Newly appointed Yakima County Superior Court Judge Bree Black Horse to join Valley students at Heritage University Youth and Justice Forum

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Two MacArthur Fellows to come together at Heritage University for Rooted Voices

TOPPENISH, Wash. — Two nationally recognized MacArthur Fellows with deep ties to Washington state will come together at Heritage University this fall for Rooted Voices: Creative Exchange in Central Washington, a multi-day series exploring art, storytelling and community through workshops, public events and creative exchange.

The Heritage University series is one of a select number of projects chosen for Defying Boundaries: MacArthur Fellows at 45, a nationwide initiative celebrating the 45th anniversary of the MacArthur Fellowship program and the creative work of its recipients. The initiative highlights the creative courage and public engagement of MacArthur Fellows through projects that bring their work and ideas into communities.

Rooted Voices will feature Dr. Kathleen Ross, SNJM, co-founder and president emerita of Heritage University, and Trimpin, an internationally acclaimed German-born kinetic sculptor, sound artist and experimental inventor who lives and works in Seattle and Tieton, Washington. Both were named MacArthur Fellows in 1997.

Through the series, Ross and Trimpin will engage Heritage University students, community members and visitors through writing, art and creative exploration. Events are free and open to the public.

Rooted Voices Events

Welcome Event
Thursday, September 17, 2026
Smith Family Hall
4:00 p.m. – 5:15 p.m.
Fellows Kathleen Ross and Trimpin and their work will be introduced.

Writing Workshop
Saturday, September 26, 2026
Petrie Hall 1111
10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
The writing workshop will be led by Dr. Ross.

Art Labs: Printmaking & Ceramics
Saturday, September 26, 2026
Petrie Hall 1101
1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
The art labs will be presented by Trimpin.

Installation Celebration
Friday, October 16, 2026
Virginia S. Hislop Gallery
5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Stories and artwork created during the Rooted Voices workshops will be on exhibit at Heritage University beginning October 16.

Ross helped establish Heritage University and has spent her career advancing higher education and cross-cultural communication. Trimpin is known internationally for creating innovative sculptures and musical installations that combine technology, sound and movement. Their distinct approaches to education, art and creative expression provide the foundation for the Rooted Voices creative exchange.

“Having two legendary Fellows like Dr. Ross and Trimpin right here in the Yakima Valley gives our students and region a special opportunity to explore how art, education and storytelling intersect,” said Margot Stroop, assistant professor of visual arts at Heritage University and organizer of Rooted Voices. “When the MacArthur Foundation called for projects highlighting creative courage and public engagement, we immediately knew it aligned with our community’s spirit.”

The series is presented by Heritage University’s Humanities & Fine Arts department. Students, community members and visitors are invited to participate in all Rooted Voices events and workshops. All events are free and open to the public.

For more information and to RSVP for the events, visit heritage.edu/rootedvoices. For help with interviews, please contact Davidson Mance, Public Relations Manager, at (509) 969-6084 or mance_d@heritage.edu.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Heritage University hires director of sponsored programs to secure and manage grant funding

Toppenish, Wash. – Doctora (Dra.) Yesenia Rodriguez has joined Heritage University as the Director of Sponsored Programs, a role that will have a significant impact on the university’s ability to raise grant funds that will support students, faculty, long-term growth of the university.

Dr. Rodriguez is charged with identifying funding opportunities through federal agencies, state programs, foundations and corporations that are potentially supportive of Heritage. She will oversee post award-compliance and collaborate with external and internal partners as well as administrators and faculty who are lead investigators of federal, state or private grants.

Rodriguez’s work will support faculty research and innovation through finding funding, writing proposals, and making sure applications are competitive. Sponsored funding can also expand opportunities for students by creating paid research positions, internships, scholarships, and academic support programs, to name a few.

Heritage University President Chris Gilmer says as both a federally designated Native American-Serving Nontribal Institution and Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), Heritage is eligible for funding opportunities that many others can’t access. “As the Director of Sponsored Programs, Dra. Rodriguez can help maximize the possibilities and bring in extra funding to campus that will strengthen programs that support first-generation and historically underserved students,” said Gilmer.

As an alumnus of Heritage University, Dra. Rodriguez comes with 19 years of professional experience with pre-award grant management, proposal development, budget design, and managing post-award compliance. She worked with departments including finances, HR, institutional research and executive leadership to strengthen grant operations and program delivery. Rodriguez comes to Heritage from the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families where she served as the preschool development grant administrator. Her professional experience includes higher education leadership positions working for the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and Yakima Valley College. She has experience working in the K-12 public education system, community programs, and workforce and human services. Rodriguez earned an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from Washington State University, her M.Ed. in Educational Administration from Heritage University, and a Bachelor of Science in Administrative Office Management from Central Washington University.

Rodriguez is excited to return to Heritage University and share her enthusiasm, philosophy and vision for building a strong grants culture. “I am looking forward to working faculty and staff to identify federal, state and community funding opportunities that will support the university’s mission and give faculty and staff the tools they need to serve our students,” she said. “And as a member of the Hispanic community, I am excited to work for an HSI where Hispanics are the majority, as I want to serve as a mentor for current and future Hispanic students and inspire them to achieve their goals and dreams,” she said.

