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President’s annual address is Oct. 12

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Please join me for the Annual Address to the University Community:

• Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2010
• Kane Hall, Room 130
• 3:30 p.m.–4:30 p.m.
• Reservations are not required.

The event is open to the public. After the address, please join me at a reception in the Walker Ames Room.

This year’s address will be webcast live on UWTV.org and rebroadcast on UWTV. Prior to the event, I welcome you to post questions and comments on this blog.

I look forward to seeing you there,

Image of Phyllis Wise's signature
Phyllis Wise
Interim President

Farewell to Mark Emmert set for Sept. 27

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A special event to bid farewell to President Mark Emmert is set for Monday, Sept. 27, 1:30–3 p.m. at Sylvan Theater. The event will feature remarks by UW Board of Regents Chairman Herb Simon, President Emmert and Interim President Phyllis Wise, followed by a reception. No RSVP is necessary.

More budget cuts ahead

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Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff:

The news today about the worsening condition of the state’s budget is sobering. It reminds us that the worst is not over and that the immediate future — the current fiscal year and the 2011-13 biennium — will bring further reductions in our state funding. State tax revenue collections continue to decline. This means the state budget for this year will not balance, necessitating the Governor’s action to order further across-the-board reductions in state budgets, including ours. And the decreased revenue projection for the 2011-13 biennium means that the state will face an even larger budget deficit of approximately $4.0 billion, resulting in more reductions next biennium.
Continue reading “More budget cuts ahead”

President honored by CityClub

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UW President Mark Emmert was recognized today by CityClub for his contributions to building civic knowledge, connection, trust and action in the greater community. Emmert was praised for championing the University of Washington’s position as a world leader in environmental research, education and practices. Gov. Christine Gregoire declared June, 14, 2010, to be “Mark Emmert Day” in the state of Washington. Read the proclamation

TVW airs interview with President Emmert

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TVW’s Inside Olympia aired an hourlong interview with UW President Mark Emmert on June 10, 2010. Issues ranged from his reasons for taking the NCAA job to advice for his replacement. He also addressed budget cuts, the UW’s relationship with the Legislature, serving on corporate boards and much more.

President Emmert on TVW’s Inside Olympia

Our economic impact on Washington state

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The UW is a vitally important economic engine for the state of Washington and plays a crucial role in keeping our region competitive in the global economy. Yet many Washingtonians don’t realize the full extent of the impact our University has on their own financial well-being and quality of life. To help us analyze the depth and breadth of economic benefits the UW brings to our state and our citizens, we recently enlisted the services of the nationally recognized independent consulting firm Tripp-Umbach. The results of their study surprised even us. Consider these findings:

  • UW operations have an overall economic impact of $9 billion annually. Almost half of this impact comes from UW Medicine.
  • UW operations have an overall employment impact of 70,000 full-time jobs in Washington, driving about 2 percent of total state employment.
  • In the last 10 years, the UW has created more than 7,500 new jobs primarily paid from non-state sources—an increase of 26 percent.
  • The UW directly and indirectly generates almost $600 million per year in tax revenues for state and local governments. That’s about twice what the UW receives each year in state appropriations.
  • For every $1 of state funds invested in the UW, $22 is returned to the state.

Continue reading “Our economic impact on Washington state”

UW president to head NCAA

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UW President Mark Emmert has been selected to head the NCAA. The announcement was made today in Indianapolis. He is expected to assume his duties no later than Nov. 1.

“It is with very mixed emotions that I am writing to let you know that today I have accepted the presidency of the National Collegiate Athletic Association,” he said in an e-mail to UW students, faculty and staff. “I am proud of the work we have done together and absent this truly extraordinary opportunity would have been happy continuing as president for many years to come.”

Announcement from President Emmert

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Dear UW students, faculty, and staff:

It is with very mixed emotions that I am writing to let you know that today I have accepted the presidency of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.  When I came home to the University of Washington in 2004, I knew there was no other university that I would want to be president of, and that remains true today after the six wonderful years DeLaine and I have enjoyed serving our alma mater.  I am proud of the work we have done together and absent this truly extraordinary opportunity would have been happy continuing as president for many years to come.

The NCAA is one of the nation’s most influential collegiate organizations.  Leading it offers a chance to shape the educational and athletic experiences of over 400,000 young people and to work with more than 1,200 universities, colleges and conferences to make intercollegiate sports a competitive, healthy, integral part of the growth and maturation of student-athletes. It also presents a new set of challenges for me. I am very excited about taking on these challenges and the opportunity to work with so many university and college presidents.

To my friends, colleagues, and students of the University of Washington, I offer a special word of thanks and appreciation. It has been my honor to serve you.  I am very proud of what we have accomplished together these past six years.  Our university is a special place–by any measure one of the world’s leading research universities–because of all of you and the work you perform every day.  I cannot thank you enough for your dedication, energy and enthusiasm.  It is never a good time to leave one great job for another.  I relish the challenges at the NCAA but will always love my time here.  DeLaine and I always have been, and always will be, Huskies for life.

Sincerely,

Mark Emmert
President

Outcomes of the 2010 State Legislative Session

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Dear Members of the University Community:

With the 2010 session of the State Legislature now concluded, we have a clearer picture of what our budget for 2011 will be. The results are about what we expected—we ended up doing better in some areas and worse in others, and there were no surprises in the concluding hours of the session. While there were many disappointments in the session, I was extremely pleased that need-based financial aid was kept intact. Our student and faculty leaders joined us in making a strong case for the critical nature of these funds, and our arguments carried the day. It is also fair to say that without the revenue package the Legislature ultimately agreed on, things could conceivably have ended up much worse than they did, particularly for student financial aid. A summary of the budget legislation may be found on the University’s Office of Planning and Budgeting web site.

In 2011, we will be dealing with a continuation of the budget cuts we have endured now for three years running. In 2009, the University’s state general fund budget was reduced by $16.8 million. This year, our budget was reduced by an unprecedented $94.7 million. And next year, we will have another reduction of $20.6 million. Thus, over this three-year period, we will have lost $132 million in state general fund support—a 33% reduction in state support.

We have been able to withstand the worst effects of the budget reductions in part because the University has been authorized to increase tuition. We have had to look to our students to pay more for their education because state support has shrunk so much. We do not relish having to raise tuition, but without that additional revenue, we simply would not be able to offer students the educational experience they deserve.

As we did this year, in implementing the additional reductions, we will try to minimize the impacts on academic programs and students. Provost Wise is meeting with deans, vice provosts, vice presidents, and faculty and student leadership as she develops the new budget proposal for 2011. Earlier this year, schools and colleges were asked to model cuts of 3.5 and 5%, and these have been posted to the Office of Planning and Budgeting web site. Many of the effects described there will be moderated by the additional tuition revenue we anticipate next year. Continue reading “Outcomes of the 2010 State Legislative Session”

Meet UW scientists this weekend at Paws on Science

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paws
Some of the UW’s scientific breakthroughs, from discovering an underwater volcano to finding new ways to detect germs, will be in the spotlight at the Pacific Science Center this weekend. I invite everyone in the community and the UW family to attend. You’ll get to meet amazing scientists, plus there’ll be lots of hands-on activities. For details and to learn more, visit the Pacific Science Center’s Paws on Science Web page >.