Western Governors University Announces HP Company Foundations Appointment to its National Advisory Board

Western Governors University

(WGU) announced at its quarterly Board of Trustees meeting today that the Hewlett-Packard Company Foundation has joined the University’s National Advisory Board, and has made a contribution of $250,000 to WGU. Bess Stephens, President and Executive Director of the HP Company Foundation, will be joining 22 other corporate, foundation, and higher education leaders who sit on the National Advisory Board (NAB). The NAB works with WGU’s professional staff and Board of Trustees to provide strategic counseling and guidance for the University. The HP Company Foundation, a non-profit organization separately incorporated from Hewlett-Packard Company, distributes cash contributions to educational and other charitable organizations.

“WGU is honored to welcome such a prestigious entity to our National Advisory Board, ” stated WGU founder and co-chair, Gov. Mike Leavitt (UT). “We look forward to the HP Company Foundation’s strong participation with Western Governors University.”

“At the HP Company Foundation, we are working toward our vision to bring technology and its benefits within everyone’s reach,” said Stephens. “Our support for educational organizations that share this vision, such as Western Governors University, brings all of us closer to a future where technology is widely used to learn, to work, and to open the door to economic opportunities.”

The HP Company Foundation joins a prestigious group of entities currently on the NAB, including: 3Com, America Online, AT&T, Apple, Cisco, Drake International, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, IBM, KPMG, J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation, Micron Technologies, Microsoft, Novell, Oracle, Prometric, Qwest, Sallie Mae, SCT, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Sun Microsystems, Swartz Foundation, and Thomson Learning. The NAB was established in 1997 to provide business, foundation, and industry perspective in the planning and implementation of WGU. Each organization also provides financial and in-kind business support.

About WGU

WGU offers the only online competency-based degrees in the country. At the University’s website, www.wgu.edu , students can find descriptions of competency-based degree programs, an online catalog of quality distance-learning courses, an online library, bookstore, and access to a personal WGU mentor, who will guide a student through his or her customized degree program. Students can use prior work, college and life experience coupled with learning new skills to develop and demonstrate the competencies necessary to earn a WGU degree that is relevant to education and career goals. WGU provides accessibility, flexibility, and the opportunity for all students to achieve their educational goals. WGU was founded and is supported by 19 states and governors as well as 22 leading corporations and foundations.

Current WGU degree offerings include an associate of arts degree, associate of applied science degrees in IT/network administration and IT/CNE, associate of science degrees in business and IT, bachelor of science degrees in business/IT management and computer information systems, and a master of arts degree in learning and technology.

More information about WGU can be obtained at www.wgu.edu

Amy C. Tejral

Director of University Affairs

Western Governors University

2040 East Murray Holladay Road

Suite 106

Salt Lake City, UT 84117

P: 801-274-3280

F: 801-274-3305

Email: atejral@wgu.edu