Dear Faculty and Staff:

As we move deeper into the semester, I hope that you are finding moments to savor the invigorating splendor of the fall colors and our frequent sun-splashed days during this season of transition. The Palouse and the Pullman campus currently offer a stunning kaleidoscope of color, and I know from my recent travels statewide that similar scenes greet our WSU family and friends at all of our campuses.

A week ago, I sent an email describing a few of the actions we are taking to reduce university spending during the current fiscal year. Cutting the budget is not something we take lightly. … » More …

Dear Faculty, Staff, and Students:

As you know from my communications during the past year, the University has been spending more money than it has brought in over the past four years. This has required us to tap into our fiscal reserves in order to pay our bills. We cannot continue to do this. Quite simply, annual expenses must be balanced against annual revenues.

For our current fiscal year, each unit at WSU has been instructed to reduce its spending by 2.5 percent. Specific dollar amounts have been communicated to all areas. Our goal is to reduce our $30 million annual deficit spending by $10 million in FY2018 … » More …

Dear Faculty and Staff:

July has come and (almost) gone, which means that the fall semester is nearly upon us! I hope that your summer has been productive and that you are ready to have a great year as we prepare to kick off the new academic cycle.

One of the items on my annual summer to-do list is to try to learn something new. This summer, I decided to learn to fly-fish. I spent two days on the Snake River in Idaho fly-fishing—and I actually caught several fish.

Am I a great fly-fisherman? No. Did I cast into bushes, lose flies, and drop slippery … » More …

Greetings again from French Administration. As unbelievable as it may seem, the semester is rapidly drawing to a close and commencement is barely a month away. I hope that each of you had the opportunity to recharge for a few days during spring break in preparation for the busiest 6 weeks of the academic year!

I want to publicly welcome 3 individuals who recently joined our senior leadership team in Pullman following the completion of nationwide searches: Mary Jo Gonzales, vice president for student affairs; Stacy Pearson, vice president for finance and administration; and Phil Weiler, vice president for marketing and communications. These talented colleagues … » More …

Greetings from French Administration! I hope you had a restful time away from the University with family and friends during the Thanksgiving holiday. Noel and I enjoyed spending a few days with our two sons and daughter-in-law in both New Mexico and the Palouse. We experienced a first this year—our children prepared a traditional Thanksgiving meal for us. All we had to do was show up and eat!

In my May letter to campus, I noted several key financial issues that needed immediate attention:

Reinstitution of a formal university budget development process
Creation of a comprehensive funding plan for each new building in advance of its … » More …

Summer is finally upon us! I trust everyone had a successful end to the spring semester, and that your summer personal and professional activities are well under way. My normal “to-do” list for this summer is pretty extensive—but mostly it revolves around successfully moving our household from Manhattan to Pullman!

The past month has been a busy one, and I have a few updates that I want to share with the Washington State University community. I want to focus on four major areas in this letter: WSU budget, expansion of the Pullman/Moscow Airport, the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, and the spring WSU Foundation … » More …