UW Impact
November 14, 2022
2022 Midterm Election Results Are (Mostly) In
While a few races are still too close to call, Washington state elections are mostly final. Currently, election results show around 28 new officials in our State Legislature. Congratulations to our new lawmakers – and thanks to UW Impact advocates for doing your civic duty and casting your votes. As we wait for the election to be certified in early

October 11, 2022
UW Impact Advocacy Training
Join UW Impact for its biennial advocacy training (virtual) on Tuesday, December 6 at 6:30 p.m. Before each budget session, UW Impact hosts an interactive opportunity to learn about the upcoming legislative session and to practice your advocacy pitch with other members of the UW community. Find out which budget requests and anticipated bills will advance the UW’s aims and
February 15, 2022
Alumni Advocacy Days | Feb 16, 17, 18
Time to mobilize, Huskies! We’re emailing our lawmakers this week, and this legislative session is chock full of budgetary requests and bills that address the higher education priorities YOU identified in our October 2021 survey: access and affordability, maintaining the UW’s quality and excellence, and expansion of high-demand degree programs. Here is the elevator speech version: We are supporting programs

January 6, 2022
2022 Legislative Priorities
Happy New Year, Huskies! The legislative session starts on January 10, 2022, and UW Impact is ready. We surveyed our alumni again in late 2021 to discern which higher education issues they cared about most. The answers were both clear and familiar: alums care about access and affordability, maintaining quality and excellence, and expanding high-demand degree opportunities. One of the

January 5, 2022
2022 UW Impact Legislative Preview
Join us for the 8th annual Legislative Preview, taking place virtually on January 6, 2022. The topic? Restoring Public Trust in Higher Education. We have university presidents! We have lawmakers! Best of all, we have nearly 80 of your questions, which have helped us shape the program. Learn more and register here.

October 15, 2021
Summer Book Club Selection Leads to Judicial System Refresher
UW Impact, along with the UW Alumni Association and UW Bookstore, continued our summer book club program partnership in 2021. This program began four years ago as a way to bring together UW alums from different political and philosophical backgrounds to read common books. We hoped to challenge one’s thinking, encourage civic dialogue, civic engagement and reflect statewide perspectives. This

August 3, 2021
Vote and Read with UW Impact
Summer greetings from UW Impact! First, we strongly encourage all UW Impact advocates to participate in your civic duty to vote. Tuesday, August 3 – is Election Day here in Washington state. Ballot boxes close at 8pm. You still have time to vote! Your voice matters — make sure you use it. Second: it’s time for summer reading! Each summer,

July 7, 2021
Summertime Engagement with Lawmakers
Summertime is a great time to connect with legislators. Lawmakers engage with constituents at a furious pace during the legislative session each winter and spring, so summer engagement is a way to distinguish yourself and to make your legislative priorities known. Building relationships with legislators can be as simple as meeting for coffee on a Saturday morning or sending an

June 9, 2021
Reflections from our UW Impact Intern
UW Impact’s student intern, Manaal Shafi, wrapped up her internship with UW Impact this month. Manaal graduated in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic with a dual degree in Political Science and Law, Societies & Justice degrees. At the end of her internship, she took time to share reflections on her work with us in helping to advocate for public higher education.

April 27, 2021
State Lawmakers Invest in UW | 2021-23 Final Budget
The Washington State legislature released their final two-year state operating budget after an exceptional remote legislative session, and the news is good for higher education. In the fall, the Governor asked all state agencies to model 5, 10, and 15% cuts, readying UW and other institutions for a worst-case scenario. Despite our initial concerns about how the pandemic would affect