Atlantic senior editor Alexis Madrigal talked to President Michael K. Young on Thursday in Seattle about the future of higher education.
Watch the full interview – View from the Top: Exploring the Route to Success from The Atlantic on FORA.tv
Presidential Blog
View From the Top: Watch an interview with President Young on Thursday
President Michael K. Young will discuss challenges in higher education Thursday during an interview in Seattle with The Atlantic. Watch it live at 9 a.m.
President Young’s statement about Coach Sarkisian’s departure
President Michael K. Young released this statement after USC announced it had hired Husky Coach Steve Sarkisian as its head football coach:
Steve Sarkisian has done a wonderful job in bringing our football program back to respectability and mentoring the young men in the program as they pursue their educations here at the UW. We thank him for his efforts. He has worked hard and with dedication to the program. There is more work to do, and it will be up to the next Husky football coach to do it. It is a fact of life in modern intercollegiate athletics that the competition for coaching talent is fierce, and this results in perhaps more movement in coaching positions than one might wish. This shoe dropping means we are now in the market and that will lead to other shoes dropping. It is the nature of the enterprise. We wish Steve well at USC and every success, except for one day a year.
UW alum bequeaths $56.1 million to School of Law
Earlier today, the UW School of Law was part of an extraordinary announcement about a gift that will benefit not only the University of Washington, but our entire region. As the University’s closest friends, we wanted you to be the first to hear that the late Jack Rupert MacDonald ’37, ’40 – a humble yet remarkable Husky who died in September after a life of public service on behalf of our nation’s veterans – bequeathed nearly $187 million to the three causes he cared about most: the UW School of Law, Seattle Children’s and the Salvation Army. The $56.1 million he designated to the School of Law, the largest gift in the school’s history and the UW’s largest bequest ever, will create, among other things, an endowed chair and support scholarships for law students and the programs that empower them to make positive change in the world.
In this week of Thanksgiving, the announcement of Mr. MacDonald’s transformative generosity is particularly poignant and meaningful. Yet, it’s his personal story that is truly remarkable. A 1940 graduate of the School of Law, Jack served in the South Pacific during World War II. He then worked for 30 years as an attorney for the Veterans Administration in Seattle, dedicating a career in public service to improving the lives of our veterans. Despite a large family inheritance, Jack was known for frugality: he clipped coupons and rode the bus. In his spare time, he focused on investing so his family trust could provide the biggest possible benefit to the charities that mattered most to him. Jack, who died at age 98, supported the School of Law for decades as a donor and volunteer, but he kept the size of his fortune and his generous intentions a secret to almost everyone. “The UW was good to me,” he once said. “I felt I owed them something as long as I was able.”
We are grateful to Jack for sharing the values of our university and our community, and for expressing them through such an extraordinary legacy at the School of Law. And we are extremely grateful to you, the University’s family, for your enduring support. You help make the UW a place where people choose to invest in the future.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Fondly,
Michael K. Young
President, University of Washington
Kellye Y. Testy
Dean and James W. Mifflin University Professor of Law, UW School of Law
Connie Kravas
Vice President, University Advancement
President, UW Foundation
President Young’s statement on the death of Don James
Don James was a larger-than-life figure for generations of Husky fans and all of us at the university are saddened by his death. Our hearts go out to his wife Carol and his family as we mourn his passing. He was a special kind of leader who generated immense loyalty and affection among his players and colleagues in the coaching community. He was a mentor and teacher par excellence, a great ambassador for the University of Washington and a man of the highest integrity. This university will miss him. He left an indelible impact on everything Husky.
President Young: the UW’s future “looks very, very bright”
Dear members of the University of Washington community:
Last June, right after our spectacular commencement ceremony on a scintillating day at CenturyLink Field, I boarded a bus with 35 new first- and second- year UW faculty from all three of our campuses and representing a wide array of disciplines for a week-long bus tour of the State of Washington. Known as the Faculty Field Tour, this trek acquainted faculty who are new to the UW with their newly adopted home state to orient them to its history, economy, geography and cultures and to give them a sense of where many of their students come from. It was my first time participating in such a trip, for which I got a very fancy baseball hat emblazoned with the words: “Faculty Field Tour.” Both the hat and the tour were exceptionally useful. I learned a great deal about the state I had not known before, but more importantly, I got a chance to spend time with our new faculty. And I can report to you that from this relatively small sampling, the future of the University looks very, very bright. They were a remarkable group of teachers and scholars, and I am proud that our students will be learning with them in the years to come.
