In March, I wrote about the negative impacts on our nation’s health, economy and security that would result from implementation of the President’s budget outline for the next fiscal year, FY18.
That initial budget outline has now been expanded to a full proposed budget for FY18, which was released today. The cuts to science, health care and other investments in our national prosperity are even more draconian – and more harmful – than those proposed in the original outline.
Memorial Day is not about celebrating war, but about celebrating the lives of men and women like Will, who put everything on the line so that others might live a better life, across the world and at home. It offers a moment for all of us to unite in honoring them, and, just as important, supporting the family, friends and fellow veterans who grieve their loss.
This month, we mark the one-year anniversary of our Population Health Initiative, an effort we launched with the goal of bringing our community together to improve health and well-being here and around the world. The impetus for that call remains as strong as ever, while our capacity to create change for the better is only growing. One year in, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on what we’ve accomplished so far and what lies ahead in this journey.
Last week, I officially charged a group of faculty, staff and students to advise me by searching nationally to identify candidates for the UW’s top academic job. In their search for a Provost and Executive Vice President, I have asked them to seek candidates who value our traditions of shared governance, transparency and accountability. I also encouraged them to reach out across disciplines and to individuals who reflect the diversity of our community. Finalists for the position will come to campus to meet with members of our community and talk about their vision sometime in the fall or winter.
Public research universities like the UW are essential engines for social mobility and prosperity, especially for first generation students. If, as a society, we fail to make the investments needed to keep them strong, we endanger progress, prosperity and innovation not just for the individuals who attend, but for their communities, states and our nation.
Earlier this week I had the opportunity to sit down with the staff of The Daily, our student newspaper, for a wide-ranging conversation that touched on everything from our University’s Race and Equity Initiative, to questions of free speech to the changing nature of journalism. In these days when our social media feeds are chock full of clickbait and dubious headlines, and we’re forced to dissect “fake news” and “alternative facts,” it was gratifying to meet with students who are committed to the ideals of an independent press. (For more info on fake news and how to detect it, see our course, Calling Bullshit in the Age of Big Data offered through the Information School.)
Transparency and accountable is necessary for a strong democracy — so is a public is informed and engaged with the issues. A strong, independent press is critical to both. Over the years, the Daily has taken me to task more than a few times. I’ve learned a lot from those critiques, though I don’t always agree with the views of some writers. Still, I’m always glad they are there. All of us at the UW should be.
Exploration and discovery are at the core of our mission. For many of us, they are the substance of our life’s work. This Saturday, I know many members of our University of Washington community will march in support of science and inquiry. I wanted to take this opportunity to reiterate the UW’s enduring and vocal support for scientific research.
This week, I spent a few days in the “other Washington” where I had the opportunity to meet with the members of our legislative delegation and their staffs. I shared with them the invaluable, vital work that our University of Washington community does to expand the frontiers of scientific research, improve healthcare, develop creativity through the arts, and provide quality and affordable education to our students.
Today, as anticipated, the President released a proposed federal budget blueprint for Fiscal Year 2018. The proposal is short on details, but it contains sweeping cuts that would harm American innovation and prosperity, the education of our nation’s students, and the research and creativity that is the foundation of progress in every field from medicine to the arts.
Without question, if passed, this budget would harm the University of Washington’s ability to serve our students, state and nation. It represents a major step backward for American scientific research and innovation, and reduces opportunities for millions of deserving young people. With devastating cuts to biomedical research and student aid, and to environmental science and the arts, this shortsighted proposal attacks the very investments that have made the United States healthy and prosperous. This budget is simply unacceptable and together with my fellow higher education leaders, I plan to work actively with Washington’s federal delegation and other congressional leaders to advocate for policies that keep America the global leader in innovation and opportunity.
To take effect, these proposals would have to be approved by Congress and we will be traveling to Washington, DC in early April to meet with administration officials as well as our congressional delegation. Many of the areas proposed for cuts have received strong, bipartisan support in the past, so I am hopeful that we will instead see the federal government continue to invest in the areas that, over the decades, have contributed to America’s prosperity and vitality. To support these efforts, we all can continue to demonstrate the value that every aspect of our University provides to our students, Washington and the world.
The list of affected programs is lengthy – those supporting students, such as TRiO and GEAR UP; those advancing research such as the NIH, Department of Energy, NOAA, NASA, and the EPA; and those creating a rich, vibrant national life, such as the NEA and NEH. The proposal does not reference cuts to the NSF. You can find more information about the specific cuts proposed on the UW Federal Relations blog.
In addition, we’ll also be speaking with our delegation about proposed legislation to replace the Affordable Care Act. The House legislation being considered would have significant negative outcomes for many of the patients who receive care at UW Medicine. If the proposed American Health Care Act were to be fully implemented, UW Medicine could lose an estimated $518 million per year in Medicaid/Medicare reimbursement and charity care costs, with significant impacts to UW Medicine services at Harborview. This would have dramatic effects on our ability to serve our patients and our communities.
Budgets are values made real. And so our nation faces a choice between a future in which our global competitors surge ahead of us, reaping the benefits of their investments in education, medicine, science, the arts and humanities; or a future in which we continue to discover, to teach, to create and to cure. I am fully committed to doing everything I can to ensure that brighter, more prosperous future becomes reality.
This weekend, our neighbors in Tent City 3 (TC3) depart for their next location, this time in Skyway, having completed their planned 90-day stay here on the UW’s Seattle campus. The way our community embraced our neighbors and the learning and human experiences that took place have been fantastic to witness, and I want to thank everyone whose planning and hard work went into making their stay a successful one.
When students, alumni and TC3 residents in the Tent City Collective first proposed hosting a tent city on campus, a key factor in the decision-making process was whether there would be clear connections to the UW’s academic mission. That’s why I’m so pleased by the number of faculty and students who stepped forward to make this hosting a part of their teaching and learning.
At least eight courses in disciplines including public policy, environmental science, English and several health fields, as well as via the Honors Program, formally engaged with TC3 during the last three months. That’s in addition to other ways the UW and TC3 communities connected, ranging from clinics and outreach provided by students from Nursing, Dentistry, MEDEX and Public Health, to a drop-in art studio, to the many shared meals made possible by a range of units, professional organizations, student groups and individuals. You can read about many of these connections on the Addressing Homelessness page.
The stay faced challenges, not the least of which being the unusually cold winter. But those were no match for the openheartedness and ingenuity of individuals in departments from Facilities Services to ICA and IMA, the last of which opened up the Waterfront Activities Center as a warming center during the coldest part of the season.
One of the questions I received even as TC3 was arriving in December was “When will the UW host again?” Key to answering that question will be student involvement. The Tent City Collective did its homework and gathered support on and off campus before presenting a proposal. Students remained engaged and have done tremendous work, in addition to their class loads, in order to make the stay a success. Future hosting will be contingent on having that same level of student engagement. It’ll also be guided in part by the results of an evaluation – we are academics, after all, and evaluating a program is vital to improving it in the future – that a School of Public Health program evaluation course is conducting. You can contribute to that evaluation by taking this survey.
In the meantime, please remember that TC3’s residents – and the many other individuals and families in our community without reliable shelter – are our neighbors, wherever they may spend the night. For those of us who connected with TC3’s residents, whether for a day or a quarter, it is a lesson we will not soon forget – and one that I hope will lead to action to finally end the crisis of homelessness in our community.