The Western Washington University Board of Trustees on Tuesday unanimously approved the selection of Sabah U. Randhawa as Western’s next president.

Randhawa is expected to take over for president Bruce Shepard, who is retiring June 30. The appointment is subject to a final agreement on a contract.

“I am deeply honored for this opportunity to lead Western Washington University,” Randhawa said, in a statement released by the school.

Among other things, trustees said they were impressed by Randhawa’s commitment to diversity and inclusion, shared governance and closing the achievement gap.
Randhawa is visiting campus this week, after being selected as the board’s top choice on Thursday. Randhawa met with students, faculty and staff, as well as members of the advisory committee tasked with finding presidential candidates. The board also sought feedback from attendees at a forum yesterday.

“The first thing I would like you to know,” Randhawa said at the forum, “I am passionate about education, about educational institutions, and really about enhancing educational institutions. As a first-generation student, I owe my career to education.”

Currently, Randhawa is the provost and executive vice president at Oregon State University. He studied engineering, earning degrees from the University of Engineering and Technology in Pakistan, OSU and finally, his doctorate from Arizona State University. He has been a member of the faculty or staff at OSU since 1999.