Category: Presidential messages

Our city is facing a crisis. Thousands of our neighbors are forced to make their homes in doorways or under bridges since they lack affordable housing. Consistent with our public mission, the University of Washington has been seeking solutions to the homelessness crisis through scholarship and service. But we have an opportunity to do more.

Earlier this year, I commissioned a working group to assess the feasibility of hosting an organized tent city encampment on the Seattle campus for 90 days during the 2017 winter quarter. Tent cities are by no means a permanent answer for homelessness, but they do provide a safe place for residents to live as they seek stable housing. This working group met with representatives from Tent City 3, Seattle city government, community organizations and members of the Tent City Collective, as well as with colleagues from Seattle Pacific University and Seattle University, both of which hosted Tent City 3 on their campuses and found hosting to be a valuable educational experience for their students.

I want to single out the Tent City Collective for particular praise. Its members, which include UW students, alumni and Tent City 3 residents, have been steadfast advocates for our neighbors facing homelessness. They have also made many connections with faculty and departments eager to incorporate service learning into their curricula via the opportunities hosting an encampment would present.

The conclusion of the working group is that hosting an encampment is feasible, provided that we have community support; connect with an experienced, responsible organizer; make a decision early enough for faculty to incorporate relevant service learning into their curricula; and have detailed plans for security, safety, health and sanitation to ensure the well-being of residents and community members. Participation in UW activities related to hosting would be voluntary for our students, just as they would be for encampment residents.

I am now seeking your feedback on whether the UW should step forward and host Tent City 3 — which has an extensive track record and clear code of conduct for residents — during the 2017 winter quarter.

No taxpayer or tuition funds would be used to host the encampment, which would be limited to no more than 100 residents. There are several locations under consideration, which you can view on the Regional and Community Relations site.

There will be two open houses where you can learn more:

• Monday, April 11: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at University Congregational United Church of Christ, 4515 16th Ave. NE
• Tuesday, April 12: Noon to 2 p.m. in Room 250 of the HUB

You can also share your thoughts by emailing regional@uw.edu. The goal is to make a decision by the end of the academic year in order to provide time for logistical and curricular planning.

Service to our community is central to our mission, as is providing students with experiences that help them become educated, engaged citizens. Informed feedback from the campus community and from nearby residents and businesses is vital as we consider whether to host Tent City 3, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

All around Washington and points beyond, several thousand high school seniors are experiencing the thrill of receiving a gold envelope — what some students have started calling the “golden ticket” — in the mail. It’s their future arriving, in the form of a letter announcing that they’ve been admitted to the University of Washington.

This is a defining moment for these admitted students — one you can witness on social media via #NewHuskies2016 — and for us, as with each incoming class our University is renewed. Over the coming months, these students will visit our campuses for admitted student preview days and informal tours. I encourage us all to give them a warm welcome. After all, they chose the UW because of you and your reputation for excellence.

Our students are the embodiment of our public promise to serve as an engine for personal growth and societal well-being and prosperity. They will come from every corner of Washington and beyond, though the physical distance many of them will travel will be smaller than the socioeconomic divides they’ll cross on their journey.

For example, last year Seattle’s Franklin High School ranked sixth among all high schools for sending graduates to the UW, which I imagine is a point of pride for Principal Jennifer Wiley, who herself earned two UW degrees. Her students have faced challenges throughout their lives, with 70 percent qualifying for free or reduced-price lunches and an unknown number having faced discrimination, whether because of their race, their nationality or their language.

As someone who knows from personal experience how access to education can change a life, I’m thrilled that we’ll be welcoming students like those from Franklin and beyond who are eager to learn with you. Helping students of modest means achieve their full potential is one of our most important missions as a public university.

As we move forward, we’ll continue to emphasize both access and excellence. And we’ll continue to look for new ways to identify and recruit a diverse range of talented and determined students, including those for whom college applications don’t tell the full story of their potential to be leaders and innovators. This includes at UW Bothell — where I held a town hall last week — and UW Tacoma, both of which have grown over the last quarter century to meet the needs of their respective communities.

Our students chose the UW because they want to learn from leaders in their fields, and at a University dedicated to innovation, discovery and positive social change. Thank you for your commitment to them, to excellence and to our shared and crucial public mission.

When I first set foot on campus almost 30 years ago as an assistant professor, I could never have imagined I’d be writing to you as president of the University of Washington. This is an incredible honor, and it is one that is made all the more special because I have shared this journey with so many of you. Thank you for the support and kindness you have shown me.

