Just over five years ago, the University was on the precipice of a shut down at the leading edge of what would become a global pandemic. The devastating health outcomes of COVID-19 combined with the unknown impact of the emerging response on day-to-day life was overwhelming. The path forward was uncertain. That period will always be a somber one for the world, marked by both personal and collective loss. It is also a period in which people banded together with a shared purpose of getting through the crisis by thinking differently about their work and finding a way to continue it for the benefit of all.
At our own University, this resilience saved countless lives, symbolized our commitment to the public good, and protected our educational and research missions for the future. This remarkable achievement was only possible through the commitment and heroic work of faculty, staff, and student workers. President Cauce and I thank all of you, who not only kept our mission going during that time but also ensured our recovery in the years that followed. Today, we are in a strong position not only in delivering our mission but also financially, with robust enrollment, growing patient care, record research activity, and important philanthropic support.
Today, we face a different type of challenge that will require us to find the same resiliency that we now know is possible. Despite a good financial position, unprecedented and rapid policy changes at the federal level have increased the risk of funding cuts that threaten the University’s financial stability. At the state level, a significant budget shortfall is leading our legislature to grapple with a range of measures including budget cuts and furloughs, although the latter are particularly ill-suited to higher education because the cost of implementation minimizes the actual savings realized. Nonetheless, these risks together have the potential to jeopardize the full scope of our work, including existing and new research projects, patient care, instruction and basic operations.
We are advocating for the UW by communicating the importance of our work for a thriving and secure future, including keeping the economy strong and the population healthy, for our communities, the state of Washington, the nation and the world. At the same time, we must also do our part to protect our future in the face of these unknowns.
We are entering this period of uncertainty with the benefit of some advanced planning already in progress. Early this year, we initiated the Together We Thrive program, aiming to put the University on a path to better align expenses and revenue, while supporting new opportunities for growth. This program focuses on both operational and administrative adjustments to improve the UW’s long-term financial health.
Given the challenges we now face at the federal and state levels, we expect that some level of budget cuts will become necessary, and the time has now come to expand our financial sustainability efforts. President Cauce and I outlined several measures to be undertaken immediately in a message to University leadership on Friday. These include modeling potential future reductions in core funding and acting now to manage costs proactively, including:
- Pausing non-essential staff hiring
- Limiting faculty hiring as previously directed and communicated
- Cancelling non-essential travel and training
- Reducing food purchases and other discretionary spending
- Renegotiating or ending non-essential external service contracts
- Opting into shared services
Chancellors (or their designees), Seattle campus deans and other President’s Cabinet-level officials shall oversee implementation of these measures for their campuses, schools and units, including assessment of essential positions and activities. If you have questions or concerns about these measures, please reach out to your unit’s leadership.
I recognize that the ups and downs of public funding – and the uncertainty of this moment, in particular – prompt stress, worry and anxiety. By using this time to proactively save our resources and thoughtfully plan, we will be better prepared to manage any future funding cuts to protect our mission for the public good. While it won’t be easy, working together with a common purpose and supporting one another is the path to overcoming adversity, as we proved five years ago. Let’s trust in that Husky resilience, innovation, and determination again today.