The WSU Board of Regents released a media statement Friday in response to concerned faculty members arguing for new leadership. 

Board members stated they have been engaged with the concerned group throughout the past year because they care about the future of the university, even if there is not always an agreement on how to move forward, according to the statement. 

The challenges and issues brought up by the concerned faculty members are not only seen at WSU; multiple other institutions make decisions to do things differently as a response to a record change in the higher education environment, according to the statement. 

But, as a response, WSU has moved forward with new decisions to benefit the university, including an enrollment office in 2019, and in 2020, adopting the systemwide strategic plan titled “OneWSU,” according to the statement.

OneWSU is the vision for a system of campuses throughout Washington allowing the university to meet state residents where they are, and the board believes the plan is going in the right direction to benefit Washington residents, according to the statement.  

The Board of Regents feels confident about the future of WSU and President Kirk Schulz’s leadership during his time in his role, according to the statement. 

Phil Weiler, WSU vice president for marketing and communications, said the Board of Regents and the group of concerned faculty members are not far apart because everybody wants to see WSU thrive and be the best university possible.

It all boils down to what the best approach to bettering the university is, and people can have disagreements about the best strategy, Weiler said. 

Weiler said it is unfair to say these issues have not been addressed already, including issues in enrollment and realignment of collegiate athletic sports leagues. 

“Those are all things that the university has spent a lot of time addressing and I think has made significant progress,” he said. 

This year, the university saw increases in enrollment and went up 34 places in the U.S. News and World Report rankings, Weiler said. 

“We have built, over the last couple of years, hundreds of millions of dollars worth of new classrooms, lab space and student buildings on every campus with the exception of Everett,” he said.