The second annual Crimson Coat ceremony welcomed six new senior leaders to WSU on Thursday evening.

President Kirk Schulz and First Lady Noel Schulz established the ceremony last fall for incoming senior leaders. Each individual received a crimson coat and Schulz introduced the recipients to the public.

Lisa Calvert, vice president for advancement and CEO of the WSU Foundation, started her position at WSU on Oct. 25, 2017.

Calvert has served at different executive and fundraising positions for the past 30 years. She said she was attracted to WSU because of the reputation it has for fundraising, the opportunity to work with Schulz and the WSU medical school.

Calvert said she plans on bringing funds in to WSU by facilitating the aspirations of the institution and matching them with generous donors.

Patrick Chun started his position as athletic director at WSU on Feb. 5, 2017. He is the first Asian-American athletic director for a Power 5 school.

Chun has more than 20 years of experience in athletic program management, including securing a $16 million gift from a single donor at his former institution, Florida Atlantic University.

Andre-Denis Girard Wright is the new dean for the College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences. Wright has an extensive background in research, teaching and administration in the countries of Canada, Australia and the U.S.

Wright oversees WSU’s largest college with approximately 1,200 faculty members and 3,000 students at the Pullman, Vancouver, Tri-Cities, Global and Everett campuses combined.

“To be a part of this amazing college and the research is a dream come true,” Wright said.

Sandra Haynes began her duties as chancellor of WSU Tri-Cities on Mar. 1, 2018. Sandra served at Metropolitan State University of Denver, Colorado, where she created new forms of funding from public and private partnerships. She also served for 13 years as dean for the College of Professional Students at MSU Denver.

Matthew Jockers began his role of dean of the College of Arts and Sciences on Aug. 1, 2018. Jockers has experience ranging from teaching English at the University of Nebraska to developing software in iBooks Engineering at Apple. Jockers also founded and directed a technology startup company.

Bruce Pinkleton was named dean for the Murrow College of Communication in March after serving as the interim dean since January 2016. Pinkleton said students will not see any changes right away because things take time, but he thinks the college has strong programs and is going in the right direction.

“I’m excited about the future of WSU and the college,” Pinkleton said.