Hub
March 1, 2019
IMA at 50
Since the late 1960s, students who wanted to clear their heads and have some fun have headed down to the IMA Building.
Unsung healer
Alice Augusta Ball was the first woman and first African American to earn a master’s degree in chemistry, and at age 23, developed an early treatment for leprosy.
December 13, 2018
Hoaxes, humbug and lies
An interview about race and identity with poet and scholar Kevin Young.
December 7, 2018
Thanks, Professor Banks
‘The Father of Multicultural Education’ is retiring after 50 years.
November 30, 2018
Gratefully remastered
A 1974 concert at Hec Ed Pavilion, long a favorite of Dead Heads, is one of six historic concerts being released in a beautiful new boxed set,
A life in computing
We explore the legacy of Microsoft’s late co-founder by photographing items from one of his museums.
June 6, 2018
Hot plates!
Help us catch the Cougs by adding purple pride to your license plate—and raise money for students along the way.
March 8, 2018
A day with DeRay
Few activists have a higher profile than DeRay Mckesson, who spent the final day of Black History Month with UW students, staff and faculty.
March 3, 2018
‘Patina of history’
Some UW students travel to Europe to sample castles and cafés, but for many the trip has been much shorter—just through the doors of the Burke Museum.
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.
February 14, 2018
A story in every bottle
Jackson Rohrbaugh, ’09, is the newly minted master sommelier at Canlis, one of Seattle's premier fine-dining spots.
January 5, 2018
He's got rhythm
Discovering the molecular mechanisms that guide our circadian rhythm makes Jeffrey C. Hall the fifth alum to receive a Nobel Prize.
December 30, 2017
Band royalty
For Fiesta Bowl week, we tour campus with seven veterans of the Husky Marching Band.
September 19, 2017
A wooly discovery
Long considered to be a myth, a Native blanket made of dog hair has surfaced at the Burke Museum.
August 18, 2017
Bill Hardwick (1944–2017)
The ’67 grad "put his heart and soul" into carrying on his family's legacy in the U District.
June 27, 2017
Welcome back, Paul Allen
Before he funded UW's computer science labs, Paul Allen got kicked out of them.
June 19, 2017
Campus groomer
"I would have laughed hysterically if you told me 20 years ago I’d be doing this."
Commencement speaker: Johnnetta Betsch Cole
She's a national leader in education, anthropology and activism.
May 8, 2017
Brothers, mentors, friends
Inside the new program advocating for black and brown students on campus.
March 30, 2017
Busting BS
Inside the class that's training students to catch—and call out—fake news and falsehoods.
March 4, 2017
A log lost sport
Thanks to a group of adventurous students and staff, log rolling has returned to UW.
February 28, 2017
Interrupting privilege
Students and alumni come together for 10-week workshop about race relations.
February 24, 2017
Luminary Lewis
Rep. John Lewis, a giant of the Civil Rights movement, comes to campus.
December 29, 2016
Healthy people, healthy planet
With a $210 million gift, the UW moves forward to become a global hub for human health.
December 19, 2016
Backpacks to the masses
The rise of the modern book bag can be traced to the UW campus.
December 16, 2016
The Not-So-Daily
The student newspaper formerly known as The Daily is still known as The Daily… despite only coming out two days a week.
The Swedish House
Ballard isn’t Seattle’s only Scandinavian headquarters. Fifty years ago, McMahon Hall was home to Swedish House.
December 15, 2016
Thouless nabs Nobel
The highest honor in physics goes to Professor Emeritus David Thouless.
March 1, 2016
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.
December 1, 2015
Editor's Eye: Montlake memories
The parking lot known as E-1 holds a lot of memories in its pavement.
September 1, 2015
High fliers
“Let’s flap.” The 20 adults in the room obediently flapped their arms and when nothing happened, in the face of their leader’s enthusiasm for winged flight and all things avian, began flapping even harder in the vain hope of soaring.
Allen's imprint
UW Libraries is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Kenneth S. and Faye G. Allen Library Endowment.
Band life
Senior physics major Carlo Torrella joined the UW’s 240-member marching band in 2011. It has been one of the most demanding experiences of his life. But “I’m so glad I did it,” he says.
UW Press at 100
The University of Washington's press dates back to Edmond Meany's 1915 book on the governors of the state and territory.
