Features
June 2, 2019
Northwest dressed
From timber territory to tech hub, the Northwest passion for fashion has flourished.
March 11, 2019
Down to the core
While the UW may look robust, long-standing cuts in state funding are eroding the school’s ability to maintain buildings, raise salaries and retain faculty.
March 1, 2019
Gaveling man
House Speaker Frank Chopp has spent his life helping underserved members of the Evergreen State.
Master of the tearjerker
Tearjerkers and epic female-driven novels have earned Kristin Hannah, '83, an international following.
Blake Nordstrom, 1960-2019
A longtime leader of a family company, he went out of his way to connect with customers, employees and community members.
The identity solution
PilotED, an elementary school in Indianapolis, believes identity and civic engagement could transform the educational landscape, especially for students of color.
November 30, 2018
The sci-fi future is here
Science fiction has come alive in our modern world—from robots in our homes to the search for life across the universe.
3 hearts, 1 full life
An adventurous alum stricken with heart disease as a young man is thriving after undergoing two heart transplants.
October 19, 2018
First-gens find their way
Resilience, persistence and belonging help students survive the complexities of college.
Helping hungry Huskies
An on-campus pantry works to reduce hunger and end the stigma of food insecurity.
September 11, 2018
The human rights fight
From El Salvador to Spokane, the UW Center for Human Rights seeks justice.
August 30, 2018
‘Yes, I am a boy’
Nonconformist and social media star Kevin Ninh shares his story of self-discovery.
The heart of Puerto Rico
In the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, a team of UW engineers and scientists went to Puerto Rico to learn and to help.
New biologies
Nature is an interconnected web of life. A new Life Sciences building takes that to heart.
August 29, 2018
Career puppeteer
If these puppets could talk, they would describe Aurora Valentinetti as the UW's beloved puppeteer.
June 4, 2018
Legends of the IMA
Why did we keep playing softball even after graduating? Because we loved softball and the IMA league was much more fun than other leagues. And we really wanted those championship T-shirts.
June 2, 2018
Mr. Smith’s journey
With core values formed by his Chehalis upbringing, Orin Smith went on to become a business leader who knew how to treat people right.
April 28, 2018
Heart, soul and ice cream
For 85 years, Husky Deli has warmed hearts in West Seattle with scrumptious sandwiches, house-made ice cream and goodies from the world over.
March 4, 2018
Keeper of the flame
A founding member of UW's Black Student Union, Emile Pitre has spent 50 years building solutions from the inside out.
March 3, 2018
Perfectly Claire
Best-selling feminist author Claire Dederer, ’93, on growing up grunge, creating a literary canon for the Northwest, and bad men who create great art.
OMA&D at 50: The people behind the movement
Student activism in 1968 led the UW to create one of the nation’s first office of minority affairs. Here’s their story. And their outlook for the future.
January 9, 2018
The lunch guy
Fueled by an appetite for social justice, Jeffrey Lew, ’06, set out to end the stigma of school lunch debt.
December 28, 2017
Forging new links
A new type of fire-resistant wood reduces atmospheric carbon and can be made of damaged trees. Could it revive depressed economies in Washington’s rural timber communities?
December 7, 2017
The opioid boom
The prevailing practice for treating addiction to painkillers led to the worst man-made epidemic in modern medical history.
November 15, 2017
Students of nature
The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation is changing the faces—and future—of conservation.
November 8, 2017
The art of preservation
The Conservation Center repairs up to 12,000 items each year.
September 13, 2017
Humanities anyone?
Society’s focus on STEM careers has contributed to a precipitous drop in liberal arts majors. It could be a problem.
September 12, 2017
Scions of Spokane
Ted and Jeremy McGregor operate one of the best alternative weekly papers in the nation.
August 18, 2017
'We came here to contribute'
As an undocumented immigrant, he dreaded going to the dentist. Now he goes the extra mile to put his patients at ease.
June 12, 2017
The Mountaineers
In a time before trails, UW climbers found a way to trek the Pacific Northwest.
