I am heartened to see that faculty hiring and retention is at the top of the action list for the task force. From the top down SU has worked hard to recruit and hire some tremendous talent. Now the challenge before us is to retain these wonderful colleagues. The cost of housing here in Seattle is certainly a consideration that was made urgently apparent to me at a recent conference I attended in Salem Oregon. At the conference were two Willamette junior faculty members who had also interviewed for jobs here at SU within the last 5 years. Both of them spoke about how the lower cost of housing was part of their decision to go to Williamette. It is hard to recruit and retain faculty when the average cost of a home in King County requires an annual income of $104,000. I encourage the University to be strategic in developing programs that will help our junior faculty buy homes and become permanent members of the SU and greater Seattle communities.