The Capitol building was filled with dairy farmers and industry advocates to celebrate Dairy Day Wednesday, commemorated with the sweet taste of Ferdinand’s Grabbers. Sponsored by the Washington State Dairy Products Commission and in coordination with the Washington State Dairy Federation, members and staff from the Commission and Federation along with Dairy Women and county […]
Dozens of WSU students are swarming the state Capitol grounds today to press their priorities as part of the annual Coug Day at the Capitol. Held remotely for the past two years, students from five WSU campuses returned in force before dawn this morning. Agenda items for a series of meetings with legislators include requests […]
Legislation that would allow Washington’s public universities to set tuition sooner was unanimously moved out of Senate Higher Education committee last week and is now in the Rules Committee awaiting a floor vote. Senate Bill 5079, supported by WSU, would require the Office of Financial Management to communicate the maximum allowable increase in tuition under […]
WSU President Kirk Schulz visited with legislators in Olympia last week, advocating for the institution’s top legislative priorities. Over three days, Schulz met with over two dozen legislators discussing employee compensation, the university’s social work and public health degree proposals, nursing reaccreditation efforts, and multiple building projects. You can find WSU’s 2023 legislative agenda here. With the […]
Climate change is going to drive meaningful impacts in agricultural productivity, WSU’s Chad Kruger recently told the state House Environment and Energy Committee. Kruger, Director of the WSU Center for Sustaining Agriculture & Natural Resources, revealed data comparing the current agricultural ecological zones in the Inland Northwest region to where they are projected to be […]
The Senate Higher Education Committee has recommended confirmation of WSU Student regent Reanne Chilton. Chilton, appearing at a confirmation hearing Friday, received several positive remarks from the committee, with committee Chair Emily Randall noting Chilton’s “history of service.” Chilton, a fifth-year student in clinical psychology is currently working towards her Ph.D. She completed her bachelor’s […]
WSU Senior Director of State Relations Chris Mulick testified on the governor’s proposed operating budget at two hearings last week, flagging concerns about compensation but praising investments in nursing, public health and energy research. WSU urges the legislature to support the University’s top priority – cost-of-living adjustments for faculty, staff and graduate students. In his […]
During a committee meeting of the Senate Ways & Means committee last Thursday, WSU testified on the governor’s proposed capital budget noting the historic deferred maintenance support, the matching of state dollars to philanthropic giving, while noting two projects that went unfunded. Those omitted projects included the renovation of the Knott Dairy at WSU Pullman […]
New legislation supported by WSU would require the Office of Financial Management to communicate the maximum allowable increase in tuition under state law to public higher education institutions by October 1st of each year for the following academic year, allowing them to set tuition rates sooner and provide certainty to students. The Senate Committee on Higher […]
Gov. Jay Inslee in his State of the State address before a joint session of the Legislature Tuesday told lawmakers he’s counting on them to fund his proposed Institute for Northwest Energy Futures at WSU Tri-Cities. “It was fantastic to join Senators Joe Nguyen and Matt Boehnke in Tri-Cities last month to talk about the […]