Faculty Senate Chair Elect Candidate – Roberts

Professor Ken Roberts

Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine

WSU Spokane

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During my time as a faculty member at WSU I have had the privilege of serving in many leadership roles, some in administration at the department and college level, and several in faculty governance at the college and university level. Although it would be hard to be prepared for every governance issue that will come before the Faculty Senate, I believe that my leadership experiences have prepared me for effective service as Faculty Senate Chair.

Department

• Chair, Department of Translational Medicine & Physiology, 2020-2024
• Faculty Search Committee Chair: 4 positions, 2008, 5 positions, 2014

College of Medicine

• Acting Dean, College of Medical Sciences/College of Medicine, 2014-2015
• Vice Dean for Academic & Community Partnerships, 2015-2020
• Chair, Faculty Council and Faculty Council Executive Committee, 2019-2021
• Faculty Rank, Promotion & Tenure Committee, 2019-2020
• COM Executive Cabinet 2016 – present

University

• Faculty Senator and Faculty Senate Steering Committee member, 2023-present
• Campus Research Task Force, WSU Health Sciences, Spokane, 2020-present
• Life Science Washington Board of Directors, 2016-2020
• Native American Health Science Advisory Board, 2008-2020
• Search Committee member, WSU President, 2015, College of Medicine Dean, 2015, WSU Provost, 2019

Candidate Statement on Commitment to Service
After careful consideration of the responsibilities of the Faculty Senate Chair, I am fully prepared to commit the time and energy needed be successful in in this role. I am a strong believer in faculty governance at every level of the university and will work hard to ensure the voice of the faculty is effectively heard.

Candidate Statement on Shared Faculty Governance
My first experience at WSU was as a graduate student (1983-1989) and I have felt a connection to this university ever since. I was privileged to join WSU as a faculty member on the Spokane campus in 2008, after 14 years as a faculty member at the University of Minnesota, as a director of the newly created WWAMI program, with an initial appointment in the School of Molecular Bioscience. I taught medical biochemistry and continued my research in reproductive biology. I have had the lived experience of being a faculty member on a non-Pullman campus in our multi-campus system. I have seen the evolution of the Spokane Health Sciences campus and was able to play a part in the formation of the College of Medicine and serve as its initial acting Dean. Subsequently, as Vice Dean for Academic & Community, I had the opportunity to work with faculty and administration on all 5 of WSU’s campuses and I have a firm desire to see our multi-campus system succeed. The voice of the faculty is central to this success.

Upon completion of my service as Vice Dean for Academic & Community Partnerships in 2020, I returned to my faculty home department now called Translational Medicine and Physiology. For the past 4 years I have support our faculty as chair and have reengaged in teaching and research. My experience has left me with a strong appreciation for the role of faculty, as distinct from the role of administration, in driving the core mission of the university in research, education, and service. In 2023 I was elected as a Faculty Senator for the Spokane campus and as a member of the Faculty Senate Steering committee. My short tenure in these roles has impressed upon me the breadth of issues that the Faculty Senate must consider, decide upon, and enact. It is also clear that there are faculty governance challenges unique to our multi-campus system, I am also committed to working collaboratively to meet these challenges.

A large land grant university is a complicated organization and there is a role in governance for both administration and for the faculty. This shared governance works best in an environment of access and trust, open and honest communication, and collaboration toward the common goal of academic excellence. It is the responsibility of the faculty to ensure that the academic mission of the university remains our central concern. The Faculty Senate is the consensus voice of the faculty at the university level. I am committed to leading the Faculty Senate according to these priorities.

~Ken Roberts

Curriculum Vitae