Logo for InfluenceWatch InfluenceWatch

Donate
Non-profit

University of Washington, Seattle

Website:

washington.edu
Tax ID:

91-6001537
Tax-Exempt Status:

501(c)(3)

Type:

State-funded Research University
Formation:

1861
President:

Robert J. Jones

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

University of Washington, Seattle (UW or UW Seattle) is the primary campus of the University of Washington system. It is a large and well-funded public research university. UW maintains an extensive diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) bureaucracy that has come under pressure from the Trump administration‘s executive orders targeting DEI programs at institutions receiving federal funding. As the nation’s top public university recipient of federal research funding, UW faces significant exposure to these federal directives. 1  2  3  4

The university has been wracked by protests and allegations of antisemitism in the wake of the terror group Hamas’s attacks against Israel on October 7, 2023. Anti-Israel demonstrators constructed an encampment in spring 2024. In spring 2025, UW suffered over $1 million in damage to a new building that had been partially funded by Boeing after pro-Palestinian protestors stormed the building and began to vandalize it. In January of 2026 the school agreed to resolve civil rights complaints against it with the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) regarding allegations of antisemitism on campus and a failure to properly address antisemitic incidents. 5  6  7

Founding and History

The University of Washington was founded in 1861 as the Territorial University of Washington before Washington achieved statehood. However, it did not confer a college degree until 1876. By 1898, only 71 bachelor’s degrees had been awarded. The school periodically shut down and went through 10 presidents by 1895. In 1873, the territorial governor stated that “It can hardly be said that we have a University [sic] except in name.” 8

The university’s fortunes changed in 1895 following Washington statehood when the school moved locations as the result of a land grant that established the school’s future on more secure footing that led to steady growth and expansion in the ensuing decades. The university would open its medical school in 1946 and its two branch campuses, located in Bothell and Tacoma, in 1990. 9  10  11

Financials

In the fiscal year ending June 30, 2025, the University of Washington reported $8,134,786,000 in revenue, of which $3,335,185,000 was derived from health care-related services tied to the medical school, $1,203,035,000 from student tuition and fees, and $1,380,258,000 in federal grants and contracts. The school has noted that it receives the most federal research funding of any public university in the country as of 2024. 12  4

The school reported $8,933,097,000 in expenses, with $4,486,934,000 in salary expenses, $1,048,315,000 in benefit costs, $1,047,232,000 in supplies and material costs, and $1,236,156,000 in purchased services. 12

The school reported an operating loss of $798,311,000, but this was before $1,861,932,000 in net nonoperating revenues were factored in. The school’s net assets increased by $1,345,527,000 and it ended the year with $11,667,694,000 in net assets total. 12

Ratings for Campus Climate

Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) evaluates university speech policies and surveys students on the campus speech climate. FIRE has assigned the University of Washington a “red light” speech code rating, the most severe designation, indicating the university maintains at least one policy that seriously restricts free speech. The specific policy flagged was Executive Order No. 31 on nondiscrimination and affirmative action, which FIRE identifies as a harassment policy that grants administrators broad authority to discipline “any conduct that is deemed unacceptable or inappropriate,” a standard FIRE considers vague and subject to abuse. 13

Separately, FIRE conducts annual “College Free Speech Rankings based on surveys of enrolled students. In its 2026 rankings, which surveyed 68,510 students at 257 colleges and universities, the University of Washington ranked 254th out of 257, placing it in the bottom five nationally. The university received a grade of F for its speech climate. 14  15

American Council of Trustees and Alumni

The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) evaluates universities annually in its “What Will They Learn?” report, grading institutions on the strength of their core curriculum. ACTA examines seven core subjects: composition, literature, foreign language, U.S. government, economics, mathematics, and science. It then assigns grades based on how many of these subjects all undergraduates are required to study. As of February 2025, the University of Washington, Seattle received an F rating, as it does not require students to study any of the seven core subjects that make up the rating. 16

