Alumni
June 1, 2011
Bee detective
Charles Wick, ’71, ’73, ’79, may not wear the trademark deerstalker hat and smoke a long-stemmed pipe but when it comes to bees, he’s an ace detective.
Get a clue
Crossword puzzle fanatic Jeff Chen, ’02, doesn’t just fill out crossword puzzles, he writes them, too. He recently had one published by The New York Times. And here he created a special crossword puzzle for Columns readers.
Screen time
Temple Mathews, ’76, describes himself as someone who never shies away from a challenge. He credits this attitude for getting him to Hollywood.
Fighting poverty
A year after returning home to Seattle from the Philippines, Christine Umayam couldn’t get those images out of her head, so she created Child United.
Space out
For Janet Kavandi, '90, and her colleagues, it’s a bittersweet time to be an American astronaut.
The natural
Jane Lubchenco’s ability to bring real-world approaches to scientific inquiry led her to become the first woman director of NOAA. The 1971 alumna is the recipient of the UW's highest alumni honor.
Helping Rwandan girls
Shalisan Foster, ’92, and Suzanne Sinegal McGill, ’91, beamed with pride as they attended the opening of the Gashora Girls Academy—a school they created as part of their Rwanda Girls Initiative.
Pulling for Paul
While Paul Dann, ’83, of Richland, received cancer treatment at the UW Medical Center, his daughter Claire got busy and organized a Relay for Life team she named “Paul’s Pals.”
March 1, 2011
Passion for policy
Tracie Stevens is the first woman to chair the National Indian Gaming Commission, the agency that regulates the $27 billion Indian gaming industry.
December 1, 2010
Market man
Ben Franz-Knight, '96, is executive director of the Pike Place Market Preservation & Development Authority, the organization that oversees the 103-year-old Seattle institution.
Medicine for the masses
Using business, medical and engineering smarts, UW alumni are solving medical problems in Washington and beyond.
Rick Steves' worldview
Rick Steves, ’78, is an idealist. He doesn’t expect you to agree with him. But he’s not speaking his mind or advocating controversial legal reform to be popular.
September 1, 2010
Rounding home
Often overlooked during the Mariners' playoff runs of the 1990s was the fact that the starting third baseman was a Husky: Mike Blowers, who played two years at the University of Washington (1985-86).
Hot in Hollywood
Standing 6 foot 4, Joel McHale is a tall man in Hollywood. And now, he’s a big man in Tinseltown.
June 1, 2010
Stage to screen
Lynn Shelton, ’87, parlayed a UW degree in drama into a 10-year career on the stages of New York. But she found her true calling when she opted to pursue a career behind a camera.
Pursuit of potential
Once a preppy hustler, a cocaine dealer, a drug addict, and a student in Japan, Max Hunter is now a UW Ph.D. student and has begun telling his story.
Nordstrom's way
Bruce Nordstrom has been a force in civic activities, a leader in charitable giving and devoted alum to the University of Washington.
March 1, 2010
Helping people hear
Paige Stringer, ’96, built a platform to extend teacher training, deliver hearing aids, and improve outreach about hearing loss issues to communities in developing countries.
New approach to learning
Rob Thomas, '93, was named the 2009 Outstanding Baccalaureate Colleges U.S. Professor of the Year by The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement for Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.
Hard-hitting alumni
What comes to mind when you think of the Rat City Rollergirls? If it’s tattooed women and fast, physical action, you’re not alone. But that’s not the whole story.