June 1, 2013
Moving mission
Catching up with Patrick Gallaher, ’95, founder of the School of Pharmacy’s Memorial Day weekend Border-to-Border relay race that for the past 18 years has raised money for cancer research in honor of his late father.
June 1, 2012
Brand-new Lander
The new Lander Hall will be a leading-edge residence, part of the UW’s effort to transform west campus into a vibrant community where students feel at home.
Country care
The UW School of Medicine’s multi-regional medical program, WWAMI, is celebrating 40 years—and some serious accomplishments.
March 1, 2012
The Dawgmother
The founding director of UW Student Athlete Academic Services is the recipient of the 2012 Charles Odegaard Award for her work on behalf of diversity.
December 1, 2011
360-degree view
Over the past decade and a half, UW Tacoma has been at the core of the revitalization of downtown Tacoma. Today, with 3,600 students, it still holds the key to the city’s continued economic development.
September 1, 2011
Stadium memories
Venerable Husky Stadium is in need of updating, so after the Nov. 5 game against Oregon, it will close for a year while it undergoes a much-needed makeover.
June 1, 2011
Rousing housing
The University of Washington’s plan to turn its west campus into an urban village will take a big step this fall with the opening of two new residence communities.
June 1, 2010
Innovative idealism
Student teams from across the University of Washington and other state schools heralded their inventions of clean, green technologies at the second annual UW Environmental Innovation Challenge.
Back in time
Frank Nowell’s photographs offer an intriguing glimpse of the UW in its infancy, and suggest the significant role the school played in introducing Seattle to the world.
June 1, 2008
Century of magazines
There have been astonishing changes over the first century of the UW's alumni magazine, but at its heart it remains true to the mission of its first edition.
‘Legend’ has it
With this issue, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the UW's alumni magazine by celebrating the living legends among us.
March 1, 2008
40 years of change
In the mid-1960s, only two of the UW’s 1,734 professors were African Americans. Students of color made up only 4 percent of the total enrollment that year. That began to change on May 20, 1968, when students from the Black Student Union staged a sit-in at the office University President Charles E. Odegaard.
December 1, 2007
One for the Rhodes
DeLaine Emmert, wife of President Mark A. Emmert, '75, asked a simple question: How many Rhodes Scholars does the UW have? No one knew the answer.
Home pride
For 65 years, Hill-Crest has been the home to 12 presidents. It has seen glittering parties, teenage sleepovers and even police protection during Vietnam War student unrest.
September 1, 2007
Split on Commencement
For the Columns Alumni Vote in June, we asked if alumni attended the main graduation ceremony when they completed their UW degree. The 952 responses broke down to 59 percent “yes” and 41 percent “no.”
Statistical advantage
The skills UW Bothell Professor Clark Olson honed during his five years at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory are the same ones he has used to conquer the stats-heavy world of fantasy sports.
June 1, 2007
The Padelford maze
Some buildings on the UW campus evoke awe or nostalgia, but others elicit a different kind of response: confusion and frustration.
March 1, 2007
Strong signals
Thirty-five years ago, John Kean, ’72, helped launch the UW’s first student radio station by installing a 10-watt transmitter in McMahon Hall.
December 1, 2006
Riding the rails again
The difference between the crowded confusion of the trolley of 1895 and the quiet comfort of the yet-to-be-seen Sound Transit light rail will be a clear indication of the passage of over 120 years.
September 1, 2006
50 years for the heart
Fifty years ago, the UW perfected its own heart-lung machine and did the first open-heart bypass surgery in the West. Now advances are coming so quickly that they could put future cardiac surgeons out of business.
Harry's origin story
Though live canines have been official UW mascots for decades, Harry, known simply as "The Husky Dawg" at the time, wasn't introduced until the 1995-96 school year.
June 1, 2006
Funny papers
A map in The Daily seemed to be a helpful aid for campus newcomers. But those who followed it soon found themselves hopelessly lost—and miles from their intended destinations.
March 1, 2006
Historic Hec Ed
Basketball players, U.S. presidents, billionaire computer moguls and Boy Scouts: what do these people have in common? All are part of the rich history surrounding one of the UW's most iconic buildings: Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
December 1, 2005
The stolen years
After Pearl Harbor, as the U.S. imprisoned thousands of its own citizens in internment camps, more than 400 Japanese American students had to drop out of the UW. This is the story of some forced to leave — and the efforts the UW made to protect them.
