WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

You gotta fight, for your right, to stuuuudy!

Green Apple on BooksYesterday, at the University of Washington,  Rep. Eric Pettigrew, D-Seattle, along with UW Regent Herb Simon and UW Alumni President-Elect Mike Egan spoke at a conference for Public Higher Education Legislative Advocacy Professionals. The panel was on effective higher ed legislative advocacy.

The attendees were government affairs representatives from universities all over the country: Illinois, South Dakota, California, Florida, and many more states.  Rep. Pettigrew, in his OSU orange and black gave a shout-out to all the Beavers in the room.  As he came in, Courtney Acitelli from UW Impact joked that she told everyone beforehand they would be able to tell which panelist was the ex football player!

Each panelist spoke about his experience with the state legislature and in the higher ed community.

Regent Simon discussed the lunch this last legislative session in which he was able to gather 32 university regents from across the state to come to Olympia on a single day.  Many representatives and senators came by and were able to chat with the regents about issues important to them.

UWAA President-Elect Egan talked about how important it is for the higher ed community to come together, reach consensus and advocated for higher ed as a unit, both two and four year institutions.

Students Doing HomeworkRep. Pettigrew emphasized that he felt personal relationships were above all the most effective advocacy tool. But don’t be intimidated or afraid of them, he said.  Legislators are people just like the rest of us: their kids get up late, they need to pay bills, mow the lawn and make doctors appointments.  Connect and relate to legislators as people.

Legislative sessions are so short, there are thousands of bills to read, and there is more information flying about than one can possibly absorb.  So legislators must rely on trusted advocates when they need to make quick decisions.  These relationships are built over time. Rep. Pettigrew also spoke about the need for universities to be more visible in the community, doing work outside the campus and ensuring legislators are aware of it.

There were many comments from the audience about what their universities are doing to effectively advocate for higher ed: from holding different lobby days for each type of alumni (corporate, non-profit, business), to keeping track of alumni who work at the legislatures.  Many creative ideas were tossed around.

In closing, Rep. Pettigrew, who grew up in poverty stricken South Central LA discussed what an incredible impact higher ed has had on his life.  He was the first in his family to graduate from college, and when he entered he didn’t know how to study, what a syllabus was or if he could talk to a professor.  Graduating from college changed the trajectory of his life.  Now he is successful and can pass his skills and knowledge on to his children, and hopefully them to their children.