September 4, 2019
Legislative Interim Update: August 2019
“Topping Out” ceremony for new Population Health Sciences building Senator David Frockt helped celebrate the placing of the final beam in the UW’s new center for population health sciences – a significant milestone in a project that has consistently been on time and on budget. At the UW, we believe improving population health worldwide is…
July 30, 2019
Senator Frockt champions firearm injury prevention research at Harborview
On Friday, Senator David Frockt and leaders at Harborview Medical Center announced the Harborview Injury and Prevention Research Center (HIPRC) will receive $1 million in state funding over the next two years to research firearm injuries and deaths and develop strategies to reducing gun violence. Harborview is the regional Trauma 1 hospital for critically injured…
July 24, 2019
Legislators visit UW Tacoma, which raises $108,000 for student emergency aid
Legislators joined more than 200 UW Tacoma supporters and community leaders at UW Tacoma’s annual Summer Soiree benefiting an emergency aid fund for students experiencing financial crisis. Each year, it is estimated that nearly three million students face a financial crisis of one form or another and leave school over an expense of less than…
July 19, 2019
Senator Braun visits local students at UW’s STEM Camp in Chehalis
This week, the UW partnered with the Chehalis and Hoquiam School Districts and the Quinault Indian Nation to host a STEM camp for incoming 9–12th graders focused on engineering and medical science. At this one-of-a-kind camp, faculty and students from the UW College of Engineering and UW Medicine provided local students with opportunities to interact…
July 1, 2019
Legislators engage with UW faculty in their local communities
Recently, twenty-five new UW faculty members participated in the UW’s annual five-day Faculty Field Tour to explore Washington’s diverse communities and learn about UW’s impact across the state. The tour visited communities throughout Washington, including Olympia, Vancouver, Toppenish, Richland, Ritzville and Spokane. At these stops, local legislators also had the opportunity to participate and engage…
May 2, 2019
Legislature adjourns after passing 2019-21 budgets
Late Sunday evening, the legislature passed the 2019-21 operating and capital budgets, marking the end of the 105-day legislative session. The budgets have been delivered to Governor Inslee for signature. The legislature made significant investments in the UW and higher education in the final compromise budgets. The budgets provide increased funding for student financial aid…
April 9, 2019
News from Olympia: Legislative session day 86, House and Senate budget proposals released
It’s week 13 of the 2019 Legislative Session and the legislature is quickly approaching fiscal committee cutoff in the opposite house. After bills pass through their house-of-origin, they move to the opposite chamber for consideration. Bills must move to the floor of the opposite house for consideration by 5 p.m. today to remain alive. To view…
March 14, 2019
News from Olympia: Legislative Session Day 60, House passes Speaker Chopp bill that plans for a UW behavioral health campus
Late yesterday, the House unanimously passed legislation (HB 1593) to launch plans to establish a new behavioral health innovation and integration campus within the University of Washington School of Medicine and in coordination with the UW’s health sciences schools. The proposal directs the UW to plan for a new teaching facility with a capacity for 150…
March 12, 2019
State disinvestment: Recognizing the impacts of long-term state budget cuts to higher education
This week, Columns, the UW’s Alumni Association Magazine, published Down to the Core, an article highlighting the budget challenges the UW currently faces and the decisions – made over a decade ago by the legislature – that put the University in such an urgent situation. Disinvestment During the Great Recession, the state was forced to make dramatic…
March 4, 2019
News from Olympia: Legislative session day 50, policy and fiscal committee cutoffs
It’s the beginning of week eight of the 2019 Legislative Session. Check out the highlights from Olympia from the past two weeks: Policy and fiscal committee cutoffs The legislature is now past policy and fiscal committee cutoffs in the house of origin, which means new policy cannot be introduced in committee and any bills not…
