The measure of the University of Washington’s true worth comes in the impact we have on the world. Your impact is broad, emerging through disciplines ranging from poetry to physics, and is truly global, with projects and partnerships in more than 130 countries – and right here in Washington.
Category: Presidential messages
Violence has no place at our University and no role in our democracy
I want to say very clearly: Violence has no place at our University and in our communities. It is heartbreaking that a man was shot and others assaulted during what should have been peaceful demonstrations. The gunshot victim is currently hospitalized, and we fervently hope for his full recovery.
Pursuing the ideals of a more perfect union
This week begins and ends with two important days in the civic life of our nation: Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Inauguration Day. In many ways, these two days represent two sides of the same coin. On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we celebrate the life of a man who used advocacy, peaceful protest and civil disobedience to advance the cause of human rights. And on Inauguration Day, we mark the peaceful transition of power as determined by the votes cast in our electoral system.
A safe and welcoming place for all
In the week since the presidential election, many in our university have come together to engage in peaceful gatherings, public forums and other forms of community engagement within residence halls, departments and other groupings across campus. Participation in difficult discussions as well as celebrations of our shared humanity represent the best of who we are, the ideals of our democracy, and demonstrate how, by working together, we can continue to build a better future — the heart of our institutional mission.
A message to faculty & staff: You make the UW what it is
Today, Jerry and I were very pleased to take an opportunity to send a message to all the dedicated faculty and staff of the UW about just how important they are to the University, to our students’ success and to the impact – near and far – that we have as an institution. Below is our message which we think is worth sharing as widely as possible.
We are all accountable for justice and equity
As interim president, I spoke to our university about racism, equity and the need for each of us to take personal responsibility for addressing our own biases and improving our University culture. We committed to deepen the work of more systematically combating racism and inequities, both individual and institutional, which persist here and throughout our society.
Letter to alumni: Welcome the Class of 2016 to the pack!
The University of Washington’s alumni family got a little bigger this week as we graduated the Class of 2016. Diplomas in hand, these newly minted graduates are leaving the Seattle, Bothell and Tacoma campuses to join your global fellowship. I know you’ll welcome them with open arms as they share not just a love of the UW, but also the values and passions that unite us in our drive to create a world of good.
What a year this has been for your University! We inaugurated our first cohort of Husky 100 recipients — a new program recognizing outstanding students who are making the most of their Husky Experience — and held our first Parent and Family Weekend. We celebrated a wide range of scholarship, breakthroughs and innovations, from deploying an ocean robot to monitor algal blooms, to uncovering the positive effects of music on babies’ development, to the debut of a unique “vertical dance” performance on Meany Hall.
We launched a new vision for improving health and well-being around the world through efforts related to population health, expanded the degree offerings of the Global Innovation Exchange, and strengthened our long-standing medical education program in eastern Washington through a new partnership with Gonzaga University. And, of course, this was the year we all cheered as the UW women’s golf team won its first national championship and the women’s basketball team went to its first Final Four.
As alumni, you are an essential part of making all of these achievements possible. Your engagement in your communities and your support of the UW, including through membership in the UW Alumni Association, helps drive our University. I’m taking part in our 14th annual Faculty Field Tour of Washington this week, and I hope to see many of you along the way. But please also know we always welcome you at any of our campuses and facilities, such as the UW Spokane Center, and at any of the countless places UW alumni gather, here, and around the world.
Thank you for all that you do, and for the warm welcome you’ll give the Class of 2016!
UW to host Tent City 3 for 90 days in winter 2017
Earlier this year, I wrote to our community about the crisis facing thousands of our neighbors; a crisis that forces many individuals and families to live under bridges, or in cars and doorways.
