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The power of unleashing ideas

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One of the things I most appreciate about a major research institution like the University of Washington is that our ideas are limitless. In every UW college, school, program and discipline, people are individually and collectively engaged in the pursuit of ideas with the potential to become something transformative. With thousands collaborating in the creative process each day, the UW is able to sustain an environment of ongoing discovery, and the possibilities for innovation are boundless.

Much of the university’s focus is on finding ways to unleash this vast storehouse of human ideas and potential, and one of my principal endeavors is to lead that effort. We strive to empower people and to create an environment in which everyone feels encouraged to think expansively and broadly for the greater common good. At the same time, we aim to provide people the freedom to innovate, knowing they have the support and resources to take risks, choose unexplored paths and try bold approaches. And when great ideas are conceived, we take them where they have the capacity to make a difference.

Innovating with a purpose is and always has been fundamental to the UW’s mission. Like many others engaged in the creative process, our ideas are not complete until we connect them with the larger world, to the great opportunities and challenges of our time. One way we achieve this is through commercialization — licensing faculty research or incubating student startups.

Korvata Inc., a UW student-led startup, won the top award at the 2014 UW Environmental Innovation Challenge. Launched in April, the company provides customers in the food and beverage and consumer-packaged goods industries with cutting-edge alternative chemistry products to help mitigate their environmental impact. Members of this student team succeeded in turning their passion for cleantech into a marketable opportunity that meets a genuine need, and many other UW students are engaged in similar pursuits.

Photo of members of the Korvata startup team
Korvata Inc., a UW student-led startup, won the top award at the 2014 UW Environmental Innovation Challenge.

Commercialization and incubating startups are not the only creative ways we link with the larger community. Ideas with impact can be found in scholarly publishing, delivering health care, crafting public policy and creating partnerships with the community on a host of activities essential to a vibrant, successful society. Indeed, nearly every aspect of our world is predicated on ideas that can be applied in solid, practical ways.

No matter how our faculty, staff and students innovate, the UW is committed to providing the opportunities and the resources that will unleash their ideas. This is the higher purpose of higher education — where the real strength of our thinkers, creators and doers will flourish.

The UW’s impact in Spokane

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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.

Expanding health care in the Yakima Valley

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Faculty Field Tour - Day 2

Day two of the Faculty Field Tour found our bus heading east along the Columbia River, that precious resource for our state. As we drove, we saw the gradual transition of the landscape from forested mountains to dry rolling hills and the broad expanses of the eastern part of the state. Along the way we passed hundreds of wind turbines that dot the landscape, generating energy from this relatively new alternative energy source.

With its rich, fertile soil and proximity to the Columbia River, the Yakima Valley is an important hub for both agriculture and transportation. It is responsible for about 75 percent of all hops grown in the United States and is recognized as one of the world leaders in apple production.

The valley is also an important center for community health. Our Faculty Field Tour saw this firsthand during a visit to the Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic (YVFWC), a comprehensive medical, dental and social services clinic that collaborates with the UW. Pediatric residents from the UW School of Medicine serve a rotation at the YVFWC to address the occupational and environmental health concerns of Hispanic farm workers and their families. As the area continues to grow, UW Medicine’s presence in the Yakima Valley has become vital to the health and well-being of patients from a diversity of backgrounds.

We visited Washington State University’s agricultural research center in Prosser, where they are doing innovative work in plant propagation and harvesting methods, among other things. It was impressive, and there were lots of questions from our faculty. We were given the crimson carpet treatment, with an actual Cougar carpet greeting us as we stepped off the bus.

Our last event of the day was a Welcome to Washington reception, organized by the UW Alumni Association. We invited Tri-Cities-area entering freshmen and their families to join other students and alumni at a dinner to welcome them to the UW.  ‎It was a wonderful event. Our new faculty introduced themselves to the gathering and did a fabulous job briefly describing their teaching and research interests. That was truly inspiring. And then our incoming freshmen told us a little about themselves. It was exciting to imagine them in the classrooms of the faculty they had just met.

The energy in the room was palpable. So much pent-up enthusiasm for learning that will have to wait until the fall to be unleashed.

On the road with the 2014 Faculty Field Tour

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This week, Provost Ana Mari Cauce and I are boarding the bus for the annual UW Faculty Field Tour, a five-day trek that explores the UW’s reach across Washington state. The tour is designed for faculty members who are new to Washington and new to the university. It’s an opportunity to learn about their newly adopted home state — its geography and topography, the foundations of its economy and some of its history — as well as to see where their students come from, learn about those communities and meet colleagues from a variety of the university’s rich array of disciplines.

The tour covers roughly 1,000 miles, and we’ll be making stops along the way to visit key UW partners, including high-tech manufacturers like Boeing, UW startup MicroGREEN Polymers and the Microsoft Data Center; local vineyards and orchards; environmental gems like Mount St. Helens; and even the great Grand Coulee Dam. The tour allows our 31 participating new faculty members to get a bird’s-eye view of our state and experience firsthand the rich tapestry of culture, economics and geography in Washington.

