Last week (Feb. 3), Professor and Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences co-director Patricia Kuhl presented to the House Early Learning & Human Services Committee on early childhood learning and brain development.
Watch the committee work session on TVW here.
Today (Jan. 29), Dan Schwartz, Director of UW’s Clean Energy Institute, appeared before the House Committee on Technology & Economic Development to give an overview of CEI’s pioneering work in the fields of solar generation, energy storage, and systems integration.
The CEI was founded in 2013 with a $6 million investment from the Washington legislature, which has the institute has leveraged to attract additional federal and foundation support.
The institute is accelerating the translation of science into technologies that support the development of solar energy and its integration into the electrical grid.
View Dr. Schwartz’s presentation to the committee here, and CEI’s recently released annual report here.
We will post a link to Dr. Schwartz’s comments via TVW as soon as the video is available.
Leaders of the University of Washington and UW Medicine appeared before the Senate Higher Education Committee yesterday (Jan. 23) to make the case for the expansion of UW’s community-based medical education program, WWAMI, in Spokane.
UW President Michael K. Young, UW Medicine CEO and Dean of the School of Medicine Dr. Paul G. Ramsey and UW Regent Orin Smith spoke on behalf of the university.
Watch their testimony on TVW.
Click the image below to view the PowerPoint presentation:
Via UW Today:
The Boeing Advanced Research Center, located in the Department of Mechanical Engineering on the UW campus, will let students and faculty members work collaboratively with Boeing engineers on aircraft and spacecraft assembly and manufacturing. Four initial projects are underway at the UW, led by Boeing-employed affiliate instructors and UW engineering professors.
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Leaders from the UW and Boeing formally launched the center with speakers and a tour of the facility Monday. Gov. Jay Inslee, UW President Michael K. Young and Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Ray Conner were among those who attended and spoke.
“Both the University of Washington and The Boeing Company are tremendous drivers of innovation in Washington,” Inslee said. “Partnerships, like that being announced today through the formation of the Boeing Advanced Research Center, will ensure our students have the skills needed to compete and win in the future. I am excited to watch the next generation of aerospace leaders take flight here in Washington state.”
UW External Affairs Vice President Randy Hodgins and State Relations Associate Marissa Ingalls sent these photos from the event:
KING 5 News reports on UW’s need for a new local class research vessel to replace the research vessel R/V Clifford A. Barnes, which will reach the end of its useful life in 2016.
Via UW’s College of the Environment:
…The research vessel is nearly 50 years old, and has limited capabilities to help scientists and students really understand what’s going on in our local waters–like the Puget Sound, Salish Sea, Lake Washington, and the Columbia River. As researchers continue to investigate the complexities of our freshwater and marine ecosystems, it becomes more important than ever to have the right tools to get the research done. Replacing the Barnes will give scientists a powerful tool to better understand our waterways, and help keep Pacific Northwest ecosystems healthy and productive for all to enjoy. …
The project is included in UW’s 2015 legislative priorities.
Today, the University released its legislative priorities for the 2015 session that began this week in Olympia.
Here is a quick overview of what’s on the agenda:
Priority No. 1: Keep the UW affordable
Washington’s public colleges and universities are jointly requesting a $198 million state investment
for 2015–17 (the UW’s share is $68 million) to expand student access and support the state economy while maintaining current tuition levels.
Priority No. 2: Rapidly Increase Health Care Access for All Washingtonians
The UW requests $4 million per year to double the class size at the University of Washington School of Medicine in Spokane by the fall of 2017.
The UW requests $2.6 million for the biennium to double the class size of the University of Washington School of Dentistry’s Regional Initiatives in Dental Education (RIDE) program in Spokane and Eastern Washington by the fall of 2017.
Priority No. 3: Invest to Fully Fund Student Financial Aid
The UW supports the Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC) request for an additional investment of $48 million in 2015–17 toward the SNG, growing the pool of students who qualify by 4,000 yearly.
