Dear WSU��Tri-Cities��Cougs,

For our new��Cougs, or��Cougs��new to the Tri-Cities campus, welcome to the awesome ���سԹ���community!��For our returning��Cougs, congratulations on finishing the spring semester!

We know you want to be here on campus, and we want you here, too.��If you are like me, this was not the summer��we were��planning. But I hope you all have the opportunity or make space to relax,��rejuvenate, and enjoy the beauty of Washington state or wherever you call home.��Yesterday, I took the afternoon off from Zoom to enjoy a hike at White Pass, just two hours from the Tri-Cities.��It is one of my happy��places,��and the fresh air did some good.

While we are planning for a slightly altered��kind of Tri-Cities��Coug experience this fall, it will still be an experience filled with��support and resources to promote your academic and personal success.��We are here for you every step of the way.��I know you and your families have a lot of questions, and we have resources to help you get prepared for the fall semester and connected with the most up-to-date information.

�ճ������DzԲԱ𳦳ٱ������dzܲ�s��student newsletter, which features updates about the ���سԹ� campus, resources for a successful school year and where you will find pertinent��information about the return to learning in the fall,��is sent��to��your WSU email every Monday. It��is also��posted on ���سԹ� social media channels (@wsutricities).

My office is hosting virtual office hours at 4 p.m.��every��Tuesday and at noon every Wednesday to��connect with you, parents, and family members.��You and your family and friends are welcome to attend any time to get your questions answered, talk about resources,��or to just say “Hi.”��.

We are��continuing��to work with local health authorities to adopt��procedures��for a safe experience on campus this fall. Social distancing requirements, sanitation practices and more will all be in place for a safe start to the semester. Additionally, as Cougs, we all have a responsibility��to fully commit to protecting our collective health and well-being by following best practice health guidelines and requirements. As such, we are��asking everyone to follow all local��and state ordinances and the��,��including the statewide requirement to wear facial coverings in��public – both indoors and outdoors.��To access the most up-to-date health guidelines and related information, visit websites for the��,���ٳ����,����and��your other local public health agencies.

���سԹ� Chancellor Sandra Haynes recently sent out an��. If you haven’t, yet, I encourage a read of��that letter. It outlines a range of ways we are preparing for a safe return and what to expect for fall.

I look forward to seeing all our ���سԹ� Cougs��this fall!��As always, feel free to reach out to me directly if you have any questions, or if there is a way I can assist or help.

Go Tri-Cities��Cougs!��

Sincerely,

Chris Meiers, Ph.D.��
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs/Deputy Title IX Officer
chris.meiers@wsu.edu��|��509-372-7381��|��

By Maegan Murray

Martin Klotz, the new Washington State University Tri-Cities vice chancellor of academic affairs, hopes to focus on the university’s unique strengths to meet the needs of not only the Tri-Cities regional community, but also the state and nation.

A microbiologist and academic by profession, Klotz said what he likes most about ���سԹ� is that it has its own unique focal points within the WSU system that serve to meet a greater need in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields – all while maintaining a base in the liberal arts.

“We have many focus points that are unique to ���سԹ�, from our Bioproducts, Sciences, and Engineering Laboratory, to our world-class wine science center, to what we offer through our nursing and medical programs,” he said. “Environmental health is big in this area because of the Hanford Site and other related areas, and agriculture and food processing continue to grow. There is a need for managing the business aspects of those fields and there is also an engineering application that is crucial for many of these areas. Educators provide training at all levels of their profession, ranging from teaching in public schools to leadership in higher education, public officiating and industry.”

Klotz comes to ���سԹ� from Queens College, City University of New York, in Flushing, New York, where he was dean of faculty for the division of mathematics and natural sciences and professor of biology. Prior to that, Klotz held academic positions at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte where he served as professor and chair of the department of biological sciences, the University of Louisville in the departments of biology and microbiology and immunology and the University of Colorado Denver in the department of biology.

For most of his career, Klotz directed his evolutionary and genomic microbiology laboratory to study the molecular underpinnings of ammonia- and methane-oxidizing bacteria, with an interest in the metabolic reconstruction of key catabolic pathways, the evolutionary history of involved inventory and how this inventory is being regulated. His research has been funded by federal and state grants agencies in excess of $4 million. He also contributed to the editing of three books on nitrogen cycle research and is an author and co-author of more than 100 peer-reviewed articles.

Klotz said one of the greatest needs in the world today is to secure global health, which extends to a number of academic areas at ���سԹ�. He said this is not only due to the need for more scientists, physicians and health professionals, but also out of a need for academic study, research development and product development for all areas of the field.

“We have a system-wide nursing program and our new medical school, but the question is what are the additional opportunities in allied health professions for this campus and how do we get there?” he said. “Our health is not only determined by what happens on the inside of our bodies, but also what happens on the outside in the environment. One of the main industries of Washington state is agriculture, but it is also a major polluter and extractor of resources. It is an opportunity, responsibility and a challenge at the same time. It is really an opportunity that waits to be harnessed.”

Klotz said ���سԹ� needs to identify basic areas that will feed into all of these opportunities.

“One of these basic areas is in the biological sciences, and particularly, microbiology, because it will feed into existing strength in bioengineering, agriculture and wine science, and it is a foundational discipline for academic programs and training with a focus on human and environmental health,” he said.

Klotz said he also intends to focus on growing needs for mathematics, statistics and data science at ���سԹ�, as it also feeds into nearly all areas. He said a strong academic focus on algorithmic approach not only sets a foundation for a range of other academic areas – it is also a crucial component of complex thinking.

Klotz said he is excited to join the team at ���سԹ� and looks to build on many initiatives already taking place on campus while building coalitions for seizing new opportunities.

“We have a highly motivated faculty and staff and everyone is engaged and really trying to make sure that everything works across the board,” he said. “I hope to facilitate paths to reach these goals and contribute also to translating the strategic plan that exists for WSU as a system into tasks and sub goals on our campus.”

Klotz said the mission of four-year higher education institutions is to not only graduate more students with a career-informed degree in time, but it is also to afford faculty and students with opportunities for scholarship and creative activity.

“Every academic direction and college represented here is important,” he said. “They all have their specific roles to play in forming a career-prepared graduate and they contribute to and build on a sound liberal arts education. Even though this is a STEM-focused campus, this is not just rooted in science and engineering. There are many opportunities for scholarship in the fine and liberal arts, in business, education and the health sciences.”