Dori Borjesson, Dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University, has confirmed her retirement, according to a WSU Insider notice published this week. The announcement ends one of the longer administrative tenures at the Pullman, Washington-based college and opens a national search for her successor.

Who is leaving the deanship?

Borjesson held the deanship of the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine, the only veterinary school in the Pacific Northwest accredited for the full DVM curriculum by the American Veterinary Medical Association Council on Education. The college enrolls approximately 600 DVM candidates and supports residencies, graduate training, and the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, one of the busiest state diagnostic laboratories in the United States by accession count.

What changes at the exam table and in the barn?

For practitioners in the Pacific Northwest, the deanship transition does not alter immediate clinical operations at the WSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital, which runs primary, specialty, and emergency services across small animal, equine, and food-animal caseloads. Faculty appointments, research grant administration, and diagnostic laboratory workflows continue under interim arrangements until a successor is confirmed.

What does the leadership pipeline look like?

Large U.S. veterinary colleges have rotated deans on cycles ranging from five to ten years. WSU has not yet named an acting dean, an internal candidate, or a search committee chair in the public notice reviewed. Searches of this scope typically take between nine and eighteen months from announcement to appointment, based on recent cycles at peer institutions including Colorado State University and the University of California, Davis.

What stays unresolved in the public notice?

The WSU Insider item does not specify:

• A retirement effective date
• Borjesson's years of service as dean
• The reason for the departure
• Interim leadership appointments
• Donor or alumni communications accompanying the announcement

What should alumni and referring veterinarians expect next?

Referral patterns, student externships, and diagnostic submissions to the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory remain unchanged during interim operations. Stakeholders will look for three concrete signals in the coming weeks:

1. A named acting dean or interim leadership announcement from WSU Provost or the Office of the President
2. The composition of a formal search committee, typically including a representative from the WSU Faculty Senate and the College Advisory Council
3. A published position profile specifying research strengths the next dean must cultivate, including One Health, comparative oncology, and production-animal medicine

Forward outlook

The transition places WSU among at least three U.S. veterinary colleges navigating dean-level leadership changes this academic year, sharpening competition for a limited pool of senior academic veterinary medicine administrators. A formal search timeline and interim appointment will clarify whether Borjesson's departure triggers any change to accreditation documentation, class size, or the diagnostic laboratory's contracted case load with the Washington State Department of Agriculture.