People
June 1, 2014
'Time to flex'
Cristobal J. Alex is out to change the political landscape of the United States as the head of the Latino Victory Project.
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.
A boost behind bars
When Laura Pavlou visits Gig Harbor’s Washington Corrections Center for Women, she sees hope and vitality. Behind the steel gates of the maximum-security prison, it is her mission to nurture potential.
Eyewitness to devastation
Lauren Pongan, a graduate student in Southeast Asia Studies, traveled to Tanauan, Leyte, last December, not long after Typhoon Yolanda devastated portions of the Philippines.
March 1, 2014
Sally Skinner Behnke, 1923-2013
Sally Skinner Behnke, who died Dec. 12 at age 90, made a huge difference in the Seattle community—and to the UW.
Cultural curator
A trip in 1988 ignited Sven Haakanson's passion for preserving indigenous culture. Now he's the new Curator of Native American Anthropology at the Burke Museum of Natural History.
Nurse, philanthropist and more
Ekene “Kennie” Amaefule is a former Nurse of the Year at Harborview Medical Center who has single-handedly improved health care, education, social services and access to clean water in her native village of Imo State, Nigeria.
Debra Friedman, 1955–2014
Debra Friedman loved the University of Washington. She earned two degrees here, served as a UW faculty member and administrator from 1994 to 2005, and in 2011, became chancellor of UW Tacoma—a job she threw herself into.
Jack R. MacDonald, 1915–2013
When Jack R. MacDonald died Sept. 13 at age 98, a $187.6 million charitable trust was provided for three of this favorite causes in Western Washington: the UW School of Law, Seattle Children’s Research Institute and The Salvation Army’s Northwest Division.
The lost branch
By reviving a language on the brink of extinction, a history professor preserves the memory of family members who died in the Holocaust.
'Silence is a coping mechanism'
Teresa Tamura captures poignant stories of hardship from a World War II relocation center in her book "Minidoka: An American Concentration Camp."
December 1, 2013
Witness to history
For his service during World War II, Charles Matthaei was named the 2013 UW Distinguished Alumni Veteran Award recipient.
Undaunted
June 6, 1966 marked a memorable date in what, retrospectively, was to begin an improbable journey to the University of Washington.
Healthy tech
Julie Kientz's sense of discovery spawned a career predicated on using technology to help others and improve their health.
Sea salt savant
Sea salt is typically made in coastal areas where the climate stays warm and dry most of the year, but Brady Ryan, ’10, doesn’t like to do things conventionally. In 2012, he started San Juan Island Sea Salt, harvesting sea salt in the Pacific Northwest using techniques he began learning at UW.
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.
In good hands
Catching up with Dr. Denzil Suite, the new Vice President for Student Life, on eyeing Seattle, serving students and getting lost.
September 1, 2013
Info revolutionary
At the forefront of those spreading the information revolution to developing countries stands an American nonprofit called Internews. And at the head of Internews stands a friendly, straightforward Maine resident, Jeanne Bourgault, ’86, ’90.
Career pursuit
Now, thanks to a four-year $6.7 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Shiu-Lok Hu is part of an international network of scientists dedicated to designing and advancing promising new HIV vaccine candidates to clinical trials.
Brewster Denny, 1924-2013
Brewster C. Denny, who died June 22 at age 88, held several key roles in the federal government before honoring the call from UW President Charles Odegaard to return home to Seattle to create an academic program in public affairs.