News & Updates

New faculty members participating in the annual five-day Faculty Field Tour traveled around Washington last week to explore our state’s diverse communities, learn about the UW’s impact across the state, and get to know the regions that UW students come from.

One of their first stops was Olympia to meet with Lt. Gov. Denny Heck, who acts as the Governor when the Governor is out of state, presidents over the Senate and interprets Senate conduct and procedure rules, and serves on and appoints members to committees, boards, and commissions. Lt. Gov. Heck was elected in 2020 after serving in Congress and the State House of Representatives. He also grew several small businesses in Washington. During their visit, the faculty learned about how our state’s government works and had the opportunity to ask Lt. Gov. Heck about his role and experiences in Olympia.

Later in the week, the faculty visited Sen. Mark Schoesler at his family’s fifth-generation farm in Ritzville to learn about Washington’s rural communities, the history of the region, and dryland wheat farming and economics. They also had the opportunity to view and sit in some of his farming equipment, including a combine and sprayer. Sen. Schoesler has served in the legislature since 1992, first as a Representative, and represents the 9^th legislative district, which spans part or all of Adams, Asotin, Columbia, Franklin, Garfield, Lincoln, Spokane, and Whitman counties.

After visiting the Schoesler farm, the faculty traveled to Spokane and then headed to the Grand Coulee Dam and to meet with the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation.

Thank you, Lt. Gov. Heck and Sen. Schoesler, for spending time with our new faculty members and for your support of the UW.

 

Yesterday, the UW Clean Energy Institute (CEI) held its first annual community capstone showcase where teams of UW engineering seniors presented their clean energy solutions capstone projects. These projects were codeveloped with local tribes and urban and rural communities in Washington giving the students valuable hands-on experience with real world clients and providing the communities with a roadmap to a pressing clean energy need or challenge. Also in attendance were community representatives and UW scholars working on the equitable adoption of clean energy technologies.

The mission of CEI is to accelerate a scalable and equitable clean energy future that will improve the health and economy of our state, nation, and world. To help accomplish this, CEI supports the advancement of next-generation solar energy and battery materials and devices, as well as their integration with systems and the grid. Additionally, through its community engagement work, CEI provides communities with technical assistance for clean energy projects, partnerships with scholars and students to co-design and perform research, and clean energy education and training modules. The goal is to support community decision-making and participation in federal and state programs for decarbonization and resiliency, while providing students and scholars with applied research opportunities.

The showcase was held in partnership with McKinstry, who is a national leader in designing, constructing, operating, and maintaining high-performing buildings with decarbonization in mind. McKinstry has been very supportive of the UW and our students through various projects and efforts such as the community capstone showcase.

The showcase and projects presented would not have been possible without investments made by the state of Washington. In attendance at the event was Sen. Joe Nguyễn, who was instrumental in securing support in Olympia for CEI and clean energy initiatives. He took the opportunity to speak to those gathered about the importance of past and continued investments in clean energy for the vitality of our local communities, the state, and the world. He also viewed the capstone projects, met with the students and community partners that developed them, and asked questions about what they aimed to solve, potential impact, and their short- and long-term goals.

Thank you, Sen. Nguyễn, for attending yesterday’s showcase and for your support of the UW and our students.

Gov. Jay Inslee, state elected officials, UW President Ana Mari Cauce, UW Medicine CEO Tim Dellit, and community leaders gathered yesterday, May 15 for the ribbon cutting of the Center for Behavioral Health and Learning.

The six-story facility on the UW Medical Center-Northwest campus houses 150 behavioral health care beds serving long-term civil commitment patients, geropsychiatry patients, and acute-care medical and surgical patients who also have mental health challenges. The facility supports a full continuum of behavioral health services, including a crisis stabilization unit, modern neuromodulation treatments, transition support to community-based living, and 24/7 telepsychiatry consultation that allows UW experts to consult with primary care, community hospital, and emergency room providers across the state.

The center also integrates an interdisciplinary training and workforce development program focused on preparing and supporting the next generation of behavioral health providers for the state.

The state funded the construction of this one-of-a-kind facility starting in the 2021 legislative session to expand needed behavioral health services and address the urgent behavioral health workforce shortage in Washington. The center was brought to fruition with strong bipartisan support.

Instrumental in securing support for the building, Gov. Jay Inslee, Rep. Frank Chopp, and Sens. Manka Dhingra and John Braun spoke at the gathering. They thanked everyone involved in the planning, funding, and construction of the facility and emphasized how the behavioral health care and workforce development that will occur at the center will benefit individuals and families across Washington State.

Also in attendance were Sens. Annette Cleveland, Jamie Pedersen, June Robinson, and Javier Valdez; Reps. Steve Bergquist, Lisa Callan, Darya Farivar, Nicole Macri, Cindy Ryu, Vandana Slatter, My-Linh Thai, Steve Tharinger, and Keith Wagoner; former Sen. David Frockt and Rep. Eileen Cody.

Thank you to the elected officials, gubernatorial and legislative staff, and UW community leaders whose advocacy and support made the Center for Behavioral Health and Learning a reality.

See UW Medicine’s news release here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictures – Top Left: Sens. John Braun & Manka Dhingra; Top Middle: Reps. Frank Chopp & Keith Wagoner; Top Right: Sen. Jamie Pedersen, Rep. My-Linh Thai, Sen. Javier Valdez; Middle Left: Reps. Steve Bergquist & Nicole Macri; Middle: Rep. Steve Tharinger & K.D. Chapman-See; Middle Right: Sen. Annette Cleveland & former Sen. David Frockt; Bottom Left: Rep. Darya Farivar, Lindsey Grad, Jane Hopkins; Bottom Right: Group

Last week, Spokane-area legislators joined community members and University leaders, including President Ana Mari Cauce, to celebrate the expansion of the UW School of Dentistry’s Regional Initiatives in Dental Education (RIDE) program, which was funded by the state this past legislative session.

The RIDE program aims to develop dentists who are committed to practicing in Washington’s rural and underserved communities. The innovative training model immerses students in community-based clinics to gain valuable field experience while also providing high quality dental care to areas with access to care challenges. RIDE has proven successful with more than 70% of graduates returning to rural and underserved communities in Washington and the region. This is notable given the national rate of DDS graduates practicing in these communities hovers below 10%.

Currently, RIDE students spend their first year of dental school at Eastern Washington University in Spokane and complete two clinical rotations at Community Health Centers in central and eastern Washington. To meet rising demand from students and local communities, the UW received funding to increase the number of dental students trained from 32 to 64 (from 8 to 16 per cohort) and by adding a second year of curriculum to the educational program in Spokane.

Critical supporters of the RIDE expansion in Olympia, Sen. Andy Billig and Reps. Marcus Riccelli and Joe Schmick joined the celebration and spoke to those gathered about their gratitude for the program, excitement for its growth, and the need for high quality dental care providers in eastern Washington. They also took the opportunity to connect with current RIDE students to learn about their experiences in the program and goals for the future.

Thank you, Sen. Billig and Reps. Riccelli and Schmick, for joining the event and helping to secure funding in the supplemental operating budget for this important and impactful program.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictures – Top Left: Rep. Marcus Riccelli with RIDE students Rafael Urrutia and Jodi Signer; Top Right: Rep. Joe Schmick; Bottom: Sen. Andy Billig.