UW Regents address budgeting, student concerns, pro-Palestinian protests, and climate policy concerns

The UW Board of Regents (BOR) hosted a regular meeting May 8 to discuss a number of budget and fund-related proceedings and issues including the UW Center for Behavioral Learning and Health, the 2026 fiscal year capital budget, and student services and activities fees (SAF). 

The BOR gathered to review budget proposals, student leadership updates, and discuss long-term strategies to help the university succeed. While discussions inside Allen Library focused on capital projects and financial planning, demonstrators outside protested the university’s ties to Boeing due to the company’s relationship with the Israeli military and criticized the university’s use of force and cooperation with the federal government.

The meeting commenced at 1 p.m. as the BOR voted unanimously to honor the life of Frank Chopp, former representative of Washington state’s 43rd Legislative District, by renaming the UW Center for Behavioral Health and Learning to the “Frank Chopp Center for Behavioral Health and Learning.” Chopp holds the record for the longest tenure as speaker of the Washington state House of Representatives, serving from 2002 to 2019.

“Frank … has always been an outstanding partner for UW Medicine, and in particular, always pushed us,” Dr. Tim Dellit, CEO of UW Medicine said. “And for that, we are incredibly grateful, and on behalf of UW Medicine, very very excited to have the Center for Behavioral Health now named after Frank Chopp.”

After the dedication, Board Chair Blaine Tamaki responded to recent scrutiny leveled against colleges as legitimate institutions by noting the strengths of public universities in disseminating knowledge and information. Additionally, he emphasized the role of universities in leveling the playing field for economic and gender equity. However, he conceded that the university’s lack of political and ideological diversity is a weakness.

“I think the university is the system, the infrastructure, that has created any exceptionalism that America has,” Tamaki said. “All of our leaders are products of some type of college or university training. I believe that our university system is the envy of the world.”

ASUW Seattle President Naomi Snow and ASUW Tacoma President Holly Wetzel spoke on behalf of their respective student bodies regarding their successes and shortcomings of the 2024-2025 academic year. 

Snow addressed the $230,000 ASUW budget shortfall concerning internal spending budgets and projected staff allocation with the board. ASUW made “difficult but necessary” cuts across their organization, according to Snow, who concluded by commending Nandana Jaideep, next academic year’s ASUW president. 

“Leadership is a relay race, not a sprint, and sometimes it takes hard decisions to ensure the organization’s long-term stability,” Snow said. “But overall, our spring quarter has been going great and been especially active in terms of programming and student outreach.”. 

The meeting continued with the BOR thanking Snow for her remarks, moving to discussions regarding UW Medicine, funding, and allocations regarding the Climate Commitment Act and UW’’s role as the third highest carbon emitter in the state. 

UW President Ana Mari Cauce briefly addressed recent events concerning the pro-Palestinian protest and occupation of the Interdisciplinary Engineering Building and damages to the building.

“I think peaceful protest is very much part of what we need to accept,” Cauce said. “But this morning, the SUPER group actually put out a statement saying they believe in escalation … They basically say it was not peaceful. They say more than peaceful demonstrations are justified. So at this point, there is no argument about whether it was a peaceful protest.”

The BOR expressed their full support of her public comments and reaction regarding the incident. 

“We support our president and all of her actions that she took,” Tamaki said. “We support any and all punishments that the law permits against the violators.”. 

The next BOR meeting will be held June 11, when issues will be reevaluated and remedied before the close of the academic year. 

Reach statewide politics beat writer Ella Goulet and national politics beat writer Ben Jaudon at news@dailyuw.com. X: @ella_goulet and @benjaudon. Bluesky: @benjaudon.bsky.social

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