Washington State University has its first-ever faculty regent.
Judi McDonald, a professor in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, was chosen by Washington Gov. Jay Inslee as a voting member of the WSU Board of Regents from a pool of candidates submitted by the WSU Faculty Senate.
“I know all of us who were nominated were excited to do the job, and I had confidence that any others chosen would do a phenomenal job,” McDonald said. “We all really value this role as something important for faculty with shared governance experience to do.”
During her time at WSU, McDonald has accumulated more than a decade of university governance experience. She’s previously chaired the Faculty Affairs Committee of the WSU Faculty Senate, a representative body that she has also served as chair-elect, chair and past chair. As chair, McDonald advocated for adding a faculty representative to the Board of Regents, which was done in 2018. She was the first person at WSU to serve in the role.
Earlier this year, the Washington State Legislature’s amended state law to add an empowered faculty regent to the governing boards of WSU as well as the University of Washington.