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News & Updates

News & Updates

Regents approve UW operating budget and tuition rates

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The University of Washington Board of Regents met today (July 1) to approve the university operating budget and 2014, 2015 tuition rates.

After many years of declining state support, state lawmakers made a substantial reinvestment in higher education in the 2013-2015 state operating budget. This reinvestment in higher education will allow the university to provide more affordable tuition rates for Washington’s students and their families without compromising on the quality of a UW education.

For more information, click here to download and our tuition fact sheet (PDF).

Statement from UW President on the proposed Washington state budget

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The following statement is from Michael K. Young, president of the University of Washington.

“The proposed state operating budget agreement represents a significant step forward, not only for University of Washington students, faculty, staff and their families – but also for the state of Washington.

“For the first time in over two decades, state reinvestment in this budget agreement will allow the UW to hold resident undergraduate tuition rates at their current levels without compromising the extraordinary quality of students’ educations. In addition, new investments in engineering and computer science will expand access to critical programs for qualified students, creating an expanded talent pipeline for the 25,000 high demand job opportunities currently available in our state.

“Budget negotiators are to be commended for their vision in making these essential investments in Washington’s economy and future leaders. Furthermore, we are grateful for the strong commitment and unyielding efforts of our incredible advocates, including the steadfast UW community, engaged alumni, dedicated partners in the business community, and broad-based newspaper editorial support. I am optimistic the investments in this budget are a sign of renewed focus and investment in higher education in Washington state.”

KING 5: The Future of Aerospace Innovation in Washington

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KING 5 covered the first ever Joint Center for Aerospace Innovation symposium held on the UW campus yesterday:

In a conference at the U.W. campus under the title Innovate Washington,  students, faculty and industry representatives learned about  students research projects and listened to a host of speakers which included  Bobak Ferdowsi, the flight engineer for NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover and U.W. Aeronautics and Astronautics graduate.

You can read more, or watch the full story on KING5.com.

Governor Jay Inslee calls second special session

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Today (June 11) is the last day of the first 30-day special session, which followed the 105-day regular session of the 2013 Washington State Legislature.

Gov. Inslee announced at a morning press conference that a second 30-day special session would begin tomorrow at 9:00 AM.

The second special session is necessary, because the House and Senate have yet to agree on a final budget plan.

As the Associated Press reports, the second special session comes after a week of floor action on revised budgets — and continued disagreements about how to best address both the state budget deficit and a State Supreme Court ruling on K-12 education funding.

The Seattle Times reported yesterday on the current state of negotiations, saying both sides still appeared to be “far apart,” citing conversations with negotiators in the Governor’s office and both chambers of the legislature. 

Stay tuned to the blog and our Twitter and Facebook feeds for updates.

State House approves revised budget plan

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With the deadline for the first 30-day special session looming, the State House passed out a revised budget plan last night.

The Associated Press reports:

With lawmakers entering the final days of a special session, the House voted 53-35 to approve the budget. Republicans in the chamber praised budget writers for dropping a proposed business tax extension but still expressed concern about how the measure was structured.

Continue reading “State House approves revised budget plan”

State Rep. Steve O’Ban tapped by Pierce County Council to fill Carrell seat

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The News Tribune reports:

O’Ban will fill the vacancy left by the recent passing of State Senator Mike Carrell.

Learn more about O’Ban by reading our “Huskies on the Hill” Q&A he participated in on the State Relations blog earlier this year.

Upcoming Event: The Future of Aerospace Innovation in Washington

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The Joint Center for Aerospace Research Technology Innovation (JCATI) will hold its inaugural symposium on Monday, June 24, 2013 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m on the University of Washington’s Seattle campus.

The symposium will include an industry panel discussing the grand challenges in aerospace and the role of innovation. Moderated by Roger Myers of Aerojet, the panel will include industry leaders representing the commercial airplanes, space, UAV, and NextGen/big data sectors of the industry.

A university panel titled “The Academy’s Role in Innovation” will host deans from the University of Washington and Washington State University as well as Earll Murman, the MIT Ford Professor of Engineering Emeritus.

For more information and to register, click here.

UW wins national award for LEAN implementation

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It was announced this week that the University of Washington is one of two winners of the 2013 National Consortium for Continuous Improvement in Higher Education (NCCI) “Leveraging Excellence Award.”

The award recognizes best practices that have had broad impact within the higher education community.

In a statement from NCCI, the group details UW’s Finance and Facilities implementation of LEAN on campus:

Since January 2010, Finance & Facilities (F2) has deployed process improvement extensively, using Lean across all units in its 1,350-employee organization. Complementary goals of high employee engagement and dramatic performance gains have netted an over-400-percent return on investment, and over 12,000 employee ideas.

Lean Value-Stream Mapping, popularized as a sort of project-management launch techniques, is actually the entry-point to learning a work way-of-life at F2, where clear goals, visual management, idea systems, and daily huddles are simultaneously improving performance and team dynamics.

The award will be presented at the NCCI annual meeting in Indianapolis in July.

Read more at UW Today.

President Young in Spokane for meetings with region’s business and community leaders

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President Michael Young was in Spokane yesterday for meetings with local business and civic leaders.

President Young Spokane Pearson Packaging 5-20-13
President Young tours Pearson Packaging Systems.

Among other events, he spoke at a luncheon hosted by Greater Spokane Incorporated (GSI). In his remarks to the group, President Young highlighted UW’s growing impacts in the region, and discussed how the university’s cutting-edge research benefits the state economy.

Topics of conversation also included the growing range of UW education programs in local K-12 schools, and the UW’s enduring 40-year plus WWAMI program that provides medical education in Eastern Washington.

Later in the day, he toured Pearson Packaging Systems on Spokane’s West Plains with the company’s President & CEO Michael Senske.

Senske is a UW alum (’93), and the incoming Chairman of GSI.

New Chancellor named for UW Bothell

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Katherine Long of the Seattle Times reports on the New York technology leader selected to head UW Bothell as its next Chancellor:

Bjong Wolf Yeigh, professor and president of the State University of New York Institute of Technology (SUNYIT), will be the next UW-Bothell chancellor if approved by the Board of Regents. He will replace Kenyon Chan, who is stepping down to pursue his own scholarly work.

Yeigh has been president of SUNYIT, the only institute of technology at SUNY, since 2008. During his tenure, the campus received $15.5 million in capital grants for cybertechnology and nanotechnology, and led the effort to gain two rounds of funding for regional economic development projects totaling $119 million, according to the UW.

In a statement announcing Dr. Yeigh’s selection as the next Chancellor of UW Bothell, UW President Michael K. Young said:

“Dr. Yeigh has been a force of innovation and change throughout his career, particularly in positions of academic leadership. He has left a trail of success everywhere he has been, and we are very excited to have him join the University of Washington and lead our dynamic campus at Bothell as it continues to grow and develop.”

In terms of Dr. Yeigh’s academic background, he holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering science from Dartmouth, a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford and a master’s and doctorate in civil engineering and operations research from Princeton.

Read more about Dr. Bjong Wolf Yeigh in UW Today.