I am pleased to see that the Washington state House budget begins the critical work of reinvesting in higher education for the benefit of our students and our state. The new funding for faculty and staff compensation, computer science enrollment expansion and medical residencies is critically important. The proposed budget in its entirety, however, may not be sufficient to keep tuition affordable and to fulfill our public commitment to deliver the innovations, discoveries, products and talented young people that our region needs. We must be about both access and excellence, and we will continue to stress that a robust state investment is critical.
We are also extremely pleased that the House budget proposal recognizes the critical importance of keeping the UW’s No. 1–ranked primary-care program in Spokane and of increasing our enrollment from 40 to 60 students per year. The transfer of $4.7 million in dedicated funding for our medical school from Washington State University to the UW will ensure that we can maintain and grow our medical education program to meet the critical physician workforce needs of the state.
Ana Mari Cauce
Interim President
Professor of Psychology and American Ethnic Studies