After several wonderful days on the road together, I bid adieu to our 31 new faculty members on the Faculty Field Tour who are continuing on their statewide tour through northeastern Washington and the Okanogan. It was gratifying to see their enthusiasm for learning about the state and to watch them engage with our various hosts along the way. Provost Cauce has joined the tour and will get to know this accomplished group of young faculty.
Last night we were warmly welcomed to Spokane by Mayor David Condon. I’ve been watching and admiring the city of Spokane for a long time, going back to my days as president of the University of Utah. One of the things I admire most is the community of civic, business and education leaders who work tirelessly to chart a vision for this area and champion it into a reality.
A terrific example of this is the tremendous work the community has done to support the partnership to build Spokane’s medical school, a collaboration between the University of Washington and Washington State University. In addition to our strong partnership in medical education, our UW School of Dentistry collaborates with Eastern Washington University on our Regional Initiatives in Dental Education, which offers our dental students an opportunity to study and train in Spokane as well.
With more than 5,000 UW alumni living in eastern Washington and the greater Spokane area, more than 900 students from the region and more than $11 million in contracts with local businesses, the UW has a significant connection to this community. As we prepare to expand Spokane’s medical school and identify opportunities to increase our research presence, our commitment to Spokane is unwavering.
This is all possible thanks to our strong partnerships, valued collaborators and loyal alumni representing education, health care and the business community, who are working to make Spokane one of our nation’s great centers of health care excellence.