UW’s legislative priorities also include several requests for capital investments in key high-demand areas, including a Computer Science & Engineering building, Life Sciences building, and other critical areas.
Click here to view and download the 2015 Legislative Agenda document.
On Monday, the Washington State Legislature convened in Olympia for the start of its 105-day Regular session. The legislative cycle is a two year process. In odd-numbered years, the Regular session is 105 days. In the even-numbered years, the Regular session it is 60 days. For more overview on Washington’s legislative process, read this primer from the Legislature.
On the first day of session, UW Director of State Relations Genesee Adkins testified on the Governor’s proposed budget before a Work Session in the House Appropriations Committee. View her testimony here. For more analysis of the Governor’s budget, you can read the Office of Planning & Budgeting’s brief here.
On Tuesday, Council of Presidents Executive Director Paul Francis appeared before the House Higher Education Committee to give an overview of the four-year public baccalaureate sector. Among the highlights was a mention of UW’s recently released Economic Impact Report, showing that the University has an annual $12.5 billion impact on the state economy. View Francis’ presentation here. Presentations from our other higher education partners before the committee are available here, video of the full work session here.
Also on Tuesday, Governor Jay Inslee gave his annual State of the State address. You can read the text and watch the Governor’s address on TVW here. The Republican Response was given by Rep. Norma Smith. You can read the text here, and watch the video on TVW.
For more updates on the legislative session, be sure to bookmark the blog, and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
The University of Washington generates $12.5 billion a year in economic activity and supports 79,331 direct and indirect jobs in the state of Washington, according to a new economic impact report released Thursday by an independent research firm.
Here are a few of the highlights of UW’s annual impact on the state economy:
$12.5 billion in total economic impact generated by the UW in the state of Washington.
$565.7 million in tax revenue to state and local governments, including sales, property and business tax payments.
The UW is the third-largest non-federal employer in the state of Washington. The UW supports 79,331 jobs across the state, including 45,330 related to UW Medicine.
Take a closer look at the UW’s new statewide Economic Impact Report to see what the impact means right in your own backyard.
Read more at UW Today.
On December 18, Governor Inslee released his plans to fund education in the 2015-17 biennium. You can find information about the Governor’s full budget proposal online here.
This is what Washington’s public universities had to say about Governor Inslee’s plans for funding higher education:
This week’s budget proposal from Governor Inslee makes important investments in early childhood, K-12, and higher education. However, it falls short of providing sufficient funding to expand student access, fund a tuition freeze, and increase degree production in high demand fields to meet current demand and make progress towards the state’s higher education degree goals.
Washington’s public college and universities are united behind a request to increase state investment by $198 million over the next two years. This additional funding would increase degree production in high-demand areas, improve student access and performance through targeted, evidence-based initiatives, and hold the line on tuition increases for an additional two years.
During the most recent economic recession, higher education in Washington state experienced some of the largest decreases in state funding in the nation. During that time, class sizes, time to degree, student indebtedness, and tuition dramatically increased while nearly 2,000 faculty and staff positions supporting the academic mission were lost. In 2013, the Governor and state legislature rallied to reverse this trend. New state investments in higher education allowed for the first resident undergraduate tuition freeze since 1986. Even with this recent funding, Washington still ranks 49th nationally in per student funding, including both state support and tuition.
We look forward to working with the Governor and the legislature to advance this request during the legislative session.
To learn more about how Governor Inslee’s budgets would impact the University of Washington, view the Office of Planning & Budgeting brief here.
The legislature will return to Olympia for a 105-day session beginning January 12. The state budget process will shift into higher gear following the state’s March revenue forecast, which will give lawmakers the most timely sense of how revenue is shaping up for the 2015-17 budget period.
The University of Washington’s plan to double the size of its medical school in Spokane is “clearly the most cost-effective option” to meet the physician workforce needs in Eastern Washington and throughout the state, according to an independent study by research firm Tripp Umbach.
Read a 2-page summary of the study.
Read the full report.
Read the press release.
Learn more about UW’s plans.