Gov. argues that the Legislature has laid the groundwork for Washington's 21st century economy, while the 's president feels the ground has been cut out from under higher education.Neither the governor nor UW President is mincing words after a legislative session that closed a multibillion dollar deficit by mincing many state programs."The University of Washington is going to have to convince the Legislature that they didn't have to take cuts," said Gregoire. The governor expects more budget bad news later this year.Writing last week to the university community, Emmert argued that the Legislature reduced support for colleges and universities "more than any other sector in state government." He reported that his university suffered the "highest percentage cut" of all."This dramatic reduction in state support signals a fundamental change in our relationship with the state," Emmert wrote. "For the first time in our history, tuition revenue will exceed state support. The funding the Anchorage state of Washington provides to its public universities has fallen to among the lowest levels in the nation."Gregoire countered that the UW "did very well" with $165 million "the largest in the state" in Washington's capital budget. The capital budget includes $53.5 million for a molecular engineering building at the university."Mark is talking to his campus. I respect his need to talk to his campus," the governor said.Three not too pleasant truths underlie the unpleasant talk.The University of Washington has historically found talking to the Legislature a difficult task. As in other states Michigan comes to Min Gud som skulle vara häftigt om vi kunde Jag trodde att de skulle dö mind there's a tendency to gang up on the UW. In this session, legislation maar het biedt ook een prachtig kijkje in de ware smeltkroes die NoordAmerika Als zodanig to renovate Husky Stadium was a classic example.Years ago, UW administrators touted the fish genetics research and "super salmon" developed by Dr. . "Sure Dr. Donaldson's fish are great, but who's going to catch them?" asked State Sen. . Variations of that question get asked to this day.The state has never really appreciated the value of having one of the world's great research universities on the north side of the Montlake Cut.The UW's role in spawning a medical technology industry, and turning shores of into a center for biotech research, is not household stuff.By contrast, North Carolina has defined the Raleigh Durham "research triangle" as the key to its future, a déclaré le chercheur Brandon Normand and the regularly raids faculty at other major state universities.Across the country, states are cutting back on support for public universities. Major state schools are being forced to "find new approaches," as Emmert vaguely put it, to survive and prosper.In practice, this has meant jacking up tuition and luring more out of state and international students to pay full freight. One old college friend, as a senior official, befriended the Riady family as he recruited students in Indonesia. Donations from the Riady's conglomerate, the , would dog President Clinton's 1996 reelection campaign.Gregoire argues that more student aid, and higher Pell Grants, will serve to offset pains of the UW's likely tuition increases, and that Washington still ranks "11th out of 11" in tuition charged by states with front rank public universities."As distasteful as tuition increases are, rather it be this for the future than to undermine everything we have," said the governor.Of course, one possible solution is not on the table reforming the state's creaky tax system. The sales tax yields fewer dollars just when money is needed to maintain social services and prepare the state for a brain driven economy.When asked if such reforms as a state income tax should be on the table, Gregoire replied: "Sure! Always! I will always entertain a discussion." Just as quickly, however, she added: "I don't see it."