Heritage University’s Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Beth Durodoye, says Rodriguez’s contributions will be an important step towards enhancing Heritage’s reputation and attract talented faculty. “What excites me most about Dra. Rodriguez joining Heritage is that she understands grants aren’t simply about securing funding—they’re about creating opportunities. Every successful proposal has the potential to empower a student, support faculty research, strengthen a community partnership, or launch an innovative program. Her collaborative approach and passion for higher education make her an outstanding addition to our academic leadership team.”

Dra. Rodriguez joined Heritage University in July 2026. For more information, please contact Davidson Mance, media relations coordinator at (509) 969-6084 or mance_d@heritage.edu.

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Heritage University advances student success and faculty excellence through new leadership appointments

TOPPENISH, Wash. — Heritage University President Dr. Chris Gilmer has announced the appointment of two educational leaders who will play key roles in advancing research and best practices for strengthening students’ success and teaching excellence.

Dr. Latara Lampkin has been appointed director of the Ross Institute for Student Success, and Dr. Gloria Jones-Dance has been appointed director of the Center for Intercultural Learning and Teaching (CILT). Together, the appointments position Heritage to build on its longstanding commitment to serving first-generation, rural and historically underserved students while enhancing faculty development and expanding the university’s national profile in higher education research.

The appointments reflect Heritage’s strategic focus on leveraging its expertise in serving “New Majority” students and sharing those proven practices, internally and with educators and institutions across the country.

Advancing Research and Innovation Through the Ross Institute

According to Dr. Kathleen Ross, founding president and President Emerita at Heritage University after whom the institute is named, the Ross Institute will help take to national scale the teaching methodologies on which Heritage has built its reputation. “We have built a model that is successful for first-generation, rural students and for students who have been historically underserved in many ways. The Ross Center will expand its efforts to share our research and best practices by supporting and collaborating with other colleges and universities nationally in their efforts to help students from similar backgrounds succeed,” said Dr. Ross.

As director of the Ross Institute for Student Success, Dr. Lampkin will lead Heritage’s efforts to research and promote effective practices for serving “New Majority” students—first-generation, low-income and historically underrepresented learners who make up nearly the entire Heritage student population.

Located on the Heritage campus, the institute supports faculty in enhancing teaching practices, conducts research into successful student-centered approaches, and welcomes visiting scholars whose work contributes to the advancement of educational excellence. The institute builds upon decades of pioneering work in this field by Dr. Ross and others at Heritage and has attracted significant philanthropic support, including a $1 million leadership gift from Jim and Gaye Pigott dedicated to its continued growth.

Lampkin brings extensive experience in educational research, policy and collaborative partnerships. She recently served as Senior Research Associate at the Florida Center for Reading Research at Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, where she led research, training, and dissemination initiatives focused on research knowledge and utilization, policy implementation for systems changes, educator pathways and development, and  student success. Prior to joining the faculty at FSU, Lampkin served as a research associate with the National Center for Scaling Up Effective Schools and an assistant professor at the University of North Florida, respectively.

A widely published scholar, Lampkin’s work has appeared in leading academic journals, including Journal of Negro Education, American Educational Research Journal, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, and Educational Administration Quarterly, among others. Her research spans both PreK-12 and higher education and is grounded in partnerships with educators, policymakers, Minority-Serving Institutions and nonprofit organizations.

As a lead methodologist and project principal investigator/co-principal investigator for the U.S. Department of Education’s Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Southeast, she directed more than 30 multi-year, interdisciplinary research and technical assistance projects including major initiatives at Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs). Notably, she co-founded and led REL Southeast’s Postsecondary Success at HBCUs Partnership, one of IES’s first and longest-standing REL-HBCU partnerships (2017–2026). Her service on the SUS Futures Commission, which was established by the Southern University System to develop a strategic plan for Southern University and A&M College and its sister institutions and advisory board member and Chief Research and Innovation Officer for the National Institutes for Historically Underserved Students is a testament to her commitment to MSIs and the students they serve.

“Through our work with the Ross Institute, we will build partnerships and facilitate networks committed to culturally responsive inquiry and the dissemination of evidence-based strategies to improve outcomes for New Majority students. We will also position ourselves to train and cultivate the next generation of scholars who will not only carry forward relevant, rigorous research to address the educational needs and challenges of these students but also drive innovative approaches to meet those needs. Simply put, it’s about our students, the partnerships we build, the scholars we train, and the research, innovation, and dissemination that follow, are all to ensure they excel, says Lampkin.”

Building on a Legacy of Faculty Development

Jones-Dance assumes leadership of CILT after serving seven years as the center’s co-facilitator, contributing extensively to faculty professional development with a strong focus on culturally responsive teaching and equitable teaching practices. Her current research focuses on learning analytics and technology integration in higher education, emphasizing institutional data governance, privacy protections and the development of ethical, context-sensitive frameworks for the use of student data. Her previous research examined human learning across the lifespan, with particular attention to sociocultural influences on education.

