The start of a new academic year at the University of Washington is always an exciting season — a time for friends and colleagues to reunite, a fresh new page for returning students and a whole new chapter for those just beginning their UW experience. I’m grateful to be kicking off the UW’s 159th year with our whole community.
Category: Attending the UW
Celebrating our first-generation college students
At the University of Washington, we are committed to doing all that we can to equip first-generation students with the tools and resources to help them navigate college. Today we join universities nationwide during the inaugural National First-Generation College Celebration, organized by the Council for Opportunity in Education, to honor and support these students.
Saluting our servicemen and servicewomen
At the University of Washington, we strive to remember our veterans not just during Veterans Appreciation Week, but year-round. Across our campuses, monuments honoring those who have served greet us: the Medal of Honor Memorial; the 58 sycamore trees lining Memorial Way, reminding us of the UW students and faculty who lost their lives during World War I in service to our country; and the central flagpole bearing the names of students, faculty and staff who never returned to the UW from the battlefields of World War II.
These tangible symbols remind us of the intangible values our United States veterans have worked — and valiantly fought — to uphold. Values including freedom, peace, opportunity and justice. They help us reflect on the meaning of courage, selflessness and determination.
But we know that monuments and our words of gratitude alone are not enough. Across the University, we are working to strengthen and expand programs to better support our veterans as they embark on the next phase of their journey.
There are more than 40 programs for veterans, active-duty military and their dependents across the UW’s three campuses.For instance, at UW Tacoma — which Victory Media designated as a military-friendly school for the fourth year in a row — the Veterans Incubator for Better Entrepreneurship program, or VIBE, is engaging veterans with entrepreneurial talent. The program recognizes veterans’ unique leadership and problem-solving skills and empowers them to pursue their own businesses.
Also at UW Tacoma, we’re responding to the growing demand from the public and private sectors for professionals who can deal with cyber threats. This year, the Milgard School of Business partnered with the UW Tacoma Institute of Technology to launch a new master’s degree in cybersecurity and leadership. It was developed as a direct response to the needs of the military community — and our nation.
At UW Bothell, a recently developed course is successfully helping veterans navigate the transition from military life to academic life.And the UW School of Law is working with the Northwest Justice Project to start a veterans law clinic to address legal needs in areas of veteran’s administration and mental health, housing, consumer issues and family law.
As students and teachers, faculty and staff, neighbors and friends, we are all enriched by our veteran and military community. And so it is of vital importance that we support veterans through research that will positively impact people’s lives and help us create a world of good. To give just one example, through projects funded by the National Institutes of Health, the UW School of Nursing is contributing to pain management research at Madigan Army Hospital at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.
Various UW organizations, including researchers in the UW School of Public Health, have created PEARLS, a national evidence-based treatment program for depression. While the program has focused primarily on senior populations, it is now expanding to treat older veterans in King County as well.
Through all of these collective efforts, we are proud to be ranked No. 2 in the nation in U.S. News & World Report’s listing of the Best Colleges for Veterans.
Yet, we are not complacent. We will continue to do more to support our veterans, active-military service members and their families through research as well as educational and employment opportunities. On behalf of the entire University, thank you to all Husky veterans for your service, leadership and commitment to our country and our communities.
Fostering opportunities for our veterans
Veterans make for some of the best students. They hold discipline, drive and innovation in the highest regard. They know when to lead and when to follow. When they fall down, vets get right back up. And they know that education — with the help of trusted compatriots — is the key to overcoming any obstacle.
As we celebrate Independence Day, I want to showcase how the University of Washington is committed to helping our veterans transition from service to the classroom. Combined, they’ve served thousands of tours of duty; our duty as a university is to acknowledge and reward their service with support.
Last spring, I was honored to meet a host of Husky veterans at UW Tacoma who are transforming their civilian lives through the Veterans Incubator for Better Entrepreneurship (VIBE) program. It’s a first-in-the-nation approach to developing the talent of military veterans as entrepreneurs and gives them access to valuable resources — idea development, mentoring, coaches, financial advice, work space and networking — while they pursue their UW degrees.
As deployments in Afghanistan wind down, military personnel are concluding their active duty at nearby Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) and returning to civilian life. JBLM and UW Tacoma leaders founded VIBE to enhance the South Sound’s start-up culture and to provide more options to a group of men and women perfectly suited to entrepreneurism.
VIBE’s focus on developing talent and turning ideas into viable businesses is part of the environment of opportunity we’re fostering at the UW. Watch this video to learn more about VIBE and the extraordinary veterans who are leading the charge in a new chapter of Husky entrepreneurism.
Record Washington in-state admissions
Though most high-school seniors these days are glued to their smartphones, this is the time of year when they pay a lot more attention to the mailbox, waiting anxiously for letters of acceptance from colleges. The UW’s letters began arriving Saturday, March 15, and it’s been heartwarming to see the enthusiastic response from future Huskies, like the ones in the photo below and on the New Huskies 2014 website. Those from Washington state will be in familiar company: This year has seen one of the largest numbers of in-state high school seniors admitted in the UW’s history.
We look forward to welcoming these potential new Huskies and their parents as they visit our campuses between now and the decision deadline on May 1. I have very high hopes for the UW Class of 2018!
Early learning and K-12 are UW priorities
President Young stressed the importance of early learning and called the UW’s new online bachelor’s completion program “a good thing for all of us” during remarks to the Alliance for Education in Seattle this week.
“As long as I’m president,” he told the group Thursday, “improving early learning and K-12 will be a major priority for the University of Washington.”
He said the just-announced online-only degree in early childhood and family studies is “a great example of how we are breaking boundaries and challenging conventional thinking when it comes to teacher preparation.”
“It’s a good thing for our early childhood educators, it’s a good thing for our littlest learners who will be learning from these well-trained teachers and it’s a good thing for all of us.”
Raising awareness of Husky Promise
UW leaders and students are traveling the state this month to raise awareness of Husky Promise, and hundreds of enthusiastic high school students have met with us so far to find out what it’s all about. I have personally visited with students in Tacoma, Toppenish and Seattle. It’s gratifying to meet so many bright young people whose college dreams could be realized, thanks to programs like Husky Promise.
Husky Promise is our guarantee that financial challenges won’t stand in the way of eligible Washington state students achieving their potential and earning a UW degree. To quote Gov. Gregoire, “Education is the single best investment for our future and the key to success for our children.†We at the University of Washington are doing all we can to make sure finances are not a barrier to a college education for eligible students.
UW leaders and students have more visits planned this month: Lummi High School in Bellingham on Feb. 8, Kent-Meridian High School on Feb. 9, Mariner High School in Everett on Feb. 10 and Rogers High School in Spokane on Feb. 16. You can learn more about Husky Promise on our Web site. You can also keep up with the Husky Promise tour by following us on Twitter and Facebook.