Federal Way officials eye WSU branch campus

Published 4:56 pm Monday, June 29, 2015

Former University of Washington Husky Mayor Jim Ferrell hopes to attract his alma mater’s biggest rival to Federal Way.

“Yes, this old Husky is very interested in a relationship with the Cougars,” Ferrell laughed, noting city officials have had several conversations with Washington State University representatives about potentially locating a branch campus in downtown Federal Way.

Last year, the university’s late President Elson Floyd — who died on June 20 of complications from colon cancer — met with Ferrell to discuss the possibility.

“It was very flattering for President Floyd to fly out and to meet with me last fall here at City Hall about their interests and that’s actually what really took the discussions to a much different level,” Ferrell said.

However, those talks are still preliminary, he emphasized.

“Clearly, any conversation that we have with [Washington State University] at this stage is entirely preliminary and we would very much want to have a relationship with them and it’s our hope that in the future those conversations will continue,” Ferrell said. “I think any other conversations about what that looks like are very premature.”

He said city officials want to be “respectful and mindful” of the university’s loss and will re-approach school officials “when the timing seems right in the very near future.”

The city lowered its 60-foot-tall flagpole on 320th Street to half-staff on Friday to honor Floyd.

“President Floyd was just a truly great advocate, not only for WSU, but for higher education in the state of Washington,” he said. “For many people … he is the face of higher education in Washington state.”

Ferrell said Washington State University is seeking to expand its presence “exponentially” and a branch campus in Federal Way would add to that goal. The university is currently pursuing a medical school in Spokane and a branch campus in Bellevue.

“A south Puget Sound presence in Federal Way does seem to make a great deal of sense for it to be truly a university with multiple branch campuses,” he said. “We’re certainly interested in the dialogue and we’re going to continue to pursue that unless and until we get an indication that that’s not in the cards.”

City officials have also had conversations with representatives from Eastern Washington and Gonzaga universities. While Gonzaga is looking for more of a Seattle presence, the possibility of locating an Eastern Washington branch campus in Federal Way is still on the table, Ferrell said.

“The key thing is these talks are preliminary,” he said, adding that establishing a university downtown would be a “game-changer” for the city. “It’s a truly exciting thing for our community and I’m just so gratified that we have support from the council and [Councilwoman Kelly Maloney] has been a big help in this process and it really is about carving out what the future of our community looks like.”