Washington State University’s Spokane fills several vacant, reworked administrative roles

The WSU Spokane campus has filled or reworked several vacant administrative positions in the past year critical to its operation and continued success.

Among those faculty and staff taking on new or expanded campus responsibilities in recent months is Celestina Barbosa-Leiker, who was appointed executive vice chancellor effective Jan. 1. Barbosa-Leiker had been serving as WSU Spokane’s vice chancellor for research since 2019, with the promotion seeing her responsibilities expand to include academic and faculty affairs.

She is the first executive vice chancellor under WSU Spokane Chancellor Daryll DeWald, with the position having sat vacant since his appointment in 2017.

“I’ve been at WSU a long time – the first five years as a student and the next 15 as faculty – and I have so much appreciation for this university,” Barbosa-Leiker said. “Having been able to grow at WSU has been a phenomenal experience. As a Latina in higher education, where we only represent one percent of full professors across the nation, having my voice be heard and recognized has been wonderful, and I have so much gratitude for WSU.”

In addition to serving as executive vice chancellor of WSU Spokane, Barbosa-Leiker is a full professor in the College of Nursing and continues to conduct research with funding from the National Institutes of Health. In her administrative role, she meets regularly with colleagues from across the system on myriad topics, from research infrastructure and environmental health and safety to tenure and promotions.

“I am extremely grateful that Dr. Barbosa-Leiker has agreed to take on this expanded role at WSU Spokane,” Daryll DeWald, WSU Spokane chancellor and WSU Health Sciences executive vice president, said. “Her collaborative spirit is essential to the mission of our campus and the WSU System as a whole, and we are excited to see the outstanding results of the important work being done by her and her colleagues in the years to come.”

Several other members of the WSU Spokane community have taken on expanded or vacant administrative positions in the last year:

Jennifer Robinson began serving as associate vice president for interprofessional education earlier this month. In that role, which was vacant prior to her appointment, Robinson will lead collaborative efforts between the College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, and the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences to advance WSU’s system-wide interprofessional education initiatives. This role represents a .5 FTE, with Robinson retaining a .5 FTE faculty appointment with the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.
Nicole Pratapas started in her role as vice chancellor for advancement in May. She is filling a role previously vacated under a new title and oversees the Health Sciences advancement group.
Peter Gitau was appointed WSU Spokane’s vice chancellor of student affairs, student health, and equity, diversity, and inclusion in February. Gitau filled a vacant position, with the role being expanded to include student health, equity, diversity and inclusion in a more prominent way.
Craig Parks took on the role of associate vice president of health science academic programs and policy in September of 2022. In this role, Parks took on some of the responsibilities that are now split between him and Robinson in her role as associate vice president for interprofessional education. This role represents a .8 FTE, with Parks also retaining an ongoing appointment in the Provost’s office as Accreditation Liaison.