PULLMAN, Wash. – In a teleconferenced special meeting, the Washington State University Board of Regents today unanimously approved a legislatively mandated 5 percent reduction in resident undergraduate tuition for the coming academic year. They appointed Daniel J. Bernardo, WSU’s acting president since the death last month of former President Elson S. Floyd, as interim president.
Chair Ryan Durkan said board members were “thrilled” to be able to pass on the tuition reduction – signed into law the day before by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee – to WSU students. The legislation provides for an additional 10 percent reduction in undergraduate tuition for the 2016-17 school year, she said.
Bernardo is the WSU provost and executive vice president. As interim president, he will continue in his leadership roles until a new president is selected.
“I am humbled to serve in this capacity,” said Bernardo, a WSU alumnus and former dean. “I just wish it were under different circumstances.”
Acknowledging the numerous honors and tributes to the late WSU president that have been published or communicated to WSU since his passing, Durkan said it is the regents’ intent to name WSU’s new medical school in his honor. She added, however, that specific protocols must be followed. For that reason, the regents have asked Bernardo to develop recommendations regarding how best to proceed.
The regents also approved formation of an ad hoc committee to advise the university on the search for a new president and received an update on the biennial budget passed recently by the Washington Legislature.
Contact:
Robert Strenge, WSU News, 509-335-3583, rstrenge@wsu.edu