Dear Colleagues,
Welcome back! We are excited to embark on the fall semester
and anticipate a dynamic year for our great University.
As an alumnus of WSU, I am honored to serve as provost and provide the academic
leadership to advance our land-grant mission, which centers on
providing our students a transformational educational experience.
I value the opportunity to partner with our faculty, staff, and
students to foster a welcoming, supportive, and safe learning
environment at Washington State University.
The Office of the Provost mourns the loss of Dr. Kelly Ward,
vice provost for faculty development and recognition, who tragically
passed away after an accident in early July. We will miss
Kelly’s enthusiasm, expertise, and commitment to faculty
development. During this academic year, most of Kelly’s
responsibilities will be covered by provost’s office personnel.
We will initiate an internal search for her position during the
spring semester.
This fall, we will welcome the largest freshman class to the
Pullman campus in WSU history. New transfer students are also
projected to increase by about 10 percent over last year. Not only
has the size of our incoming class increased, but all measures of
academic preparedness of these students continues to rise. The
average GPA of these students will exceed 3.4, the freshman cohort
will include over 100 percent more Regents Scholars, and we will have
a record number of Honors College students and 30 percent more Future
Cougars of Distinction (GPA > 3.7 and Q-value > 2,750).
As we begin our fall semester this week, I would ask that
everyone go the extra mile to welcome the new members of the Cougar
nation to our campus. WSU is known to be a welcoming, tight-knit
community, and we need to demonstrate this every day as these
students begin their higher education journey. If you see a student
or parent, please welcome them to campus and if they look lost or are
looking at a map, stop and offer assistance. These small gestures can
go a long way in assuring our students feel welcome.
Please check your email inbox for our monthly newsletter,
Provost Perspective. It’s filled with timely news, events,
and insights from the Office of the Provost and around WSU.
Thank you for all that you do for WSU and for making our
community a welcoming one for students and providing them a vibrant educational experience.
Go Cougs!
Dan Bernardo
Provost and Executive Vice President
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