An Open Letter To North Central Washington

You have heard a lot about Wenatchee Valley College recently, and most of it hasn’t been positive. It’s true that we are facing a number of seismic challenges, and that any one of them, when taken alone, would be enough to shake the institution to its core. But when taken together, the result is cataclysmic, and it is rocking every corner of our institution.

I’m not writing this to defend or rationalize, and I’m certainly not going to criticize. The reality is that from where I stand, some of the issues you’ve read about are recent, but many of them are systemic and have been embedded deep within the institution for years. And while I don’t have an explanation, I do have a perspective I’d like to share.

I have had the unique opportunity to serve simultaneously as faculty and an administrator. I’ve been a proud member of the WVC Business and Accounting department for 23 years and I often refer to this side of my professional life as “heart work.” I feel a deep calling to guide and nurture my students to be productive, successful, and ethical in their future careers. My brief time with my students is a gift, and I am humbled by the opportunity daily.

In July of 2023 I stepped into the world of administration as the Interim Public Information Officer and served in that capacity until December of 2024. This role landed me a seat on the Cabinet, which is the leadership nucleus of the institution. I sat with the President, all the Vice Presidents, and other key leaders daily to create and leverage opportunities to best serve our students.

I can assure you that both sides of the table- faculty and administration- are focused on short and long-term strategies to best support our students.

We have stumbled, and frankly, we’re still stumbling. Everyone on campus feels it, and we’re all worried. I’d like to think that we’re all doing what we can to improve our current situation.

But here’s the part that I want you to understand: as faculty, our commitment to our students has not wavered despite the shaky ground we find ourselves on. I have the honor of standing before 92 students this quarter to teach them about Business and Entrepreneurship. They are hungry to learn. They are engaged, focused, and their minds are open. They are committed to their studies and take the material presented in class seriously. Every assessment metric that I use to gauge their progress is positive. I’m so proud of them for the determination they bring to my classes each week, and I’m proud to work at an institution that impacts lives the way we do. And while I don’t speak on behalf of my fellow faculty members, I know I’m not the only one who sees this.

This is the Wenatchee Valley College that can be hard to see from the outside.

We are far from perfect, and we’ve got a long road ahead of us. But we’re trying. And I can assure you that some pretty impactful work is happening inside our classrooms.

-Dr. Jennifer Korfiatis
Faculty, Business and Accounting
Department Chair, Business and Accounting