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The University of Washington maintains an extensive diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) bureaucracy. The primary administrative office overseeing DEI is the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity (OMA&D), which was established in 1970 following a 1968 sit-in by members of the Black Student Union demanding increased minority enrollment, minority faculty, and a black studies program. The office is as of 2026 led by Rickey Hall as vice president for minority affairs and diversity and the university’s diversity officer. OMA&D operates numerous programs including outreach to K-12 students across Washington state, academic support services, scholarship funding, and identity-based student advising. 1  17

In 2022 the university launched a comprehensive 2022-2026 Diversity Blueprint, a five-year plan that requires every academic and administrative unit to develop individual DEI plans aligned with university-wide goals. The university also operates a Q Center for LGBT students, identity-based student resource centers, and a Leadership Without Borders program for illegal-immigrant students. A university-wide diversity requirement mandates that all undergraduates complete diversity-themed coursework. 18  19

Dating back to 1995, the UW faculty senate passed a resolution urging that all departments create more courses that incorporate thinking about diversity. The school pays a full-time staff member to add diversity into courses and funds an annual seminar for creating new diversity-focused courses. 2

The university’s DEI programs have come under significant pressure from the second Trump administration. President Donald Trump‘s executive orders signed in January 2025, particularly Executive Order 14151 titled “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” require federal contractors and grantees to certify that they do not operate DEI programs that violate federal anti-discrimination law. UW receives more federal research funding than any other public university, with $1.73 billion in federal research awards in fiscal year 2024, which makes the possible cost of defying this decision especially high. 20  4

As of March 2026, the school has openly maintained its DEI programs by name, without attempting to rename departments and positions. When the Department of Education issued a “dear colleague” letter in February 2025 that ordered schools that receive federal funding to end the use of racial preferences, the UW administration stated that it would not take any preemptive action to change its policies and would await further federal guidelines. 21  1

In February 2025, UW’s incoming new incoming president, Robert J. Jones stated that under his leadership the school would not change its values, but might need to alter the language it uses. 22

In March 2025, UW was informed by the federal government that it was being investigated for violating the new rules regarding DEI. As of March 2026, various lawsuits are ongoing over the new rules and their funding implications, and the school states that it is closely monitoring the situation. 3  23

Pro-Palestinian Protests and Antisemitism

The University of Washington experienced sustained and escalating disruption following the October 7, 2023 attacks by the Hamas terror organization against Israel. Pro-Palestinian protests at UW began almost immediately after the attacks, with a vigil held by Students Supporting Israel on October 10 and a counter-rally by Students United for Palestinian Equality & Return (SUPER UW) two days later. Of note, a UW alum, Hayim Katsman, who had received his doctorate from the school, was killed in the attacks. The administration was also criticized by attendees of the pro-Israel rally for being too ambiguous in its condemnation of the Hamas attacks.  24  25  26

In April 2024 a coalition of student and community organizations called the United Front for Palestinian Liberation established a large encampment on UW’s central quad beginning April 29. The encampment organizers demanded that the university divest from Israel, end study abroad programs in Israel, cut all ties with Boeing, and end the alleged repression of pro-Palestinian students and faculty, which would include amnesty for the protestors. The encampment grew to approximately 150 tents. 27

The encampment disbanded voluntarily on May 20, 2024, following a negotiated resolution. The university agreed to follow its established Board of Regents process for considering divestment requests, to convene a military-industrial and labor task force, to provide representation on a divestment committee, and to create a Center for Scholarship of Palestine. The university also agreed not to pursue citations or conduct violations for participants who had simply camped on the quad and committed to following its non-retaliation policy. 28  5

A second major confrontation occurred on May 5, 2025. A group called SUPER UW, which had been suspended by the school, organized an occupation of UW’s newly opened Interdisciplinary Engineering Building, which had been partially funded by Boeing. Protesters barricaded entrances with furniture, set fire to two dumpsters outside the building, and vandalized the facility by defacing a Boeing mural, pulling doors off hinges, and destroying fabrication equipment. Damages were estimated at over $1 million. Police from multiple agencies cleared the building and made approximately 34 arrests. 29   6

