From the VP: 2022 legislative session preview

In the immortal words of the 70’s rock band Emerson, Lake and Palmer, “Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends.” Yes, the 2022 Washington state legislative session begins this week and like last year, it will again be conducted primarily remotely. A virtual session — like all pandemic pivots — presents its own set of challenges. In a “normal” session, much of our work happens when we are able to catch a member or staffer in the hallway between meetings or in line for a cup of coffee. Serendipitous encounters like these simply don’t happen between Zoom meetings. However, I know our State Relations team will continue to find creative ways to ensure the University’s priorities are heard as they did so ably last session.

While Washington’s economy continues its unprecedented rebound from the dire projections made in the early days of the pandemic, the unrelenting COVID rollercoaster continues to present numerous challenges. Because this is a short “supplemental budget” session, the University limited its requests to the most essential items including:

$18.45M for salary adjustments for faculty and staff who are not scheduled to receive wage increases in the current biennial budget. Recruiting and retaining effective educators and staff is critical to the continued success of students and the University. This is our number one priority!
$2M to expand computer science and engineering degrees by an additional 100 per year to meet sustained, high demand from students and employers.
$505K to create two behavioral health pharmacy residencies housed at the new Behavioral Health Teaching Facility. These residencies would help address the state’s critical behavioral health patient and workforce needs and the request is in partnership with Washington State University, which is requesting additional funds for two pharmacy residencies in Eastern Washington.
$800K for a three-year research program led by the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation in Spokane focused on community health metrics to help proactively address health disparities in rural and tribal communities in Eastern Washington.
$621K maintenance and operation (M&O) funds for Milgard Hall at UW Tacoma. Construction is ahead of schedule and occupancy is now expected in October 2022 instead of mid-2023.

For more details regarding the UW’s capital and operating budget requests, see the 2022 Legislative Agenda. In an encouraging initial step forward in the process, last month we learned that Governor Inslee included all of our funding requests and allocated additional funds to other important initiatives in his supplemental budget proposal. Support from the Governor coupled with strong revenue projections causes me to be cautiously optimistic about the Senate and House budgets as well. For regular updates throughout the 2022 session, be sure to check out the Office of State Relation’s blog.

From the VP: Exciting opportunities in Spokane

When you think about where the University of Washington is making an impact, Spokane might not be the first place that comes to mind. You might instead picture our extensive west side purple and gold presence, particularly on our Seattle, Bothell and Tacoma campuses. However, the UW actually has a long history in the Lilac City. From the early 1970s when the UW School of Medicine secured a grant to start the WWAMI program and began clinical rotations in Spokane, to today when a cohort of 60 students complete their Foundations Phase in Spokane each year, the UW community has been living, learning and serving the Inland Northwest for over 50 years.

You might be asking — particularly if you live on the west side of the state — what makes Spokane so attractive? Well, affordability is one answer. Despite being the 2^nd largest city in Washington state, the cost of living in Spokane is estimated to be 37% lower than in Seattle and although the Spokane housing market has risen steeply over the last 18 months, the median home price is still $400,000 less than the Emerald City. Throw in shorter commute times and access to fantastic restaurants, arts and entertainment and the great outdoors, it’s easy to see the appeal. Beyond livability metrics, Spokane leaders are cultivating a growing life sciences research ecosystem that is on track to reach $2.5 billion in the next ten years. In the last six years alone, Spokane has experienced a 50% increase in NIH research dollars.

Mirroring the growth Spokane is experiencing, the UW is also growing its footprint in the city. Earlier this summer, I had a chance to tour the new UW-GU Health Partnership building. When finished, over 600 Gonzaga and UW students will utilize the four-story, 90,000 square-foot building. These students will be the next generation of doctors, nurses and health care workers and technicians serving communities in eastern Washington and across our state. Despite the ongoing challenges of the pandemic, construction continues to be on schedule and is expected to finish ahead of time in May 2022.

The new space will not only serve our medical students in Spokane but will also open up opportunities for other UW departments to locate important regional research and programming on the eastern side of the state. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), for example, is developing a program focused on community health metrics, disparities and drivers that would be based in Spokane. Although our 2022 Legislative agenda is still being fleshed out, securing funding from the state to support IHME Spokane will be among the requests. And I’m confident that more UW programs will follow in the coming years.

