Tony Burt Elected Chair of Administrative Professionals Advisory Council at Washington State University

Members of the Administration Professionals Advisory Council have elected Tony Burt to serve as the group’s chair for the upcoming academic year.

Burt, who serves as director of IT Systems and Services for the Voiland College of Engineering and Architecture, says a desire to advocate for his fellow employees prompted him to initially join the council in 2021. He most recently served as vice chair of APAC during the 2023–24 academic year.

At a recent leadership summit, Burt recalled President Kirk Schulz saying it was a challenging time but one with opportunity for new leaders to bring fresh ideas to the university.

“That really resonated with me, and I want to make sure representatives for administrative professionals are seated at the table during the important discussions ahead of us,” Burt said.

APAC is the advocacy group representing administrative professionals across the Washington State University system, in much the same way Faculty Senate represents faculty interests. Members serve up to two three-year terms, with leadership being elected in the spring for the following academic year. More information about APAC, including meeting information and resources for administrative professionals, is available on the council’s website.

Compensation is a key issue for APAC this coming academic year, though Burt acknowledges it’ll be difficult to make progress given the budget cuts happening across the WSU system. He notes that salary increases for administrative professionals have fallen short of increases seen by classified staff. Classified staff raises are fully funded by the legislature, while increases for other employee groups are only partially funded.

“Money is getting tighter for everyone, and so we’re looking at policies and other things that can be done to make the situation better for administrative professionals,” Burt said.

Expanding the employee tuition waiver program to include Global Campus courses, providing tuition discounts for the children of administrative employees, and finding opportunities for APAC to advocate for their constituents to state lawmakers are some of the ideas Burt expects to discuss at the organization’s upcoming retreat.

Burt succeeds Angie Senter, who served as chair this past academic year and will continue to be involved in APAC’s executive council as immediate past chair.

“It’s been great to assist Angie,” Burt said. “She’s great to bounce ideas off of, not afraid to raise or answer hard questions, and overall has been a great role model for how an APAC chair should operate.”