As we approach the end of the academic semester, please be assured that your Faculty Senate Steering and Executive Committee will be periodically meeting throughout the summer to monitor and respond to issues which impact the Faculty Manual and our status. By July 1, the Faculty Senate has targeted updates to the Faculty Manual which reflect recommendations approved by Senate throughout the semester. Ken Roberts and Tracy Klein have been attending the university budget hearings, which will conclude Monday April 28. After that process is concluded and the Washington legislature has ended its session, we will have a more complete picture of WSU’s budgetary situation and its implications. As provided in the Faculty Manual, any alternative allocation of funds for salaries requires a mutual collaboration between the Faculty Senate (during summer recession the Faculty Steering Committee) and the President. Alternative allocations include awarding salary funds for adjustments other than 30% superior merit, 30% professional development and 40% equity based; faculty furloughs or temporary reductions (requires a vote of the full Senate). You can view the current comparison of the 2025-2027 operating budget between the governor, House and Senate proposed recommendations side by side on the WSU Budget website.
We anticipate at least three Steering Committee meetings over the summer which will be publicly noticed on our website. Currently we have asked our committee to reserve these dates: May 22, June 26 and August 7, 2025. Meetings are typically scheduled from 3:30-5:00 PM and include representation from the campuses, faculty organizations, and committees of the Senate. You can view Steering Committee Membership on the Faculty Senate Website.
Our faculty forum this week contains postings which ask for administrative positions and comment on the direction being provided to diversity and equity initiatives at WSU. In Fall faculty also inquired regarding whether positions were being renamed, eliminated, or absorbed. Based on our review of the WSU campuses, it appears that each campus and department is addressing this issue differently and that there has been no centralized edict or approach. We have asked the President, Provost and Vice Provost Guerrero to provide a response. Finally, as the first Faculty Senate Chair elected from a non-Pullman campus, the seventh woman, and the first nurse, I’d like to extend my appreciation for your faith in me and support for my leadership. I look forward to working with Ken Roberts, Spokane Chair Elect, as we transition over the summer and continue to build a strong executive team.
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