washington University is a public, four-year university located in Ellensburg, Wash., two hours from Seattle. Founded in 1891, it has a combined enrollment of about 10,000 students on its central campus and six university centers.
Gaudino's appointment was announced Friday after university trustees selected him to succeed Dr. Jerilyn S. McIntyre. He topped four finalists for the post.
Gaudino was the first dean of the newly created College of Communication and Information at KSU. He has served at Kent since 2003.
Some of his accomplishments at Kent State include the creation of MediaMindsets, a research team that investigates changes in media use patterns and advises media companies on how to reach audiences and better understand new media channels; the enhancement of his college's outreach to professional communities; the development of Kent State's most successful on-campus Living Learning Community, the development of a new master's degree program in health information management; the development of recruitment and articulation programs with area community colleges and high schools to enhance diversity in his college; and the creation of a successful private development plan that raised more than $1.6 million to enhance a state-funded building renovation project for the new home of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Prior to coming to Kent State, Gaudino served as executive director of the nation's oldest and largest national association representing the academic discipline of communication, the National Communication Association in Washington, D.C., for 15 years.
He also was president of Stratacom Inc., an East Lansing, Mich., consulting firm for public relations, marketing, research and management services. He has also taught public relations and advertising courses at Michigan State University, and held faculty positions at George Washington University and George Mason University.
In 1972, Gaudino began his professional career as the deputy director of public affairs for the U.S. Air Force's Beale Air Force Base in California. By 1978, he was serving as the director of public affairs for the U.S. Air Force's Bitburg Air Base in West Germany.
Gaudino holds a doctorate in communication from Michigan State University, a master's degree in management from Troy State University and a bachelor's degree in humanities from the U.S. Air Force Academy.
McIntyre announced her retirement in January. She plans to step down by Jan. 1, 2009.
The search for a new president at CWU began in early 2008 with the creation of the Presidential Search Committee, chaired by Dr. Wendy Bohrson, chair and faculty member of the CWU College of the Sciences. The committee was comprised of more than a dozen members of the local and CWU communities, as well as some members of the CWU Board of Trustees and the CWU Foundation Board.
On Oct. 17, four finalists were named. Each candidate visited Central's main campus in Ellensburg where they interacted with faculty, staff and students. Each finalist also took part in a community meet-and-greet in Ellensburg and at CWU-Des Moines, one of Central's six university centers across the state of Washington.
McIntyre's new title as of Jan. 1, 2009, will be president emerita, a title she was granted by the Board of Trustees upon her retirement. In university tradition, the emeritus recognition is an honorary designation sometimes added to academic and other titles after a person has retired, as a matter of respect to for a job well done. As a new member of the emeritus faculty, McIntyre has the opportunity to teach, conduct research and participate in any of the university's myriad activities.