SENATE BILL REPORT

SSB 5177

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Sponsors: Senate Committee on Higher Education & Workforce Development (originally sponsored by Senators Shin, Delvin, Kastama, King, Rockefeller, McAuliffe, Pridemore, Hobbs, Fraser, McDermott, Jarrett, Kilmer, Keiser, Hatfield and Roach).

Majority Report: That Substitute Senate Bill No. 5177 be substituted therefor, and the substitute bill do pass.

Signed by Senators Kilmer, Chair; Jarrett, Vice Chair; Becker, Ranking Minority Member; Hewitt, Jacobsen, Kastama, McAuliffe, Pflug, Shin and Stevens.

Background: The Henry M. Jackson School at the University of Washington (UW) combines the social sciences, humanities, and professional fields to forge disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches to the understanding of our increasingly interconnected globe. The Jackson School has eight National Resource Centers, which receive funding and designation from the U.S. Department of Education. These centers are devoted to outreach and public education activities for teachers, business people, and the general community. Each year the Jackson School sponsors dozens of conferences, colloquia, and seminars featuring the works of scholars, business people, and diplomats from around the world. The centers include an East Asia Center, a South Asia Center, and a Southeast Asian Center.

Summary of Substitute Bill: A Global Asia Institute is created within the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies. The mission of the institute is to promote the understanding of Asia and its interactions with Washington State and the world. The institute must host visiting scholars and policymakers, sponsor programs and learning initiatives, engage in collaborative research projects, and facilitate broader understanding and cooperation between the state of Washington and Asia through general public programs and targeted collaborations with specific communities in the state.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony: PRO: The National Resource Centers are competitive grants that are awarded on a three-year basis. The federal grants provide a piece of the funding for the centers. The Asia Institute would be separate from the centers, and it would be institutionalized at the Jackson School. The institute would use an interactive model of sending students abroad and bringing people from abroad to the school. We would like to use the center to integrate digital technology into the classroom; for example, we could use interactive video conferencing to regularly communicate with professors abroad. The center would provide a place to focus on important international policy issues, such as energy policy. If the Legislature creates the center, it would provide it with the legitimacy it needs to raise private funds to support itself.