People
March 1, 2015
Albert L. Babb, 1925-2014
Albert L. “Les” Babb joined the UW chemical engineering faculty in 1952 and spent more than 40 years at the UW. He led the development of a curriculum in nuclear engineering and chaired the Department of Nuclear Engineering from 1965 to 1982.
December 1, 2014
Veteran answered the call
For his service, Richard Layton was honored with the 2014 Distinguished Alumni Veteran Award.
Ombudswhat?
Ombudsman is Swedish for “the people’s advocate.” In 1968, the UW became one of the nation’s first universities to appoint an Ombud. Chuck Sloane looks forward to being part of a long legacy.
Curriculum inventor
As Carrie Tzou wondered how biology—her major—could be more engaging, she decided to see how she could design ways to improve teaching. Today, it is her career focus.
Film buff
Cinema Books owner Stephanie Ogle reintroduces classics, champions new treasures and plays a starring role in celebrating film.
September 1, 2014
Book store lifer
Louise Little is a University Book Store icon. She started 34 years ago as a cashier and is now CEO. But it all started when she read Nancy Drew as a kid.
Life on stage
Scott Magelssen has had more lives than an accident-prone cat, thanks to interactive simulations.
Spreading his wheels
Landscape architecture alumnus Steve Durrant is helping Seattle take a big step by unveiling the city’s first bike-sharing program.
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.