 Dr. Mendenhall became president of Western Governors University in 1999, the same year the university enrolled its first students.WGU is a private, non-profit, online university offering competency-based undergraduate and graduate degrees in Business, Teacher Education, Information Technology, and Health Professions, including Nursing.It was founded in 1997 by a group of 19 western governors with the mission to improve the quality and expand access to post-secondary educational opportunities.