Washington’s public research universities are essential engines of our innovation economy, generating discoveries that fuel the creation of new companies and jobs and development of new products and services that improve the lives of people here and around the globe. While our research universities have been successful in attracting research funding – University of Washington is the top public higher education recipient of federal research dollars in the nation – state support for our university research enterprise has been among the lowest in the nation, ranking 47th on a per capita basis in 2003.

 

Strong university research programs attract talented faculty and graduate students who conduct groundbreaking research, attract additional funding support, and influence the quality of our baccalaureate programs in math, science and engineering fields. Strong graduate education programs in these fields also support our growing tech economy, which relies on a highly-educated workforce that is, at present, largely imported from outside of Washington: our state is among the top states in terms of employment of scientists and engineers, but ranks last among the Global Challenge States* and 47th in the nation for participation in S&E graduate programs.

Investments in university research and graduate education are essential to drive innovation, fuel our growing technology-based industries, and attract federal and private sector investment in Washington State.

Key next steps:

*The Global Challenge States are a group of eight states designated for their potential to succeed in the new economy: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Virginia and Washington.