May 29, 2017
Man of the city
In his five decades of public service, Norman Rice has helped build a community we are all proud of.
May 8, 2017
Brothers, mentors, friends
Inside the new program advocating for black and brown students on campus.
March 3, 2017
Rhymes on the mic
Rooted in a rich legacy of rhymes, a new class of poets compose verses that channel their cultures and challenge the status quo.
March 1, 2017
Tending to the world
Scientists, doctors and data collectors join forces for population health.
February 27, 2017
Dramatic dynamics
Stereotypes don't have a chance when Kathy Hsieh, '87, takes center stage.
December 29, 2016
In the heart of Yakima
Dulce Gutiérrez, ’14, is making history as one of Eastern Washington’s first Latina city council members.
September 1, 2016
New age of dentistry
Going to the dentist has never been as unpleasant as it’s often made out to be. But new technology and a new teaching philosophy is about to dispel that myth for good. Say ahhh.
Introducing Shwetak Patel
He's one of the brightest thinkers you'll ever meet. Writer Julie Garner pays him a house call and confirms that, yes, he puts his inventions and gadgets to work, but she finds out a whole lot more.
An open invitation
Here we present six alumni who show us the different ways they keep connected, whether they graduated 40 years ago or just this spring.
June 1, 2016
True hued
Brock and Damon Huard both found NFL careers and success after their UW playing days, and both felt drawn to come home.
The torch carrier
Letters from a young man's trip to the 1936 Olympics offer hints of the life he would live.
Dying with dignity
Columns staff writer Julie Garner talks to two men facing death, and the people who care for them.
Always in her element
Whether on a mountain, in a boardroom or on a boat, Sally Jewell is leading the way.
March 1, 2016
How does baby learn?
Researchers with the UW's I-LABS break new ground with their discoveries of how young minds develop.
KEXP rocks its new digs
KEXP and its predecessor KCMU have been a staple of the Seattle music community for four decades. With new digs at the Seattle Center and a 30-year cooperative agreement with the UW, the station enters its next phase as an independent nonprofit.
When compassion was policy
With five children and a sixth on the way, the Nguyen family fled Vietnam. Washington Governor Dan Evans opened the door to a life the family never would have imagined.
2015 shined a spotlight on race
After a year of intensifying protests, the UW opens a dialogue and takes action to promote equity.
December 1, 2015
Restaurateur Renee
She wants to serve the world’s best steak. That’s why chef Renee Erickson, ’95, is now in the ranch business.
An unprecedented president
She is the first woman, first Latina and the first in a long while to be promoted from within to lead the University of Washington.
The dream lab
For more than a century, scientists and students the world over have come to Friday Harbor to learn about the future of our oceans.
The silent stroke
If a stroke should occur, the unparalleled care at UW Medicine's Harborview Medical Center will give you your best shot.
September 1, 2015
25 years of dance
The UW's unique master's program influences dance education across the country.
True to self
As Terra Hoy and others in the UW community know, changing genders is fraught with challenges -- emotional, physical and societal.
June 1, 2015
Welcome to wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ
wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ – the Intellectual House – is a place the UW Native American community can call home.
Norm Dicks, retired?
His 36-year career as a Democratic Congressman for Washington’s 6th District may have ended in 2012, but he’s still on the case protecting wildlife and fighting to bolster the economy in his native region.
Top teachers
They walk into a classroom that is filled with a sea of anxious faces. Expectations run high. They take a deep breath and off they go—the process of molding students into scholars is what teachers do everyday. With the greatest of ease? Hardly. Only some have the chops to rise above the rest. Introducing this year’s best of the best.
Soulbound
As the official travel program of the UW Alumni Association, UW Alumni Tours gives alumni and friends the opportunity to grab their passports and suitcases and see the world. Here are three stories of people's adventures with UW Alumni Tours.
March 1, 2015
Ring leaders
The UW Boxing Club doesn't just teach how to jab, hook and counterpunch. It teaches how to succeed.
