In February, pro-Palestinian students launched an email campaign to demand that the university condemn the Israeli occupation, materially divest from the state of Israel, and cut ties with war profiteer Boeing. In response, Ana Mari Cauce sent this email, revealing her apathy toward the genocide in Gaza, the occupation of Palestine, and anything that isn’t directly tied to UW profits.

Dear Student,

All of us in the UW’s leadership share with you the pain at the heartbreaking loss of civilian life in Gaza since the terror attack on Israeli civilians on October 7. We join you in hoping for a swift resolution to the conflict. However, while our University of Washington community can and does contribute to a more just and peaceful society in many ways, we do not play a direct role in U.S. foreign policy. When you disagree with these policies and want to see them changed we encourage you to direct your energies toward creating impact through legislative channels.

Our University has a longstanding and deep commitment to free speech and academic freedom. As such, we welcome diversity of opinions amongst our faculty, staff and students. This includes supporting our faculty in investigating, teaching and discussing difficult and contested issues in their areas of academic expertise. We consider the free exchange of ideas as critical to learning and discovery and a hallmark of a liberal education. As a university committed to learning and open dialogue, this year we are offering our community an opportunity to learn more about the conflict from our faculty and invited speakers with deep expertise from a range of disciplines in a lecture series, “War in the Middle east,” being put on by the Jackson School of International Studies. Speakers represent a range of perspectives and lived experiences.

We also support our students in choosing what study abroad and internship experiences to pursue as long as they are academically sound. Currently, our Office of Global Affairs does not sponsor any study abroad programs in Israel because of safety concerns, but we assume they will resume once that is no longer an issue. While we do encourage our students to study abroad, we present them with a range of choices so that they can make the decisions that make the most sense for them personally and academically. We do not have any scholarships funded through endowments, grants or state- or tuition-funded scholarships that are exclusively for study abroad in Israel. We do have grants focused on Jewish studies that can be used for study in Israel, but these scholarships can also be used in an array of other countries. There are, of course, other study abroad or foreign travel programs or scholarship opportunities, including ones in Israel, that are available to our students, and to students at other universities, through a host of programs outside of the university. 

Our University has had a strong partnership with Boeing for more than a hundred years, and the company has provided funding for a range of valued projects, including scholarship funds for our students, research funds for our faculty, and support for important capital projects. We value our partnership with Boeing and count many alumni among its employees. Boeing’s support for the UW in time, talent and funding cannot be replaced by other endowment sources, nor would we choose to sever our relationship if they could be. As a government contractor, Boeing’s business is tied directly to providing equipment – including weapons – to protect the safety of our nation and our nation’s allies according to policies set by of our democratically elected representatives. If you object to the sale of weapons to any specific country, you should address your concerns to the legislators who develop these policies.

At the core of our decision-making on the issues detailed in your letter is our respect for the individual rights of members of our community. We do not intend to curtail the right of our students to engage in study abroad in countries they chose for political reasons or that of our faculty to teach or make presentations in areas where they have expertise or to invite other academic speakers to make relevant presentations in their classes. Nor do we intend to cut ties with Boeing, a long-standing and valued partner to our University. By the same token, we will never require that any of our students or faculty engage in activities in or with Israel, or any other specific country, nor will we require that any of our students or faculty accept scholarship or research funding from Boeing or require them to work for or with Boeing. In our large community of people with diverse perspectives, respect for individuals’ right to make choices that best support their personal and educational development is a foundational value.

We appreciate hearing your concerns and we share the deep pain of so many in these difficult days.

Sincerely,

Ana Mari Cauce

President

Professor of Psychology