Longtime WSU Vancouver Chancellor Mel Netzhammer in late August announced via email his decision to step down from his position next summer.

This is Netzhammer’s 13th year at WSU Vancouver since he became chancellor following the death of founding chancellor Hal Dengerink in 2012.

“I’ll support the transition to our third chancellor and then retire in 2026,” Netzhammer wrote. “Serving as chancellor has been the most fulfilling position in my career, and I am so proud of all that we have accomplished together. After 13 years, celebrating the opening of the Life Sciences Building, achieving the largest fundraising year in our history, addressing enrollment challenges, and seeing campus life rebound after the pandemic—not to mention witnessing another Titan VanCoug bloom—it feels like the right time to welcome new leadership.”

WSU President Kirk Schulz soon announced his plan to coordinate the search for the WSU Vancouver’s next chancellor alongside the search for his own replacement, as Schulz will also step down and revtire in 2025.

Netzhammer earned his bachelor’s in communication from Loyola University in New Orleans, and his master’s and doctorate in communication from the University of Utah. He then began working at Buffalo State College in New York as an assistant professor of communication in 1987. After working in various positions there he became the dean of arts and humanities in 1999. After his time at Buffalo State, Netzhammer served as the vice president for academic affairs at Keene State college in New Hampshire for several years before landing at WSU Vancouver as its second chancellor