Since concluding the 2018 legislative session on March 8, the State Relations team has been connecting members and staff from the legislature to engagement and outreach opportunities on campus as well as informing them of notable honors and innovative work accomplished by our students, staff and faculty.
To date, highlighted events attended by legislators and staff include:
UW College of Engineering Discovery Days
On April 19 and 20 over 1,500 UW faculty, staff and students showcased over 114 engineering exhibits to over 10,000 elementary and middle school students from across the state of Washington. We were pleased to have Sen. Guy Palumbo, Rep. Cindy Ryu, Rep. Shelley Kloba, Rep. Roger Goodman, Rep. Vandana Slatter and Rep. Nicole Macri participate in the many hands-on activities that demonstrated the exciting work of engineers alongside the visiting schools from their districts.
Population Health Groundbreaking Ceremony
Senate and House capital budget leaders Sen. David Frockt and Rep. Steve Tharinger joined representatives from the UW and the Gates Foundation to break ground on the new Population Health building on April 25. The building will be the new headquarters for the Population Health Initiative, which addresses challenges around human health, environmental resilience, and social and economic equity.
Made possible by a $210 million gift from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and $15 million in funding from the Legislature, the Population Health building is located on the southeast corner of 15th Avenue NE and NE Grant place.
To review the 2016-18 Population Health Community Report click here.
Senate Law & Justice Committee Work Session
On May 4, Senators and staff of the Law & Justice committee held a work session to discuss the statute of limitations for felony sex offenses at the UW School of Law.
In case you missed the work session, you can watch it by clicking here as well as review the agenda and materials from the work session here.
Washington State Mental Health Summit
On May 8, the UW hosted the 2018 Mental Health Summit in the Husky Union Building (HUB). Led by Dr. Jürgen Unützer, elected officials, health care providers, and staff representing local, state, and federal governments had the opportunity to discuss innovative ways to transform mental health care in Washington state. Participants were also encouraged to collaborate directly with panelists on areas including perinatal mental health, mental health literacy for youth, family support, and using technology for training practitioners.
Additionally, key communications sent to members highlighted the following campus achievements and projects:
Husky 100
Each year, the University of Washington recognizes 100 undergraduate and graduate students from the Bothell, Seattle and Tacoma campuses from diverse areas of study. The distinction of “Husky 100” is awarded to student leaders who go the extra mile in applying their educational experiences to make a difference on campus and in their communities. Based on the students’ legislative district, members were notified of the honorary distinction of those students who reside in their communities.
To read more about the Husky 100, click here.
CoMotion Labs – Electric Dream Factory Redefining Reality
Members and staff on the Senate Energy, Environment & Technology committee and the House Technology & Economic Development committee were encouraged to check out the immersive article Redefining Reality. The story features the Electric Dream Factory (a local virtual reality movie startup) that is using CoMotion’s services to change storytelling through virtual, augmented and mixed reality to create a new kind of viewing experience.
To learn more about the Electric Dream Factory and CoMotion Labs, click here.
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