Today the Senate Higher Ed committee will hold a public hearing on bills related to establishing a new UW branch campus in Snohomish County. Sen. Paull Shin’s bill would establish the campus in Everett at the Pacific Station site. Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen’s legislation would require specified criteria to be used to determine the best location for the new branch.
Yesterday, a reporter for the Everett Herald asked the University which site we preferred. To be honest, I’m sort of surprised it took two months since the site selection report was released for someone to ask this question. We told them the truth — we participated very closely in the NBBJ report process (although we didn’t do the actual work) we read the report completely, and we concur with the report’s conclusions that the Pacific Station site should be ranked first. This does not mean that the Marysville/Smokey Point site would not work. It’s sort of like the difference between someone getting a B+ and a B- on a term paper. They are both good, but one is a little better than the other. That’s all.
No matter where the legislature ultimately decides to locate the campus, if they want the UW to be involved we will work hard to make any new campus a success for the local community. Here’s a link to the story in the Everett Herald if you are interested.