After more than a year of talks, Gonzaga, UW plan big announcement Wednesday

Gonzaga University and the University of Washington are scheduled to announce “a joint initiative with significant implications” Wednesday morning, more than a year after the two schools began talking about a public-private partnership on medical education.

School officials didn’t reveal what they’ll announce on Wednesday but released a statement that says they have been working on “a shared commitment to medical education and research in the Spokane region.”

“Our discussions continue to be extremely productive, and we look forward to sharing details once an agreement has been finalized,” the statement said.

Legislative sources in Olympia said they expect it to be an agreement for the UW College of Medicine to use Gonzaga facilities, possibly to teach basic sciences, but the specific space was unknown.

Sen. Mike Baumgartner, R-Spokane, a major proponent of Washington State University’s push for its own medical school in Spokane, said there was speculation the lease would involve the old Museum of Native American Culture structure on the west edge of the Gonzaga campus. Baumgartner and other lawmakers said they have not seen the specific proposal and won’t be at the announcement because the Legislature is in session.

“It’d be good for them to lay out the plans,” he said. “I’m interested to learn more.”

Senate Higher Education Committee Chairwoman Barbara Bailey, R-Oak Harbor, said she hadn’t heard about any agreement between the two universities, but when it’s announced “I certainly will ask some questions.”

The schools began talking late in December 2014 after UW officials pitched the idea to Gonzaga President Thayne McCulloh.

McCulloh said at the time, “It wasn’t something that I had thought about, much less imagined, so it’s required a fair amount of discussion with our team.”

UW’s negotiations with the private Jesuit university in Spokane were triggered by the breakup that fall of a long partnership between UW and WSU, driven by WSU administrators’ desire to create a new medical school on the Washington State University Spokane campus.

WSU was successful in getting the Legislature to fund the early steps in that drive, and the university recently announced that the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine is on track to accept its first class of about 60 first-year students in fall 2017.

Meanwhile, UW, one of the nation’s top-ranked medical schools, wants to substantially increase the number of medical students educated in Spokane. The school uses WSU facilities, however.

Rep. Marcus Riccelli, a Spokane Democrat who sponsored the bill that gave WSU authority to set up a medical school, said with WSU on track to have its medical school accredited, there would come a time when those students would “max out” the space at Riverpoint. UW regents have broad authority to sign agreements, so the arrangement with Gonzaga might not require legislative approval, he said.

“If there was a legislative piece that was needed, I assume they would have brought it to us,” he said.

At one point the 2015-17 state budget, which provided money for WSU to seek accreditation for the new medical school, contained a requirement that any medical school partnerships be approved by the Legislature, Baumgartner said. That was ultimately removed from the budget.

McCulloh signaled in 2014 that Gonzaga was willing to get involved.

“The expansion of medical education and research is a top priority for Spokane, and if Gonzaga can meaningfully assist in the achievement of that goal, we feel an obligation to seriously consider how best to do so,” he said.

Sen. Andy Billig, D-Spokane, said he supports the overall expansion of medical education in Spokane and will reserve judgment on whether the agreement needs legislative approval until he sees the details.

“I would assume they would brief us,” Billig said. “We’ll need to figure out if there’s something we need to look at.”