GOVERNOR'S 2000-2001 BUDGET PROVIDES FOR POSSIBLE EXPANDED ROLE FOR WSU
AT SPOKANE INTERCOLLEGIATE RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY INSTITUTE
Gov. Gary Locke has earmarked $600,000 in new WSU health sciences research and commercialization at the Spokane Intercollegiate Research and Technology Institute (SIRTI.) The proposal could lead to additional cancer research and clinical trials at SIRTI and increased WSU efforts to promote biotechnology firms and additional "commercialization" activities in Spokane. Funding would result in recruitment of an outstanding faculty member in manipulation of processes that influence cancer growth and metastases, and the assistants to support the research. It would position the Riverpoint campus and the Spokane Medical Community to assist in efforts by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and others working in the Pacific Northwest. It would also provide funds for a Spokane biotechnology coordinator. In addition to the request, WSU is considering other programs for SIRTI. Examples under consideration include surgical device development, reproduction technologies, early detection of coronary artery disease, and others.
WSU has been very supportive of the governor's proposal, which is perhaps the first step toward realizing the Higher Education Coordinating Board's 1998 goal that the Spokane Riverpoint Campus have a substantial university research component. The $600,000 proposal was the research portion of a WSU Health Sciences Initiative for Spokane that originally was not tied directly to SIRTI. But the governor's budget staff encouraged WSU and the SIRTI board to begin talks on how they could link this budget request with expanded programs for SIRTI. SIRTI is housed in its own 51,516 square-foot, four-story, state building completed in 1994 at a cost of $11 million. Initially, WSU led efforts to develop and design the building but the project was eventually turned over by the Legislature to a consortium. Today, SIRTI has 20 state employees that operate and maintain the building on an annual budget of about $1.8 million provided through the state Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development. CTED is responsible for monitoring the performance of SIRTI. WSU is legally designated as the "senior research partner" at SIRTI (RCW 28B.38.030) and is under contract to perform state accounting functions. WSU also provides custodial, maintenance, and landscape services to SIRTI. WSU's provost is one of 17 members of the Board of Directors that governs SIRTI programs. It is one of seven higher education institutions represented on the governing board. The governor's proposal closely followed some principles agreed to by WSU administrators and SIRTI board members just prior to the announcement of the governor's budget. However, the governor requires that talks continue between WSU administrators and the Institute's Board of Directors and lead to a detailed plan on governance of SIRTI and organization of its programs. The governor took nearly three-fourths of a page in his budget to stipulate that the $600,000, plus another $425,000 for SIRTI, would be released only after receipt of a plan, by April 15, that meets these requirements:
A) SIRTI and the university must outline how they will work together to fulfill SIRTI's mission that includes, research, development of venture capital, and commercialization of digital, environmental and biotechnologies. SIRTI and WSU have reached agreement on this basic mission for SIRTI.
B) SIRTI and the university must describe exactly how a SIRTI, with an increased WSU program presence, might be governed. WSU has agreed that SIRTI should be governed by a local board. However, there is no agreement yet on the membership of the board and other key details.
C) There must be a plan for establishing WSU programs in SIRTI.
D) Strategies for strengthening higher education collaboration.
E) Strategies for securing funding from non-state sources.
F) Full and efficient use of space and budget
G) Reducing the need for state funding of administrative, operating and program management costs.
Discussions about an expanded research role for WSU were prompted when SIRTI requested $850,000 in supplemental budget to continue its current operations. Also, WSU requested 1.1 million dollars for its Health Sciences Initiative at least in part, because of an expiring federal grant to SIRTI. The second week of the legislative session will begin with a hearing on SIRTI in front of the House Higher Education Committee, co-chaired by Rep. Don Carlson, D-Vancouver, and Rep. Phyllis Kenney, D-Seattle. President Sam Smith, SIRTI officials, and representatives from other Spokane institutions and businesses have been invited to testify at the hearing. If WSU and the SIRTI board agree to a plan for the institute, that may emerge as the leading proposal for SIRTI. But there are other options being considered. Some are suggesting that the Washington Technology Center, which currently leads some applied research efforts of the University of Washington and WSU, could play a key role in a reorganized SIRTI structure.
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