This has been a busy week for higher education in Olympia and one where the UW has been a highly visible presence in the state capitol.
President Mark Emmert has been in town twice; once on Tuesday for meetings with the Governor, key legislative leaders and other higher education presidents, and again this afternoon before a meeting of the powerful Senate Ways and Means Committee. Several UW faculty members have also appeared this week to testify on issues ranging from global warming to autism.
At last night’s meeting of the House Approprations Subcommittee on Education, Jim Rawlins from the Office of Admissions and Emile Pitre from the Office of Minority Affairs gave a well-received presentation to legislators on UW achievements in outreach and retention programs. At this morning’s House Higher Education Committee hearing, Harlan Patterson from the Provost’s office will make a presentation on research university governance.
Our student representatives have also been extremely active, both in individual meetings with legislators and testifying on a variety of higher education measures. Monday’s Seattle Post-Intelligencer featured an excellent story on student lobbyists, including our GPSS rep Marcus Riccelli and ASUW rep Bryce McKibbon.