At a time when regents and trustees at some other institutions are questioning the ability of the academy to lead, our Regents demonstrated their belief in you. Their vote was a vote of confidence in the progress we’ve made together and in the future we have charted for the UW. This truly is our University.

As I look at our future, there are three key areas in which we have tremendous opportunities to contribute to the lives of our students, to advance the well-being of our world and to drive innovation here and around the globe.

For our students, we will provide a Husky Experience that prepares them for successful lives by coupling outstanding teaching with outstanding experiences. From internships and makerspaces, to study abroad and research, we will prepare our students to be engaged global citizens.

For those who rely on our research, scholarship and creative works, we will focus on the impact of what we do. Whether it is through environmental science that helps us be better stewards of the Earth, or by establishing vibrant futures for the arts and humanities, our work makes a difference. In all our disciplines, we can contribute to the world on a scale that few other institutions can match.

And throughout our University, we will be united by a drive to innovate. We will support and encourage new ways to tackle societal problems, from using big data to improve the health of patients and entire populations around the world, to bringing innovators together across disciplines to address challenges here in our own backyard.

All of this is in support of our proud public mission, which is firmly centered on providing both access and excellence to our students, and on advancing the health, well-being and prosperity of the people of Washington and beyond. You can learn more about our shared vision for the future in my Annual President’s Address.

Thank you for your excellence, your innovation, your creativity and your pursuit of discovery on behalf of our students, our state and the world. It is you who make our University such a special place, and it is an honor to serve as its president.

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,

Whether you’re a newcomer to the UW or, like me, a long-time member of the community, I hope you feel the excitement of the start of school. It is a great time for our city and our region!

This quarter we welcome more first-year students to our three campuses than ever before along with those of you who have joined us as transfer students or to pursue graduate degrees. You join talented peers from across the state and from around the nation and world who are returning to campus. Thank you for pursuing your future with us and for your determination to make a difference. We believe in you, so be undaunted in pursuing opportunities. But, remember risk-taking involves facing challenges, so don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it.

To our faculty — including more than 260 new faculty members — thank you for the inspiration and mentorship you provide to our students and the impact your scholarship and creativity have on our world. What unites our students is the desire to learn from the world’s best: you. They also want to learn in a supportive and welcoming environment, and I want to thank our staff across the University for all that you to do create these surroundings and support the UW’s mission.

For all of us, the fall offers a fresh start and I encourage everyone to get involved in the many and varied activities across our campus — there’s something here for every interest. I’d love to see you join in the vital discussions we began last spring with the Race and Equity Initiative. Next week, we’ll host student discussions and a lecture as part of our efforts around making the UW a more welcoming and inclusive place to learn and work.

We have much to celebrate — for example, UW was just named the most innovative public university in the world — and our momentum is increasing because of you. You make the UW a place of boundless opportunities. Thank you for all that you do to make our world better, and best wishes for a great start to the year!

Let’s make it a great year — together.

The University of Washington is driven by our public promise — a promise to our state and the next generation to do all that we can to make the world a better place. At the core of that promise is our deep commitment to access, equal opportunity and social justice.

We are proud to be a University that wholeheartedly welcomes and supports undocumented students on the first “National Institutions Coming Out Day,” launched by United We Dream Network’s Dream Education Empowerment Program. All three UW campuses have a variety of services for undocumented students and participate in the statewide coalition to train educators about how to best support students on their path to and through college.

We applaud our state’s elected leaders for their support of these students. In 2014, the REAL Hope Act was signed into law making Washington one of only five states that allow undocumented students to qualify for both in-state tuition and state financial aid, enhancing a 2003 law allowing undocumented students to pay in-state tuition at state colleges and universities.

At the federal level, Senator Patty Murray is the lead advocate to expand access to higher education for low-income students, regardless of their immigration status. Last month, Senator Murray introduced the “Investing in States to Achieve Tuition Equality (IN-STATE) for Dreamers Act of 2015” to establish the American Dream Grant program, which would reward states that set equitable tuition and student aid policies, offer in-state tuition and state financial aid to Dreamer students regardless of immigration status and help reduce the cost of college for all students.

We have a responsibility to ensure that all qualified students who have the curiosity to learn and a desire to earn a college degree will have a seat in our classrooms, regardless of their backgrounds.

As we work toward addressing the world’s greatest challenges, let’s work together for the common good. For more information about supporting undocumented students, please visit www.unitedwedream.org.

Sincerely,