Last week, Washington State University released a consultant’s study regarding separate accreditation for a WSU medical school in Spokane.
The WSU Board of Regents subsequently took action directing WSU leaders to pursue the report’s recommendations.
Unfortunately, the WSU consultant’s report contains several inaccuracies, concerning assumptions, and at least one critical and highly misleading error that require immediate attention and consideration.
Ultimately, the decision to establish a second medical school in Spokane is a decision to be made by the Governor and Legislature. We believe it’s important for all parties to have accurate information to consider and make your decisions. This is a significant and important issue for the University of Washington.
“We’re disappointed by WSU’s announcement today to pursue a separate, independent medical school aside from the existing Spokane medical school we’ve worked hard to build together in partnership with the Spokane community.
At a time when fully funding basic education and addressing our mental health crisis loom large, we believe creating a second, $47 million medical school raises many questions and concerns about the highest and best use of limited resources.
Addressing our healthcare disparities in Eastern Washington and growing an innovative, sustainable economy in Spokane demand that we put aside individual institutional ambitions and focus on what is best for our students, the Spokane community and the state. WWAMI, our existing UW-WSU partnership in Spokane, is currently recognized as the most efficient, effective community-based medical education program in the nation, with the potential for $1.6 billion in economic impact for the Spokane region.
The UW remains committed to investing in and growing this partnership with the support of the Spokane community and the Washington state legislature to support sustainable economic development for the region.”
Last week, a group of 20 legislative staff from local, state, and federal offices joined the UW External Affairs team on a tour of the U District.
Participants visited: The Burke Museum, learning about the Genetic Resource Center, and the museum’s “New Burke” capital project; Sound Transit’s U District Station site for an update on construction and the agency’s light rail plans; Startup Hall to learn about the innovative partnership between UW, UpGlobal, and TechStars that is transforming the space into a hub for startups; Cultivate for conversation and lunch featuring locally-sourced food; The U District Partnership to hear about community engagement and collaboration on a range of issues; the Burke-Gilman Multimodal Connector Project to learn about changes coming to the trail; and finally an overview of the Bryants Park Project on the waterfront for a chance to hear about the future of the park, and the successful partnership to-date between the city, state, and University.
View photos from the tour on Facebook here and here.
If you missed last week’s tour, we hope you can join us for a visit in the future!
As always, please feel free contact us for more information, or to schedule a future visit. Also, be sure to stay tuned for more details on opportunities to visit our campuses this fall, which we’ll post here to the blog!
Today University of Washington External Affairs staff participated in a service project at the Rainier Beach Urban Farm and Wetlands, owned by Seattle Parks and Recreation and co-operated by Seattle Tilth, a non-profit community-run organization. Staff is pictured here after spending the morning helping to restore wetlands by removing invasive plants (bindweeds). The annual service project is a chance for EA staff to give back to the local community.
Governor Jay Inslee returned to campus this week for the 2014 UW Start-Up Celebration.
Gov. Inslee, Provost Cauce, and President Young Photo: Photo by Marcus R. Donner Puget Sound Business Journal
In his keynote remarks, Governor Inslee lauded the Center for Commercialization (C4C) for its most recent big news: A record 18 new startups were spun out in the past fiscal year. Learn more about C4C and the New Ventures Facility at Fluke Hall here. Learn more about UW’s new Startup Hall initiative here.
Stem cells that adapt to any body, robots that repair coral and a camera that can see the inside of a carotid artery are just three of the inventions being created at the University of Washington.
The Olympian editorial board considers a number of issues related to the ongoing conversation over medical education. Learn more about UW’s plan for expansion at: http://uw.edu/spokanemedschool
U.S. News & World Report ranked UW Medical Center #11 in the nation in its Best Hospitals edition. Read more about the awards honoring medical excellence at President Young’s blog.
The Chronicle of Higher Education recognized colleges for best practices and policies in its 2014 survey. The UW was cited for overall employee job satisfaction and tenure clarity and process — making it one of 10 large universities recognized in each of those categories.
State Relations was back on the road in late June to participate in the Seattle Metro Chamber and Puget Sound Regional Council’s NW WA Study Mission. Delegates visited a series of sites that showcased innovation and economic development in sectors such as tourism, agriculture, maritime, manufacturing, and higher education.
According to guest columnists Randy Hodgins, UW Vice President of External Affairs and Maud Daudon, President & CEO of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber, the region must take aggressive actions to close the existing skills gap.
Those with bachelor’s or associate’s degrees earn more money over their lifetime than those who skip college, even after factoring in the cost of higher education, according to a recent report by The Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
When Michael Young took the reins of Washington state’s largest public university in 2011, he pledged to slash the red tape and spin out more companies than ever before from the University of Washington. Well, it’s working. And now the school is getting recognized for it.
“While the revenue increase is welcome news, we still face a significant budget challenge in our next budget,” David Schumacher, director of the Office of Financial Management, said in a written statement.
UW Faculty Filed Tour visits Sen. Mark Schoesler’s farm in Ritzville, WA.
The Annual UW Faculty Field Tour is a 5-day, 1,000-mile tour of Washington state for faculty members new to Washington and the University. View more posts on Tagboard, and photos on State Relations’ Facebook page.
Expanding medical education in Eastern Washington’s largest city will address a key problem: increasing the number of primary care physicians in rural and underserved areas. Learn more about UW’s expansion plans at uw.edu/spokanemedschool.
The College Success Foundation and Washington State Opportunity Scholarship Board hosted a round table with UW leaders and student scholarship recipients on campus June 9.
President Young visited Spokane on May 29 for a series of meetings to discuss growing the region’s healthcare economy through research and expanded medical education. In the evening, he spoke at a UW alumni lecture event featuring UW researcher Dr. Charles Murry. Learn more on the President’s trip on his Facebook page.
Very few areas in the United States are as well positioned as Washington state to become national research centers. That was the message of University of Washington President Michael K. Young in an address to UW alumni in Spokane.
Top-Ten List: Family Medicine
The UW School of Medicine was recognized by the American Academy of Family Physicians for contributing to the pipeline of family physicians. Learn more in a recent letter to the UW community from Dean Paul Ramsey, M.D.
Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell, has been awarded the 2014 Legacy Award from the University of Washington in Bothell.
Technology Alliance- State of Technology
UW State Relations attended the annual State of Tech event hosted by the TechAlliance. The Innovation Showcase Company of the Year went to SNUPI, a UW spinoff. Other program highlights included a presentation on the economic impacts of technology-based industries in Washington state.
In a major advance, researchers at the University of Washington have successfully restored damaged heart muscle of monkeys using heart cells created from human embryonic stem cells.
The funding will be used to hire new faculty, attract competitive postdoctoral researchers and enhance facilities and infrastructure. The goal is to boost the UW’s contribution in these high-need research areas and encourage spinout companies among involved researchers. Two of the labs, the Clean Energy Institute and Institute for Protein Design, both recently received state support from the Legislature and Governor Inslee.
Washington leads the country in the percentage of babies and preschoolers from low-income families getting dental care. UW School of Dentistry and the ABCD program in Spokane is mentioned.
You could call it an adult science fair: University of Washington entrepreneurs and students displayed new ways to reboot damaged hearts, save lives in the E.R. and prevent severe reactions to gluten.
UW Libraries Receives Historical Society Award
The University of Washington Libraries Special Collections has been awarded the Washington State Historical Society’s David Douglas Award for the documentary Grays Harbor Happenings:The Newsreels of C.D. Anderson. Read more.
