Thanks to Ann M.
| This message is being sent to all staff, faculty and academic personnel across the University of Washington. |
| Dear colleagues, Over the past two months, we have been tracking and responding to a range of policy changes and directives from the federal government while also facing major state budget cuts. Combined they create a perfect storm that we must continue to actively address. As we navigate these and future challenges, we will be guided by our mission of expanding access to an excellent education and to serving the public good, as well as our University’s values. And we will continue to prioritize the well-being of our students, patients, faculty and other academic personnel, and staff as we make decisions. |
| Budgetary impacts |
| Federal impacts: As a major research university with a large health-care mission, the cancellation of grants and continued delays in annual award notices and renewals threaten our ability to fund and educate our graduate students, provide our undergraduates with important research experiences, and innovate. They also threaten our ability to provide our patients with leading-edge care in the present and develop and test new life-saving treatments and cures for the future. On each of these issues, UW leaders, the Office of Federal Relations and the Washington Attorney General’s Office have been working with a range of partners, including higher education associations, UW supporters, and policymakers from Washington and other states to protect our ability to fulfill the UW’s mission. We have been successful in several areas, as court orders have blocked some of the most damaging proposals, at least for the time being. Additionally, this week a presidential message was sent to UW alumni living in other states to alert them to these challenges and urge them to join in our efforts to let others know the high societal cost of such draconian cuts to federal research. As we navigate the ever-changing federal landscape, we are also working with principal investigators and other research leaders to mitigate the effects to the extent we can. That includes taking the risk of allowing advanced spending for 30 days on grants that are pending renewal. However, no source of money available to the University — public or private — can possibly replace more than a small fraction of the more than $1.2 billion in federally funded research we conducted last fiscal year alone. We must prepare for the long-term impacts of these federal policy changes. State impacts: At the state level, the Washington House and Senate majorities’ proposed budgets disproportionately affect the state’s four-year universities and would impose especially damaging cuts on the UW. We recognize the state government is facing budget challenges that Governor Ferguson described as a “five-alarm fire,” and we are committed to doing our part. But the effects of these proposals on our ability to educate students and serve our state are profound. In short, both chambers are considering measures that would cut the UW’s funding across the board, as well as reduce the amount and share of money provided for compensation increases. In addition, they raise the costs the UW pays for health insurance and other benefits. Combined, these and other proposals would have major negative impacts on our students. Not only would they and their families be expected to pay more, but with cuts of this magnitude, we simply would not be able to provide students with the same level of educational excellence. These effects would ripple across the state and beyond for years and decades to come, as we still have not fully recovered from the state funding cuts of the Great Recession, and these proposed reductions would set us back again. President Cauce will continue to travel to Olympia to meet with legislators, and Office of State Relations representatives are there daily. She has also written to UW alumni living in Washington to inform them of the situation and how they can get updates via UW Impact, a program of the UW Alumni Association. With your help, and that of our alumni and supporters, we will continue to make the case for the importance of research funding at the federal level and push back against inequitable cuts by the state. Still, there is no question that our budget will be challenged in the upcoming biennium, with the University’s expenses already stretched thin before the current crisis. Your continued efforts to reduce expenses are vital. Every dollar that goes to expenses that are non-essential now worsens the financial situation and will require deeper cuts later, putting not only new, but existing programs at risk. We must spend less to sustain the University’s mission through these uncertain times and ensure a healthier future for generations to come. |
| Commitment to our mission and values |
| In addition to the budgetary perfect storm, with state shortfalls magnifying federal cutbacks, many of us are deeply concerned about a range of other federal policies that impact our ability to provide an open, welcoming and supportive environment for ALL of our students, faculty and staff. We do not view diversity and access as being in opposition to merit and excellence, and we remain committed to providing access to excellence for all. We are not mandating any preemptive changes in our policies as we already follow all state and federal anti-discrimination laws. Part of that compliance is ensuring that the members of our University are aware of their responsibilities. For example, in conjunction with state and federal requirements, we’ve expanded trainings on shared ancestry, race and sex discrimination for students, faculty and staff. Also, our five-year Campus Climate Survey will launch this spring to help guide further leadership actions. We hope everyone will participate to ensure the University remains a welcoming place for all. Our programs and services are open to all, and we engage in periodic reviews of our programs and activities using guidance from UW Compliance and Risk Services. The UW is committed to welcoming students and employees with a diversity of experiences and viewpoints. Freedom of expression is core to the university experience and to American ideals, and we support the right to free speech across the spectrum of political and ideological positions. At the same time, as we have made very clear, we will enforce laws and policies against harassment, creating a hostile environment and disrupting University activities and operations. We also fully support our faculty and instructors’ right to academic freedom, including in their research and in the classroom, while reminding all that in the classroom this freedom applies to their areas of expertise, and not to introducing ideology or content unrelated to the subject matter of their classes. We are also seeing more aggressive immigration policies and enforcement. International students at other universities have had their visas revoked and, in some instances, been detained. We are communicating directly with F-1 and J-1 visa holders about this situation and providing general advising on standard visa processes and information for international students and scholars about the resources available to them. We are also working directly with the representatives of a UW Medicine employee who was detained by immigration officials in late February when returning from a personal trip overseas. You can also review guidance on what to do if immigration officials come to a University facility. To stay up to date on the latest developments in these areas, visit the Provost’s Office Federal Policy Updates site and the Office of State Relations News & Updates page. These are difficult times for universities around the nation, and the UW is no exception. We will continue to work with our partners here in Washington and at the national level, guided by our mission and values. In addition to the actions listed above, it is incumbent upon each of us to demonstrate the importance of the UW’s mission to the people of Washington and the United States. It is their investments that have created a system of universities that advance the nation’s health, prosperity and security and, as a result, is the envy of the world. And it is their investments — and our shared future — that are now at risk. Sincerely, |
 Ana Mari CaucePresident Professor of Psychology  Tricia R. SerioProvost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Professor of Biochemistry |