“On behalf of University of Washington students, faculty, staff and alumni, I want to express my thanks and appreciation to our elected officials for making investments in higher education a true budget priority during the 2015 legislative session. While the previous budget began to reverse the long-term trend of shifting the burden of paying for college from the state to students and their families, this new spending plan truly recommits the State of Washington to supporting public higher education. This historic tuition reduction is outstanding news for our students and their families, and I applaud the governor and legislators who came together to make this possible.
“I also want to thank policymakers for their support of UW’s efforts to educate the health professionals Washington needs to be healthy and prosperous. The budget agreement enables us not only to continue medical education in Spokane and eastern Washington through WWAMI, but to expand our ability to educate physicians for all of Washington State. I am also grateful for the legislature’s support for expansion of our computer science program through investments to expand enrollment to help us meet another critical workforce need for the state.”