saying that means getting rid of faculty and administrators who are “non-performers.” In terms of certain fields of study—which he didn’t single out by name—the UW needs to “stop deluding itself about which programs are good.” He balanced this critique out a bit later by giving the UW School of Medicine excellent marks, and pointing out the region’s potential to be the world leader in global health.
Anderson pushed hard for a different way to give the region more of an edge. At the K-12 education level, he proposed investing in pilot projects that would provide a computer with Internet access to every child. It would cost about $1,400 per student each year, compared with about $8,000 to $10,000 per student that is already invested in public education, he says. The technology itself isn’t the answer, but if used properly, it could unleash the creative talents of the brightest young minds in the region, rather than forcing them to plod along in outdated curricula, Anderson said. Maine is one state that has tried this, and seen significant gains in students’ writing ability, he said.
If done right, this investment would pay off, Anderson said. “Smart kids would get to go fast,” Anderson said.
Lazowska pounced on this observation, on how it wouldn’t play politically in this Lake Wobegon-like Northwest culture. “The issue is we are one big happy family in which everybody is doing extremely well,” he said, with a sarcastic edge. “Every company, every VC fund is above average.” Then, ironically, if any company actually has breakout success, the state’s political winds try to blow the company to pieces, bringing it back down a few pegs along with everybody else. “It’s like a game of whack-a-mole,” Lazowska said.
What the state needs is stronger leadership, that will to put a high priority on building up the technology industries. The state’s Department of Community, Trade, and Economic Development “would traditionally move heaven and earth to keep a sheet metal bender from moving out of Tukwila,” yet if Intel wants to set up a research center in the U District, “they’re nowhere to be found,” Lazowska said. He also expressed frustration with how he made a push in recent months to make changes to state policy improving access to broadband Internet—an effort that generated no response from the Governor’s office.
The luncheon had constructive ideas, and wasn’t a complete bitch session. What if university faculty chose graduate students based on their entrepreneurial fire and dreams, rather than overemphasizing test scores, said Susannah Malarkey, executive director of the Technology Alliance. What if undergraduates were exposed to inspiring, hands-on research, rather than getting bogged down in textbook learning, said Stanford University biologist Irving Weissman. (The UW College of Engineering is currently looking to double the number of undergraduates who get involved in research projects over the next four years for that very reason, said UW Engineering Dean Matt O’Donnell.)
Nobody delivered any five-point consensus plan at the end, but Lazowska closed with a hard question that people had to consider on their way out. “This is a region that has done relatively well, but there’s still a significant gap between us and the real leaders. What can we do to close the gaps?”
