"Our vision to transform lives promises a more successful future for students, alumni, and organizations worldwide. The partnership of alumni and friends will be essential to creating the future we all want for our students, our state, and our business communities. The future of the College of Business begins today - please join is in our mission to build the best future possible."

Transforming the lives of students while positively impacting the business and academic communities of Washington state, the region, and the world.

Dear College of Business supporter,

"Transforming lives" is a worthy objective and is the foundational concept of the College of Business vision. However, success requires more than an admirable goal; effective execution is paramount. This goal can be actualized only through our collective work to provide students with life-changing opportunities.

Whether or not we are successful in our campaign to transform student lives depends on the quality of the opportunities we make available to them. Transformational experiences – traveling internationally, learning from a world-class professor, receiving a scholarship – offer students the chance to challenge themselves, to grow, and to achieve excellence. Our future leaders deserve nothing less.

With your support, we have moved toward our vision, raising nearly $5 million in fiscal 2006 to just over $5 million in fiscal 2007. Initiatives such as the Rom Markin Endowed Dean Fund, the Georgina P. Tucker Hospitality Scholarship for Women, and the Boeing Scott and Linda Carson Chair in Marketing enable us to offer students the opportunity to become tomorrow's globally competitive business leaders.

We have accomplished a great deal in the past year, but in many ways our work has just begun. In the words of former CB dean Rom Markin: "Engaging people in the things you are doing, and leveraging their investments to propel the institution to the next level of excellence – that is the preeminent challenge of universities today."

Your investment in the CB reflects your support of our vision and progress, and for that I am deeply appreciative. I hope you find our first annual report publication enjoyable and informative, and I look forward to our continued work toward transforming student lives.

Best regards,

Eric R. Spangenberg, Dean