Morgan Hickel takes on new role as Director of State Relations

Morgan Hickel has been named the next Director of State Relations at the University of Washington, UW Vice President for External Affairs Joe Dacca announced Wednesday. Hickel’s appointment is effective September 9. She succeeds Joe Dacca, who was appointed Vice President for External Affairs in July.

The Office of State Relations serves as the principal liaison between the University and state government. Staff work with state legislators, statewide elected officials and state agency officials to advance the University’s academic and legislative priorities.

“I’ve worked closely with Morgan since she joined the UW. She is a proven leader who is ready to step in as Director of State Relations,” Vice President Dacca said. “She brings a wealth of experience, strong relationships both inside and outside the UW, and deep knowledge about the opportunities and challenges facing our University.”

Hickel has been with the UW since November 2018, when she joined the Office of State Relations as Associate Director. In this role, she worked on multiple key budget requests and pieces of legislation supporting the University. Prior to the UW, she worked in government relations at the federal, state, and local levels for multiple trade associations. She also managed a successful campaign in Tacoma, Washington. Hickel graduated from the University of Washington with a bachelor’s degree in communications.

“I look forward to continuing to advocate for the UW in state government,” Hickel said. “In this role, I remain committed to working collaboratively with state leaders, community partners, and the UW community to advance our public-service mission and impact across Washington state.”

Joe Dacca named vice president of External Affairs, starting July 2, 2025

Joe Dacca has been selected as the next Vice President of the Office External Affairs, University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce announced Thursday. Dacca’s appointment is effective July 2. He will succeed Randy Hodgins, who is retiring on July 1 after 21 years leading External Affairs.

“Joe’s unique blend of experience across several levels of government as well as his deep institutional knowledge make him well positioned to take on this role,” said Hodgins. “His expertise in advocacy, knowledge of regional public policy, and commitment to this University will be critical as the UW navigates upcoming campus leadership changes and a challenging political landscape.”

With nine years of service to the University as Director of State Relations, Dacca brings a wealth of experience in public policy, government relations, and higher education advocacy to his new role. Prior to his work at the UW, he served on staff for former U.S. Representatives Derek Kilmer and Norm Dicks as well as a legislative assistant in the Washington State Senate. A proud UW alumnus, Dacca graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science.

“I am grateful to President Cauce for the opportunity to serve my alma mater in this important role and I am honored to continue to work alongside the talented and dedicated External Affairs team,” said Dacca. “Building on the foundation led by Vice President Randy Hodgins, we will continue to strengthen partnerships both inside and outside the University and work collaboratively to advance the dynamic, public-facing mission of the UW.”

The Office of External Affairs is responsible for government and community relations at the federal, state, regional, and tribal levels. Units within External Affairs advocate for the UW’s priorities on a wide variety of issues, provide advice on legislative strategy, build and maintain relationships with leaders across Washington state, and raise awareness of emerging issues and opportunities. The Vice President of External Affairs reports directly to the UW President.

During this transition, Morgan Hickel will serve as interim director of State Relations beginning on July 2.

The full release from UW News is available on their website.

Public Notice: FCC Application

On December 13, 2023, The University of Washington Bothell, applicant for a new Low Power FM station on 105.7MHz serving Bothell, Washington, filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission for a new Low Power FM Construction Permit. Members of the public wishing to view this application or obtain information about how to file comments and petitions on the application can visit the following websites: https://enterpriseefiling.fcc.gov/dataentry/api/download/draftcopy/FL/25076ff38b25b703018b3a51f737050e
and https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/lms-how-to-file-pleadings-and-appeals.pdf.

Last updated on: January 12, 2023

Aaron Hoard named Director of Regional & Community Relations

Aaron Hoard has been named Director of Regional & Community Relations at the University of Washington, UW Vice President for External Affairs Randy Hodgins announced Tuesday. Hoard’s appointment is effective September 5.

The Office of Regional & Community Relations links the University with neighborhoods surrounding the Seattle campus, civic groups and local government. The Director of Regional & Community Relations reports directly to the Vice President for External Affairs.

“With more than two decades serving in this office, Aaron knows the Regional and Community Relations world like the back of his hand,” Hodgins said. “His vast institutional knowledge and experience as well as strong connections inside and outside the University will continue to strengthen the UW’s relationships with local lawmakers and community stakeholders.”

Hoard has been with the UW for 23 years serving first as a Special Projects Manager and then as Deputy Director for the Office of Regional & Community Relations. While with the UW, he has worked on a variety of projects including affordable housing, public safety, transit, the Campus Master Plan, North of 45th and served on local boards and committees. He was formerly a Comprehensive Planner and Geographic Information Systems Analyst for the City of Bellevue. He graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in geography.
“I look forward to continuing my work to connect campus with local government and the surrounding community,” Hoard said.

Hoard takes over the director position from Sally Clark who was recently named Vice President of Campus Community Safety.

From the VP: Legislative Session Recap

The 2023 legislative session ended on April 23 after the House and Senate passed the state’s biennial operating, capital, and transportation budgets. In so many ways, this year’s session was filled with big wins for the UW and a couple of misses discussed later. On the capital budget side, the legislature made a powerful statement by investing almost $150M to allow the UW to continue its mission renovating the Magnuson Health Sciences T Wing and Anderson Hall; designing and constructing new facilities like Phase II of wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ– Intellectual House; helping UW Tacoma acquire land for future expansion and providing funding to help renovate the historic ASUW Shell House, alongside additional funded priorities. On the operating side, the legislature provided additional funding to grow a local, more diverse STEM workforce; added more state support for staff compensation; and allocated funding to develop a clean energy transformation strategy for the Seattle campus. The budget also included strong investments for UW Medicine including $150M in one-time for UW Medical Center and Harborview and $12.4M in one-time funding for the Behavioral Health Teaching Facility as well as funding for the programs like the UW Center for Indigenous Health, Family Medicine Residency Network and firearm injury research.

Yet, my excitement around these significant investments is tempered by two critical pieces that did not make the cut this year. Our funding request for the UW School of Dentistry Regional Initiatives in Dental Education (RIDE) program expansion would have doubled the annual cohort of RIDE students from eight to 16 per year and ensured that they spend two academic years based in Spokane. We know there is a critical need for more dentists, particularly in rural areas, and expanding this program in Eastern Washington would have been a fantastic step toward bridging that gap.

Additionally, while we did see an increase in the state portion of the compensation fund split, up to 60% from 58% in the previous biennium, we are behind every other public university in the state when it comes to state support for UW staff salaries. This is particularly distressing when the UW continues to receive record demand from Washington students, and insufficient state funding levels mean we cannot offer admission to as many students who qualify for admission. Without stronger state investment from the legislature, the UW must rely more on students’ tuition for compensation leaving less for critical investments in other areas.

Despite this, 2023 was a good session for the University and I am grateful for the hard work of my Office of State Relations staff, as well as the UW leaders and students who took time to visit Olympia and urge the legislature to fund our requests. I know my staff is already thinking about how they will approach the critical pieces that ended up on the budget office’s cutting room floor during next year’s session.

For a more detailed breakdown of the budget highlights, I recommend checking out the Office of State Relations’ most recent blog post.