Christine Horne, a lawyer-turned-sociologist who’s called Pullman home for more than two decades, is beginning her second stint on Faculty Senate’s executive team.
Horne was selected by her peers to serve as Faculty Senate’s chair-elect for the 2025–26 academic year. The following year, Horne will ascend to the chair of Faculty Senate, succeeding Ken Roberts, a professor and chair of the Department of Translational Medicine & Physiology who will commence his one-year term leading Faculty Senate this fall.
Horne is no stranger to the role, having served as Faculty Senate chair during the 2022–23 academic year.
“One thing that became really clear during my first term with Faculty Senate was how committed our faculty are to their students and to WSU,” Horne said.
She opted to throw her hat into the ring once again for much the same reason she did in the first place: A desire to contribute and support the institution in addition to her teaching and research commitments.
Her return to the leadership ranks of Faculty Senate comes amid a great deal of uncertainty with respect to external forces WSU must grapple with. While there are hurdles to overcome, Horne said she’s buoyed by Provost and Executive Vice President Chris Riley-Tillman’s support for shared governance. Horne appreciated that, amid a flurry of activity in the early days of her presidency, Elizabeth Cantwell found time to attend one of the final Faculty Senate meetings of the 2024–25 academic year.
As chair-elect, Horne will spend the upcoming term staffing Faculty Senate’s committees and supporting Roberts as chair. The 2024–25 academic year was a productive one for Faculty Senate under the leadership of WSU Vancouver Professor Tracy Klein, with Horne highlighting Klein’s development of new committees focused on faculty salaries and international issues as significant achievements.
Prior to her time in academia, Horne practiced law. She soon became disillusioned with the individualistic nature of the job, which focused on helping individual clients rather than solving underlying problems. She obtained her PhD from the University of Arizona in 1997, and began her career at WSU in 2004.
Social norms are Horne’s area of expertise, with her research aimed at better understanding how these expectations are developed and enforced. She’s previously examined bridewealth norms in Africa and household energy behaviors, in addition to work on health behaviors and privacy.
Horne’s previous experience as part of Faculty Senate will be invaluable, according to Judith McDonald, the Faculty Regent on the WSU Board of Regents.
“There is a steep learning curve to chairing the Faculty Senate. Christine Horne was articulate, thoughtful, and effective in her role on the Senate Executive the first time round. With more experience she will be an even more powerful leader in her second term.”
