uw history
December 1, 2008
Back in time
Frank Nowell’s photographs offer an intriguing glimpse of the UW in its infancy, and suggest the significant role the school played in introducing Seattle to the world.
June 1, 2008
‘Legend’ has it
With this issue, we celebrate the 100th anniversary of the UW's alumni magazine by celebrating the living legends among us.
March 1, 2008
40 years of change
In the mid-1960s, only two of the UW’s 1,734 professors were African Americans. Students of color made up only 4 percent of the total enrollment that year. That began to change on May 20, 1968, when students from the Black Student Union staged a sit-in at the office University President Charles E. Odegaard.
December 1, 2007
One for the Rhodes
DeLaine Emmert, wife of President Mark A. Emmert, '75, asked a simple question: How many Rhodes Scholars does the UW have? No one knew the answer.
Home pride
For 65 years, Hill-Crest has been the home to 12 presidents. It has seen glittering parties, teenage sleepovers and even police protection during Vietnam War student unrest.
September 1, 2007
Dawgs bucked the odds
But the nation wasn’t convinced that the Huskies were all that tough during the 1960 season, despite their 9–1 record. On Jan. 2, Minnesota, with an 8–1 record, was a seven-point favorite, perhaps because the Huskies were so battered. But the oddsmakers were wrong.
Out of time
UW communication professors pried open a 51-year-old time capsule on April 26, revealing both its original contents and some more, um, revealing contents.
March 1, 2007
Strong signals
Thirty-five years ago, John Kean, ’72, helped launch the UW’s first student radio station by installing a 10-watt transmitter in McMahon Hall.
December 1, 2006
Riding the rails again
The difference between the crowded confusion of the trolley of 1895 and the quiet comfort of the yet-to-be-seen Sound Transit light rail will be a clear indication of the passage of over 120 years.
September 1, 2006
50 years for the heart
Fifty years ago, the UW perfected its own heart-lung machine and did the first open-heart bypass surgery in the West. Now advances are coming so quickly that they could put future cardiac surgeons out of business.
June 1, 2006
Funny papers
A map in The Daily seemed to be a helpful aid for campus newcomers. But those who followed it soon found themselves hopelessly lost—and miles from their intended destinations.
March 1, 2006
Stolen years
After Pearl Harbor, as the U.S. imprisoned thousands of its own citizens in internment camps, more than 400 Japanese American students had to drop out of the UW.
Historic Hec Ed
Basketball players, U.S. presidents, billionaire computer moguls and Boy Scouts: what do these people have in common? All are part of the rich history surrounding one of the UW's most iconic buildings: Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
December 1, 2005
Detective story
The assignment was straightforward, but it felt like mission impossible: Find out what happened to more than 400 students forced to leave the University of Washington when the federal government incarcerated Japanese Americans in 1942.
The stolen years
After Pearl Harbor, as the U.S. imprisoned thousands of its own citizens in internment camps, more than 400 Japanese American students had to drop out of the UW. This is the story of some forced to leave — and the efforts the UW made to protect them.
September 1, 2005
The last waltz
From parties to salsa competitions to Experimental College dance classes, UW students and alumni alike have been enjoying the Wilsonian Ballroom since the 1920s. That may come to an end, however, as developers plan to demolish the 82-year-old space.
June 1, 2005
Back in bronze
The UW likes to think of itself as a 21st-century institution, but in February one of its buildings stepped back in time 110 years.
March 1, 2005
Mystery mansion
Once upon a time, the UW president lived right on the campus grounds. The president’s house sat at the end of what would become the University’s quadrangle, the site of today’s Music Building.
June 1, 2004
Queen for a day
For a campus that had seen U.S. presidents, rock stars and Hollywood icons, it was still a momentous occasion. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were coming to the UW on the last stop of a 10-day West Coast visit to the U.S.