Tent City 3 hosting
Preferred location: Parking lot W35
When: 90 days in 2017 winter quarter
- Community feedback 2-to-1 in favor
- Organizer must meet safety and operations plan requirements and a city permit must be obtained
- No taxpayer or tuition funds will be used
- Consistent with TC3 code of conduct, no weapons, alcohol, drugs or violence will be allowed, and security will be coordinated with UWPD
- Faculty encouraged, but not required, to incorporate service learning into courses
- Participation in related activities will be voluntary for students and residents
As part of our educational mission and existing work to address homelessness, I asked you whether the UW should host an organized tent city during the 2017 winter quarter. This would build on and respond to the work of students, alumni and residents from the Tent City Collective, and on the positive Tent City 3 hosting experiences of Seattle University and Seattle Pacific University.
Tent City 3 is also the community we’re considering. In fact, they have literally been across the street from us this spring at University Congregational United Church of Christ, NE 45th Street and 15th Avenue NE, providing safe, secure housing to individuals and families.
Nearly 1,000 of you e-mailed thoughts and dozens more attended the town hall meetings. By a 2-to-1 margin responses and attendees favored hosting. Faculty and departments have expressed eagerness to incorporate service learning into curricula, and local elected officials and community leaders also support the effort.
The UW will therefore proceed with plans to host, contingent on the safety and operations plan we establish being effectively implemented and on permit approval by the City of Seattle. We will not use any taxpayer or tuition funds to support this work.
I appreciate the thoughtful nature of your feedback, including concerns that were raised, primarily about safety, parking and the connection to our educational mission. As we plan for hosting next winter, we are taking those concerns into account.
Tent City 3 is an organized community with a strict code of conduct that prohibits weapons, violence, drugs and alcohol. Many residents have jobs, and often families with small children stay there because it is a safe, secure place. It’s important to remember that people facing homelessness are more vulnerable to being victims of crime. For the safety of all members of our community – permanently housed or not – UWPD will closely coordinate with the 24/7 security already conducted by Tent City 3.
The working group I commissioned studied a wide range of sites, with consideration for safety; transit access; logistics; privacy for residents; the need for a hard, level surface; and access for students and faculty who choose to participate in hosting-related learning opportunities.
Based on these criteria, parking lot W35 is the preferred location. Sally Clark, director of regional and community relations, met with faculty, staff and students from adjacent units, and consulted with organizers of the expanded UW childcare center that will be two blocks east. No issues have arisen that would preclude a portion of W35 being used to host Tent City 3, and we will continue these meetings and work to minimize any logistical disruptions.
I recognize some of you may still have concerns and trepidation. That is fair and expected. I only ask that we approach hosting with open minds and take this opportunity to learn from the experiences of our neighbors.
Our educational mission and role as a public university call us to find innovative ways to teach, learn and serve. It is my firm belief as a teacher, a scholar who has studied these issues, and a citizen of our community that hosting Tent City 3 is wholly consistent with our mission. I look forward to continuing this process so that next winter we can join together in welcoming our neighbors to campus.
Congratulations on this year’s achievements!
The end of the academic year is always bittersweet; we say goodbye to this year’s graduates, yet we share their excitement as new degree-holders go forth, ready to become the leaders, innovators and change-makers that this world needs and that their UW education has prepared them to be.
I could not be more proud of the Class of 2016 or of the momentous accomplishments of our community this year. Were I to try to list them all here, this email would be too big for your inboxes, so please know that the incredible achievements across every campus, unit and department have made this year more special and rewarding than I can adequately put into words.
Later this week, the UW will award 15,770 degrees to our graduates in Bothell, Seattle and Tacoma. That includes 10,489 bachelor’s degrees, 3,990 master’s degrees, 530 professional and educational specialist degrees and 761 doctoral degrees. Congratulations, graduates! This University is a better place because you were here, and I can’t wait to see you unleash your abilities as you make our world a better place.
This has been a year of many firsts. We inaugurated our first cohort of Husky 100 recipients. A UW glaciologist helped drill the first deep ice core at the South Pole, and UW engineers received a grant to work on the first implantable device to reanimate paralyzed limbs. Burke Museum paleontologists discovered the first dinosaur fossil in Washington, while drama students are premiering plays based on the experiences of U-District residents and community groups. The women’s golf team won the national championship, while the women’s basketball team went to the Final Four. These and countless other superlatives demonstrate how, on every front, the UW is serving the public good with creativity and excellence.
