Tracy Klein, a nurse practitioner and professor based on the Vancouver campus, will serve as the next faculty regent on the Washington State University Board of Regents.
Klein succeeds Judith McDonald, who was the first faculty member to serve as a regent on the university’s governing body following a change in Washington state law.
“I’m honored to serve in this role, I’m grateful for the governor’s confidence in me, and I’m thankful for the mentorship Judi has provided me in our years of working together,” Klein said.
The pair worked together as part of Faculty Senate in recent years, with Klein taking inspiration from McDonald’s solutions-oriented approach.
“I really watched and learned from Judi the importance of taking a step back and thinking about what the most pragmatic solution could be to whatever issue we are facing,” Klein said.
I’m honored to serve in this role, I’m grateful for the governor’s confidence in me, and I’m thankful for the mentorship Judi has provided me in our years of working together.
Tracy Klein, faculty regent
WSU Board of Regents
Klein, who served as Faculty Senate chair during the 2024–25 academic year, brings to the role outstanding knowledge, passion, and shared governance experience, McDonald said.
“I have every confidence that Tracy will bring valuable insights to the Board, as well as share ideas from the Board and senior administration with the Senate and faculty,” she said.
Health care, higher education parallels
Maintaining stability was one of the most important efforts Klein and Faculty Senate worked on last year. In that time, WSU welcomed a new provost and president and underwent several important restructuring efforts. Providing frequent updates to faculty across the WSU system was vital, Klein said, to mitigate uncertainty and worry.
While ensuring stability is paramount, it’s also vital that WSU better equip itself with information as it navigates perilous times for colleges and universities. Klein sees significant parallels between higher education and the healthcare sector.
In both fields, access to comprehensive and transparent data is essential. As such, Klein is encouraged by the push toward collecting and distributing information to the WSU community via dashboards, something President Elizabeth Cantwell outlined as a key goal for the current academic year.
Student retention is one effort in particular where better data is needed to diagnose and treat the most pressing issues taking Cougs out of the classroom. In much the same way as healthcare grapples with shortages of nurses, universities like WSU can’t reach their enrollment goals simply by bringing in greater numbers. They also need to figure out how to keep them enrolled through graduation.
Institutions of higher education would also benefit from doing regular assessments of their policies and practices. For Klein, a comprehensive academic review is needed to ensure WSU is continuing to serve its mission of access and equipping students for the current and future job market. It’s similar to how hospitals and care centers must constantly evaluate how they do things to reduce infection rates or instances of patients falling down and injuring themselves.
“As a nurse practitioner, I understand the need for continuous quality improvement,” Klein said. “It should be expected that we’re looking regularly at what we are doing and why.”
Service to WSU
The term of the faculty regent is three years, which gives Klein time to come to grips with the board’s policies and procedures. She’s hopeful her background will supplement the expertise of current board members.
“Not everyone has to agree all the time, but you have to get enough perspective and viewpoints to make a good decision,” Klein said. “Sometimes the best solution to an issue is not always the most obvious one, and so being able to pull in different experiences regents have is really important.”
Klein was one of four candidates submitted to the Board of Regents by Faculty Senate for consideration to serve as faculty regent. Officials from the governor’s office interviewed the candidates and reviewed their resumes before selecting Klein. Her first meetings as a regent will take place in Seattle Nov. 13–14.