The University of Washington is committed to our entire state and dedicated to expanding access to education, spurring innovation and meeting the needs of patients and communities across eastern Washington and beyond. As President Cauce always says, it is our aim to not simply be the University OF Washington, but also to be the University FOR Washington.

Honoring Indigenous People’s Day

The University of Washington acknowledges the Coast Salish peoples of this land, the land that touches the shared waters of all tribes and bands within the Suquamish, Tulalip and Muckleshoot nations. To learn more about the land you live on, we recommend consulting Native Land.

Indigenous People’s Day is a celebration and honoring of the past, present, and futures of Native People in lieu of Columbus Day. On this day, we recognize the histories, cultures and contributions of Native people in Washington state and beyond. To learn more about connections between Indigenous communities and the University of Washington, the Office of External Affairs recommends the following resources as a starting point.

Take the Indigenous Walking Tour – Authored by Owen Oliver, a recent UW graduate, the tour highlights the Indigenous presence on campus, including stops at the Burke Museum and wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ Intellectual House. A virtual version of the tour is available courtesy of UW News.

Visit the Burke Museum – The Burke Museum cares for and shares natural and cultural collections so all people can learn, be inspired, generate knowledge, feel joy and heal. The Burke holds significant collections of Northwest and Alaskan Native art, archaeology and historical archives, which are actively used by Native artists, scholars, students, Tribal leaders and community members. Relationships maintained between indigenous communities and the Burke Museum preserve the ingenuity, creativity, science and complex knowledge of natural and cultural resources.

Check out UW In Your Community – The UW is proud to partner with many tribal nations, tribal citizens and descendants connected to Washington territories. UW In Your Community’s Tribal Nations page highlights some of the many ways the UW collaborates with tribal citizens and supports Native students. For a more comprehensive list of resources, we recommend the UW Tribal Relations Resource Directory.

From the VP: Exciting news for cancer care and research

Earlier this week UW Medicine, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Fred Hutch), Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA) and Seattle Children’s announced a new approach to providing world-class cancer care and cancer research in the Pacific Northwest.

Under this new plan, Fred Hutch and SCCA would merge, forming the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center (FHCC), an independent, private, not-for-profit organization. The FHCC would be a comprehensive cancer center that is clinically integrated with UW Medicine and focused on treating adult cancer patients. FHCC would be UW Medicine’s cancer program and have programmatic oversight of the adult oncology clinical programs at UW Medical Center. The new Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center will unite the strengths of Fred Hutch’s research and science with SCCA’s outstanding clinical care and UW Medicine’s nationally recognized research and adult cancer care programs. In parallel to this change, Seattle Children’s would continue operating independently and be the central site for pediatric cancer care among the organizations. This new approach would create a seamless and consistent experience for patients and providers.

Since forming the SCCA in 1998, Fred Hutch, Seattle Children’s and UW Medicine have been leaders in helping prevent, diagnose and treat cancer, and ultimately discover cures. However, the world of cancer care and research has changed significantly since the SCCA was created 20 years ago. The SCCA and its members have regularly reviewed and discussed approaches to strengthening collaboration since its inception. It has become increasingly clear that this is a natural next step in the evolution of this partnership. Creating Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and moving forward under this new structure, would further strengthen our contributions to Washington state in health care delivery, economic growth and a robust life sciences industry.

In the coming weeks and months, leaders from the four organizations will be discussing the restructure with governing boards, faculty, staff, labor partners, government officials and other stakeholders with the goal of securing all necessary board and governmental approvals by early 2022. My office will support these effort and the formation of the FHCC will be a key component of our 2022 legislative agenda. The partnership between UW Medicine, Fred Hutch and Seattle Children’s has been a boon for our region for the past two decades and I am excited to see how this new structure will accelerate the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer in the future.

