State Rep. Gerry Pollet has worked diligently — both to help citizens fund pursuit of appropriate graduate degrees for public-service careers, and to help improve the way Washington appropriates funding for public colleges and universities.
And for his labors, the University of Washington Graduate and Professional Student Senate (GPSS) just recently named Pollet the recipient of the organization’s “2013 Legislator of the Year” award. Pollet received the award in a UW GPSS ceremony last night, May 22.
“I’m very honored to receive this award,” he said. “And I’m looking very forward to continued work with the outstanding graduate and professional students who are such dedicated members of the GPSS legislative team.”
Pollet worked with UW graduate students to draft House Bill 1669, which is aimed at restoring access to Washington students seeking to pursue public-service careers following cost increases of $8,000 to $15,000 a year. Many public-service careers require a graduate degree, such as positions in public health, nursing, and librarianship. The measure passed the full House and the Senate Higher Education Committee. It was the very next bill up on the Senate calendar for floor action when a legislative deadline stalled further consideration of the measure until the 2014 session.
Pollet has also introduced legislation to hold down undergraduate tuition, which has doubled to as much as 20 percent of median household income at the UW. Further, he has championed legislation to close tax breaks and redirect those funds to K-12 and higher education.
“We have miles to go in meeting our responsibility to make it affordable for Washington men and women to pursue and earn a higher education,” said Pollet. “It’s imperative that we continue to reinvest in our colleges and universities.”
Melanie Mayock is Vice President of the Graduate and Professional Student Senate at the university. She said in a congratulatory message to Pollet that the Seattle legislator has “gone above and beyond the call of duty to stand up for graduate and professional students this year.”
Specifically, Mayock cited the House Higher Education Committee vice chair’s prime-sponsorship of a proposal:
- Requiring public colleges to provide notification to students before the schools change a degree program that is supported by state funding to a self-supporting, fee-based program.
- Requiring the establishment or designation of a committee to evaluate a proposed shift from a state-funded degree program to a self-supporting, fee-based program.
“We also appreciate your legislation to provide funding sources for higher education, Mayock added, “as well as your accessibility and responsiveness toward students.”
Pollet today reaffirmed his strong and continuing support for higher education, and access to higher education in particular.
“HB 1669 is a result of collaboration with the Graduate and Professional Student Senate and graduate students who wanted to ensure that access is restored for future students,” Pollet said. “Without notice, tuition hikes as high as $14,000 hit graduate students enrolled in programs for public-service careers — such as public-health workers, for instance, as well as librarians, nurse-midwives, and other folks.”
Washington state ranks 49th in state-support for higher education. In addition to faculty salaries not being competitive enough to attract and retain top educators, many graduate-student positions and support services have been cut, and many fees have been hiked. Without access to top-quality graduate students, top faculty frequently look elsewhere for positions in order to pursue research. Pollet said that reliance on graduate students to teach undergraduates has also grown dramatically during the spate of state cutbacks.