WSU Spokane gets interim chancellor

Washington State University officials have appointed political science professor Nicholas Lovrich to be the interim chancellor of WSU Spokane starting July 1.

Lovrich, who was in Spokane meeting with current interim chancellor Rom Markin on Thursday afternoon, said he’s excited about the new post and anticipates a lot of work, since the campus and the neighborhood around it are experiencing major development.

“I think the whole university district idea is gaining momentum,” he said, adding that he’ll be working with instructors and various WSU departments to set up the educational and research programming the new campus will offer.

“That should keep me pretty busy,” he said. “I need to be careful to leave enough time and space for everybody who wants to have input.”

For the past 25 years, Lovrich has been director of WSU’s Division of Governmental Studies and Services.

“I have known Nick for many years and have always been impressed with his ability to grasp difficult issues,” WSU President V. Lane Rawlins said in a news release Thursday. “Although we expect this appointment to be relatively brief, it comes at a critical time for WSU in Spokane.”

Work started in May on the new $33 million, 106,000-square-foot Academic Center, which will hold the library and core educational programs.

That and several other projects were spearheaded by Markin, who took up the job of interim chancellor in February 2003. A former professor, dean and special projects leader, Markin will retire after more than 40 years at WSU.

Lovrich expects to be in the position through the fall semester.

The search for a new chancellor ran into a few detours since William H. Gray left the post nearly two years ago. In that time, WSU Spokane has changed from a number of nursing, health and design education programs to a full teaching and research campus. The search committee had to change the chancellor job description to suit the changes.

University officials expect to announce the new chancellor by early fall semester, said James Tinney, spokesman for WSU.