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Our Story

In 2005, a group of visionary higher education professionals came together to form the West Coast Comprehensive Institutions, or WCCI for short. The group’s genesis can be traced back to Seattle University’s unsuccessful attempt to join the Pacific Consortium of Small College Business Officers due to the organization’s 25-institution limit. But rather than giving up on the idea of joining a consortium altogether, Denis Ransmeier, the CFO at Seattle University at the time, reached out to his colleague Don Mortenson, then V.P. for Business and Planning at Seattle Pacific University, to propose the creation of a similar organization for larger institutions.

With the support of other esteemed colleagues, including Dr. Roy F. Heynderickx, the former president of St. Martin’s University, and Phillip Doolittle, the Executive Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration at the University of Massachusetts Global, the proposed group quickly gained traction. After sending out invitations to about 20 private institutions, the response was overwhelmingly positive. The first WCCI Annual Conference was hosted by Dr. Heynderickx at the University of Portland, and the event was a resounding success.

WCCI is continually working to engage private colleges and universities focused on becoming best-in-class in their business office roles. Submit your institutions information to our nominating committee to join WCCI.

Our Story

West Coast Comprehensive Institutions