As we welcome students and faculty back to campus in Pullman, and across the state, their energy and passion remind us why we strive to provide the best experience possible at WSU. It’s an exciting time to be a Cougar!

The fall calendar is filling quickly and there are several events in the coming weeks you’ll want to put on your schedule:

  • On Friday, Aug. 21 at 10 a.m., please plan on joining us at Beasley Coliseum for University Convocation, followed by the All Campus Picnic. Convocation is the University’s official welcome to freshman students, transfer students, new faculty and WSU parents. New students will receive their entering year pins at convocation. Following Convocation the All Campus Picnic will be held outside on NE Fairway Rd. All students, faculty and staff are invited to enjoy barbecue lunch, music and the community fair from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
  • President Elson Floyd made remarkable contributions to WSU and left a lasting impression on thousands of students, faculty and staff. Celebrate his life and legacy on Aug. 26 at 3 p.m. in Beasley Coliseum. Kindly RSVP and read about President Floyd and the immense impact he made at WSU and beyond. We encourage faculty to do all they can to attend and to enable students to attend.
  • On Sept. 2, the second Town Hall Meeting on the WSU Grand Challenges will be held in the CUB Junior Ballroom West. There will be an all-campus reception from 2:30 p.m. to 3 and the meeting will be held from 3 p.m. to 4. The event is co-sponsored by the Office of Research, the Office of the Provost and the Faculty Senate.

There are some notable changes on the technology front that will streamline communication, enhance teaching and learning, and improving efficiency:

  • The new WSU email policy will take effect on Aug. 24—the first day of Fall classes. The new policy states that all University business and academic communication will be done via the WSU email address. The new policy will align and improve communication, and also provide a higher level of security for WSU and our students.
  • The name of our online information system has changed from zzusis to myWSU. The renaming was proposed by late President Elson Floyd, who rightly expressed concerns that zzusis, originally used to describe the WSU student information system, had evolved in recent years to describe the entire WSU online portal. The zzusis.wsu.edu domain will automatically redirect users to myWSU indefinitely.
  • Students can now download up to five copies of the Microsoft Office suite at no cost. This benefit will soon be available to faculty and staff as well. For more information, visit office365.wsu.edu.
  • WSU Global Campus recently broadened its scope to include Academic Media Services and Summer Session. Accordingly, a new division, Academic Outreach and Innovation, has been created and is led by Dave Cillay. AOI will work with faculty and staff to support use of academic technology in a variety of teaching and learning contexts. Announcements regarding Technology Test Kitchen activities, training opportunities, faculty-led workshops, and more can be found at teach.wsu.edu and elearning.wsu.edu.

The Office of the Provost is committed to supporting and honoring faculty excellence, as well as a high quality educational experience for our students. We welcome your thoughts, ideas and feedback. Please email to provost.social@wsu.edu.