Week one of the 2016 legislative session is in the books, with Western appearing before several legislative committees throughout the week.
Early in the week, Becca Kenna-Schenk, WWU Director of Government Relations, and Josie Ellison, AS-WWU Legislative Liaison, each testified before fiscal committees requesting the Legislature fund student support services at Western. Ensuring student success by increasing student access to advising and tutoring services is WWU’s top legislative priority this session, and Western was the only regional university to not receive such funding last legislative session. You can find a summary of Western’s student success request here.
On Thursday, WWU Director of Communications and Marketing, Paul Cocke, presented to the House Technology and Economic Development Committee about Western Alert, the emergency notification system used to inform the Western community with important safety and security information. Earlier in the day, Woodring College of Education Professor Dr. Maria Timmons-Flores participated in a work session in the Senate Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee about teacher shortages in Washington State. Western is a leader in preparing excellent teachers throughout the state and has a detailed proposal to help address teacher shortages in Washington.
With bills starting to move through the legislative process and more work sessions scheduled in committees this week, the session is beginning to ramp up. Also, yesterday was Viking Lobby Day in Olympia, a time when Western students storm the capitol campus to meet with legislators about their legislative priorities. Western Government Relations will continue to provide updates from Olympia throughout the session via this blog and on Twitter, and don’t forget to subscribe to the blog to receive email notifications with new WLR posts.
Paul Cocke, WWU’s Director of Communications and Marketing, presenting to the House Technology and Economic Development Committee on January 14th.