Faculty & Staff
September 2, 2023
Passion for public health
Throughout his career, George Counts has addressed health and health-care inequities.
He can dig it
David R. Montgomery has a MacArthur “genius grant,” a handful of popular science books, and six albums with the local band Big Dirt under his belt.
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
Tribe and timber
By listening to land stewards within the Yakama Nation, Tom Hinckley learned to see the forest for the trees.
June 20, 2023
Historian, tour guide, archive enthusiast
Let Antoinette Wills show you around the UW's campus.
May 29, 2023
Distinguished Teaching Legacy Award
John C. Berg was named the recipient of the UW’s 2023 Distinguished Teaching Legacy Award.
Teachers of the year
From inspiration to impact, this year’s Distinguished Teaching Award recipients mentor and nurture students from all disciplines.
May 28, 2023
Our part for the planet
A UW workshop showcases how climate change innovations on campuses can benefit surrounding communities and beyond.
April 25, 2023
Signs of disability
Stephanie Kerschbaum explores how we notice, and sometimes don't notice, disability.
April 21, 2023
Full circle
Sherri Berdine supports and strengthens the University’s relationships with nearly 40 tribal nations in the Pacific Northwest.
February 25, 2023
Opioid game-changer
Vaccines show promise for treating addiction to oxycodone, heroin and other addictive substances.
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
Another side of the city
Peter Bacho wrote a love letter to Seattle with “Uncle Rico's Encore,” a book he says he “had to write.”
November 27, 2022
Genius at work
The MacArthur Foundation honors Yejin Choi, a professor who teaches human language to computers.
A seat at the table
Gov. Jay Inslee, ’73, selected Professor Alexes Harris, ’97, to serve a three-year term on the University’s highest governing body.
November 26, 2022
On the scene of change
In data and in the field, professor Briana Abrahms seeks ways for humans and wildlife to coexist as the climate changes.
November 4, 2022
A new era for campus security
The UW's new police chief, Craig Wilson, has served 26 years in the department.
November 3, 2022
Tamara Lawson is the UW's new law dean
The UW’s new law dean wants to infuse social justice and civil rights throughout the law school curriculum.
September 20, 2022
Making history
History professor Margaret O'Mara explains how prior generations handled a pandemic and what we can learn from their mistakes.
September 9, 2022
Story of Black Seattle
Quintard Taylor tells the stories of Seattle’s small, but influential Black community.
September 3, 2022
Neurodiversity at work
Neurodiverse UW employees gather to share their stories at a seminar.
September 1, 2022
State of happiness
Early each summer, the University organizes a statewide field trip to introduce new faculty and administrators to Washington.
August 31, 2022
Touch Down
There's a new head coach in town: Kalen DeBoer shares his insights on the upcoming season with editor Jon Marmor.
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 30, 2022
JoAnn Taricani, 1953-2022
School of Music Director JoAnn Taricani brought joy to her students and colleagues over more than four decades before her sudden death Feb. 1.
May 29, 2022
Media man
For the past 31 years, Jeff Bechthold has worked in sports information for the UW athletic department. He handles Husky football and crew.
May 25, 2022
Champion of opportunities
Michael Verchot receives the 2022 UWAA Distinguished Service Award for his work on behalf of the UW Consulting and Business Development Center.
Commemorating Ken Sirotnik
Ken Sirotnik's legacy remains strong nearly two decades after his death. The UWAA honors him with the 2022 Distinguished Teaching Legacy Award.
Community champion
For his dedication to the UW and Chicano/a/Latino/a communities, Erasmo Gamboa receives the 2022 Retiree Excellence in Community Service Award.
May 16, 2022
Toward a more diverse faculty
A new campus-wide effort led by Alexes Harris supports underrepresented groups and first-generation faculty.
March 18, 2022
Behind the scenes
Tres Tracy Ballon, '01, is the master carpenter at the UW School of Drama. We talked to her about squirrels, big ideas and building sets (and boats).
March 5, 2022
Living through history
UW history professor Margaret O’Mara shares her perspective on the pandemic and its echoes from the past.
March 4, 2022
Caring for custodians
Evalynn Fae Taganna Romano, ’10, ’21, leads an effort recognize an often overlooked group in the pandemic: campus custodians.
