Washington Business Winter 2017 | Washington Business | Page 23

washington business like many colleges around the country , has been at the center of passionate debate and demonstrations by people seeking changes . I absolutely agree that change is overdue , and that it doesn ’ t come as fast as any of us would like , especially for a large , public entity like the UW . However , I am proud to say that last spring we launched the Race & Equity Initiative to better address racism and injustice on our campuses . The initiative is a wide-ranging effort to encourage both personal reflection and university-wide action . We ’ re listening to our students when they say Black Lives Matter , and to our faculty who make issues of race and equity part of their teaching and scholarship . We want to make the UW more inclusive , such as by improving our ability to respond to incidents of bias and discrimination , we are working to enhance our search processes so we can identify implicit bias in the hiring process and support efforts to recruit top faculty of color from around the world to the UW , we are doing more outreach into communities of color throughout the state to recruit more students of color , and we are holding community conversations on difficult topics like privilege . This all builds on generations of work by students and faculty . It is — and will remain — a work in progress , but it is leading to needed change .
One of the overarching themes of your appointment as president was how collaboratively you are working alongside students , faculty and elected officials to lay out a vision of the future for the university . How important is this attribute as the state addresses funding higher education , college affordability and graduating students with a degree that leads to a successful career in the state ?
I don ’ t think anyone could survive 30 years in one institution if they aren ’ t at least reasonably good at collaboration ! As we look ahead to how Washington can best prepare its students and citizens for productive and fulfilling lives — and how the state ’ s economic needs and growth can best be served by a well-educated populace — a robust education pipeline that includes our K-12 schools , our community and technical colleges and our public four-year institutions is absolutely crucial to our collective success . We must start early and ensure there are supports at the junctures in the K-12 system where from Yale University . we tend to lose our most vulnerable students . We need to look at the data on college readiness and intervention programs to focus on what has been shown to really work . And we should smooth the path for students transferring from two-year institutions to four-year schools — and we ’ re ana mari cauce at a glance
actively working with community and technical colleges to do so . I am also very hopeful that we will see a new level of collaboration across the public four-year institutions in setting a higher education agenda for the Legislature . Colleges and advocacy groups must also engage with schools , families and communities throughout childhood and into adolescence and adulthood . The Road Map Project in South King County and South Seattle is a wonderful example of what is possible through a holistic cradle-to-college and career approach , which includes coordinated participation from business and industry , government , community and educational partners .
It ’ s no secret in Washington state — you ’ re either a Husky or a Cougar — there ’ s little or no middle ground . How are you and the new Washington State University President Kirk Schulz breaking down the communication barrier for the betterment of both universities and the students you serve ?
While we might be rivals on the field , the truth is , after the final whistle sounds , Huskies , Cougars and the faculty and alumni of all of our state ’ s outstanding universities and colleges are united by a commitment to the well-being and prosperity of Washington . Before last year ’ s Apple Cup , for example , the UW and WSU boards held a joint meeting to hear about the collaborative clean energy research being conducted by professors from both institutions . And that ’ s just one example of the many partnerships that exist between faculty at the UW and those at our fellow Washington universities . This sort of collaboration is vital , because the grand challenges faced by our state , nation and world are too big for any one university to solve . Kirk and I are still developing our relationship , but I know he shares that view , and I ’ m looking forward to working with him to strengthen those partnerships . We ’ re also looking forward to working together with our state ’ s policymakers on investments in higher education that will ensure Washington ’ s continued growth . After all , you can ’ t make purple without red .
Education : Graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English and psychology from the University of Miami and a Ph . D . in psychology , with a concentration in child clinical and community psychology ,
Career : A member of the University of Washington faculty since 1986 , Cauce became interim president in March 2015 . The UW Board of Regents made the position official when they selected her to become the university ’ s 33rd president Oct . 13 , 2015 . She is the first woman and first Latina appointed to permanently head the state ’ s largest college .
Cauce has held numerous leadership positions , including director of the Honors Program , chair of American ethnic studies , chair of psychology , executive vice provost , dean of the College of Arts and Sciences , chief academic officer and provost . winter 2017 23