Western receives $2M for engineering and cybersecurity programming, academic outreach

Western Washington University will receive an additional $2.07 million from the state Legislature to expand programming and increase academic outreach, among other smaller expenditures.

The largest buckets of funding from the state’s operating budget went to expand the electrical and computer engineering program ($445,000) and for academic access and outreach programming ($400,000). Western also received $500,000 from the state’s capital budget.

Director of Government Relations Nora Selander said this year, Western requested money to expand the electrical and computer engineering undergraduate program and develop a master’s program, but the Legislature only funded the expansion of the undergraduate program.

Western requested $1.1 million to do more outreach to prospective students but received less than half of the request. Selander said this won’t allow the university to hire more full-time employees to work on this issue, but said it should allow the university to expand high school and middle school visits and bolster outreach opportunities with current staffing. 

“We really see that as part of our goal right now … to go seek out those students who are not in the college-going culture,” said Selander.

An additional $300,000 will continue funding an ongoing program with Pisces International in Kitsap County. The program provides cybersecurity services to rural municipal governments in Washington, leveraging cybersecurity students to do some of that work, Selander said.

Other investments include:  

• $200,000 to contract with a Whatcom County nonprofit to provide economic and financial education to “conduct foundational research on the efficacy of financial education course formats.”
• $100,000 for the Ray Wolpow Institute for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity to provide expertise to the Office of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction on a course for K-12 students about holocaust and gender studies.
• $122,000 to implement House Bill 2112 on opioid intervention and education. Selander said this will cover testing strips and Narcan for campus and provide training for staff and students. 

The new funding was passed by the Legislature a week before a student rally on March 14 called for the state to provide more funding to Western. Organized by Western Academic Workers United (WAWU) and other unions, the rally also called on Western to “prioritize fair pay and working conditions for the lowest paid and most vulnerable workers.” 

Jonathan Higgins, Western’s director of communications, wrote in a statement that the university “greatly appreciate” employees “adding their voices to our own advocacy for more state funding to improve salaries and standards of living, while furthering the mission of the university.” 

Charlotte Alden is CDN’s general assignment/enterprise reporter; reach her at charlottealden@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 123.