A massive leadership shakeup, joined by the announcement of a near-10 percent budget cut at WSU-Vancouver, headlined the in-person campus visit Tuesday by Tri-Cities Chancellor Sandra Haynes, Vancouver’s interim chancellor.
Billed as a welcome back visit, Haynes detailed key leadership changes announced over the summer. Renny Christopher has stepped down as Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs and returned to the faculty as a tenured professor of English. Christine Portfors will take on double duty as both Interim Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and her current position as Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education. Jenny Chambers-Taube is leaving her position as Vice Chancellor for Finance, Operations, and Enrollment on Aug. 29. Damien Sinnott, the WSU Tri-Cities Vice Chancellor of Finance & Administration, will be filling in as interim.
Until the end of Spring 2026, Haynes is set to be the interim chancellor at WSU Vancouver. According to Haynes, WSU System President Elizabeth Cantwell has introduced the start of a design process for the second iteration of the new chancellor search, as the first search process was scrapped after Cantwell’s top pick among the final candidates declined the offer in April.
Haynes said that Cantwell intends to communicate and post regular updates about her upcoming plans and goals for WSU at newchapter.wsu.edu.
Haynes detailed the budget cuts for this school year. The overall WSU system budget has been cut by 4.1% compared to the last school year, a reduction of around $17 million. WSU Vancouver’s budget specifically has been cut by 9.8%, or around 4 million compared to the last school year. 79% of these cuts were to compensations and benefits for employees, and another 21% went to goods & services, travel, and equipment.
At the end of the presentation, Haynes introduced two new awards for cost-efficiency and general excellence for employees at WSU Vancouver. The “One Smart Cookie” award is for individuals with “innovative ideas” that reduce costs. Recipients will receive an actual cookie. The “You Take the Cake” award is for teams that “go above and beyond,” and recipient teams will receive a cake and cookies.
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