Despite economic crisis, president confident about UW’s direction

UW President Mark Emmert gave his annual address to the community yesterday afternoon in Kane Hall.

UW Regents, faculty, alumni and students all attended the event.

The first 30 minutes of the address consisted of Emmert praising the UW and the accomplishments of years past, and the overall positive direction that the University was already headed in this year.

Emmert focused on the fact that despite the current dismal state of the national economy, the UW had far surpassed its fundraising goal from 2000, raising $2.7 billion — $657 million more than anticipated. That money came from more than 300,000 individuals from 87 different nations.

“They didn’t give that money to some abstract idea,” he said. “They gave that money to you, to our students and staff because they believe in what we’re doing, and you have to feel proud of that. That belief also comes with a huge sense of responsibility. We can’t let those 300,000 people down.”

After Emmert praised the staff and student body for winning nearly every prestigious award available and keeping the UW ranked in the top 16 schools in the country, he addressed the challenges that the University still faces.

“Our finances — besides what’s going on in the market — are fine,” Emmert said.

The UW is already planning and in the midst of new capital projects such as the HUB renovation and new student housing projects, and Emmert stressed the importance of other projects such as the completion and continuation of campus renovations.

Of the most important issues Emmert spoke of during his address was the University’s plan to stay cutting-edge as the world around us develops.

“We can’t spend too much time and effort thinking about the next two or three years, when what we need to be thinking about is the next two or three decades,” Emmert said.

Emmert outlined five main areas the University needs to focus on to stay competitive in the years to come: development of the College of the Environment, focus on alternative energy sources, a plan to deal with mass urbanization, health care cost control and prevention, and information technology and computer science.

“We need to focus on these areas in a way that serves our needs today, but still positions us well for tomorrow,” Emmert said.

Junior Sarah Cox, a journalism and political science major in attendance, was especially inspired by Emmert’s focus on the future and insistence that the UW stay current with the needs of today.

“It makes sense for the UW to be invested in those issues, because it will only help us in the future,” Cox said.

Another student in the audience, senior Alex Cargol, also felt Emmert was inspiring when talking about the UW’s future goals, but expressed some regret that other issues didn’t seem to be as much of a priority.

“The sciences are great, but let’s not forget the benefits of developing our liberal arts programs just as much,” Cargol said.

Cargol is in the Jackson School of International Studies.

“There’s so much emphasis on research that I feel sometimes [the University] is not as concerned about teaching,” he said. “So I hope they stay current with the students.”

While Emmert’s address was visionary, he still made a point to emphasize that students are the reason the University exists.

“Students ultimately come here because they want a world-class education,” Emmert said. “And we can’t let them down.”

Reach reporter Casey Smith at news@dailyuw.com.