Today was a great start to the tour. We visited the Boeing composite manufacturing plant in Frederickson, where Boeing makes the tail sections for the 777 and 787. We had an exceptional tour guide who fielded a barrage of questions from a very inquisitive group of faculty. It is amazing to see the ingenuity and creativity that goes into the manufacturing process of this very complex airplane component. The faculty was duly impressed, like I was.

We then drove to the Johnston Ridge observatory to get a bird’s-eye view of Mount St. Helens. What an amazing example of the awesome power of nature — quite a contrast to the high-tech manufacturing plant. It was interesting to note that some of our younger faculty had yet to be born by May 18, 1980, the day the mountain erupted.

The conversations on the bus were lively and robust as people are getting to know one another. Looks like another terrific group of faculty setting out to learn more about Washington.

I encourage you to follow our tour’s progress in pictures on Tagboard (#UWFacTour), here on my blog and on Facebook.

President Young on the SPU shooting

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Dear members of the University of Washington Community:

Another tragic shooting occurred today, this time much closer to home at our neighbor, Seattle Pacific University. We extend our heartfelt sympathy to those who were shot, to their families and friends, and to the entire Seattle Pacific University community. We can only imagine the shock and horror they experienced today at the hands of an individual bent on destructive and violent acts.

Based on the news reports that have been forthcoming, the perpetrator is in custody and the incident at SPU is under control. Any occurrence like this raises concerns for the safety of the entire community, especially such a close-knit community as a college or university. I know everyone is especially vigilant at a time like this and rightly so. Again, I want to remind everyone that we have resources on campus where people can go to report any incident or event that causes discomfort or concern: http://uw.edu/safecampus/

Please be wary and look out for each other. Together, we are our best protection.

Sincerely,

Michael K. Young

Thank you for making the UW a leader in sustainability

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Provost Ana Mari Cauce and Senior Vice President V’Ella Warren recently sent an email message to faculty, staff and students announcing the UW’s latest achievements in environmental sustainability. Below is a copy of that message.

As we wrap up the 2013–2014 academic year, the University of Washington Environmental Stewardship Committee (ESC) would like to thank you for making the UW a globally recognized leader in sustainability and for supporting our Climate Action Plan goals.

The UW has continued to perform as a sustainability role model, ranking in the top 10% of universities worldwide for its sustainability efforts (UI Greenmetric World University Ranking), achieving national recognition in the Princeton Review Green Honor Roll (99, the highest score possible) and receiving accolades at home by Seattle Business Magazine’s Green Washington Award (Silver in Academia).

Our commitment to sustainability is greater than ever, with 28 LEED-certified buildings across three campuses, a 58% waste diversion rate and more than $12.83 million saved through utility conservation efforts. With your help, the UW has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 8% from our 2005 levels, despite an increase in campus size and population.

The 2013–2014 academic year has seen:

  • The finalization of the Mercer Court Apartments, with the addition of another acre of growing space for the UW Farm.
  • The launch of 128 rooftop solar panels by UW-Solar that will produce an estimated 34,470 kilowatt hours per year.
  • The College of the Environment winning the UW’s first Green Laboratories Competition.
  • The inception of the Green Seed Fund, which supplied grants to five innovative research proposals and contributes to the goal of reducing campus carbon emissions.
  • The recognition of the UW Tower Data Center as one of 27 data centers in the country to receive a U.S. EPA ENERGY STAR Certification.

As we reflect on these and other milestones, we are also looking forward to the challenges and creative solutions that await. It is with gratitude that we thank Sandra Archibald, dean of the Evans School, for her leadership in chairing the Environmental Stewardship Committee for the past eight years, and welcome Lisa Graumlich, dean of the College of the Environment into her new role as chair.

Sustainability runs deep: Take a look at why 2013–2014 was also an outstanding year for sustainability at UW Bothell and UW Tacoma!

UW Bothell

  • Discovery Hall, UW Bothell’s newest building, will house the STEM program and sets the bar high with a targeted LEED Gold certification.
  • A $550,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce will be used to install nearly 500 rooftop solar panels. The energy generated will provide free charging to electric vehicle drivers who pay for parking and reduce utility bills for campus garages.
  • Participation in the Shred-it secure recycling program has helped to divert over 14 tons of paper from the landfill, saving over 240 trees from destruction.

UW Tacoma

  • UW Tacoma is the first of the three UW campuses to offer a Sustainability Minor, which gives UW Tacoma students the opportunity to engage in the interdisciplinary application of sustainability considering economic, societal and environmental perspectives.
  • Student leadership and sustainable urban agriculture that gives back to the community are the name of the game at the Giving Garden, which donated 318 pounds of food to Tacoma food banks.
  • The Prairie Line Trail–UWT Station is set to be completed in September 2014 and will combine smart storm water management with inviting open spaces to bring together community on the restored Prairie Line Railroad.

Your continued support ensures a sustainable future for the University of Washington and challenges how we imagine ‘business as usual’ on campus!

Learn about sustainability, events, Climate Action Plan goals and more at green.uw.edu.

The value of humanities in education

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As the academic year comes to a close, and graduates are seeking employment or considering their next move, my expectations for success of UW students and graduates are unparalleled — not only for those leaving here with computer science and other technical and professional degrees, but also for graduates of humanities and other liberal arts programs.

