EVERETT — It’s the top capital priority for Washington State University in the legislative session that starts today: A $61.1 million academic center in north Everett.
The four-story, 95,000-square-foot structure would be the new home for the University Center and a lasting, physical presence for WSU in the community.
“I think the building we’re planning is really going to be a gem in the community,” said Paul Pitre, dean of WSU North Puget Sound.
It would also serve as a concrete commitment for the community, which has been pursuing a four-year, research university for decades, said Bob Drewel, interim chancellor for WSU North Puget Sound.
“That transcends hope,” Drewel said. “That’s reality.”
Add on a $4.5 million request to expand programs in Everett and it makes for an important legislative session for both WSU and the region.
It will be a difficult session, because the Legislature is already looking for more money to pay for K-12 education, part of the demands of the McCleary decision.
Drewel said he understands that. He adds that the Legislature always has a demanding job finding money for competing priorities. But he said it would be folly to consider K-12 in isolation of higher education.
He also notes that the state made a commitment to Boeing in the process of placing the 777X in Everett to provide machinists, engineers and mechanics for the aerospace industry.
“That’s something that is very, very important,” Drewel said.
Gov. Jay Inslee put his support for the academic center in his budget where he set aside $54.6 million for building. Lawmakers in the Senate and House will release their versions in the session.
Everett has sought a university for years, first when lawmakers looked to place what would eventually become University of Washington Bothell.
More recently, city, county and state leaders thought the UW would build a branch campus somewhere in the county. But UW retreated amid infighting among civic leaders on a location and the feared cost of construction a new college.
In stepped WSU under the leadership of President Elson Floyd.
In 2012, the university started offering classes for a mechanical engineering degree through the University Center, a collaboration of public and private colleges based on the campus of Everett Community College.
This fall WSU launched bachelor’s degree programs in electrical engineering, communications and hospitality-business management.
For years, Everett Community College managed the consortium, which includes the University of Washington, Western Washington and Central Washington universities. On July 1, the community college transferred control to WSU.
Conversations for the new University Center building began in 2012. Last year, WSU received $10 million in state funding to design the facility, planned for a chunk of land that is now part of the parking lot at the College Plaza shopping center, near the corner of North Broadway and Tower Street.
In the upcoming legislative session, WSU is asking for $4.5 million to launch four new programs offering 10 majors. Those programs are aviation management and aviation maintenance management; data analytics; software engineering; and sustainable food systems.
Central Washington University already offers the aviation program at its campus in Ellensburg, but would expand to offer classes for up to 30 students in Everett. Data analytics and software engineering would offer choices for students seeking STEM courseloads. Sustainable food systems would dovetail with existing programs already being offered at Edmonds Community College and Skagit Valley College in Mount Vernon.
“I think people in the three county region should anticipate each and every program has substantial thought behind it,” Drewel said. “It has a purpose and a reason for its delivery.”
The University Center currently teaches about 400 students. If the new programs are added, the University Center would add another 100 or more, Pitre said.
And that’s part of the need for the new building. They’re already running into space issues in their borrowed home at the EvCC campus. The new building will include 12 classrooms and 10 laboratories. It will have a small space for a café and another area set aside for public gatherings.
It will be vital for the science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses the university intends to offer.
“I think the importance to WSU is the ability to have the types of facilities that we need to have to offer these top-notch engineering programs,” Pitre said.
If the Legislature approves the project, construction could start as soon as next year with an open date in 2017. Its location near EvCC’s new Advanced Manufacturing Education &Training Center is ideal. They’re also considering how the WSU North Puget Sound can grow into the future.
“We are looking at opportunities at this moment to go forward in that regard,” Drewel said.
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