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Category: Governor

Gov. Inslee connects with students in the UW School of Medicine in Spokane program

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Today, Governor Jay Inslee toured the UW School of Medicine-Gonzaga University Regional Health Partnership’s (RHP) new center for medical education, health sciences, and innovation in Spokane. Developed through a public-private partnership with McKinstry, the 80,000 square-foot building aims to help Washington state address the growing shortage of primary care physicians, particularly in rural and underserved communities.

For the UW, the new facility houses the first 18 months of the UW School of Medicine in Spokane’s medical education program and the MEDEX Northwest physician assistant education program. The building has state-of-the-art classrooms, anatomy labs, research and innovation centers, and study spaces. The students receive training in basic science and clinical education, as well as training specific to rural and underserved communities. During his visit, Gov. Inslee stopped by a classroom to see the students learning and took the opportunity to connect with them.

The new medical education facility, along with the adjacent Spokane Inland Empire Railroad (SIERR) building, creates a novel health care innovation cluster for the health science and medical industry in Spokane. Together, the UW and Gonzaga strive to expand medical education, to encourage more health professionals to learn and work in Eastern Washington, and to improve the health and wellbeing of Washington state.

Thank you, Gov. Inslee, for speaking with our state’s future physicians. We appreciate your support of the UW!

Governor releases 2023-25 biennial budget proposals with substantial UW investments

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The 2023 legislative session begins Jan. 9 and for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, legislators will meet in person in Olympia to decide the state’s biennial budget and policy. This week, Gov. Jay Inslee unveiled his 2023-25 operating and capital budget proposals, as the first step in the state budget process.

The Governor’s proposed operating budget prioritizes addressing the state’s homelessness and housing crisis, improvements to the behavioral health system, and climate action. His proposal dedicates $4 billion over the next six years to increase the supply of affordable housing across the state, including higher density development along transportation corridors. To expand access to behavioral health care, the Governor proposes increasing treatment bed capacity, providing additional services for children and youth, growing the workforce, and improving provider rates. Finally, his climate package devotes funding to improving siting and permitting for clean energy and transmission, helping the salmon recover and thrive, and mobilizing a future clean energy workforce.

The Governor’s proposal also funded a majority of the University of Washington’s legislative priorities and a few additional items including:

  • $26.9M for salary increases of 4% in FY24 and 3% in FY25 nonrepresented faculty and staff with additional funds provided to improve the fund split to two-thirds state funding.
  • $6.4M for state approved CBAs for represented employees, including one-time payments for retention and COVID-19 boosters.
  • $100M in one-time funding in FY23 for UW Medicine to alleviate significant labor costs and sustain clinical operations at UWMC and Harborview so they can continue to serve as the state’s safety-net and health care workforce training hospitals.
  • $6.6M in one-time funding for the Behavioral Health Teaching Facility for physician and faculty support.
  • $10.6M to grow a local, more diverse STEM workforce pipeline at all three UW campuses:
    • $6M for the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering to add 100 annual graduates by FY27.
    • $1.7M for the UW Bothell School of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics to develop a program modeled after STARS to support 75 pre-major students in accessing and graduating with computer science degrees.
    • $2.85M for the UW Tacoma School of Engineering & Technology to add 55 graduates in computer science and engineering by FY27.
  • $4.3M to expand the UW School of Dentistry RIDE program, which is located in Spokane and trains dentists to meet the needs of rural and underserved populations.
  • $10.3M in maintenance and operations (M&O) for UW Bothell’s STEM4 building, the UW Interdisciplinary Engineering Building, and the Behavioral Health Teaching Facility at UW Medical Center-Northwest.
  • Shifts M&O funds back to the state operating budget from the UW Building Account, allowing the UW to invest in critical building renewal and deferred maintenance.
  • $3M to develop a clean energy transformation strategy that transitions the Seattle campus energy infrastructure to 100% clean energy.
  • $520,000 for the Washington Ocean Acidification Center to advance high-priority science to better understand the relationships between marine organisms and ocean acidification.

