Campus Life
September 2, 2023
Peace Corps pipeline
Since 2001, the UW has consistently ranked in the top three volunteer-producing universities in the nation.
Scenes from the Salish Sea
The Burke Museum exhibit “We Are Puget Sound” aims to inspire preservation of the Salish Sea and its impressive creatures.
Better building blocks
Founders Hall is the only University building fully constructed of mass timber, which has the promise of reducing the costs of construction while increasing a building’s sustainability.
September 1, 2023
Smart students, clever tech
Information from fitness trackers and smartphones helps Anind Dey's team learn about student success.
August 30, 2023
Staying tuned
Actor Garret Dillahunt joined the UW Symphony orchestra for an end-of-year performance. An audience of more than 500 were treated to his narration of ‘l'Histoire de Babar, le Petit Éléphant.’
June 4, 2023
Bragging rites
Learn who’s behind those purple, white and gold slogans every rowing season on the Montlake Cut.
May 28, 2023
The Gen Z's and me
"How wonderful to return to campus and see that the arc of Black history, despite ongoing struggles, still bends toward justice," Audrey Edwards writes.
Will Parnassus return?
Students returning to campus after winter break this year found the doors to historic Parnassus closed indefinitely.
May 5, 2023
MAP Awardees 2022
The Multicultural Alumni Partnership announced its support of five promising scholars at the UW.
April 25, 2023
Signs of disability
Stephanie Kerschbaum explores how we notice, and sometimes don't notice, disability.
April 21, 2023
Better hustle
Over the past two years, MFA candidate Abdiel Jacobsen has brought their love of hustle to the UW.
A source of support
The Instructional Center helps more than 2,000 students a year succeed, even in their most challenging classes. More could use its resources.
February 25, 2023
Department of what?
What is that silver structure on the UW campus? It's a “department” of sorts.
Foster library turns back time
The Foster School library put a time capsule from the 1990s on display to mark its anniversary.
February 23, 2023
Revolution to evolution
Emile Pitre captures the story of decades of activism at the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity in his new book.
November 27, 2022
Driving innovation
The UW team earned the EcoCAR Collaboration Award at last spring's Mobility Challenge.
Bruce Lee ascending
A new art installation on the central staircase of Odegaard Undergraduate Library celebrates actor and martial arts legend Bruce Lee.
Hip-hop and hype
The UW Graduate School will host an “Evening with Chuck D” for its public lecture series.
November 3, 2022
Uprooting exclusivity
The UW seeks to make the Washington Park Arboretum and Center for Urban Horticulture more inclusive.
At home on campus
Studies show that students who feel a sense of belonging are more likely to thrive in college and experience better personal wellbeing.
A name for themselves
Vern Harner led the effort to change University policy for names on diplomas. Now, trans students' diplomas can reflect their chosen names.
September 28, 2022
Test your UW smarts
Most of us know the school colors, mascot and maybe a few building names...but how deep does your UW knowledge go? Take our quiz to find out.
September 4, 2022
UW’s Brotherhood Initiative builds a community of success for men of color
As the UW’s Brotherhood Initiative grows—and welcomes a counterpart Sisterhood Initiative—students like senior Noah Stanigar continue to soar.
September 2, 2022
Ever forward
Thanks to a catalyzing donation, the ASUW Shell House—a location with a rich history—is on the way to being renovated for another century of service for campus and the community.
August 10, 2022
MAP Maker
A “true leader,” Thaddeus Spratlen brought dignity, dedication and a scholarly approach to the Multicultural Alumni Partnership.
June 15, 2022
Good, better, best!
They garden, they read, they cook and they dream of becoming dentists. Teachers: They're just like us! But these six are the cream of the crop.
May 29, 2022
Immersive art
The Henry Art Gallery’s commissioned work from Bolivian-American artist Donna Huanca is on display through April 2023.
Out of style
The HUB has been home to a hair stylist since 1952. Now, salon operator Jane Snell hangs up her shears and closes the Scissor’s Edge.
May 16, 2022
Why we love the ECC
As the ECC celebrates 50 years of creating a space for diversity and inclusion, alumni share fond memories of the space.
Care Package Community
The UW Champions Program was established in 2011 to serve former foster youth. Recent expansions help students who experienced unaccompanied homelessness as youth.
March 5, 2022
Fungi friendly
The Northwest is the perfect place for a mushroom enthusiast; one digs into the Burke Museum’s collection.