December 11, 2021
Locally grown
Marie Spiker is an assistant professor of epidemiology at the UW School of Public Health, registered dietitian and enthusiastic kayaker. We asked her about her various passions.
December 4, 2021
Why get a booster?
Marion Pepper of the School of Medicine helps us better understand the latest COVID-19 shot.
Fruity, not healthy
Fruit drinks are often disguised as nutritious alternatives to soda. Researchers try to counter that narrative.
Why grad school works
Graduate education is more than a ticket to a better future; it’s an engine for the public good.
A call to action
Associate Professor Wendy Barrington, '12, brings a passion for health equity to her role as director of the Center for Anti-Racism and Community Health.
Fighting the infodemic
Twisted facts, fake news and social media spoofs can turn society upside down. One UW team is working to help us through the infodemic.
November 19, 2021
Remembering the Spratlens
Thaddeus Spratlen and Lois Price-Spratlen were the UW’s academic power couple—excelling as scholars and opening up opportunities for others.
September 11, 2021
Friend to veterans
Dentistry professor Theresa Cheng leads a nonprofit organization that connects veterans with resources and employment opportunities.
Eyes on the goal
Sociology Professor Alexes Harris, ’97, works closely with UW Athletics to help student-athletes succeed.
September 4, 2021
Hope and healing
A researcher combats cancer with the help of UW doctors and tools developed by his colleagues.
August 31, 2021
A distinguished legacy
Thaddeus Spratlen was a trailblazing business educator, a prolific scholar, a mentor and role model for generations of students.
Land of fire and smoke
Ernesto Alvarado will be the first to tell you: You can’t suppress all of a region’s fires when they’re as much a part of the ecology as its flora and fauna.
July 22, 2021
A fresh lens on QTPOC life
Through feature films, groundbreaking documentaries and shorts, a UW librarian creates a canon of meaningful representation in American cinema.
June 21, 2021
Professors nonpareil
One year into remote learning, these seven distinguished scholars kept class as fresh and relevant as ever. Find a seat and meet your 2021 Distinguished Teachers of the Year.
June 14, 2021
Fond farewells
As we celebrate 12,000 new University of Washington graduates, we also have the special opportunity to honor three academic leaders who are retiring.
June 10, 2021
A shot at better care
To get vaccines into arms in underserved communities, we need to meet people where they are, Pharmacy Professor Don Downing writes.
Bridging the distance
UW faculty members used innovative approaches to teaching hands-on courses during the pandemic.
May 11, 2021
High-flying professor
Cecilia Aragon’s memoir, “Flying Free,” is for “anybody who has been discouraged all their life,” she says.
May 10, 2021
Diversity takes work
In the recent years, the UW has seen the highest racial and gender diversity among students in its history, “and yet we have fallen short on our faculty diversity efforts."
March 13, 2021
Surveying the Native art of the Pacific Northwest
Here's what it's like to be a student in the University of Washington's class about Indigenous art.
March 11, 2021
Helen Chu honored
University of Washington Medicine professor Dr. Helen Chu, ’12, “Washingtonian of the Year” by the Washington State Leadership Board.
Native knowledge
Native art is prominent in the life of Miranda Belarde-Lewis, an assistant professor in the University of Washington Information School.
March 9, 2021
Don’t be a spreader
Some advice about the kind of misinformation you may see in the coming months about COVID-19 vaccines and some tools to stop its spread.
March 4, 2021
Our climate future is now
Scientists spent decades warning us about what would happen during the 2020s and 2030s. Now we see it.
Digital dynamo
UW Libraries has undertaken a massive effort to expand access to digital resources and develop programs that teach students and faculty skills for research in a digital age.
December 16, 2020
A year to remember
Historians and information experts encourage us to preserve our memories and mementos so future generations might understand this exceptional time.
December 7, 2020
Scholar and mentor
After earning his doctorate, Christopher Beasley established the Husky Post-Prison Research Lab.
November 29, 2020
For many UW retirees, service never stops
Retiring from the UW doesn’t end the story for faculty and staff. They are driven to serve their communities on a local or global scale.
November 12, 2020
A new face teaches American portraiture
Assistant Professor Juliet Sperling, pictured here, began teaching American art history at the University of Washington this fall. She took us on a tour of U.S. history by looking at 18 portraits over four centuries.
September 30, 2020
Campus ambassador
Our sketchbook profiles Alice Lee, manager of the UW Visitors Center.
