Dear Faculty and Staff,
Thank you to everyone who joined today’s Statewide Campuses Leadership Update.
Over the past several months, faculty, staff, and community members across WSU Everett, WSU Tri-Cities, and WSU Vancouver have shared feedback about the importance of local leadership presence and the need for a visible point of contact on each campus. That feedback helped inform an important step forward for WSU Statewide Campuses.
Effective immediately, we are establishing Campus Director roles for each campus:
- WSU Everett – Damien Sinnott, Senior Associate Vice President for WSU Statewide Campuses Finance and Operations
- WSU Tri-Cities – Kate McAteer, Senior Associate Vice President and Vice Provost for WSU Statewide Campuses
- WSU Vancouver – Christine Portfors, Associate Vice President and Vice Provost for WSU Vancouver Academic and Student Affairs
Campus Directors will serve as the on-site representatives of the Office of the Executive Vice President. They will help strengthen connections among faculty, staff, students, community partners, and the Statewide Campuses Executive Leadership Team while providing a consistent leadership presence on their campuses.
This change reflects what we have heard from many of you: local leadership matters. Campus Directors will provide an accessible, on-campus connection to the Office of the Executive Vice President while preserving the benefits of a coordinated WSU Statewide Campuses model.
Campus Directors are not replacements for campus chancellors. Rather, this responsibility is being added to the existing leadership roles Damien, Kate, and Christine currently hold. Campus Director is not a new administrative title and does not include a change in compensation. Each will continue serving in their current role while also serving as an on-campus representative of the Office of the Executive Vice President.
I remain deeply committed to each of our campuses and will continue to spend time in Everett, Tri-Cities, and Vancouver, meeting with faculty, staff, students, and community partners. The addition of Campus Directors is intended to strengthen leadership presence on each campus while ensuring our executive leadership team remains connected and aligned across all three locations.
To provide an opportunity for additional conversation, each Campus Director will hold an open session this week for faculty and staff:
WSU Everett – Damien Sinnott
3 – 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14
Room 101
WSU Vancouver – Christine Portfors
3 – 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15
Dengerink Administration Building, Room 129
WSU Tri-Cities – Kate McAteer
11 a.m. – 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16
East Building, Room 212
I encourage you to attend these sessions, ask questions, and share your thoughts as we continue strengthening the WSU Statewide Campuses model together.
Thank you for your partnership and all you do to support our students and communities.
Best regards,
Sandra Haynes
Executive Vice President for WSU Statewide Campuses