Jones-Dance also redeveloped University 101, Heritage’s foundational course designed to support student success and reflect the university’s inclusive mission. She earned a bachelor’s degree in child and family studies from Washington State University, a Master of Science in early childhood studies from Walden University, a Master of Business Administration from Colorado Technical University and a doctorate in learning analytics from National University.

Since its founding in 2003, CILT has served as a cornerstone of Heritage University’s commitment to teaching excellence. The center supports faculty development and well-being  through workshops, classroom observations, individualized consultations and other professional development opportunities grounded in research-based, student-centered practices designed to enhance student learning.

CILT’s influence expanded significantly in 2010 through a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The funding brought nationally recognized scholars to campus to share expertise in Native American and Hispanic cultural studies. More importantly, the project preserved those presentations in digital formats, creating a lasting educational resource that faculty continue to integrate into their courses and that remains available to the broader university community. What began as a lecture series evolved into a permanent repository of knowledge that continues to enrich teaching and learning across campus.

Positioning Heritage for the Future

Gilmer said the appointments reflect Heritage University’s continued investment in educational excellence and its mission of transforming lives through higher education.

“The combination of these two dynamic educational leaders will be a force for good at a critical time in higher education and an important moment for Heritage University as we prepare to implement a new strategic plan,” Gilmer said. “One appointee is internal, and one is external, one uniquely prepared to carry forward the successful work of CILT which has been so important on our campus for a long time and one uniquely prepared to bring enhanced research capacity and a national network of higher education colleagues to position the Ross Institute as a national calling card for what makes Heritage University so special in service to first-generation, rural, new majority students.”

Dr. Lampkin and Dr. Jones-Dance will begin their new assignments in the summer of 2026. For more information, contact Davidson Mance at (509) 969-6084 or mance_d@heritage.edu.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Heritage University celebrates 40 years of Bounty of the Valley
with events that reach more supporters across Washington state

Toppenish, Wash. — Heritage University celebrated the 40th anniversary of its signature fundraising event, the Bounty of the Valley Scholarship Dinner and Paddle Raise, by expanding the tradition beyond the Yakima Valley for the first time in its history. Through two separate celebrations, the first in Seattle and the second in Toppenish, the university reached more supporters across Washington state while commemorating four decades of scholarship impact. Together, the events raised a record $1,941,096 for student scholarships at Heritage University.

The first event was held Friday, June 5, 2026, at the Georgetown Ballroom in Seattle. More than 150 guests from across western Washington gathered for an evening that brought together longtime friends of Heritage University and many new supporters eager to learn more about the university’s mission and the students it serves.

The event provided guests with the opportunity to meet Heritage students, hear firsthand stories of perseverance and achievement, and gain a deeper understanding of the transformative impact of higher education. Throughout the evening, attendees discovered what has inspired generations of supporters to invest in Heritage’s mission of expanding educational opportunity for students who might otherwise be left behind. The overwhelming enthusiasm and generosity of those in attendance demonstrated that communities throughout Washington state are eager to support meaningful work that changes lives and strengthens families for generations to come.

The second celebration took place Saturday, June 6, 2026, on Heritage University’s campus in Toppenish. More than 220 guests attended the milestone event, enjoying a gourmet dinner prepared by longtime restaurateurs John Gasparetti and Brad Patterson while hearing firsthand from students whose educational journeys have been transformed through scholarship support. Students shared powerful stories of perseverance and achievement, illustrating how scholarships are creating brighter futures not only for themselves, but also for their families and communities.

Heritage University was honored to welcome acclaimed American opera singer Ann McPhail as a performer at both Bounty of the Valley celebrations. Her powerful and inspiring performances complemented the evening’s student testimonials, underscoring the life-changing impact that scholarship opportunities made possible through the generosity of donors have on Heritage students and their families.

David Wise, Senior Vice President for Advancement and Marketing at Heritage University, said the decision to expand the Bounty of the Valley reflects the university’s belief that Heritage’s mission resonates far beyond the Yakima Valley. He noted that people from all walks of life are inspired by the determination of Heritage students and eager to support their success once they learn about the university’s impact.

“For 40 years, Bounty of the Valley has connected our supporters with the incredible stories of determination, perseverance, and achievement that define our students,” Wise said. “We know that Heritage’s mission of expanding opportunity through education speaks to generous people wherever they live. Once they meet our students and learn about the challenges they have overcome and the dreams they are pursuing, they want to be part of that journey. By bringing the Bounty to Seattle, we’re making it easier for more people to experience that inspiration firsthand and join us in transforming students’ lives.”

The Toppenish celebration was also livestreamed through the Heritage University website, allowing supporters across the country to participate in the event. Those who were unable to attend can still support Heritage students by viewing program highlights and make a gift at Heritage.edu/bounty.

For more information, contact Davidson Mance, Media Relations Coordinator, at (509) 969-6084 or mance_d@heritage.edu.

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