A look back on Continuum’s achievements of 2024, including how we’re using our unique partnerships and programming to broaden perspectives and ensure the communities we serve attain the education they need to have a greater impact on the world.
BROADENING CAREER PATHWAYS FOR WASHINGTONIANS
Since 1912, UW Continuum College has provided people access and attainment in new and different ways. This year, we leaned deeper into that mission to provide new programming and focus outwardly on our community.
We moved most of our professional programs into an online learning format, enabling people living across the state of Washington to take these impactful programs. In addition, we formed partnerships with several units on campus, such as the UW Department of Bioengineering, Canadian Studies Center and Native American Law Center, to create programs that change the lives and perspectives of our students.
Our new advancement team is also doing phenomenal work, including nearly doubling the amount of money raised for our UW Certificate Scholarship program on Husky Giving Day compared to 2023. However, their work isn’t only about fundraising but also advancing our mission. As a part of our strategic vision this year, we set a new target for ourselves. By 2040, the state of Washington will have an equitable ecosystem of higher education for every resident in the state.
To accomplish this, we’ve started to reach out to the broader community in a different way. We held our first Continuum Convenes event, a hard-hitting conversation that looked at ourselves as a higher education institution. We determined we had more work to do to help everyone feel like they belong at the University of Washington. We must center our programs to include diverse perspectives and provide legitimate pathways for people to attain credentials that help advance their lives.
Our goals are big, and we can’t accomplish them alone. But helping people partner is what Continuum has done throughout our existence. We know how to bring units within the UW together and how to bring community partners together to collaborate effectively with the UW, and it has become part of the forefront of where we’re moving today.
Rovy F. Branon III
Vice Provost, University of Washington
Continuum College