The Governor’s capital budget also included significant support for the UW:

  • $58M for phase 2 of the Magnuson Health Sciences Center renovation and replacement. The Center is the primary teaching space for the UW’s six health science schools and new facilities will promote innovative, multidisciplinary learning.
  • $28.7M to design and renovate Anderson Hall, which was constructed in 1925 and has an antiquated learning environment that lacks adequate classroom and collaborative spaces for the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences.
  • $9M to design and construct phase 2 of wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ – Intellectual House. wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ is a learning and gathering place for the UW’s American Indian and Alaskan Native students, faculty, and staff and a center for sharing the knowledge of Northwest Indigenous peoples.
  • $5M to design the modernization of chemical sciences in Seattle. Built in 1937 and 1957, current facilities for chemistry, materials science, and chemical engineering do not meet the requirements for interdisciplinary, modern science education and research.
  • $13M for the behavioral health renovation of UW Medical Center-Northwest. This project provides an additional 25 90/180-day long term civil-commitment beds to help meet the state’s behavioral health care needs.

The Office of State Relations is thrilled to see the investments the Governor proposed for the University, which will help recruit and retain faculty and staff, provide immediate support to UW Medicine’s hospitals and staff, and expand opportunities and support services for students.

For additional details, see the Washington State Office of Financial Management’s budget highlights and the brief prepared by the UW Office of Planning & Budgeting on their Briefs page.

Governor and higher education leaders celebrate session successes at UW Tacoma

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Governor Jay Inslee, legislators, students, and higher education advocates gathered at UW Tacoma yesterday for Bridge to the Future, an event celebrating the post-secondary successes of the 2022 legislative session. In recent years, the state has made considerable investments in higher education, including student financial aid and increased funding for faculty and staff compensation.

UW Tacoma Chancellor Sheila Edwards Lange kicked off the celebration by welcoming the attendees and highlighting how the state’s recent investments have benefitted UW Tacoma and students, especially those that are first-generation and low-income. She also emphasized the importance of continuing to invest in faculty and staff, who are vital to the excellence of higher education institutions and student success.

Gov. Inslee and the House and Senate higher education committee chairs, Rep. Vandana Slatter and Sen. Emily Randall, celebrated the recent legislative achievements that have helped make post-secondary education more accessible and affordable for all Washingtonians. Additionally, they focused on the future and stressed the importance of continuing to invest in higher education to improve prosperity for our residents, local communities, and the state.

Speakers also included student leaders who have directly benefited from the state’s recent investments, including Reanne Chilton, WSU Graduate student; Andre Jiminez, UW Tacoma Student Body President; Marco Montoya, South Bates Technical College Ironworker Apprentice, and; Evans Kaame, Washington Student Association President. They shared their unique journeys to post-secondary education and spoke of the profound impact it has had on their lives and futures. They highlighted the broad swath of investments that were critical to their success, such as financial aid, mental health and student support services, and opportunity pathways, and encouraged the state to expand investments so more Washingtonians will pursue higher education and students will receive the support needed to attain a degree or credential.

Thank you to all the higher education leaders in attendance, including Speaker Laurie Jinkins, Representatives Mari Leavitt, Drew Hansen, and Gerry Pollet, and Senator David Frockt.

Update from State Relations: Initial state election results are in

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The State Relations team has been closely monitoring the results of the election for our state-wide and state legislative offices. Here are some of the highlights and things to expect in January 2017:

-Governor Jay Inslee will continue to reside in the Governor’s mansion.

-Five new faces in state-wide office:

Lt. Governor: Cyrus Habib – current State Senator for the 48th legislative district

State Treasurer: Duane Davidson – current Benton County Treasurer

State Auditor: Pat McCarthy – current Pierce County Executive

Commissioner of Public Lands: Hilary Franz – current executive director for Futurewise

Superintendent of Public Instruction: Chris Reykdal – current State Representative for the 22nd legislative district

-The Senate Majority Coalition Caucus lost one seat to Senate Democrats, but will retain control of the chamber by a 25-24 margin. (The Senate Majority Coalition Caucus is comprised of Senate Republicans and one Democrat.)