From the VP: When the pandemic separated us, KUOW and KEXP kept their communities connected, informed and entertained

*Photo credit:* Photo: KEXP- Renata Steiner, KUOW

Fifteen months ago, the world dramatically changed when the first COVID-19 case in the U.S. was discovered right here in the state of Washington. Nearly every industry was disrupted as our nation struggled to contain the virus. In this unimaginable year of a public health crisis, upheaval in society and assaults on our democracy, I have renewed my appreciation for those who provide us with news, information and entertainment. As a former co-host of a one-hour show on KAOS-FM who has picked up podcasting during lockdown, I am particularly interested in how the pandemic has shaped and challenged the broadcasting industry.

Longtime Huskies will know there are two local stations with strong ties to the University – KUOW and KEXP. KUOW is one of the nation’s founding NPR member stations, broadcasting from the Puget Sound region continually since 1952. Initially, the station served as a training ground for UW students interested in careers in broadcasting and programming consisted of classical music, classroom lectures, local news and Huskies sports. Over the years, programming shifted to be more news oriented. In 1999, KUOW moved off campus and became operated by Puget Sound Public Radio although the FCC license is held by the UW Board of Regents and I serve as the license officer.

KEXP also began its life as a student run radio station, KCMU, in 1972 in the basement of the Communications building. Due to budget cuts, the station moved to a listener support model in the 80s and in the mid-2000s after a transformational gift from the late Paul Allen, the station was renamed KEXP-FM. Friends of KEXP, the nonprofit arts organization that operates the station, now also holds the FCC license although the station remains a self-sustaining affiliate of the UW. I serve as the station’s designated University contact.

Like businesses in nearly every industry, KUOW and KEXP had to pivot and innovate to continue to fulfill their missions during the pandemic. With far fewer people making their usual daily commute, radio drive-time listening was replaced in large part by digital listening and both stations had to adapt to this increased demand. At KEXP, they found listeners were tuning in nearly all day as the average with time spent listening increasing from 4 hours to 7.5 hours. Listeners were looking for ways to connect with others and found music to be a grounding force in a very uncertain time. At the same time, bands were canceling tours and staying home. Recognizing the artistic community was hurting, KEXP DJs got creative. Since they couldn’t have local bands in the building, KEXP created “Bands on the Lawn” and “KEXP at Home” to showcase local talent.

Listeners were also hungry for information. The progress of the virus and tactics to combat it changed rapidly, especially early on. Three days before Governor Inslee’s “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order took effect, KUOW started the “Seattle Now” podcast, a 10 minute wrap-up of the news of the day. To meet the public’s desire to stay abreast of the latest information about COVID-19, this program quickly pivoted to be all about the pandemic. KUOW was able to provide a quick recap of what public health officials and researchers knew that morning and deliver it quickly and accurately to their audience.

As they kept listeners informed and connected, DJs, reporters and staff faced isolation, anxiety and overwhelming uncertainty. While both organizations sought to provide stability and flexibility for staff in several ways, KUOW was particularly innovative in this space. In addition to ensuring flexible work schedules and encouraging the use of mental health days, KUOW organized guided wellness sessions and group counseling for staff members.

Staying afloat financially was another hurdle for both stations. In March 2020, even after cutting $1.2M from their operating budget, KUOW was still facing the prospect of a 10% reduction in force. However, due to an overwhelming outpouring of support from listeners in the community last spring, they avoided any staff layoffs or furloughs. KEXP also faced financial hardship, primarily from a $1.2M reduction in expected revenue, which was mitigated through budget cuts, modest layoffs and executive furloughs. Like KUOW, KEXP benefitted from generous support from the community which helped cushion the immediate impact and strengthens their long-term stability.

Along with the pandemic, 2020 brought a long overdue reckoning with systemic racism in the U.S. KUOW journalists elevated the voices of citizens calling for change here in Seattle and across the nation, while KEXP’s programing provided space to help listeners process and make sense of this moment in history. The upheaval of last summer also shined a spotlight on inequities within public media and KUOW and KEXP are committed to transforming into anti-racist organizations. Living out this commitment is an essential and ongoing work in progress. So far both stations have taken thoughtful, initial steps to better serve our community.

KUOW and KEXP are two of the most listened to stations in the Puget Sound radio market. Their association with the University of Washington is a point of pride for the campus and I continue to be amazed and proud of their broadcasting accomplishments. As more and more Washingtonians get their COVID vaccines, a post-pandemic future begins to feel reachable and I can’t wait to see what these two radio stations do next.