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• Mark A. Emmert
  President
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  Address: 301 Gerberding Hall
  Box 351230
  Seattle, WA 98195
  Phone: 206-543-5010
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Dear Faculty, Staff, and Students:

All members of the University of Washington community are invited to join me on Tuesday, March 3, for a town hall meeting on the University’s current budget situation. This meeting is an opportunity to discuss where we are in the state budget process, the implications of pending budget cuts, and our priorities and strategies as we move into the next biennium.

The meeting begins at 3:30 p.m. and will include a question-and-answer session. For those of you unable to attend, the event will be streamed live on UWTV’s Web site. You may also submit your questions here prior to the event.

• When: Tuesday, March 3, 2009
• Where: Kane Hall, Room 130
• Time: 3:30 p.m.
• Webcast: uwtv.org/pres_march2009

I hope you will join me and participate in this important conversation.

Sincerely yours,

Mark A. Emmert
President

Dear Faculty, Staff, and Students:

Recent media coverage of the state fiscal crisis has highlighted the potential loss of jobs at the University in the 2009-11 biennium and the impact this might have on students. It is only natural, of course, that such news would cause alarm. I am writing to provide information about the context for this news and to provide information about where we are in the budget process. I will also be providing you with regular updates about what is happening both at our campuses and in Olympia with regard to budget issues. Events in Olympia happen very quickly at times, and I will do my best to keep you informed in a timely manner.

The recent news stories were prompted by a request of us from several committees in the Washington State Senate for budget reduction scenarios under both the Governor’s proposed 2009-11 budget, which includes a 13 percent reduction for the UW, and a hypothetical scenario of cuts 50 percent greater, or approaching 20 percent. In response to this request, we modeled such scenarios, which resulted in the headlines of a potential job loss of 600-800 positions. You can see the materials we submitted here.

At the moment, we do not know if either of these scenarios will come to pass. We certainly hope not. As I said in my letter to the state senators, reductions at those levels would have a significant impact on our ability to provide the high-quality educational opportunities our students expect and deserve. I and others are doing everything we can to minimize any budget cuts. We are in Olympia every day presenting the case for the University and testifying at committee hearings. We will not know how successful our efforts will be until the budget emerges from the legislature sometime later this spring, but we hope our reduction will be less than those modeled for the Senate.

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