Continue reading “President Young: the UW’s future “looks very, very bright””
Statement regarding President Obama’s proposals for rating higher education institutions
We are pleased to see President Obama speaking about the importance of higher education to the future competitiveness of the United States and the necessity of affordability and access for everyone. The University of Washington already scores well on many of the factors the President is promoting such as percentage of Pell Grant eligible students, tuition, debt loads and graduation rates, and we continue to expand our use of technology to improve access as well as services to students. While these measures are important, sustained financial support from our state government remains the best way to ensure affordability and access for Washington students. The state of Washington is indeed fortunate to have one of the best universities in the world at a cost that is still relatively low for students, and we intend to keep it that way.
Michael K. Young
University of Washington President
Governor Inslee appoints new regents
Dear Colleagues:
I am pleased to inform you that Gov. Jay Inslee today announced two new appointments to the University of Washington Board of Regents. Read the governor’s press release.
Constance Rice has been appointed to fulfill the remaining term of former Regent Sally Jewell who resigned this past spring to become Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, and will then be appointed to a new six-year term effective Oct. 1. Dr. Rice currently serves as managing director for Knowledge Management for Casey Family Programs, the nation’s largest operating foundation focused on foster care and improving the child welfare system. She holds a graduate degree from the UW Evans School of Public Affairs and a doctor of philosophy from the UW College of Education.
Rogelio Riojas will be appointed to a six-year term effective Oct. 1 to succeed Regent Craig Cole whose term expires Sept. 30. Mr. Riojas is president and chief executive officer for Sea Mar Community Health Centers and was recently honored as the 2013 recipient of the Charles E. Odegaard Award – a community and university selected award regarded as the highest achievement in diversity at the UW. Mr. Riojas graduated from the University of Washington with a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics and a master’s degree in health administration.
I am delighted to have the opportunity to work with these two outstanding alumni who are so passionate about improving higher education opportunities for the citizens of the state of Washington. I would also like to thank former Regent Jewell and Regent Cole for their extraordinary service as University of Washington Regents. This institution is much stronger today because of their dedicated work and leadership.
Please join me in welcoming Constance Rice and Rogelio Riojas to Board of Regents and thanking former Regent Jewell and Regent Cole for their committed service to the university.
Michael K. Young
President Young’s statement on the proposed state budget
The proposed state operating budget agreement represents a significant step forward, not only for University of Washington students, faculty, staff and their families – but also for the state of Washington.
For the first time in over two decades, state reinvestment in this budget agreement will allow the UW to hold resident undergraduate tuition rates at their current levels without compromising the extraordinary quality of students’ educations. In addition, new investments in engineering and computer science will expand access to critical programs for qualified students, creating an expanded talent pipeline for the 25,000 high demand job opportunities currently available in our state.
Budget negotiators are to be commended for their vision in making these essential investments in Washington’s economy and future leaders. Furthermore, we are grateful for the strong commitment and unyielding efforts of our incredible advocates, including the steadfast UW community, engaged alumni, dedicated partners in the business community, and broad-based newspaper editorial support. I am optimistic the investments in this budget are a sign of renewed focus and investment in higher education in Washington state.
2013-15 State Budget expectations
Dear Faculty and Staff:
With the Legislature now in its second special session trying to come to an agreement on a state budget for 2013-15, a number of questions are being raised about the unlikely—though theoretically possible—situation that the state could begin the new biennium on July 1 without a budget and without monies appropriated to spend on various programs. Such a circumstance would be unprecedented. I understand in the early 1990s it took until late June for the Legislature to adopt a budget and that was as close to the start of a new biennium as it had ever come.
At this point, there are more questions than answers, and we do not yet have clear direction or information from the state Office of Financial Management about impacts to the University absent an approved budget. I can tell you that the Governor and his administration are looking into this, with assistance from the State Attorney General’s office. We, along with other state agencies, have been asked for information about our programs, including those funded by state appropriations and those mandated either by federal or state law. State-funded programs comprise only about three percent of our total budget, albeit a crucial and important three percent. It is our expectation that programs funded from other sources, such as federal funds, tuition, or self-sustaining revenues will not be affected by what is occurring with regard to state appropriations. We believe summer quarter will not be impacted, and instructional programs and classes will start as scheduled June 24. Our deans and vice presidents are working closely with our Office of Planning and Budgeting to ensure that we are prepared both to move quickly if a state budget is adopted prior to July 1 and to manage any contingencies should legislators not make the deadline. More information should be available to us in the coming weeks.
It is everyone’s hope—and expectation—that the Legislature will adopt a budget and not force the state into uncharted waters regarding its financing. As the state formulates answers and contingency plans in the eventuality of reaching July 1 without a budget, we will keep you informed. At this point, we continue to encourage legislators to complete their work on the budget by June 30 and are in close touch with officials in Olympia.
Sincerely,
Michael K. Young