-The House Democratic Caucus is positioned to maintain its majority with 50 seats accounted for. Depending upon the outcome of close races in the 5th and 19th legislative districts, they could expand their majority to 52-46.

-New senators to be appointed in the 37th, 45th and 48th legislative districts:

With the death of Senator Andy Hill, and the election of Senator Pramila Jayapal to Congress and Senator Cyrus Habib as Lt. Governor, there will be three additional seats to fill when the legislative session begins on January 9.

State and local leaders recognize Together UW Day – October 21, 2016

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In recognition of the launch of the university’s Be Boundless – For Washington, For the World philanthropic campaign, Governor Jay Inslee, King County Executive Dow Constantine, City of Spokane Mayor David Condon, Mayor Ed Murray and the Seattle City Council offered their support in proclamations and a salutation, recognizing October 21, 2016 as “Together UW Day.”

 

Go to uw.edu/together for more information about all of the events taking place October 21-23.

Show your support by sharing these posts on social media with the hashtag  #TogetherUW

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To keep up with the latest from Olympia, follow us on Facebook and Twitter. If you have any questions about state topics, please call 206-543-7604.

Update from State Relations: October 2016

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We are officially in Autumn Quarter at the university and things are still bustling for the State Relations team. Here are some highlights from the month so far:

 

On October 7, Governor Inslee issued an executive order to combat the opioid crisis facing our state. The press conference took place in the Hogness Auditorium in the UW Health Sciences Building and featured Dr. David Tauben and Dr. Caleb Banta-Green from UW Medicine. Read a summary of the executive order here and learn more about the Department of Pain Medicine at UW Medicine here.

Governor Inslee announces plan to #ActOnOpioids
Governor Inslee with UW Medicine, legislators and public health leaders.

 

Also on October 7, Senator David Frockt paid a visit to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). Led by director Christopher Murray, IHME is an independent global health research center at the UW that provides high-quality data on major world health problems and evaluates strategies used to address them. You can find more information about IHME here.

 

On October 11, UW Medicine hosted the House Health Care & Wellness Committee for an interim work session. The committee received a briefing on IHME from director Christopher Murray and heard from Dean Joel Berg (UW Dentistry), Peggy Odegard (UW Pharmacy), Karen McDonough (UW Medicine) and Dean Sean Sullivan (UW Pharmacy) about interprofessional collaboration and training happening between UW Health Sciences schools.

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Watch the full committee work session on TVW.org

Check out pictures from the hearing on our Facebook page. Materials from the work session are available here.

 

On October 12, the Clean Energy Institute (CEI) welcomed Representative Norma Smith for a briefing and several lab visits, starting with an overview from CEI Director Dan Schwartz. Rep. Smith learned about the printing of solar cell polymers from associate professor Christine Luscombe, the future of solar cell materials from CEI graduate fellow Jessica Kong, and advanced manufacturing and battery materials from associate professor Vince Holmberg. The tour ended with an update from professor Devin MacKenzie on roll-to-roll processing and printed materials as he prepares to open the new Washington Clean Energy Testbeds facility.

You can find pictures from Rep. Smith’s visit on our Facebook page. Learn about CEI here.

 

Coming October 21 – Together UW Day. Register at uw.edu/together. STAY TUNED!

Coming October 26 – Celebration of the new Denny Hall. STAY TUNED!

 

To keep up with the latest from Olympia, follow us on Facebook and Twitter. If you have any questions about state topics, please call 206-543-7604.

 

Ramping up toward 2016 session; Governor’s budget release is imminent

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It’s that time of year again! No, not holiday shopping and what some affectionately call “butter season,” but the crescendo toward the opening of the 2016 Washington legislative session!

As a “short” 60-day session, expectations are generally modest, as they usually provide a limited opportunity for both policy-making and funding. Why? Two primary reasons: 1- Because the biennial budget has already been adopted, a supplemental budget typically offers only small changes in terms of funding. 2- With every House member and half of the Senate up for re-election, legislators are often cautious about significant new policy endeavors and are anxious about being held accountable for big changes in the re-election cycle.

