Professor Christine Horne
WSU Pullman
Professor of Sociology
Candidate Statement on Prior Service
Since arriving at WSU, I have engaged in department (Sociology), college (CAS), and university service, including serving for two years as interim chair of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology and, more recently, as chair elect, chair, and past chair of faculty senate. These experiences have given me immense appreciation for our faculty and the quality and diversity of work that they do, as well as some understanding of the challenges faced by faculty in different kinds of positions and locations, and the constraints and opportunities experienced by our individual campuses and the university as a whole. My WSU service includes:
Department
- Chair Faculty Mentoring Committee (Bugden 2019-2023; Leupp 2020-2022)
- Awards Committee (Chair: 2020-2021; Member: 2009, 2021-2022)
- Undergraduate Studies Committee (Chair/Director: 2004-2009; 2016-2018; Member: 2023-2024)
- Faculty Evaluation Committee (2014-2015)
- Executive Advisory Committee (2004-2006; 2011-2012; 2013-2014; 2023-2024)
- Advance Representative (2012-2013)
- Faculty Search Committee (Chair: 2012; Member: 2004; 2005)
- Graduate Studies Committee (2010-2013)
College of Liberal Arts/Arts and Sciences
- 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
- Chair Elect, Chair, Past Chair, Faculty Senate (2021-2024)
- Committee on Committees, Faculty Senate (2021)
- System Strategic Planners Council (2020)
- University Working Group to increase WSU federal and total R&D expenditures (2017)
- University Committee on Privacy and Cybersecurity (2014-2015)
- Provost’s Advisory Committee on Tenure and Promotion (2013-2015)
Candidate Statement on Commitment to Service
I care deeply about the success of WSU and our faculty and take seriously the responsibility of serving in faculty senate leadership. I am committed to devoting my time and energy to serve well. I am able to adjust my academic responsibilities in order to accommodate this work.
Because of the centrality of faculty to WSU’s ability to achieve its core mission, faculty perspective and voice in decision-making are crucial. Shared governance is particularly important as the university moves forward through internal changes and shifting external environments. Faculty senate has worked to be a trusted and collaborative partner in shared governance with the administration. I aim to continue those efforts.
Our multicampus system is complex. WSU needs to use its resources efficiently and have effective governance systems to ensure the success of each of our campuses and the system as a whole. Faculty voice is essential for these efforts. That voice is stronger when faculty are engaged with the senate. In recent years, senate has worked to increase engagement with faculty across the system, including improving communication and traveling to meet with faculty around the state. I am committed to continuing those efforts and to representing all faculty, wherever they are located. Our system requires collaborative efforts to function effectively.
As the university experiences internal changes and adjusts to changing external realities, it is essential to keep our core mission front and center. The university continues to experience budget and external pressures that create uncertainty, and demands on faculty continue to increase. In the face of these challenges, WSU will need to be laser focused on its mission. Faculty Senate has a role to play in maintaining that focus. For example, to achieve our mission, it is important to minimize bureaucratic barriers and maintain and develop mechanisms for supporting faculty. To that end, during my previous service as senate chair, we streamlined review processes for courses, thus reducing the back and forth associated with submitting new courses and freeing up time for committees to work on substantive issues. We also developed a proposal for professional leave for career track faculty, which is being piloted this year. These may seem like small things, but small actions can help to offset the accretion of bureaucratic requirements and can support faculty in focusing on what matters.
WSU is a complex organization facing a complex set of challenges. I will do my best to listen and learn and to be a strong advocate for faculty senate positions.