Regents approve President Cantwell’s goals for FY27, rename Champions Center

Members of the Washington State University Board of Regents on Friday approved President Betsy Cantwell's goals for fiscal year 2027 as part of a suite of actions at the governing body's first meeting of the fall semester.

Friday's meeting took place on the Pullman campus and is available to watch in its entirety via the WSU YouTube channel.

During Thursday's Executive and Governance Committee meeting, Cantwell delved into the university's ongoing system redesign and provided context for how it relates to her goals and objectives moving forward.

"When we look at the land grant mission and the next 25 years in the state of Washington, we need to be serving people at every age and stage of their life as well as we serve 19-to-25-year-olds, not just because demographics will demand it, but because what we deliver is needed and wanted by people at many different points of their life," Cantwell said.

Cantwell's goals for FY 2027 range from improving student outcomes using data-informed approaches to advancing the university's success through a sustainable athletics model. Retention will be a particularly important metric to track for the former goal, with Cantwell noting that WSU will aim to retain 90% of first-time, full-time students systemwide by 2031.

On the research side, Cantwell discussed the pending launch of high-impact President's Institutes. These institutes will accelerate the translation of research, enhance pathways for students to pursue research, and generate enterprise revenue. She identified three priority areas where WSU can establish interdisciplinary initiatives as part of this process:

• Future of Food
• Energy Futures
• AI for Healthcare

Making it easier for students to move within the university system, bringing greater awareness of WSU beyond the state of Washington, and combating perceptions about college affordability will be critical to the future of the institution. These topics were addressed at length on Thursday by Provost and Executive Vice President Chris Riley-Tillman and Sandra Haynes, executive vice president of statewide campuses.

The two highlighted a reimagined systemwide approach for first-year students. This includes allowing students to pursue their education at any WSU campus upon being admitted. The pair also highlighted student financial data that shows 36% of WSU undergraduates pay no tuition at all, and that 56% of undergraduates graduate with no loan debt.

Other actions

Regents also recognized the generosity of several members of the WSU community by renaming the Champions Center in their honor. Moving forward, the Champions Center will be known as the Schneidmiller Family Champions Center featuring the Pelo Academic Center, Christianson Study Lounge and Sprunk Sport Psychology Suite. This new name recognizes several passionate members of the WSU community who've significantly contributed to the university and its athletics enterprise:

• Gary Schneidmiller
• Don and Janice Pelo and Jack and Melinda Pelo
• Ken and Sue Christianson
• Eric and Blair Sprunk

Schneidmiller, a member of the WSU Class of 1971, is an avid supporter of Cougar student-athletes. He previously supported renovations to the football stadium and to the Champions Center, as well as the installation of Cougar Pride statues across the WSU System.

"Gary's just a good human being all the way around," Regent Marty Dickinson said. "He really does look for how to lift WSU and often wants WSU to leverage his gifts with others, and I think that speaks to his generosity in this particular case."

Regents also approved an Emergency Presidential Succession Plan, which would ensure continuity of leadership in the event the president is unable to fulfill their duties due to illness, incapacitation, unanticipated absence, or other emergency conditions.

The Board of Regents is next scheduled to meet in Seattle Nov. 19-20.