Arguably, the release of the governor’s proposed budget is the unofficial kickoff of the session. This year, the budget release is expected on December 17

The outlook for the budget release, however, isn’t terribly rosy. The November 18 state revenue forecast reported an additional $113 million for the 2105-17 biennium, and an additional $30 million in 2017-19. Meanwhile, according to the governor’s budget office, state costs to maintain current services and other mandatory costs for the current biennium have grown by nearly $700 million. This is made up of increased costs to maintain current programs as a result of increasing caseloads, fire suppression costs, lawsuit costs, mental health needs, and other urgent needs.

December 17 is just around the corner, and we’re eager for the governor to unveil his spending proposal. It would be excellent to see some higher education priorities wrapped up with a big red bow. Perhaps we’ll even leave out some milk and cookies on the 16th just for good measure.

Governor Inslee signs bipartisan transportation investment package at UW

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Yesterday (July 15), joined by a bipartisan group of state legislators and transportation leaders, Governor Jay Inslee signed the statewide transportation package at the UW’s Conibear Shellhouse.

Interim Pres. Cauce welcomes legislative leaders, and introduces Gov. Inslee
Pres. Cauce welcomes legislative leaders, and introduces Gov. Inslee

UW Interim President Ana Mari Cauce introduced Gov. Inslee, and in her remarks noted the investment package will benefit thousands of UW students, faculty, employees, patients, visitors, and fans who depend on safe and reliable transportation. In fact, within a mile-or-so radius of the bill signing location, State Route 520, light rail, and the Burke Gilman Trail all form one of the most significant regional and multimodal transportation hubs in the state.

Gov. Inslee signs statewide transportation package bills.
Gov. Inslee signs statewide transportation package bills.

President Cauce also thanked the bipartisan group of state legislators, business and labor leadership, and transportation leaders who assembled for coming to the UW campus for the bill signing. She noted the location, Conibear Shellhouse, was an apt place for signing a bill that required so much determination and teamwork — as it is also the central hub for Husky student-athletes, and the home of the UW Crew Team.

View more photos on State Relations’ Facebook page.

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.

Governor Inslee releases 2014 supplemental budget proposal

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This week (Dec. 17), Governor Jay Inslee released his 2014 supplemental budget proposal, calling it a “hold-steady” budget in a “get ready” year, acknowledging that tough decisions await on the horizon for the next biennial budget in 2015.

READ: UW Office of Planning & Budgeting Blog and Brief (PDF) on the Governor’s budget proposal.

The funding levels in the Governor’s supplemental budget proposal will allow UW to maintain its commitment to holding resident undergraduate tuition at current rates through the next academic year.  The University of Washington’s Board of Regents are currently the only governing board that have voted on a 0% resident undergraduate tuition increase in both years of the biennium.  This budget affirms that vote.

Governor Inslee’s budget proposal also makes a few small, but important investments in targeted areas at UW that will benefit Washington’s economy.  These investments include:

  • $1 million in state funding for UW’s Institute for Protein Design to spur commercialization of next generation medical research.
  • $750,000 in state funding for the Entrepreneurs in Residence program that aids in commercialization of R&D projects at the state’s research universities.
  • $500,000 in state funding to define and develop a business plan for an Advanced Materials Manufacturing (aerospace) facility in partnership with local governments and private industry in Snohomish County.

In addition to the above state investments in the University of Washington, Governor Inslee’s budget includes a necessary investment to ensure the College Bound Scholarship Program is fully funded. The College Bound program supports 1,338 students at the UW.

In sum, the Governor’s budget appears to reflect the reality of steady but slow improvement in the state economy. It preserves increased funding levels for higher education that were established last legislative session, and makes several targeted new investments in the University. As the state’s revenue outlook continues to improve, UW will advocate for additional important priorities as part of our 2014 legislative agenda. These include fully funding the State Need Grant program, and making additional state investments in STEM education.

The 2014 legislative session begins on January 13, 2014.

Additional Budget Links

Governor Inslee’s Press Conference (TVW)

Governor Inslee’s 2014 Budget Education Highlights (OFM)

Governor’s News Release (GOV)