Serving the Region’s Needs
WSU’s statewide educational enterprise has expanded in recent years to meet the needs of Washington’s growing economy and its increasing population. The Pullman campus, founded in 1890 and opened in 1892, features world-class facilities for teaching, research, the arts, and intercollegiate athletics. The campus is located on 1,742 acres among the rolling hills of southeastern Washington in a geographic region known as the Palouse. Three additional campuses, created in 1989, are located in Spokane, Tri-Cities, and Vancouver. The newest campus, WSU Everett, was established in 2014 to serve the greater Seattle region. The Global Campus, founded in 1992, offers degrees worldwide in an online environment. In addition, the university serves citizens in every county through a network of extension offices, research and extension centers, and small business development centers located throughout the state.
WSU operates as an integrated university system, an initiative called OneWSU, with all six campuses adhering to the same set of goals, practices, and policies. For example, degree requirements are similar across campuses; one degree without campus designation is conferred; and all instructors and researchers, regardless of their location, are considered part of one faculty governed by a singular faculty manual.
In 2020, WSU engaged in a formal process to redefine its multi-campus administrative and operational structures to ensure delivery of an integrated set of services while recognizing the unique nature of each campus. With this, the President’s duties have evolved from operating as the chief executive of the WSU Pullman campus to setting the strategic vision and direction for the entire WSU system, advocating for higher education policy, engaging university donors, and representing WSU at the state and federal levels. This structure has resulted in a highly matrixed system with chancellors of each campus, who report to the President, working in close collaboration with the Provost and other system leaders to achieve the system’s goals and objectives.