Wright
PULLMAN Health and Wellness Services director Dr. Bruce Wright‘s duties have been expanded to include oversight of the Counseling and Testing Services Center.
The change is part of a recent reorganization within the Division of Student Affairs, Equity and Diversity.
Wright’s leadership role now includes oversight of WSU’s Counseling and Testing Services Center in addition to the Health and Wellness Services unit he has directed for 13 years. His new title is executive director for Health and Wellness, Counseling and Testing Services.
While both areas report to Wright, each unit will retain its autonomy, office name, and location on campus.
The reorganization was prompted when long-time director of Counseling and Testing Services, Barbara Hammond, announced plans to retire this month. While Hammond’s expertise and professionalism will be difficult to replace, WSU President Elson S. Floyd said he was aware Wright and Hammond, along with their respective staff members, had forged close working relationships over the years.
“Bruce Wright is a great collaborator who is highly respected by colleagues at WSU and health officials across our region,” said Floyd. “It just seems a natural choice to expand his role at the university to further take advantage of his expertise and the synergy he and Barbara created between these units.”
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Wright came to WSU in 1994 as a psychiatrist. He became the interim director of Health and Wellness Services in 1997 and filled the position on a permanent basis following a national search in 1998. He earned his medical degree from the Utah School of Medicine and was a resident physician at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., before coming to WSU.
A staff member in each unit is being promoted to help Wright manage the day-to-day operations. Cassandra (Cassie) Nichols, a psychologist and training coordinator for Counseling and Testing Services, and Dennis Garcia, assistant director of Health and Wellness Services, are being named senior associate directors in their respective units.
“Both Cassie and Dennis have demonstrated outstanding leadership skills, said Michael J. Tate, vice president for the Division of Student Affairs, Equity and Diversity. “Working together with Dr. Wright, they will form an excellent team to ensure that health services for our students, faculty, and staff remain top notch in the years to come.”
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Nichols had been serving as associate director and training coordinator in WSU’s Counseling and Testing Services. She was a psychologist at Weber State University before accepting a similar position at WSU in 1998.
Garcia came to WSU in 1997 from Las Cruces, N.M., where he was a physician at Memorial Medical Center. That same year he was promoted assistant director of Health and Wellness Services.
