WGU President Dr. Robert W. Mendenhall testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on February 2, 2012 at a hearing on improving college affordability in the United States.
Article from "The Chronicle of Higher Education" describing Robert Mendenhall's tenure, and success, at WGU. Article also appeared under with the title "A President Brings a Revolutionary University to Prominence."
Video of the WGU 15th Anniversary Celebration Event. Order of speakers: 11:30 - Dr. Robert Mendenhall; 23:48 - The Honorable Roy Romer – Key founding Governor of Colorado; 29:08 - The Honorable Jim Geringer – Founding Governor of Wyoming, current Board Chairman of WGU; 34:07 - Sam Smith – President Emeritus of Washington State University, original WGU Board of Trustee member, still on the board; 37:05 - Bill Simmons – WGU's Washington, D.C. lobbyist
41:08 - Chip Johnstone – First WGU Provost/Chief Academic Officer; 46:20 - Max Farbman – WGU fund-raiser in the early years; 49:09 - Tim McEwen – Executive at Thomson Learning, provided key early funding/partnership for WGU; 54:18 - Janet Schnitz – Second Dean of the Teachers College, Provost – key academic leader at WGU; 1:00:29 - Bill Hansen – Was United States Deputy Secretary of Education instrumental in providing $10 million in funding to start the WGU Teachers College; 1:04:39 - The Honorable Mike Leavitt – Key founding Governor of Utah, later United States Secretary of Health and Human Services – more than anyone else responsible for WGU success. At 1:04:03, the video cuts out. This is where the "WGU 15th Anniversary Best Wishes Video" was played.
Video from the July 13, 2012 All-Staff meeting celebrating the 15th Anniversary of WGU. This video features an overview of WGU's history as well as excerpts from interviews with (in order of appearance) the Honorable Michael O. Leavitt, the Honorable Roy Romer, the Honorable Jim Geringer, Scott McNealy, Dr. Robert W. Mendenhall, Dr. Janet Azbell Schnitz, and Dr. Douglas "Chip" Johnstone.
Invitation to the WGU 15th Anniversary Celebration on Friday, July 13, 2012; and the 23rd Semi-Annual Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, July 14, 2012.
Video of well-wishes played during the WGU 15th Anniversary Celebration Event. Well-wishers include (in order of appearance): The Honorable Mike Leavitt, the Honorable Jim Geringer, Orrin Hatch, Ben Nelson, Rob Bishop, Tony Bennett, Mike Enzi, the Honorable Gary Herbert, the Honorable Mitch Daniels, Bob Bennett, Honorable Bob Miller, Jim Matheson, Chip Johnstone, Jason Chaffetz, Jamie Merisotis, Arne Duncan, the Honorable Roy Romer, the Honorable Lowry, Mike Lee, Virginia Foxx, Tom Daschle, Todd Rokita, Margaret Spellings, Janet Schnitz, Scott McNealy, Sam Smith, Teresa Lubbers, Martha Kanter, Bob Mendenhall, and Gennie Kirch.
On July 14, 2012 Wyoming Governor James E. Geringer bestowed Honorary Doctorates of Humane Letters to Max A. Farbman, Douglas "Chip" Johnstone, Dr. Janet W. Schnitz, and William "Bill" Simmons. This commencement was part of WGU's 15th Anniversary celebrations. This WGU Commencement was held at the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Program for the Summer 2012 Western Governors University Commencement. The Honorable Michael O. Leavitt was the Commencement Speaker. The Honorable Roy Romer made remarks. The Honorable James E. Geringer conferred the honorary degrees. Max A. Farbman, Dr. Douglas "Chip" Johnstone, Dr. Janet W. Schnitz, and William "Bill" Simmons each received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters. This commencement was part of WGU's 15th Anniversary celebrations. This WGU Commencement was held at the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Article from "The Salt Lake Tribune" discussing the July 14, 2012 WGU graduation celebration. This article also discusses the competency-based model of education that WGU pioneered.
Interview from "WiredAcademic" which was edited by Paul Glader via email. This interview discusses WGU's 15th anniversary, growth, and the future of higher education.
Opinion piece from Bill Gates concerning the alarming trends in higher education. Gates specifically notes impressive results from WGU that counter these alarming trends.