WSU Tri-Cities

$25 Million

As part of The Campaign for Washington State University, WSU Tri-Cities has launched a $25 million effort focused on attaining a 10-year vision for the campus developed in partnership with employers from throughout the region and with members of the Tri-Cities community. Two key initiatives, Signature 2020 and Destination 5000, will result in a highly leveraged alliance of industry, community and the WSU Tri-Cities campus to produce industry-ready graduates and develop research technologies to help drive the area’s regional and national competitiveness.

SIGNATURE 2020

WSU Tri-Cities has the distinction of being one of the few university campuses in the country immediately adjacent to a national laboratory and some of the world’s largest engineering firms and globally competitive businesses.

Our future direction is to work in partnership with industry to build signature programs supported by funded research in key areas aligned with regional and national economic priorities. Building upon the success of our partnership with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in the Bioproducts, Engineering and Sciences Laboratory (BSEL) and the region’s growth as the Pacific Northwest hub for energy and the environment, key goals within this initiative include:

• Hire research faculty to build integrated, interdisciplinary programs, research opportunities, and cross-cutting degrees unique to the campus;

• Create signature programs in sciences and engineering, with a focus on sustainable energy, wine science, and K-12 stem education and outreach;

• Triple the number of industry-ready STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) graduates to more than 300 per year;

• Position the engineering programs at WSU Tri-Cities for independent accreditation;

• Dramatically increase graduate student and faculty research on global priorities to support regional economic development initiatives;

• Serve as a nexus for research and education in viticulture and enology in a new 45,000 sq. ft. Wine Science Center at WSU Tri-Cities, supporting the international growth of Washington’s wine industry.

DESTINATION 5000

As the fastest growing and most diverse campus in the WSU system, WSU Tri-Cities also is committed to building student life and campus amenities to support a projected student body of 5,000. Our priorities include:

• Securing federal designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution (H.S.I.), which would make WSU Tri-Cities the only public four-year institution in Washington with this designation.

• Building scholarships to match student demand, while further supporting recruitment and retention goals;

• Expanding our internship partnerships with regional employers to provide year-round experiential learning for all students during their college experience.