This has been a year rich in innovation and discovery. We launched a new vision for improving population health and are preparing to break ground on the new Global Innovation Exchange facility in Bellevue. Our faculty continue to inspire and astound us with their ideas, discoveries and impact as teachers and scholars, with pioneering research achievements in every college and school. Professor of Medicine and Genome Sciences Mary-Claire King was awarded the 2015 National Medal of Science, while seven UW faculty members were honored by national academies this year.
This was also a challenging year. As a community we are working hard to bring about needed change to improve racial equity and diversity. Change is too slow, but it is happening. We’ve had difficult conversations, and those will continue. I pledge that I will continue to be present, engaged and transparent as we make our collective way toward change.
The end of any endeavor is a good time to look back — at our accomplishments, at what we learned, at that to which we are saying goodbye. But I hope we will also remember to keep looking forward, because all that we have done, together, will help create a world of good in the days and years to come.
Thank you, all, for the contributions you’ve made to our University and to our world — and congratulations to the Class of 2016!
Announcing Gerald Baldasty as UW Provost and Executive VP
It gives me great pleasure to announce that Gerald “Jerry” Baldasty has accepted the position of provost and executive vice president, a role he has filled on an interim basis for the past 14 months with dedication and distinction.
I offer my sincere thanks to the many of you in the UW community who provided comments and advice throughout the selection process, and extend a special ‘thank you’ to the advisory committee (listed below), chaired by Dean Jim Jiambalvo and Professor Kathleen O’Neill, past Faculty Senate chair, for their thoughtful and diligent work in vetting Jerry’s candidacy.
At the University of Washington, service to the academic mission should be at the core of all we do. With that in mind, Jerry’s excellence as a scholar and teacher, as well as a seasoned administrative leader, makes him the ideal person to serve as UW’s chief academic and budgetary officer. The provost oversees the challenging and crucial work of ensuring our teaching and scholarship is of the highest quality. This is the foundation of our University, and Jerry’s commitment to the UW ensures that work is in safe hands.
Jerry’s commitment to the University of Washington runs deep. A Spokane native, he is a “Double Dawg,” with a UW undergraduate degree and a UW Ph.D. in communications. Appointed to the faculty in the Department of Communication in 1978, Jerry has demonstrated leadership and scholarship that have earned him numerous recognitions and honors, including the Distinguished Teaching Award.
This appointment is for no more than a three-year term, effective June 1, 2016, and contingent on approval by the Board of Regents, to whom I will present my recommendation for confirmation. With Jerry’s appointment, he and I are excited to continue our work on a range of efforts, from enhancing the Husky Experience to transforming our administration to better serve the UW’s academic and research missions. His leadership on innovative initiatives like the Husky 100 and pilot programs including the Teaching Technology Fellows and Evidence-based Teaching is helping to advance the boundless student experience and world-class teaching that are hallmarks of the UW.
Jerry is a truly outstanding leader within our University community and a colleague whose partnership I personally value greatly. With our eyes firmly on the future, I’m excited to begin this next chapter in the UW’s history together.
President Advisory Selection Review Committee on the University of Washington Provost and Executive Vice President
- Jim Jiambalvo, Dean and Kirby L. Cramer Chair in Business Administration,
Michael G. Foster School of Business (co-chair) - Kathleen O’Neill, Chair, Senate Committee on Planning and Budgeting;
Professor, School of Law (co-chair) - Zoe Barness, Vice Chair, Faculty Senate and Associate Professor,
Milgard School of Business, UW Tacoma - Alex Bolton, President, Graduate and Professional Student Senate
- Karam Dana, Assistant Professor, School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences, UW Bothell
- Daniel J. Grossman, Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering
- Byron Joyner, Vice Dean for Graduate Medical Education and Professor,
School of Medicine - Joe Lott, Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies,
College of Education - Linda Martin-Morris, Principal Lecturer, Department of Biology,
College of Arts and Sciences - Mark Pagano, Chancellor and Professor, UW Tacoma
- Tyler Wu, President, Associated Students at the University of Washington