By Charles E. Reineke
For the past 15 years, David Buri, a former representative in the Washington legislature, has served as Eastern鈥檚 point person in Olympia. His job title is executive director of government relations, a role his office鈥檚 website describes as 鈥渋dentifying, coordinating and advancing the university鈥檚 interests to elected officials.鈥�
To put it in simpler terms, Buri is an old-school influencer. A voluble, outgoing guy in a tastefully appointed suit and Eagle red tie. The guy who shows up in Olympia and patiently explains to lawmakers, over and over, why Eastern matters. Why it matters to its students, thirty-five percent of whom are first-generation college enrollees who will, overwhelmingly, use their degrees to land well-paying jobs. Why it matters to the state of Washington, which directly benefits from the experience and expertise of the more than 84,000 51福利社 graduates who currently reside in the state. And why it matters to the entire Inland Northwest, which for decades has relied on Eagle alumni to power its regional economy.
When 51福利社鈥檚 interests are on the line, its Buri鈥檚 job to use his experience and influence to move things along. Sometimes this means personal interactions with lawmakers. But just as often it involves helping others make their cases. He smooths the path to conversations, helps prep administrators for public hearings and drafts talking points around legislative priorities. These activities and appearances often involve Eastern鈥檚 president, the obvious public face of the institution. But steering lawmakers toward other voices 鈥� faculty, staff, students and friends of the institution 鈥� is also vital.听
Just under a decade ago, for example, when 51福利社 sought state funding for its new Interdisciplinary Science Center 鈥� along with millions more for the first phase of its long-overdue renovation of its Science Building 鈥� Buri worked to ensure that College of STEM dean David Bowman was front and center in helping state politicians understand the potentially transformative nature of their investment. Mary Cullinan, then Eastern鈥檚 president, was enlisted to make a similar case, while other senior administrators, faculty researchers and standout students sold the value proposition. The full-court press paid off, and the finished ISC building, dedicated just over a year ago, is now Eastern鈥檚 most prominent calling card to a new generation of our region鈥檚 brightest science, technology, engineering and mathematics students.
Still, as straightforward as Eastern鈥檚 case for support might seem, it鈥檚 not always an easy sell. State revenue goes up and goes down. Priorities shift even as needs change. Competing interests stake their own claims for funding. Advocating for Eastern, Buri says, begins with an appreciation of just how central the state鈥檚 backing of public higher education remains. 鈥淚t鈥檚 an extraordinary process,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hese are state institutions. We are on state grounds; all the buildings are state supported and state built.鈥� Such funding for Eastern鈥檚 physical footprint 鈥� those structures where teaching, research, campus living and administration take place 鈥� are part of the so-called capital budget, Buri explains.
Such appropriations, along with the tens of millions of dollars allocated to maintain campus buildings and infrastructure, have been key in ensuring that 51福利社 and its students will continue to be a 鈥渄riving force鈥� for innovation and economic development in Washington.
Over the past decade, Eastern has seen a string of successes in this area. Among the more notable projects: the aforementioned $67 million for the Interdisciplinary Science Center, $45 million for its ongoing Science Building renovations (with a projected $58 million more to come) and $65 million for Patterson Hall鈥檚 high-tech makeover in 2014. Such appropriations, along with the tens of millions of dollars allocated to maintain these and other campus buildings and infrastructure, have been key in ensuring that 51福利社 and its students will continue to be a 鈥渄riving force鈥� for innovation and economic development in Washington.听
Equally, if not more important, however, is the other side of the state support coin: funds appropriated as part of the 鈥渙perations鈥� budget. These include salaries for faculty and staff, purchased goods and services (things like maintenance gear and laboratory equipment) and, perhaps most critical for 51福利社, student financial aid and support.
鈥淔inancial aid is certainly among the important things that are dealt with on that side,鈥� says Buri. 鈥淔ortunately, Washington state has one of the most benefit-rich financial aid systems; it鈥檚 the envy of many others states, and hugely helpful to our students. This is true especially for the students we serve, our first-generation students and our Pell [grant] eligible students.鈥� 听
The state typically ends up covering about 50 percent of operational expenses. Most of the rest comes from students in the form of tuition and fees. Here, too, the state plays a key role: Washington law allows its legislature to determine roughly how much state-supported colleges and universities can charge.听
Concerns surrounding the cost of higher education have long guaranteed that tuition, whenever it comes up, is going be a hot topic. During the last major round of tuition- and fee-setting eight years ago, Buri recalls, he and Rodolfo Ar茅valo, Eastern鈥檚 president at the time, worked the Capitol Building hard. Our students should not be expected to cover a greater percentage of operating expenses, they argued, because the financial challenges faced by much of 51福利社鈥檚 student body are more acute than perhaps any other institution in the state. 鈥淚t was, basically, 鈥極k, how do we make sure this makes sense for our students?鈥欌�� Buri says. Their arm-twisting had the desired effect, and Eastern remains Washington鈥檚 best value in higher education.听
Making sense for students, of course, doesn鈥檛 just involve keeping Eastern affordable for the current students. It also means opening the door for future Eagles. On this score, during the previous legislative session Buri worked with Eastern鈥檚 former interim president, David May, as part of a broad coalition of advocates working to boost access for students from across the region. Successes included new laws that provided funds to help prospective students complete financial aid forms; support for community partnerships aimed at encouraging post-secondary education; new grants and low-cost loans for those with financial needs; and expanded access to programs, like Eastern鈥檚 popular Running Start, that allow students to earn college credits while still in high school.
