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News & Updates

Boeing, UW open research lab on Seattle campus

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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:

Ribbon Cutting at BARC
Left to right: UW President Michael K. Young, Boeing Commercial Airlines President Ray Conner, Gov. Jay Inslee and UW College of Engineering Dean Michael Bragg at the ribbon cutting. Photo: Randy Hodgins
Gov. Inslee Tours BARC
Gov. Jay Inslee learns about riveting from Boeing engineer Riley Hanson Smith, left, and Sai Krovvidi, a UW doctoral student in mechanical engineering, at the opening of the Boeing Advanced Research Center on campus. Photo: Marissa Ingalls

KING 5 News: UW needs new research ship

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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.

UW releases 2015 state legislative agenda

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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.

105-day 2015 state legislative session kicks off in Olympia

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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.

Study: University of Washington generates $12.5 billion, nearly 80,000 jobs for the state

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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.

Universities react to Governor Inslee’s 2015-17 budget proposal

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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.

Study supports expansion of UW medical school in Spokane

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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.

Genesee Adkins named UW director of state relations

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Genesee Adkins, who brings 12 years of experience in Olympia, has been appointed director of state relations at the University of Washington, effective Nov. 12.

“We are getting an experienced, highly capable government relations professional who understands the subtleties of Olympia and will be able to represent the university’s interests extremely well,” said Randy Hodgins, UW vice president for external affairs. “This coming legislative session will be one of the most important in recent years, and having Genesee on our team will enhance our chances of garnering the support we need to serve our students.”

Adkins most recently served for five years as director of government relations for King County, where she worked on legislative strategies for the county executive and led the county’s state-level efforts in Olympia, securing state funding for key county priorities among other efforts.

Prior to joining King County, Adkins served as state legislative director for the city of Seattle for nearly two years. Before that, she was state policy director at the Transportation Choice Coalition, a nonprofit transportation advocacy organization, and at Futurewise, a public-interest, smart-growth and land-use group.

As UW’s director of state relations, Adkins will be the university’s chief representative in Olympia to both the executive and legislative branches. She will also be a key member of the administrative team advising the university president on legislative strategy and communicating to the university community about higher education issues in Olympia.

Adkins replaces Margaret Shepherd, who served in this position for four years and was recently appointed director of strategic initiatives in UW President Michael Young’s office.

Adkins’ annual salary will be $155,000.

President’s Annual Address

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This week (Oct. 15), President Young gave his annual address to the UW community. He highlighted the University of Washington’s recent successes and discussed how our unique vision, commitment to innovation and shared passion for the work we do is shaping a boundless future for our community, our state and our world.

Read his remarks.

Legislators and staff tour UW’s Clean Energy Institute

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Today (Sept. 30) a group of state legislators and staff had a chance to tour UW’s Clean Energy Institute to learn more about its innovative faculty, students and leading edge research in the fields of next generation solar energy and battery technologies.

In 2013, the Legislature invested $3 million to establish the Institute at UW. In its inaugural year, CEI faculty and graduate student researchers have begun conducting leading-edge research with the power to sustain and grow Washington’s leadership and economic advantages in clean energy.

Tour attendees got a first-hand look at the impact of the Governor and Legislature’s forward-thinking investment, as well as a chance to meet the faculty, students, community and industry partners working to make it all happen.

Several key takeaways from today’s lab tours and research showcase:

  • UW is leveraging state investment to pursue new discoveries and innovations that will grow Washington’s clean energy economy, and enable a new future of high-paying jobs.
  • CEI faculty and students are working to develop efficient, cost-effective solar power and better energy storage systems, creating new materials that will dramatically improve solar technology, while also educating the next generation of clean energy leaders.
  • Shared instrumentation such as advanced microscopes and lasers have the power to accelerate the knowledge and development of new clean energy materials, as well as enable collaborative research.
  • Advances in new materials and battery systems are needed in order to monitor and deploy clean energy to the power grid when needed.

Learn more about CEI by watching this informational video or visiting them on the web at cei.washington.edu. Photos from today’s event follow below…

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