Campus Currents

Professor Brings Expertise to Community and Classroom

JoAnn Wiggins likes to mix business with pleasure. Just ask her students. While sitting on the City of College Place Planning Commission she became involved in revising the comprehensive plan for College Place. Wiggins took the project to several students in Students in Free Enterprise (sife), a community outreach program at Walla Walla College, and a plan for downtown College Place was born.
Wiggin’s role in this and other service projects earned her the 2004 Walla Walla College Community Service Award.

The annual award, sponsored by the Walla Walla Valley Chamber of Commerce, honors faculty or staff members who have distinguished themselves through service to their community. Nominations are accepted from faculty and staff members and are voted on by the WWC administrators.

Wiggins has served WWC in many capacities. She has been the sponsor for both sife and the business club, and is currently the chair for both the grievance committee and faculty senate. She is also a member of several other campus committees.

In the community, Wiggins has been active as a member of both the Blue Mountain Credit Union Board and the City of College Place Planning Commission. She also lends her consulting skills to many local organizations.

During the summer, Wiggins takes her talents abroad. For the past 10 years, Wiggins and her husband Kenneth, professor of mathematics, have traveled to countries such as Singapore, Australia, Thailand, Italy, and Kenya to teach.

A 1982 business education graduate, Wiggins received her master’s degree in education with an emphasis in business from WWC in 1985. She began teaching at WWC in 1987 and received a doctoral degree in business and vocational education from the University of Idaho in 1988. W

Previous Story | Back to Contents