How many times a day do you hear the word global?   
Global trade. Global health.  Global competition.  Global warming.   We’re 
inundated with messages and stories…on the radio, on the television, through the 
internet, in our newspapers about global affairs. 

It’s in this context that the UW must prepare our students to take their place as 
world leaders.

We must enable our scientists to help solve the problems of global health and 
global warming.  And we must strive to be leaders in developing public policy 
and economic strategies to support Washington’s place in the world economy.

In fact, we are an epicenter for Global Health… through a very generous gift from 
the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, support from our State Legislature and 
partnerships with PATH, the Fred Hutch and our department of Global Health.  
At the University of Washington we, as an institution and as individuals, are 
passionate about making the world – the whole world – a better place.. through 
discovery and learning. 

Here in the Evans School of Public Affairs, 10 administrators from around the 
world come together each year for an intensive program of graduate study.

These mid-career public professionals learn from leading scholars and take that 
knowledge back to their home country. 

Right now we’re here at the Parrington Forum, where we have several of our 
Hubert Humphrey scholars consulting with their faculty advisors… something 
they do frequently during the year that they are here with us at the University of 
Washington. 

Another master’s program at the UW lets students pursue their interests in global 
health, international forestry or public affairs…culminating in two years of 
service with the Peace Corps.


This year, the University of Washington has more student in the Peace Corps than 
any other American University.  Every day we have students and faculty in all 
parts of the world learning and teaching.  

Engineering students and faculty take part in a direct exchange with Sichuan 
University in China called UW Worldwide.

This program combines study in China with hosting Sichuan students in Seattle.

Students in the Comparative History of Ideas program study race, culture and 
community in South Africa, Mexico and India… and emerging parts of Europe.

Students and faculty from Forest Resources study in one of the most untouched 
forest ecosystems in the World, located in Costa Rica.

And, there’s our wonderful Rome Center, where programs in the arts and 
humanities take place every quarter.

But we are also global citizens at home.

UW Educational Outreach teaches English as a second language to over 400 
incoming students each quarter.

Our business students compete in a Global Business challenge annually against 
teams from around the world.


International Programs and Exchanges… travel medicine at Hall Health… and 
computing and communications, among many others, make it possible for our 
faculty and students to take on the challenges of world travel and living abroad. 

So, the University of Washington is uniquely positioned to be able to tackle the 
most complex problems in global health, global warming, global competition.  
We have the most qualified and dedicated staff and faculty to be able to take this 
on.  

Thank you all for making this happen!

It’s been wonderful hearing from you over the last two months, 
and so once again, we’d like to hear your thoughts on what it means to be world 
citizens… and how your role relates to being global.  You’ll find a message board 
where you can share your thoughts at Washington.edu/discovery

And, I’ll see you again next month