UW was investigated by the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) beginning in November 2023 over allegations the campus was a hostile environment for Jewish students. Then, in October 2024 the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law filed another Title VI complaint against the school alleging that UW had failed to take proper action in the wake of antisemitic incidents. In January of 2026 the university entered into a voluntary resolution agreement with the OCR that required campu-swide civil rights training going forward. 30  7

Leadership

Robert J. Jones became president of the University of Washington on August 1, 2025. After being hired in early 2025, Jones stated that under his leadership the school would not change its values in response to the federal crackdown on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programming, but that it might need to change the language it uses to remain compliant with federal rules. 22

References

  1. “Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity.” University of Washington. Accessed March 19, 2026. https://www.washington.edu/omad/
  2. “Section IX: Diversity in Curriculum.” University of Washington Diversity Appraisal Report. University of Washington. Accessed March 19, 2026. https://www.washington.edu/diversity/appraisal-process/sec-ix-diversity-in-curriculum/
  3. Hua, Vee. “News Gleams: Federal Government Investigates UW for Alleged DEI Violations.” South Seattle Emerald, March 17, 2025. Accessed March 19, 2026. https://southseattleemerald.org/news/2025/03/17/news-gleams-federal-government-investigates-uw-for-alleged-dei-violations
  4. “About the UW.” University of Washington. Accessed March 19, 2026. https://www.washington.edu/about/
  5. Blankinship, Donna Gordon. “UW Student Encampment to Disband Following Deal with University.” Cascade PBS, May 17, 2024. Accessed March 19, 2026. https://www.cascadepbs.org/news/2024/05/uw-student-encampment-disband-following-deal-university/
  6. Andre, Drew, Johns, Jake. “33 Charged with Trespassing in 2025 Occupation of UW Engineering Building.” KING 5 News, March 2026. Accessed March 19, 2026. https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/33-charged-trespassing-2025-occupation-uw/281-5ca2001e-30a6-4d1f-a875-a8f5b92ed93b
  7. Dornfeld, Ann. “UW Requires Civil Rights Training After Federal Antisemitism Probe.” KUOW, January 30, 2026. Accessed March 19, 2026. https://www.kuow.org/stories/uw-requires-civil-rights-training-after-federal-antisemitism-probe
  8. “The University of Washington’s Early Years.” University of Washington Special Collections. Archived November 16, 2025. Accessed March 19, 2026. https://web.archive.org/web/20251116005554/https://lib.uw.edu/specialcollections/collections/exhibits/site/early/
  9. Griffin, Tom. “100 Years on Montlake: How the UW Campus Has Evolved.” UW Magazine, September 1995. Accessed March 19, 2026. https://magazine.washington.edu/feature/100-years-on-montlake-how-the-uw-campus-has-evolved/
  10. Wilma, David. “University of Washington Opens Its Medical School on October 2, 1946.” HistoryLink.org. June 4, 2001. Accessed March 19, 2026. https://www.historylink.org/File/3332
  11. Columns Staff. “UW Branches Set to Open at Two Sites.” UW Magazine, September 1, 1990. Accessed March 19, 2026. https://magazine.washington.edu/uw-branches-set-to-open-at-two-sites/
  12. 2025 Financial Report. Seattle: University of Washington, 2025. Accessed March 19, 2026. https://finance.uw.edu/uwar/annualreport2025.pdf
  13. “University of Washington.” Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. Last updated May 10, 2025. Accessed March 19, 2026. https://www.thefire.org/colleges/university-washington
  14. https://www.fire.org/research-learn/2026-college-free-speech-rankings “2026 College Free Speech Rankings.” Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. September 2025. Accessed March 19, 2026. https://www.fire.org/research-learn/2026-college-free-speech-rankings
