For the first time in memory, state college tuition has been reduced 5 percent by the Washington Legislature. This school year, tuition and fees at Washington State University Vancouver will cost students $10,883. In fall 2016, tuition will be reduced another 10 percent.
WSU Vancouver by the numbers
Enrollment 2014-15: 3,264 students.
Female students: 54.2%
Male students: 45.8%
Students of color: 20.8%
Veterans: 5.6%
Old friends met at the main entrance of Washington State University Vancouver on Monday morning to wave crimson Cougar flags and welcome students on the first day of fall semester.
Waving a flag and wearing a Cougar T-shirt, Joan Dengerink, widow of WSU Vancouver’s founding Chancellor Hal Dengerink, stood with Jan Johnson, her husband’s longtime assistant. The first-day flag waving began last fall as a part of the campus’ 25th anniversary celebration, and was so well-received that it became a new tradition, said Lisa Abrahamsson from the college’s development and alumni relations department.
Dengerink and Johnson were among 60 volunteers — alumni, faculty, staff and community members — who stood in one-hour shifts to wave flags.
“We’ve known each other a long time,” Dengerink, 72, said. “We’ve become really good friends.”
“Really, really good friends,” Johnson, 67, interjected as she waved her flag at a car entering the campus.
Dengerink and Johnson’s friendship deepened when Hal Dengerink was diagnosed with brain cancer. During his two-year illness, the two women took turns taking care of him. Hal Dengerink died in 2011.
“When he got sick, we became much better friends,” Johnson said. “I was taking care of him at work and she was taking care of him at home.”
Now the two women, who share a passion for quilting, get together often to quilt or catch a movie. They recently went to the Clark County Fair together. Two years ago, they toured Italy.
They were joined by another old friend, former state Sen. Al Bauer, 86, who had pedaled a recumbent trike from his new digs at the Bonaventure of Salmon Creek retirement community down the street to join the flag-waving festivities with his longtime friend, Lowell Neil, 86, who also pedaled a recumbent trike.
“It’s fortunate to have been in the right place to help out a bit,” said Bauer.
Bauer was a key player who spent years on the project. At the campus ground-breaking, Bauer, who had grown up on a farm in Salmon Creek, provided the keynote address.
“Who knew a Salmon Creek farm kid would do that?” Bauer said. “This campus is a blessing for Salmon Creek. There’s nothing we could have done better than creating this campus.”
The circle of friendship is even wider. Before Johnson was Dengerink’s assistant, she worked for Bauer. When he retired, Dengerink called Johnson and asked her to apply to be his assistant.
Coug tradition
Hal Dengerink didn’t attend WSU, but his wife and children graduated from WSU in Pullman.
“We used to tease him that we were the real Cougs,” Joan Dengerink said, laughing. “But Hal really did love WSU.”
Now his grandsons, Peter Collier, 21, and Dane Collier, 19, attend WSU Vancouver.
Although the campus started in part of Bauer Hall at Clark College, it’s grown steadily in 26 years as a research university serving more than 3,200 students.
“Now with my grandsons here, I see the real plus that everything they need is here, but it’s still small. Personal,” Joan Dengerink said. “Hal would be pleased to see the growth. This was his baby.”
Tuition reduced
Although there are no new programs or buildings this year, a reduction in tuition for resident undergraduates is big news.
For several years, tuition at institutions across the state saw double-digit increases. Last session, the Legislature approved reducing college tuition statewide beginning this fall. Tuition is 5 percent less than it was last spring, saving students $517 on average. In fall 2016, tuition will be reduced another 10 percent, said Nancy Youlden, vice chancellor for student affairs. A 15 percent tuition reduction over two years for resident undergraduates is “unprecedented,” she said.
Another change on campus is in the demographics, Youlden said.
“We’re seeing a lot more first-generation college students who may not have family support. We’re serving more minority students. We have a financially fragile student population. We want to make sure we’re providing the support our students need,” Youlden said.
