WSU Regents aim to select new president early next year

The Washington State University Board of Regents plans to pick the next president of the college early next year.

Regents started a two-day meeting Thursday in Seattle. Of the many topics that were covered, officials gave an update on their presidential search, with the board saying it hopes to select new leadership in January.

Regent Jenette Ramos said in April when President Kirk Schulz announced he will retire in June 2025, the board started building a presidential search advisory committee of 21 members.

The group has made significant progress since then. Ramos, search committee chairperson, said the committee has interviewed potential candidates and will continue meeting with semifinalists before recommending a list of top contestants to regents at the end of the year.

She did not share how many candidates have been interviewed or how many applied for the position.

The names of finalists will not be released, Ramos said. The university will keep candidates confidential, she said, because many contestants want to maintain trust with their current institution.

Ramos has confidence in the committee’s ability to select the next president.

“We’re doing some real, true, deep thinking to find the leader that’s going to move us forward,” she said. “Everyone understands we’re looking for the best leader going forward.”

WSU’s 12th president will begin the job July 2025.

This change in leadership isn’t unique to WSU — Ramos said 58% of the presidents at 250 top-tier research institutions started in 2020, and another 32% began just last year.

“We’re seeing a large transformation among the academia world,” she said.

The WSU Regents will reconvene this and finish up their two-day conference. The board may set tuition rates for undergraduate and graduate students during the 2025-26 academic year.

Pearce can be reached at epearce@dnews.com.