Dan O’Neill, ’72, is a fearless humanitarian

September 1, 2015

Fearless humanitarian

When disaster strikes, Mercy Corps co-founder Dan O'Neill, ’72, dives in to help.

True to self

As Terra Hoy and others in the UW community know, changing genders is fraught with challenges -- emotional, physical and societal.

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.

Relationships first

Genetic ethicist Wylie Burke keeps people in mind as she studies advances in medicine and public health.

June 1, 2015

His 36-year career as a Democratic Congressman for Washington’s 6th District may have ended in 2012, but he’s still on the case protecting wildlife and fighting to bolster the economy in his native region.

Ivan Doig, 1939-2015

Whenever I wander by Smith Hall, I reflect about the home of the UW’s esteemed History Department, as well as the place where, in 1969, a doctoral student wrote a memoir about losing his mother at age 6 and being raised by his father and grandma in hardscrabble Montana. Of course, I am referring to Ivan Doig’s first book.

Top teachers

They walk into a classroom that is filled with a sea of anxious faces. Expectations run high. They take a deep breath and off they go—the process of molding students into scholars is what teachers do everyday. With the greatest of ease? Hardly. Only some have the chops to rise above the rest. Introducing this year’s best of the best.

Give Me 5: Dan Kingma

Despite scholarship offers from other schools, Dan Kingma was certain that he was a Husky, even if that meant joining the program as a walk-on.

Jon Bridgman

In the 1950 film La Ronde, the narrator states: “I adore the past. It’s so much more restful than the present and so much more certain than the future.” History Professor Jon Bridgman said that this scene captured his perspective.

Character: Mary Larson

The Harborview nurse barters her portraits to help the homeless in Seattle.

Career in service

In 1961, when President John F. Kennedy famously said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country,” Lloyd Hara took it to heart. It’s why he went to graduate school to study public affairs and spent the past 40 years in public service.

A startling find

Since she was a student in pharmacy school, Shelly Gray has felt a strong connection to the situation many elderly patients find themselves in: “I was struck by how many different medications older adults are taking, as well as their struggle with trying to keep those medications straight,” she recalls.

I, too, am America

The first time I visited the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, I was swept with grief. It was the first point during our UW-led Civil Rights pilgrimage where we faced the reality that the price of being black had been paid with innocent lives.

Norman Johnston, 1918-2015

Professor Emeritus Norman Johnston had the buttons on his blazers replaced by those bearing the University of Washington’s crest; such was his love for this University.

March 1, 2015

‘I am art'’

“I am not a painter or a sculptor or a glass artist. I am art.” Anyone familiar with the work of American Indian Studies professor Marvin Oliver understands that this is not an egotistical statement, but a reflection of a vision that embraces an astonishing range of materials, styles and techniques.