Well-earned salute
Every time Hiro Nishimura, ’48, passes the William Kenzo Nakamura Federal Courthouse in Seattle, he raises his hand in a salute. The courthouse was renamed four years ago to honor Nakamura, who earned the nation’s highest military award—the Medal of Honor.
September 1, 2005
CLUE is the answer
“Professor Chernicoff … in the hall … with the candlestick …” Nightly study sessions solve the puzzle of how to shrink the University.
The last waltz
From parties to salsa competitions to Experimental College dance classes, UW students and alumni alike have been enjoying the Wilsonian Ballroom since the 1920s. That may come to an end, however, as developers plan to demolish the 82-year-old space.
March 1, 2005
Mystery mansion
Once upon a time, the UW president lived right on the campus grounds. The president’s house sat at the end of what would become the University’s quadrangle, the site of today’s Music Building.
June 1, 2004
Queen for a day
For a campus that had seen U.S. presidents, rock stars and Hollywood icons, it was still a momentous occasion. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were coming to the UW on the last stop of a 10-day West Coast visit to the U.S.
March 1, 2004
Trail of success
Every day for the past 25 years, thousands of people stroll along the Burke-Gilman trail on their bicycles, running shoes, or inline skates. Merely one generation ago, the trail conveyed coal-carrying trains instead of bikers and pedestrians.
December 1, 2003
He saved the UW
The UW was facing a crisis. Without funds from the state Legislature, the school was forced to cut programs and faculty. The strapped president was left with nowhere to turn. His only hope was a donation from a charitable citizen.
September 1, 2003
Rocky marriage
The alumni were angry. They had had enough of the rampant commercialism of intercollegiate athletics—especially the salary of the football coach. The time was almost a century ago.
Slippery elm
The Washington Elm started from a cutting from a majestic tree in Cambridge, Mass., under which Gen. George Washington took command of the Continental Army on July 3, 1775.
June 1, 2003
Lane closures
On May 5, 1970 — the day after four students were killed by National Guardsmen at Kent State University in Ohio — a march from the UW employed a new tactic never tried before in the nation: blocking a freeway.
March 1, 2003
Rarified air
Fifty years ago this month—March 17-18, 1953, to be exact—the Huskies qualified for the Final Four, the only time in UW history.
December 1, 2002
Lasting legacies
From winning the Nobel Prize to inventing the Wave; from circling the moon to inventing the disposable diaper. We list 101 outstanding UW achievements.
September 1, 2002
Jewel renewal
After a decade of planning and construction, a $47 million price tag and a 6.8 earthquake, Suzzallo Library returns to its rightful place as the soul of the university.
Suzzallo memories
A brief item in a past issue of Columns asked for alumni memories of Suzzallo Library. Here are some of the responses.
Why it's named Suzzallo
Henry Suzzallo felt that a campus of beauty would enhance the intellectual and moral growth of his students.
June 1, 2002
Who was Henry?
In 1926 Seattle businessman Horace C. Henry gave 172 works of art to the UW-and enough money to build a museum to house them.
The inside story
By perfecting ultrasound, Don Baker revolutionized the way doctors make their diagnoses, and put Seattle on the biotech map.
March 1, 2002
A place apart
Ten places—some famous, some obscure—that make the University of Washington one of the most beautiful—and best-loved—campuses in the nation.
Dream season
Of the myriad highlights in the long history of the storied University of Washington football program, one of the sweetest just turned 10 years old.
December 1, 2001
Architect of the Towers
A native of Seattle, Minoru Yamasaki, ’34, was born on Dec. 1, 1912, in a cold-water tenement in the Yesler Hill district of Seattle. His most famous work was the World Trade Center.
September 1, 2001
Inspiration on a whim
On a whim, Lester J. Wilson, who enrolled at the University of Washington in 1909, wrote "Bow Down to Washington."
Row show
While most Huskies take them for granted, our Greek Row houses are architectural gems that some day might comprise a historic district.
March 1, 2001
33-year experiment
It’s now a UW tradition, but when it was founded in 1968, the Experimental College was anything but traditional.
December 1, 2000
Fading star
In its heyday, the UW campus observatory was a magical place. Now the future of the cute little building, sitting just east of Memorial Way, is up in the air.
A civil action
Almost a century after snubbing Takuji Yamashita, the state's legal establishment is taking steps to honor the first Japanese graduate of the UW Law School.