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Washington State University
Washington State University Office of the Provost

Excited to join the Cougar family

Dear Colleagues,

I am thrilled and honored to join Washington State University as provost and executive vice president, and a professor in the Carson College of Business. The opportunity to work with WSU’s talented faculty, staff and leadership on behalf of our students and the state of Washington is one I could not pass up! I’m excited to join President Kirk Schulz, system-wide leadership, and the University community in crafting a system-wide strategic plan that fuels the Drive to 25. The Drive to 25 is about the pursuit of excellence in everything we do. It’s an inspiring and ambitious vision for WSU that will take creativity, focused investment and hard work. A portion of our town hall meetings this fall will be spent discussing this and other priorities as we continue to work collaboratively to formulate a plan that will empower our faculty, staff and students to thrive.

I’ve spent my entire career as a faculty member and administrator at land-grant and public research-intensive universities, including North Carolina State University, Arizona State University and Oregon State University. I believe research-intensive land-grant institutions have a unique calling to engage in our communities to make a difference through our education, research and extension programs. The work of our faculty and staff transforms the lives of our students and their families, and it strengthens our communities and economy. Our University is positioned to make a difference in Washington like few others can, given our five physical campuses, a growing online campus, four research and extension centers and extension offices in all 39 counties. One of my first priorities at WSU is getting to know our diverse community of places and people across this great state.

It’s exciting to join WSU as the state legislature is investing in education. The Washington College Grant is a groundbreaking program that will provide much-needed financial aid to more than 100,000 median-income students each year. The state also continues to invest in campus facilities that enable us to serve more students and tackle new research challenges. Additionally, the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine is expanding on our land-grant mission by training future doctors to serve in rural and under-served communities in our state.  Looking forward, we will strengthen and expand our partnerships with industry throughout the state and continue to innovate to meet the needs of the public and employers in Washington and around the world.

I look forward to collaborating with you to advance WSU. I always welcome your questions, suggestions and feedback at provost@wsu.edu.

 

Go Cougs!

Mitzi

 

Mitzi M. Montoya