WSU president to retire in summer 2025

Apr. 20—Washington State University President Kirk Schulz announced he will retire in summer 2025, but said the decision has long been on the administration's radar.

Schulz will exit office in June of next year, falling a year shy of a decade at the institution. He has served as the university's 11th president since 2016 after several years as president of Kansas State University.

Retirement became a discussion in the summer of 2023 partly because Schulz said his sons brought it to his attention. The announcement came in a news release.

"I thought it was starting to be time for the university to have a new leader with different ideas and some other ways of looking at problem-solving," Schulz said. "I spent seven years as president at Kansas State, and by next summer I'll have been nine years as president at Washington State. ... I thought it was getting to be about time."

He said he didn't want the shift to be abrupt and began working with the WSU Board of Regents in preparation for his departure.

"There wasn't a singular instance that caused that," Schulz said. "I just thought if we're going to do a transition, let's do it so we're best in class and make sure that WSU has the right person leading it moving forward."

Schulz said he doesn't plan to become president at another university. WSU will become the last of many highlights in his career.

Under his leadership, WSU set records in philanthropic gains, raising nearly $168 million in private gifts just in fiscal year 2023.

He mentioned many construction projects across campuses system-wide, including the Schweitzer Engineering Hall, the Taylor Sports Complex and plant sciences building in Pullman. Also during his watch came a life sciences building in Vancouver, Wash., a new student union and academic building in Tri-Cities, and a major health sciences remodel in Spokane.

The institution's educational and research opportunities also expanded under his leadership. WSU received full accreditation from the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine in 2021, and eastern Washington's first pediatric residency program was launched in 2023.

Schulz added the university has also worked to become more transparent with its finances, transitioning to a system that benefits all campuses.

"When I arrived in 2016, we had a substantial $30-$40 million annual structural deficit," Schulz said. "We were also using a system that was written in the '70s. ... Now we've transitioned to a system that allows us to have more transparent financial accounting, allowing our leaders to make better decisions."

Schulz also touched on some challenges the institution has faced in recent years.

WSU has seen an enrollment decline since the COVID-19 pandemic, though those numbers have begun to plateau. Schulz said this is a nationwide issue for higher education, but he expects things to turn around.

He said the university anticipates its first-year student class to be up as much as 10% this fall, and a rise in the future.

"This is not something you just snap your fingers and do overnight," Schulz said. "We worked really hard the last several years to turn that around, and the way we did that is by building and retaining those new students coming in."

Schulz noted the institution is entering a new era in the world of athletics. He said administration is working on "right-sizing" the athletics budget, as well as collaborating with Interim Athletic Director Anne McCoy to secure the future for Cougar athletics.

"We're going to spend quite a bit of time looking at the next five to 10 years for Cougar athletics," Schulz said. "We've got great people within the Cougar athletics area right now that can help us map that future."

He also commented on how the university will address concerns brought up by around 200 faculty members earlier this year.

The group of faculty, along with the WSU chapter of American Association of University Professors, called for major reform in the way leadership has dealt with WSU's decline in enrollment, decreased finances, its athletic presence and more.

Schulz said Board of Regents Chairperson Lisa Keohokalole Schauer has held five listening sessions across all campuses. He added administration is always interested in hearing feedback from its faculty, and many issues mentioned were already being worked on by the board.

"I think the question becomes: Are these things that are raised important to the majority of a large number of WSU faculty and staff?" Schulz said. "I think it's clear that those issues are what the administration, faculty senate and the board have been working on together. And we're going to continue to work on that together."

Schulz has four main priorities in his last year as president. He'll work to support the board and community in the search for his successor, stabilize enrollment system-wide, work with donors to raise money the institution needs, and create a great home for Cougar athletics moving forward.

He said the 12th president will need to embrace complexity and have the ability to take criticism. Schulz added it's important the person embraces the university's land grant mission and heritage, which is an integral part of WSU system-wide.

WSU will begin a presidential search and transition process later this month. The institution's Board of Regents will lead the search for a president, working closely with Schulz to ensure a seamless transition.

The board established a presidential search advisory committee during its meeting Friday. The committee will work with the WSU community and a national search firm to provide the board with advice on the search process, identify potential candidates and review applications.

Committee members will be selected in June this year. The board is committed to creating an application process that honors its commitment to transparency, inclusion and equitable representation. The committee will be led by Board of Regents Vice Chairperson Jenette Ramos. Ramos will be joined by Regents Enrique Cerna, Lura Powell and Brett Blankenship.

Applicants for president will be selected to provide geographic representation for all WSU campuses, faculty, staff, students, donors, alumni and community leaders.

While the ultimate selection will be up to the board, the WSU community will have opportunities to provide feedback and help shape the process.

Pearce can be reached at epearce@dnews.com.