March 4, 2022
Galaxy gazing
The Manastash Ridge, a basalt plateau that runs between Ellensburg and Yakima, is home to the UW’s 50-year-old observatory.
Biodiversity in a box
Nature photographer David Liittschwager captures biodiversity in one cubic foot of space.
March 3, 2022
The Kelly ECC at 50
Once a student activist’s dream, the Samuel E. Kelly Ethnic Cultural Center celebrates five decades as a space for diversity and inclusion.
December 4, 2021
UW in the cards
‘Down the Ave,’ a card game developed by business students, is full of UW and Seattle references.
The Inn crowd is back
Raise a toast to the historic, quirky joint that has come back from a COVID-19 closure.
November 19, 2021
Kelly ECC turns 50
Starting in fall 2021 and well into 2022, the Kelly ECC is celebrating 50 years of serving the student community.
Beacon in the HUB
While Black fraternities and sororities have thrived at the UW, their presence has gone generally unrecognized. Now their crests are on display in the HUB.
Indigenous walking tour
A walking tour of the UW campus highlights sites that are relevant to the Native American experience.
September 4, 2021
Welcome back
In-person classes and a new U District await students returning to campus this fall.
March 9, 2021
Sign of the times
A campus road has been renamed sluʔwiɫ, a word in the Lushootseed language that loosely translates to “Little Canoe Channel.”
March 4, 2021
Stories of home
The UW Alumni Association recently invited a group of Native storytellers for a virtual event to discuss the meaning of sense of place.
January 11, 2021
Books and conversation
To date, more than 1,600 readers have joined the UW Alumni Book Club, representing alumni from every college and school across all three campuses.
December 16, 2020
Whale on display
The skeleton of a 39-foot-long Baird’s beaked whale is now on permanent display in the Burke Museum lobby.
December 11, 2020
Sign of the times
A campus road has been renamed sluʔwiɫ, a word in the Lushootseed language that loosely translates to “Little Canoe Channel.”
December 10, 2020
Voice of the band
Frazer Cook called his time with the Husky Marching Band “an honor, a privilege and a pleasure.” Husky fans everywhere felt the same way about him.
September 30, 2020
Campus ambassador
Our sketchbook profiles Alice Lee, manager of the UW Visitors Center.
September 11, 2020
Beauty by all accounts
To experience the true beauty of the University of Washington’s Seattle campus, look no further than the photographs of Loyd Heath.
June 20, 2020
New reality for students
A graduating student reflects on the coronavirus outbreak that disrupted the last half of her senior year.
June 14, 2020
Impact from afar
The UW faculty are impactful even when they find themselves having to venture into uncomfortable territory. They “flatten the curve” while still producing and disseminating knowledge.
June 10, 2020
Book Store stays essential
A quick trip through the University Book Store’s 120 years.
May 12, 2020
Grad students' lifeline
Students from underrepresented communities find funding, social networks and academic support through the Graduate Opportunities & Minority Achievement Program.
December 5, 2019
Coming soon: The new U District
Change is coming to the UW's front door. Here's what it means for all of us.
November 17, 2019
A story of triumph
A night with Holocaust survivor Eva Schloss, the stepsister of Anne Frank.
June 4, 2019
Fossil flosser
Some might find the work of dusting and dabbing sand away from a fossil tedious, but Jean Primozich still marvels at it.
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.
December 7, 2018
Thanks, Professor Banks
‘The Father of Multicultural Education’ is retiring after 50 years.
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.
December 30, 2017
Band royalty
For Fiesta Bowl week, we tour campus with seven veterans of the Husky Marching Band.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
September 1, 2006
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.
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.
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.
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.
September 1, 2003
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.
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.
June 1, 1998
Bigger stage for grads
Breaking tradition and defying Seattle's reputation for wet weather, the University of Washington will hold its 123rd Commencement ceremonies outdoors in Husky Stadium.
December 1, 1993
Pool for pranks
From the moment the UW inherited the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exhibition's "Geyser Basin," the pool on Rainier Vista has been the site of sanctioned exhibits and unsanctioned spectacles.
June 1, 1993
Guest at Commencement
Astronaut Bonnie Dunbar, '71, '75, will be the guest speaker at the University of Washington's 118th Commencement ceremonies.
December 1, 1989
A vexing motto
A campus mystery has been solved. We now know who inscribed a whimsical motto on a portrait at the South Campus Center.