  15. “Washington State Overview.” College Free Speech Rankings. Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. 2026. Accessed March 19, 2026. https://rankings.fire.org/state/washington?demo=all&year=2025
  16. “What Will They Learn? University of Washington — Seattle.” American Council of Trustees and Alumni. Curriculum last evaluated February 10, 2025. Accessed March 19, 2026. https://www.whatwilltheylearn.com/schools/2728
  17. “University Diversity Officer.” University of Washington. Accessed March 19, 2026. https://www.washington.edu/diversity/cdo/
  18. “Diversity Blueprint.” University of Washington. Accessed March 19, 2026. https://www.washington.edu/diversity/diversity-blueprint/
  19. “Diversity Requirements.” University of Washington Advising. Accessed March 19, 2026. https://advising.uw.edu/degree-overview/general-education/diversity/
  20. Trump, Donald J. Executive Order 14151, “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing.” The White House, January 20, 2025. Accessed March 19, 2026. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/ending-radical-and-wasteful-government-dei-programs-and-preferencing/
  21. Andre, Drew. “Western Washington Universities Respond to White House Ultimatum on DEI Programs.” KING 5 News, 2025. Accessed March 19, 2026. https://www.king5.com/article/news/education/western-washington-universities-dei-programs/281-73bc4037-d5f7-4c5d-bd44-07d3d592730e
  22. West, Sami. “Incoming UW President Promises Continued Focus on DEI, Despite Trump’s Threats.” KUOW, February 7, 2025. Accessed March 19, 2026. https://www.kuow.org/stories/incoming-uw-president-promises-continued-focus-on-dei-despite-trump-s-threats
  23. “Federal Policy Updates — Feb. 18, 2026.” University of Washington Office of the Provost, February 18, 2026. Accessed March 19, 2026. https://www.washington.edu/provost/2026/02/18/federal-policy-updates-feb-18-2026/
  24. Schwarzwalder, Sofia. “Candlelight Vigil Hosted by Students Supporting Israel.” The Daily (University of Washington), October 10, 2023. Accessed March 19, 2026. https://www.dailyuw.com/news/candlelight-vigil-hosted-by-students-supporting-israel/article_759006f8-67fd-11ee-99a3-bb96a4d521ac.html
  25. Beekman, Daniel. “UW Alum Among Those Killed in Israel by Hamas.” The Seattle Times, October 9, 2023. Accessed March 19, 2026. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/uw-alum-among-those-killed-in-israel-by-hamas/
  26. Schwarzwalder, Sofia. “SUPER UW Holds ‘Day of Resistance’ Rally for Palestine in Red Square.” The Daily (University of Washington), October 12, 2023. Accessed March 19, 2026. https://www.dailyuw.com/article/463ead40-696b-11ee-8da9-d392046dc974
  27. Deng, Grace. “What’s Happening with the Pro-Palestinian Protests at the University of Washington?” Washington State Standard, May 10, 2024. Accessed March 19, 2026. https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2024/05/10/whats-happening-with-the-pro-palestinian-protests-at-the-university-of-washington/
  28. Cauce, Ana Mari. “Resolution to the Encampment in the Quad.” University of Washington Office of the President, May 17, 2024. Archived May 18, 2024. Accessed March 19, 2026. https://web.archive.org/web/20240518015137/https://www.washington.edu/president/2024/05/17/encampment-resolution/
  29. Park, Hanna, and Martin Goillandeau. “Dozens Arrested After Pro-Palestinian Protesters Occupy University of Washington Building.” CNN, May 6, 2025. Accessed March 19, 2026. https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/06/us/university-of-washington-protest-arrests-pro-palestinian-hnk
  30. “University of Washington.” 2025 Campus Antisemitism Report Card. Anti-Defamation League. March 2025. Accessed March 19, 2026. https://www.adl.org/campus-antisemitism-report-card/university-washington
  See an error? Let us know!