September 16, 2020
Book takes honors
A book by UW Tacoma Assistant Professor Emily Thuma won the 2020 Lambda Literary Award for LGBT Studies.
Being there
For many older Americans, the rhythms of every day have not just changed during the COVID-19 pandemic; they have stopped.
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.
Values and victories
Jennifer Cohen started working at the UW athletic department in 1998 and was promoted to athletic director in 2016.
Our lives, disrupted
We asked three UW experts—a historian, a leader in education and an expert in infectious disease—how we might use this time of challenge and change to plan for a better future.
August 21, 2020
Make fine art with a UW professor, from his kitchen to yours
The chair of UW’s Printmaking Program designed a popular new class during the pandemic, stamping out doubt about how effective remote learning can be.
August 4, 2020
Stars in her eyes
Astronomer Emily Levesque’s new book shares the wonder of stargazing—and the adventures it’s taken her on.
June 26, 2020
Radical listening
Ralina Joseph, professor of communication and director of the UW Center for Communication, Difference, and Equity, is leading exercises in “radical listening."
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 11, 2020
Screen gems
Sheltering in place against the novel coronavirus prevented us from photographing our Teachers of the Year as we always do—in person. So we captured them the way students saw them during spring quarter.
June 4, 2020
Her work spans oceans
Jacqueline Padilla-Gamiño studies issues such as global environmental change, ocean acidification and microplastics in the ocean.
Stat keeper
Craig Heyamoto, ’75, ’78, has compiled stats for UW football and basketball since the 1970s. Today, he is in charge of the UW stats crew.
The joy of rereading
Like a good friendship, your relationship with a book can become richer as you get to know it better.
Ahead of the curve
Fast, accurate COVID-19 testing quickly went into effect here, thanks to the heroic efforts of UW Medicine faculty and staff.
May 14, 2020
Dangerous cells
Professor Dan Berger says incarcerated people must be freed to halt virus spread.
May 12, 2020
Vision for indigenizing
Charlotte Coté, this year’s Samuel E. Kelly Distinguished Faculty Lecturer, offers her thoughts on weaving Native understanding into the fabric of the UW.
May 4, 2020
Grant backs Indigenous vision
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation granted $1.8 million to the center to support students and research.
March 30, 2020
Bonjour, Paris
Meredith Clausen, an architectural historian, shares her Paris apartments with UW scholars.
March 24, 2020
Hummingbird man
What makes hummingbirds so fascinating? We asked UW expert Alejandro Rico-Guevara.
March 10, 2020
For an informed public
The UW's Center for an Informed Public is a response to the rise in disinformation and erosion of trust in our most basic societal institutions.
December 4, 2019
Seeing himself in the science
Ecologist Christopher Schell believes that tapping into who he is as a person makes his research better.
December 3, 2019
Happy hints
Recommendations from social psychologist Tabitha Kirkland, whose research explores strategies that nurture our happiness.
November 24, 2019
Building the bones
Chip Lydum, ’84, parlayed a journalism job into a prominent role in Husky athletics.
Becoming a Husky
The University of Washington's admissions process is vetted and values-driven to produce a talented, diverse student body.
Legacy of ‘No-No Boy’
Decades ago, he built a foundation for Asian American literature; now, a UW professor is still protecting an alumnus’s classic novel.
September 2, 2019
Saving time
Benefits to daylight saving time? Let me shine some light on the ways it makes life better.
June 3, 2019
House Party
We partied like students with the winners of the 2019 Distinguished Teaching Awards.
A joyful privilege
Connie Kravas, who retires from the UW this summer, is one of the most vocal and successful advocates for higher education for all of Washington.
April 20, 2019
The ways we see
Professor Stephanie Fryberg draws on her own life to build support for Indigenous children
March 12, 2019
Abolished
How UW research convinced our state's highest court to toss out the death penalty.
December 7, 2018
Thanks, Professor Banks
‘The Father of Multicultural Education’ is retiring after 50 years.
December 1, 2018
Powerhouses of poetry
Over the last half century, some of the greatest poets have come to the UW to perform their works.
November 30, 2018
Give Me 5: Michael Callahan
Michael Callahan rowed for UW from 1992-96, competed in the ’04 Olympics and has coached the men’s crew team since 2007.