Regents approve 1999­2001 biennial budget request

The UW Board of Regents Friday approved a state budget request for 1999 to 2001 that would allow the University to transform education, building on the strengths and quality of its human resources.

“To fulfill our mission for the state, the University of Washington must invest in our human resources, our faculty and staff, because they allow us to perform our mission and sustain our excellence,” said UW President Richard L. McCormick. “Sustaining our quality also means encouraging change in what we do, to adapt to society’s changing needs.”

The University’s highest priority is increased investment in faculty and staff salaries. Faculty salaries currently lag behind those at comparable public research universities by more than 14 percent.

“There is a crack in the foundation of the University of Washington,” said McCormick. “Efforts to retain our best faculty and staff are growing more difficult, as the salary gap with our peer institutions has grown. Raiding from other institutions has become increasingly active and successful. Our primary goal in the coming legislative session is to begin the repair of the foundation of the University of Washington.”

The UW is proposing 4.5 percent salary increases for faculty and staff in both years of the 1999­2001 biennium. The gap in faculty salaries with the UW’s peer institutions, which now stands at more than 14 percent, would be closed in six years under the UW’s proposal. In addition to state investment, the UW would make available an additional 1 percent each year for salaries from efficiency improvements. All salary increases would be distributed on the basis of merit, market and equity.

The two-year cost of the salary increases would be nearly $41 million.

The second priority in the UW budget request is to continue the process of transforming undergraduate education and discovery at the UW. This transformation occurs in two ways: through the application of technology to the educational and discovery processes, and through the further integration of research and education.

Academic disciplines affected by technological change—including the need to access and analyze vastly expanded amounts of information—are working to transform their curriculum. Many units need added resources “to make the transition to a technologically rich age,” according to the budget request.

In addition, a variety of departments are embarking on efforts to incorporate hands-on experience—in the form of public service and internship opportunities, as well as working with faculty on research projects—into the basic curriculum. These curricular changes help to engage students more in the learning process, making them “critical thinkers and team players, dedicated to solving problems in whatever arena they choose to make their contributions,” according to the budget document.

The UW also is seeking state support for high-impact research that would promote economic development and offer unique educational opportunities in areas such as computer graphics, advanced forestry technologies, pharmaceutical development, advanced transportation technologies and advanced construction technologies.

The request for these initiatives totals $31 million.

The UW’s third priority is funding for increased enrollments—on the Seattle campus, as well as on the Bothell and Tacoma campuses. In Seattle, the focus of the increased enrollments would be to provide more access in high-demand majors. These include computer science and engineering, management and information sciences, social welfare and civil engineering. Not only is demand for these programs high, but there are few if any alternatives for training in the state. In Bothell and Tacoma, growth in programs will be responsive to the needs of their communities.

The budget request for increased enrollment totals $29 million.

The UW’s capital budget includes requests that would permit the University to meet health, safety and legal requirements, of which the renovation of Suzzallo Library is the top priority. The University’s highest priority for new construction is a new building to maintain the capabilities of the state’s only public law school. The highest priorities for dealing with growth and educational transformation are continued expansion of physical facilities for the educational offerings in Bothell and Tacoma, and the second phase of construction for Computer Science and Engineering on the Seattle campus.

The capital request is for $261 million from the state; an additional $78 million would come from University sources, including local funds and private donations. ¶