WSU absorbs budget cuts, looks to future - MATTHEW WEAVER, Capital Press

Washington State University will absorb its share of the most recent round of state budget cuts by leaving positions open and encouraging some employees to retire, officials said. During this year's session of the state Legislature, the university was hit with additional cuts of roughly $13.5 million, said Ralph Cavalieri, associate dean for research and director of the Agricultural Research Center at WSU's College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resources. WSU President Elson Floyd decided to absorb the additional cuts centrally, Cavalieri said. As state-appropriated positions open up with employee departures and retirements, Floyd and the university's provost, Warwick Bayly, will decide whether to fill those positions.