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Category: President Emmert archive

Legislative update from Olympia

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Dear Members of the University Community:

With the 2010 legislative session now underway, I want to take this opportunity to follow up on my November e-mail message in which I communicated the University’s strategies in the wake of the latest state revenue shortfall. As we move forward, we are focusing our message in Olympia on four key planks:

  1. Stop further budget reductions that would erode our ability to meet the educational needs of our students and to serve the citizens of Washington.
  2. Preserve funding for the State Need Grant program that serves so many Washington students from economically stressed families and that makes our Husky Promise program possible.
  3. Provide reasonable tuition flexibility.
  4. Provide greater management flexibility in our operating processes.

Continue reading “Legislative update from Olympia”

Video: State Legislature takes up tuition

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President Emmert testified before the Senate Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee on Jan. 20 in favor of granting tuition-setting authority to the state’s public universities.

The funding model is broken:

Is there a floor to state support, which is now less than tuition revenue in the university’s budget?

Do institutions have a problem with cohort pricing?

Office Hours: Winter 2010

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VideoAs a new decade, a new academic quarter, and a new session of the State Legislature begin, more difficult decisions await higher education in Washington state. In the latest edition of Office Hours, UW President Mark Emmert offers his perspective on the 2010 legislative session and what’s at stake for the UW. Watch the video »

Providing aid and assistance to Haiti

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Dear Members of the University Community:

The disaster that has hit the island nation of Haiti is nothing short of horrific. Our hearts go out to the people of Haiti and to the many citizens of other countries who have been working there to help improve the lives of Haitians. Our own Department of Global Health, through its International Training and Education Center for Health (I-TECH), has had an office there since 2004 strengthening the response to HIV/AIDS. Fortunately, as far as we know, most of its people are safe and unharmed. But that cannot be said for the thousands trying to cope in the aftermath of this devastating earthquake.

Many in our UW community have inquired about ways in which they can help and provide assistance for the international relief efforts being mounted in response to this disaster. The Office of Global Affairs has assembled a list of organizations that are accepting gifts and volunteers. The list is not exhaustive and may be found at the Global Affairs web site.

I hope you will take a moment to visit the page and contribute in any way you can to help those in need in Haiti. It is hard to fathom how desperate their plight is and the difficulties they face in the coming days and weeks. Continue reading “Providing aid and assistance to Haiti”

Possible impacts of the governor’s budget proposal

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Dear Members of the University Community:

Yesterday, Governor Gregoire released a 2010 supplemental budget proposal that addresses an additional $2.6 billion projected shortfall for the 2009-11 biennial state budget (see my Nov. 19 message to the University community). By law, the governor is required to submit a balanced budget based on current state tax revenue.

The proposed budget is by any measure a train wreck for the state, and without additional revenue would surely result in very negative consequences for many people, including students and the higher education institutions they attend. As Governor Gregoire said yesterday, she does not support this budget proposal and believes the state must consider ways to generate additional revenue to fill the gap. Continue reading “Possible impacts of the governor’s budget proposal”

Addressing the Latest State Revenue Shortfall

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Dear Members of the University of Washington Community:

The condition of the Washington economy and the revenue it generates in state taxes continue to concern everyone watching the state budget. All of us at the University are still dealing with the aftermath of the 2009 legislative session and the budget cuts resulting from a historically large revenue shortfall. The most recent revenue forecast from Olympia unfortunately reflects a continuing downward spiral in state tax revenues and an even larger budget hole the state will need to address in the 2010 session. Though the nation’s economy in recent months has shown welcome signs of recovery in various sectors, unemployment continues to be a nagging problem. And with our state’s heavy reliance on the sales tax, people’s confidence level and willingness to make purchases directly affect the condition of the state budget. The turnaround in state tax revenues we have all been hoping for has yet to materialize. Continue reading “Addressing the Latest State Revenue Shortfall”

Novel H1N1 Influenza Virus Preparations

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Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff:

As we approach the start of the new academic year, we are beginning to experience a resurgence of the novel H1N1 influenza virus, much as was expected. As has been reported in the news, colleges and universities across the country have had outbreaks of the virus as classes began. While the virus appears to be easily transmitted from person to person, the good news is that it also seems to be relatively mild as an influenza illness and most people not in high-risk populations recover fully within a week.

The University’s Advisory Committee on Communicable Diseases (ACCD), chaired by Vice President for Student Life Eric Godfrey, has been monitoring information related to the H1N1 influenza since last spring and preparing for its arrival at the University this fall. From everything we know at this point, we can expect a substantial fraction of our community to become ill with H1N1 influenza. A vaccine against H1N1 is expected to be widely available by mid-October, and when it is, we are planning for a mass inoculation program to get it to people as quickly as possible.

Continue reading “Novel H1N1 Influenza Virus Preparations”

Your ideas for saving money and finding efficiencies

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Dear Faculty, Staff, and Students:

Over the last several months, people from across our campuses have submitted many valuable cost-saving suggestions to help our University weather the economic downturn. I am deeply appreciative of all those who have taken the time to share their thoughts and ideas. I write now to update you on the actions we have taken in response to these thoughtful suggestions.

I received many suggestions related to energy savings, ranging from turning off unneeded lights to converting campus buildings into energy sources by adding solar or green rooftops. All of these ideas are now with our Finance and Facilities offices undergoing feasibility study and cost-benefit analysis. Those that we can implement — in addition to our already robust energy savings program — we will. Not only will we save money, we will help the planet.

Continue reading “Your ideas for saving money and finding efficiencies”