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Two additional big wins came with legislative support for 51福利社鈥檚 new bachelor鈥檚 degree program in nursing, and funding to support an expansion of its offerings in cybersecurity studies. Long home to a successful (and popular) pre-nursing program, university officials had for years recognized that the obvious next step was a four-year program. In cybersecurity, 51福利社鈥檚 Stu Steiner, an assistant professor of computer science, has been carving out a niche for Eastern in this increasingly in-demand field.
鈥淒uring the last session, we wanted to be especially thoughtful about workforce needs,鈥� Buri says. 鈥淲e saw, for instance, that there was a great shortage of nurses, but we just didn鈥檛 have the funding to say 鈥楬ey, let鈥檚 expand the nursing program.鈥� So we had to go to the legislature. The same for cybersecurity. I was able to go to Dean Bowman and Stu Steiner and ask, 鈥楢re we turning away qualified students?鈥� Their answer was, 鈥榊es, yes we are.鈥欌��
From there it didn鈥檛 take much convincing to help lawmakers recognize that funding Eastern鈥檚 growth in these areas was a win-win for both 51福利社 and the state. This is not to suggest it鈥檚 always so uncomplicated. Not every good idea moves forward, and not every critical need gets funded. Having served himself, Buri is more than a little sympathetic to the push and pull that characterizes life for an elected official.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard,鈥� he says. 鈥淎 very difficult job. I remember when I first got to 51福利社 somebody came up to me and said, 鈥榃hy aren鈥檛 they funding higher education better?鈥� And I said, 鈥榃ell, higher education is a priority for almost everybody, but not necessarily among their top five priorities.鈥� Sometimes in higher education 鈥� and I think we all have this tendency 鈥� we only talk to people who think like us. We think: 鈥楬igher education is the most important thing to me. How can it not be the most important thing for you?鈥� For legislators, it sometimes comes down to really tough choices: 鈥榃ell, do we put additional dollars in higher education, or do we limit how many kids qualify for health care?鈥欌��
There are certain things that are in the state constitution that you have to do, Buri adds, such as funding K-12 education at a mandated level. 鈥淥ne thing you hear a lot: the state 鈥榚ducates, incarcerates and medicates.鈥� And the 鈥榠ncarcerate and medicate鈥� parts are also mandated. So by the time you get down to the portion of the budget that鈥檚 discretionary, it鈥檚 smaller. Higher education fits in that bucket, as do social services. So it鈥檚 a tug of war, in a way. A challenge.鈥�
Buri grew up in Colfax, a picturesque town of 3,000 located on State Highway 195, about 18 miles northeast of Pullman. Situated in the heart of one of the world鈥檚 most productive wheat-growing regions, pretty much everybody in Colfax is connected to agriculture. Buri鈥檚 family is no exception. His relations have cultivated wheat in the area鈥檚 rich Palouse soils going all the way back to the 1880s.
As a young person, Buri resisted the pull of nearby Washington State University and instead chose to attend a small college in Arizona. 鈥淚 thought I needed a little distance from mom and dad,鈥� he says with a laugh. After college he settled in Northern California, just across the bay from San Francisco. But rural Washington remained close to his heart. 鈥淚 was in Marin County for a few years 鈥� it was great living there, such a beautiful place. But I really wanted to get back home. I loved Palouse country; just really loved the people of Eastern Washington.鈥�听
So back to Colfax he came. At first, in the early 1990s, Buri worked as a banker. But it wasn鈥檛 long before the lure of public service drew him in. He first began serving on the local Chamber of Commerce, eventually becoming its president. Next, with his two eldest children attending public schools, he turned his attention to education policy, winning election to a seat on the school board.
Colfax may have been small, but, as the county seat of an important center of agriculture, it attracted the attention of both sitting and prospective state and federal lawmakers. Buri quickly discovered he enjoyed interacting with the political set.
