Graduate and Professional Education Week

As proclaimed by Washington State Governor Christine Gregoire and Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels, Graduate & Professional Education Week will celebrate the University of Washington's outstanding students, with notable lectures, stimulating discussion forums, research sharing and major events. For a calendar of events, see www.grad.washington.edu/gpeweek.

Without graduate and professional students, the University of Washington could not fulfill its valuable educational or economic role within the state of Washington and internationally—employing 30,000 employees, educating more than 10,000 graduate and professional students and generating $56.1 billion in economic activity each year.

At this University, we know that our graduate and professional students are our future business and political leaders, professionals, policy makers, scholars, researchers and teachers. Graduate and professional students are one of the key assets of a prominent university. They help attract and energize faculty, assist with academic projects, knit together diverse departments and link the University with the community. They teach core courses and develop new classes for undergraduates and, perhaps most importantly, bring fresh perspective and an enthusiasm for research that provides inspiration and new direction in the University's investigative pursuits.

Graduate education touches every life in our society from scientific innovation to social consciousness in times of crisis. We need to educate our students at a high level to maintain our economy, provide basic needs to our infirmed population, and ensure our collective future in the world. Graduate and professional education provides significant benefits to our local community, by providing a highly educated work force, and specialized industry expertise. Globally, graduate students are rapidly changing the way all populations live, through advancements in all realms of medicine, technology, social and cultural issues and arts advancements.

It is for all these reason that we celebrate these remarkable individuals and offer a week filled with activities to benefit these students and continue the educational process for the community. We hope you will join us for this exciting week of events.