Recently, I met with the chairs of the humanities departments in our College of Arts & Sciences to discuss the benefit of humanities study for students of all majors. As the cornerstone of traditional liberal arts colleges, the humanities have enjoyed a special place in higher education as institutions expanded their offerings to meet the needs of enterprise and industry.

A study by the Association of American Colleges and Universities surveying employers about what they want in the ideal employee concluded that more than 90 percent of employers want someone who has a broad knowledge base and who can collaborate to solve complex problems, debate, communicate and think critically — all skills that humanities programs expect students to acquire before they graduate. And our terrific students do!

Other desirable qualities that employers listed are also integral to humanities degree requirements: ethical judgment and integrity, intercultural skills, the capacity for continued new learning and applied knowledge in real-world settings. And 80 percent of employers agreed that, regardless of their major, all college students should acquire broad knowledge in the liberal arts and sciences.

The UW is committed to providing a transformative experience for our students to ensure each one’s preparedness for life after college. Majoring in a humanities discipline or taking a course or two to complement another major will benefit students as they venture out into our interconnected world, where having an understanding of the tenets of humanities — language, literature, film and the history of ideas — is an advantage to succeeding in our modern, diverse and global economy.

Gifts from Washington Research Foundation fund Husky innovation

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President Young recently sent an email to the University community announcing a new, generous gift from one of the UW’s biggest supporters, Washington Research Foundation. Below is the official email announcing the details of the gift.

 

Dear Colleagues,

New opportunities are on the horizon for Huskies and the people we serve, thanks to an investment in innovation by Washington Research Foundation (WRF). Today, we announce a $31.2 million investment by WRF in four UW research initiatives, a show of support that speaks volumes to the UW’s strength as a center for enterprising innovators in our region.

The size and scope of WRF’s gifts to the UW are unprecedented. This represents entrepreneurial Washington investing in its research university and makes a strong statement about the importance of local investment. The four teams of grant recipients are among the UW’s most productive and creative faculty. We are incredibly proud of their achievements and deeply grateful to the foundation for its vote of confidence in their work.

The first award is an $8 million gift to launch a postdoctoral fellowship program for the Institute for Protein Design (IPD). Postdocs are critical to the success of the IPD’s outcomes, and this investment will help bring ideas out of the laboratory and into the lives of people who will benefit most from breakthroughs in protein design.

WRF also committed $7.2 million to jumpstart an Institute for Neuroengineering, which will bring faculty, students and postdoctoral researchers from several disciplines on board to develop new technologies for people affected by neural disorders.

The eScience Institute was awarded $9.3 million to embolden its global leadership in Big Data. The funding will support the institute’s work to find data-intensive breakthroughs in a breadth of disciplines.

And the Clean Energy Institute will receive $6.7 million to help recruit innovative faculty and postdoctoral fellows focused on advancing solutions in solar energy production, storage and delivery.

Details on each of these gifts are available on the UW Today website.

This is a watershed moment for the UW and WRF. Through this incredible partnership, we will bring our shared vision of innovation and implementing ideas into action to address some of our greatest challenges. Our sincere thanks to Washington Research Foundation. We are fortunate to have such a good friend.

Sincerely,
Michael K Young signature
Michael K. Young

Staying engaged with the UW beyond retirement

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President Young and Provost Cauce recently sent an email to University staff, faculty and retirees announcing new opportunities for UW retirees.  Below is the official email announcing the new Encore program.

 

Dear University of Washington Faculty, Staff and Retirees:

At the UW, we’re committed to finding ways we can continue to benefit from our “brain trust” of UW retirees and soon-to-be-retirees. We want to create opportunities for post-midlife adults, including our faculty, staff, retirees, alumni and friends, so that they can continue to make a positive difference in fresh ways that make best use of their accumulated skills and experience. With this commitment in mind, we are pleased to announce the launch of the UW Encore Initiative.

The UW Retirement Association (UWRA), with a grant from Encore.org, is partnering with the UW Alumni Association and University Advancement to develop guidelines and create opportunities for retirees to engage in community service for the greater good. This partnership began identifying pathways on and beyond our campuses to engage members of the UW family in Encore—an organization founded to support individuals to transition from a first career into a second act.The UW is the first four-year university in the country to support the creation of this initiative for all of our constituents, and opportunities to participate are under way. Our first campus Encore workshop recently concluded with an attendance of more than 70 (and a waiting list!).

We invite our leaders to join with the UW Encore Initiative to help our retirees find ways to stay engaged, give back and make the world a better place. Expanding our service through the UW Encore Initiative will be challenging and exciting. It will mean thinking creatively about how to engage highly skilled older adults. It also will enable the University to build stronger relationships with the communities beyond our campuses.

Please watch for further information from the UWRA about Encore-related workshops, websites and other opportunities as this initiative unfolds. And thank you to all of our staff, faculty and retirees for your service to the University—past, present and future.

Sincerely,

Michael K Young signature Ana Mari Cauce Signature
Michael K. Young Ana Mari Cauce
President Provost & Executive Vice President