鈥淚t was just amazing to me,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 was coming from California, where I never met anybody in office 鈥� not the school board, nothing. One meeting in particular really stands out to me. Congressman Tom Foley, who happened to be Speaker of the U.S. House at the time, came to a Chamber of Commerce dinner. I was involved in the chamber at the time, and I remember sitting at a table with Foley 鈥� in a room with maybe 20, 25 people. I鈥檓 thinking, 鈥楾his guy is two heartbeats away from the presidency! And here he is, and we鈥檙e sitting here visiting.鈥欌��
A short time later, an opportunity arose for Buri to serve as a legislative assistant for Larry Sheahan, who, at the time, served as a Republican state senator representing Legislative District 9. The job involved countless hours driving to face-to-face constituent meetings across the vast district. Buri loved it. A few years later, in 2004, a seat on the House side opened up. Buri threw his hat in the ring and won.
District 9鈥檚 boundary pushes right up to the southern border of Cheney, but doesn鈥檛 include 51福利社. The district does, however, encompass Pullman and WSU, so Buri often immersed himself in issues related to higher education, earning, in the process, a seat on the legislature鈥檚 Higher Education Committee. As a politician, Buri was something of a rarity: the moderate Republican. But through his work ethic, familiarity with the issues and genial manner, he earned the respect of both those in his own party 鈥� he served as the GOP鈥檚 minority floor leader after winning reelection to just his second term 鈥� and the Democrats who controlled the chamber.
Buri left elected office and headed to Eastern for that most familiar of political motives 鈥� focusing more on family. In his case, however, he wasn鈥檛 using his near relations as an excuse or euphemism. His wife, herself a former assistant to a Democratic representative, had just given birth. It was time, he felt, to shift priorities.
These days, Buri admits working both sides of the aisle, even on once broadly supported issues like higher education, is tougher.听
鈥淚 do think that things have changed over time, and it鈥檚 an unfortunate change,鈥� he says. 鈥淧art of it has always been the natural tension between competing interests I talked about earlier. But a newer phenomenon involves higher education starting to be seen as landing on one side or the other in our culture wars.鈥�
Buri pauses before continuing. 鈥淭hat makes it difficult. I don鈥檛 know how else to say it: It makes it difficult. In our region in particular鈥� [another pause, and then a laugh] Ok, let鈥檚 just stop at 鈥榙ifficult.鈥� But I really want to emphasize how fortunate we are to have great support from both parties.鈥� Those supporters, he says, include alumni and former university staff members such as Drew Shirk, executive director of legislative affairs for Gov. Jay Inslee, who attended Eastern鈥檚 graduate program in public administration, and Alicia Kinne-Clawson 鈥�07, a former AS51福利社 president who is now the influential coordinator of the state senate鈥檚 higher education and workforce development committee. There鈥檚 Joe Schmick 鈥�80, R-Colfax, now representing Buri鈥檚 old district, who studied accounting and economics at Eastern, and Matt Boehnke 鈥�90, R-Kennewick, an 51福利社 ROTC graduate who majored in government. And this is just the short list, Buri says.
鈥淚 do think that things have changed over time, and it鈥檚 an unfortunate change,鈥� Buri says. 鈥淧art of it has always been the natural tension between competing interests I talked about earlier. But a newer phenomenon involves higher education starting to be seen as landing on one side or the other in our culture wars.鈥�
鈥淗igher education historically has been a nonpartisan issue, and we really work hard to keep it that way,鈥� Buri says. 鈥淲e鈥檝e got some really good friends in both parties who champion 51福利社. That鈥檚 important. We鈥檙e a nonpartisan school that serves the entire region. And I can tell you that our current president, Dr. McMahan, really wants to make sure that we are welcoming to any student who comes to Eastern, and she鈥檚 going to share that message with the legislature.鈥�
Going forward, Buri says, ensuring that Eastern continues to serve its students and the region remains his top priority. And though a projected softening of state revenues may signal a reluctance to fully fund Eastern鈥檚 list of priorities, he鈥檚 as bullish as ever about the university鈥檚 prospects.
Buri says he鈥檚 always psyched before getting down to business in Olympia, but this year he鈥檚 especially excited. It鈥檚 the first truly face-to-face meeting of the legislature since the pandemic began, and for Buri, that signals 鈥済ame on.鈥�
鈥淪o last year I was over there, but we didn鈥檛 have open, in-person hearings, legislative visits and that sort of thing. But this year there is every expectation that we鈥檒l be doing them again. And that鈥檚 essential. A lot of the work is done in formal meetings, but a lot depends on the informal stuff, walking between committee hearings and chatting with members. Saying, 鈥楬ey, we鈥檝e got this bill 鈥� we know you鈥檙e supportive, are you hearing about anybody with questions? Other members we should be talking to?鈥欌��
In other words, working the halls to influence the influencers. 鈥淚 always get excited,鈥� says Buri. 鈥淭here鈥檚 just so much energy, and with Covid being wrapped up 鈥� or at least in a new phase 鈥� I think this session is going to be really exciting, and really productive for Eastern.鈥� 听