August 5, 2024
Randy Hodgins, vice president of the Office of External Affairs, to retire in June 2025
After more than two decades with the University of Washington, Vice President Randy Hodgins announced today that he will step down from his role leading the UW Office of External Affairs and retire at the end of the 2024-2025 academic year. During his upcoming final year as vice president, Hodgins said he will remain committed to advancing the University’s mission and ensuring a smooth transition.
Randy Hodgins, the vice president of the Office of External Affairs, is retiring at the end of the 2024-2025 school year.University of Washington
Under Hodgins’ leadership, the Office of External Affairs has bolstered the University’s reputation as a resource, convener and collaborator that partners with industry, non-profit and civic groups, and elected officials to solve our community’s most pressing challenges. During his tenure, the office has grown to include units that manage the UW’s government-to-government relationships with Tribes and its interests in Spokane and Eastern Washington. Hodgins has also provided strong leadership for the University’s broadcasting assets, steering UWTV (now UW Video) through several changes and serving as the UW’s FCC Licensee Director for KUOW public radio. In all areas, Hodgins has emphasized the importance of building reciprocal relationships with legislators, tribal governments, business leaders, and community advocates across the state.
“Randy has skillfully led the UW’s funding request and advocacy efforts in Olympia and Washington D.C., resulting in significant investments for the UW. More importantly, he has been a strong advocate for collaboration and partnership between the University and community stakeholders helping forge connections to create a lasting impact in our state,” UW President Ana Mari Cauce said.
Hodgins’ career in the public sector began in 1983 where he worked as a fiscal analyst for the California State Legislature. In the late 1980s, he and his family relocated to Olympia where he joined the Washington State Senate Ways and Means Committee. Hodgins spent sixteen years working with and then leading a team of budget and tax experts before joining the UW in 2004.
Among many successful efforts at the local, state and national level, Hodgins and the Office of State Relations played a key role in 2019 advocating for the Workforce Education Investment Act which created the state’s first dedicated fund for higher education and provides financial aid to thousands of students across the state through the Washington College Grant.
A search for the next Vice President of External Affairs will begin this fall managed by the Office of the President. The UW is well-positioned to draw top talent to this role.
“The UW has been a major part of my life since I first set foot on this campus as a freshman in 1974 — 50 years ago this September. I earned two degrees from this institution in 1979 and 1983 and have spent half of my professional career on the campus,” Hodgins said. “Most importantly, I met my wife Tina here as well. The UW has had a profoundly positive impact on my personal and professional life, and it has been the honor of a lifetime to work for the University.”
For more information, contact Victor Balta at balta@uw.edu.
