A seat left vacant by Ron Allen on Western’s Board of Trustees was filled May 20 when Gov. Chris Gregoire appointed Betti Fujikado as the new eighth member of the board.

“I think higher education is incredibly important,” Fujikado said.  “I never imagined working at a university beyond working with people on occasion or writing a check.”

Fujikado replaced Ron Allen before he completed his six-year contract on the board.  Chair of the board Phil Sharpe said Allen was unable to devote his time to the board due to commitments outside of Western.

Fujikado graduated from the University of Washington in 1977 with a degree in business, and a focus in accounting.  Since then she has held numerous positions in her field, including certified public accountant and chief financial officer of Pricewaterhouse, a professional service firm that provides consultants for specialized business projects in fields such as advertising.   

“Up until Fujikado was appointed to the board, knowledge of business marketing did not have a strong presence,” Sharpe said.

Sharpe said Fujikado’s background and her financial career should help the board build stronger relationships with outside investors, which could benefit Western throughout the next academic year by encouraging private contributions. 

“[Western] is still in the early stages of identifying itself,” Sharpe said, referring toWestern’s effort to expand and compete with other state universities.  “But, with the combined experience and viewpoints of our board, I see great changes in store.”

Sharpe said Fujikado is a good addition to the board because of her ability to provide guidance in business relationships.

“I think that Western has a huge opportunity, but is not as well known as it could be,” Fujikado said.  “I believe that my background in marketing could help provide oversight.”

Fujikado has not always pursued business, as her first passion in life was art, specifically graphic design.
When she first began thinking about her future education, Fujikado said she was intrigued by her mother’s work as a teacher of fashion illustration at the University of Washington.

“I think in images and have a very strong right brain in terms of creativity in art and imagery,” Fujikado said.
She began attending the UW as an art major but soon after was intrigued by another force: business. Fujikado said learning how businesses are successful fascinated her.

“While I was intrigued by graphic design, which is heavily used in marketing, my left-brain said, ‘analytics and business,” Fujikado said.

Fujikado said she decided marketing was her calling in life when she made the switch from art major to business major.  In 1977, she finished her bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in accounting.  Shortly after graduation, she was hired by Pricewaterhouse.

However, Fujikado’s career path would not end with Pricewaterhouse.  She said while working as a CFO she felt the need to become personally involved with making businesses successful.

 “I was wondering why am I holding all these positions and what is it all leading up to,” Fujikado said.  “I came to the realization that the beauty of advertising is the combination of art and commerce.

The outcome of Fujikado’s dream of combining art and commerce through advertising came to a head when she and business partner Jim Copacino, created Copacino+Fujikado—an advertising agency that offers media services to establishments such as the Seattle Mariners.

Since entering the business field, Fujikado has supported Western by creating a scholarship for minority community college students who aspire to transfer to Western and pursue marketing.

 “I never thought I would get the opportunity to [be on the board of Trustees], but I am delighted,” Fujikado said.     

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