Dear WSU Community,
We are currently navigating significant changes at the federal level, particularly with the release of several presidential Executive Orders impacting various facets of our institution, especially in the area of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Please know that supporting and ensuring a safe environment for our faculty, staff, and students remains our top priority.
System leadership met this afternoon and formed the following team to continuously monitor, evaluate, and review the changes associated with the federal administration transition. The team’s charge will be to assess all the changes (including federal Executive Orders) and determine how they impact WSU while ensuring alignment with applicable state laws.
The team will be led by Chris Riley-Tillman (provost and executive vice president) and consist of the following members:
Glynda Becker Fenter
Vice president for government and external relations
Kim Christen
Vice president for research
Daryll DeWald
Executive vice president for health sciences and chancellor, WSU Spokane
Sandra Haynes
Chancellor, WSU Tri-Cities
Jennifer Klein
Interim vice president for human resource services
Mel Netzhammer
Chancellor, WSU Vancouver
The leadership team will be advised by a member of WSU’s Office of the Attorney General and staffed by Jake Dowd (director of federal relations), Ginger Druffel (chief of staff, Office of the President), and Kristina Peterson-Wilson (vice provost for academic administration & chief of staff).
We understand that these changes impact our students, faculty, staff, and their families. To address these impacts, specialized teams have been developed for each area. The leadership team will engage with them to manage topic-specific matters as appropriate. These teams will receive support from system offices, including Enrollment Management, Finance and Administration, Government Relations and External Affairs, Human Resource Services, International Programs, Marketing and Communications, Research, Risk Management, and Student Affairs.
As the leadership team makes decisions and/or processes are modified, we will notify faculty, staff, and students. You can expect us to follow the model of “say what we know, when we know it.”