Incoming WSU president: ‘Our purpose endures’

Elizabeth Cantwell believes higher education across the country is facing a moment of change — and the key is remaining agile and flexible while “surfing all the waves.”

Cantwell was ushered in as Washington State University’s 12th president Thursday, making history as the first woman to hold the position in the institution’s 135-year lifetime.

“I’m enormously proud to represent women in that sense,” she said. “When you seek to do anything big it should be because you believe in your capabilities.”

She succeeds current WSU President Kirk Schulz, who’s served in the role since 2016. Cantwell will begin leading the university April 1 after Schulz’s term concludes March 31.

Cantwell is being handed the torch during uncertain times for higher education institutions nationwide, following directives from U.S. President Donald Trump that place pressure on research funding, along with diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

“Our purpose endures,” she said. “Staying close to that land grant mission, and making sure we aren’t just delivering it now but we’re delivering it in a decade, notwithstanding the kinds of shifts and changes we are seeing.”

Her aim is elevating WSU financially to maintain the ability to serve students well, continuing to be part of an “incredibly novel and innovative” Pac-12 conference.

Cantwell was born in Boston, Mass., and spent her formative years in New England.

After graduating public high school in Manhattan, N.Y., she went on to obtain a bachelor’s degree in human behavior from the University of Chicago, a Master of Business Administration from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and a doctorate in mechanical engineering from University of California, Berkeley.

Cantwell’s career includes substantial experience in U.S. National Security. She held leadership roles at Lawrence Livermore, Oak Ridge and Los Alamos national laboratories, working with several government agencies including the Departments of Energy and Defense, National Nuclear Security Administration, Defense Threat Reduction Agency and NASA.

Her experience translates well into a research-based institution — she said working with expansive endeavors that approach wide-ranging issues are largely addressed in academia as well.

It was a tour at Arizona State University that introduced her to higher education as a profession, Cantwell said. She met with current President Michael Crow while visiting the institution with one of her five children. A few weeks later, he called to convince her that the most important national security mission is public higher education institutions.

“It was an experience that led me to an absolutely deeply held conviction,” She said. “That the future of the nation is reliant on us delivering our public higher education mission, and doing that long into the future.”

It was then she began work at Arizona State, where she was responsible for research and business development, growing the research enterprise from $435 million to $680 million in three years.

Cantwell moved on to working at University of Arizona, overseeing an $825 million annual research portfolio that included the University of Arizona Tech Park and a research enterprise spanning 20 colleges, 12 centers and institutes, and other affiliated organizations across Arizona.

She currently serves as Utah State University’s president, responsible for a university system of 30 campuses and centers across the state and online. During her tenure, she sponsored record-breaking $495 million research expenditures, increased student scholarships by 10% and navigated challenges in the revitalization of the Pac-12 conference.

Cantwell said this is her first time living in the Pacific Northwest. Her daughter is a chemical engineering graduate student at WSU.

“It would be fun to have a family reunion here someday,” she said. “The president’s home is more than large enough to host.”

Pearce can be reached at epearce@dnews.com.