washington business
In Their Words
For the second time in a decade, both of Washington state’ s two research universities have new presidents this year: University of Washington President Robert J. Jones and Washington State University President Betsy Cantwell. And just as it did in 2016, AWB hosted the first joint appearance of these two presidents. Here is a condensed and lightly edited distillation of their talk in September with AWB President Kris Johnson at the 2025 Policy Summit in Spokane. betsy cantwell robert j. jones
What excited you about taking leadership of your university?
WSU President Betsy Cantwell: One is the WSU mark. It’ s one of the most incredible logos I’ ve ever seen the world over. Secondly, I spent the beginning part of my career at the Department of Energy’ s national labs. I worked with PNNL and Washington State University. I also have a chemical engineering graduate student daughter who’ s been here for three years or so. And I am a land grant nerd. There is a thread of history that is still meaningful today and meaningful into the future, and this is one of the most iconic land grant universities in the entire country.
UW President Robert J. Jones: When I left the University of Illinois after serving as the longest-serving chancellor in recent history, I wasn’ t quite ready to look into the light of retirement. Once I made that announcement, I got approached by probably 50, 60 % of the R1 university presidencies that were open, and I can tell you the only one I had a conversation with because of the nature of the place, its historic mission, and the impact and the values that it shares that are very close to my own values, and the impact in research and innovation, was the University of Washington— and they made an offer I couldn’ t refuse. I really became excited, because this is not my first rodeo, but it clearly will be my last rodeo.
Research has probably never been more important as we think about the big things facing our economy and employers today, and yet, as research institutions, it’ s a changing landscape. Tell me about the challenges and opportunities facing higher education in the state of Washington.
Cantwell: Three vectors of change are coming for us. The most important occurred before this federal administration took office: the incredible impact of the changes that technology is bringing our way. The second thing is the amount of doubt that is sowed in every American’ s mind about the value of higher education. So those two things were upon us anyway, and they are massive shift factors. Now we are also dealing with the undercutting of what I would call the traditional relationship
between the federal government and our research intensive public institutions. That is dissolving. What will it mean for us to work together differently in Washington? Do we convene directly with you all? Do we convene directly with one another? How do we fill in those gaps, some of which should have been gone long ago? It is probably a five- to seven-year moment where we will redefine what it means to be a researchintensive, valuable economic driver for the state of Washington.
Jones: The thing that keeps me up at night is the threat of dismantling a 100-year-old partnership between the federal government and research universities and all types of higher education institutions. That is the reason why this nation is the go-to place for innovation, and why students from around the world beat on the doors and do all kinds of extraordinary things in order to get a visa to come to this country to study. It will potentially be the most disruptive thing that’ s happened in this nation in a very long time, because that partnership between the federal government and universities is what has made this place the envy of the world.
20 association of washington business