Gov. Christine Gregoire’s 2007-2009 budget proposal, released Tuesday, Dec. 19, contains much good news for Washington State University.
Emphasizing the economic importance of higher education, the proposal would fund WSU research initiatives in agriculture and biofuels, would expand Spokane-based education efforts for doctors, nurses and dentists, would allow for more enrollment in high-demand fields including engineering, sciences and mathematics, and would fund important capital projects, including the completion of the life sciences building now under construction on the Pullman campus.
“We are extremely pleased with the higher education proposals in the governor’s budget. These proposals are tied not only to the needs of our universities, but also to the short- and long-term economic and social needs of our state,” said WSU President V. Lane Rawlins.
“From our perspective, attention to high-demand enrollment, medical education, agriculture, bioproducts and a commitment to get our research universities up to a competitive level are all important. The goals are high and the standard is to compete in the global marketplace. WSU is ready for that competition and this budget will help,” he said.
Highlights of the budget include $9.55 million for health education programs at the WSU Spokane Riverpoint campus. Twenty additional doctors will be trained each year by expanding the University of Washington School of Medicine WWAMI program (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho) to include Spokane. Similarly the new RIDE (Regional Initiatives in Dental
Education) program will enroll eight first-year dental students through Eastern Washington University.
The governor’s budget expands the existing baccalaureate and masters levels nursing programs and creates a Ph.D. nursing program. The lack of Ph.D.-trained faculty has limited efforts to expand the nursing training programs across the state. The new doctoral program will enroll five students in 2007-08 and a total of 15 in 2008-09. Funding is also provided for 10 masters and 15 undergraduate students the first year of the biennium, and 20 masters and 30 undergraduate students the second year.
The budget allocates $6.54 million to increase WSU’s ability to meet the demands of businesses statewide and its students by increasing the university’s capacity to enroll students in engineering and science fields.
The budget includes funding for new freshmen in these fields at WSU Tri-Cities and WSU Vancouver.
The budget allocates $3 million to help keep the state’s $29 billion food and agriculture industry viable, globally competitive and environmentally sustainable. The funding would improve research and extension centers around the state and create two competitive grant pools advised by industry leaders to enable greater responsiveness to emerging research and outreach needs.
The budget would also provide $4 million in research funding for the joint bio-energy and bio-products research program to reduce Washington State’s foreign energy dependence and boost economic development through production of high-value consumer goods using in-state crops and biomass.
The budget allocates $28.2 million to fund salary increases averaging 3.2 percent in the 2008 fiscal year and 2 percent in fiscal year 2009. It also limits tuition increases by Washington State University and the University of Washington to 7 percent annually.
On the capital side, the proposal would allocate $58 million for the Pullman Life Sciences building, which the Legislature initiated with a $10 million allocation last session. The capital budget would also fund the Vancouver Undergraduate Classroom Building ($24.35 million), which would provide general classrooms and computer laboratory spaces for delivery of lower division programs and to accommodate enrollment growth on Southwest Washington’s only four year campus.
The capital budget also provides WSU with more than $55 million for a variety of capital projects to preserve, remodel and equip existing buildings to meet future needs, as well as $8 million to fund critical improvements to infrastructure and roadways.
