Bloglander

Washington State University's Board of Regents has chosen a new president to replace Elson Floyd. 

Kirk Schulz, Kansas State University president since 2009, was unanimously chosen by the board Friday morning out of three finalists to be WSU's 11th president. Schulz is also chair of the NCAA Board of Governors.
 
Floyd died of complications from colon cancer last June at the age of 59. Mike Worthy, a member of the Board of Regents who led the presidential search advisory committee, called Floyd a "visionary" following his death. 

A pool of 200 candidates to take the job had been narrowed down to three by Friday. The identities of the candidates was kept a secret so that more quality candidates would apply without jeopardizing their current jobs. That decision troubled many faculty members who wanted more say in the process, the Spokesman-Review reports. 

Schulz wrote a message to Kansas State University shortly after the announcement from WSU, saying he will transition to WSU in June: 

Earlier today, I accepted an offer to serve as the next President of Washington State University. 

I will continue to serve as K-State President through mid-May, and will transition to Washington State in mid-June. The Kansas Board of Regents will conduct a search for an Interim President as soon as possible. 

Noel and I have thoroughly enjoyed our 7 years at Kansas State — it has been an exciting time to be a Wildcat and a part of the K-State Family. Being part of transforming our multiple campuses has been the highlight of my career in higher education. 

I will continue to communicate monthly with the K-State community with Letters to Campus as we finish up the 2016 Spring Semester. 

With Purple Pride,
Kirk

Also at the meeting, the Board of Regents approved a new cultural center named after Floyd.