Finding my father
I was 55 when my father passed away at the age of 80, the victim of a stroke. I had to wait another 17 years from the time of his death to finally receive his unexpected “gift.” Somehow he resurrected himself and had me cheering for the man I had long ago given up on.
Gerberding's legacy
Though the longest-serving president in UW history (from 1979 to 1995) is no longer with us—the North Dakota native died Dec. 27 at the age of 85 after suffering a stroke—his imprint on the University is indelible.
Grade upgrade
Sure, it’s a national model of academic support; but the UW’s Instructional Center is way more than that—it’s a family for students who need a boost.
New dawn of dialysis
At the UW, the birthplace of kidney dialysis, a clinical trial has been approved to test the safety and effectiveness of a wearable artificial kidney. Not counting preliminary studies, it is the first human trial of its kind in the United States.
Soil sage
A chef-turned-professor digs into a new crop — turning recycled waste into better soil, better food and better health.
September 1, 2014
Architecture at 100
The UW’s internationally-known architecture department enters its second century with bold designs on the future.
Prey for the senses
Ann Hamilton delves again into the world of animal-human relationships in her upcoming show at the Henry Art Gallery.
Straight shooter
She fights crime the only way she knows how — with directness, smarts and a wicked sense of humor.
UW Tacoma on a mission
Cleaning up pollution. Delivering health care. Improving education. Just a routine day at UW Tacoma.
June 1, 2014
Our kind of guy
After eight remarkable seasons at Boise State, Chris Petersen was finally ready for the next challenge, becoming the head football coach at the University of Washington.
Spokane solution
Expanding medical education in Eastern Washington’s largest city will address a key problem: increasing the number of primary care physicians in rural and underserved areas.
Teachers of the year
Why do we come to the UW? To learn. Lucky for us, we had the chance to meet the exceptional teachers honored here. They didn’t just teach us course material or put us on the path to a career. They inspired us. Challenged us. Pushed us. Opened our minds. Made us be our best.
Life guard
Art Levinson, the driving force behind several cancer-fighting drugs, is the 2014 Alumnus Summa Laude Dignatus, the highest award bestowed upon UW alumni.
March 1, 2014
Allure of the mountains
Mountain climbing has drawn many a UW student, parent, graduate, staff and faculty member up into the rarified air. Here, we highlight a few of those bold, strong and determined enough to push the limits.
‘We will come back for you’
Haunted by the deaths of two soldiers in a bunker he designed, Rich Kirchner returns to Vietnam to find his fallen comrades.
December 1, 2013
Solid lesson plan
Instead of pondering why kids fall behind, the UW’s approach stacks the deck in their favor by looking at the factors that may have unexpected effects on performance, ranging from social and cultural to physical and emotional.
Platinum grad
For Ryan Lewis, ’09, the whirlwind of fame is only a few years removed from days ensconced in Suzzallo Library and the Parnassus cafe in the basement of the Art Building.
Immortal life
The cover of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks succinctly proclaims the book’s storyline: “Doctors took her cells without asking. Those cells never died. They launched a medical revolution and a multimillion-dollar industry. More than 20 years later, her children found out. Their lives would never be the same.”
September 1, 2013
Tomorrow's scientists
UW faculty and students are engaging K-12 students in STEM fields and collaborating with teachers.
The inspiration inquiry
Expanding the boundaries of knowledge in dance, theater and other performing arts requires research of a different stripe.
Huskies in Rome
For 30 years, the UW Rome Center has given students a chance to learn about new cultures, and themselves.
Whole new ballgame
After a $261 million privately funded renovation, Husky Stadium reopens Aug. 31, welcoming a fired-up Husky nation mad for football and excited about the prospects for the future.
June 1, 2013
Reconstructing hope
Diane Mapes shares her personal journey through breast reconstruction, using a new approach at UW Medicine.
Bill Gates Sr.'s impact
Even at 87, the 2013 Alumnus Sigma Laude Dignatus recipient continues to serve his alma mater while leading the fight for social justice.
The inspirers
The 2013 recipients of the UW’s teaching awards are from fields ranging from philosophy to fisheries, but they all know how to inspire their students.