Identifying the root cause of the climate crisis is simple enough. Finding solutions? Not so simple. It requires enormous creativity, commitment and collaboration, often among traditional antagonists in the public, private and nonprofit sectors. To foster these ad hoc collaborations, there is UW EarthLab, a transdisciplinary institute within the College of the Environment that is [...]

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The curriculum vitae of Anita Ramasastry is awe-inspiring. And a bit exhausting. The Henry M. Jackson Professor of Law has compiled an impressive record of traditional academic activities and achievements, from directing the UW School of Law’s Sustainable International Development Graduate Program and serving as senior advisor to the UW’s Office of Global Affairs to [...]

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Women have played a central part in the University of Washington history, from its very first faculty member (Lucia Carr) in the 1860s and first bachelor’s degree graduate (Clara McCarty) in 1876 to the remarkably diverse learning environment it has become today. Through its eras and across its varied disciplines, countless extraordinary women have defined [...]

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As she leads a tour of the diverse vegetation proliferating inside the UW Biology Greenhouse, Katie Sadler compulsively collects dead leaves, desiccated flowers and spent branches, almost without noticing, the way a mother casually fusses with her child’s hair or straightens his collar. “I wish I had my pruning shears,” she says, with a knowing [...]

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On the day that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed in Memphis, Tennessee, Quintard Taylor was working to register Black voters in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was just 18, a junior at St. Augustine’s University endowed with idealism for the cause of racial justice through non-violent means that King espoused. But the [...]

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Nicole Klein is not ordinarily a building hugger. But not long ago, in the middle of a tour she was leading of the old ASUW Shell House, Klein found herself overcome by emotion, temporarily unable to speak and compelled to wrap her arms around its walls of rough-hewn Douglas fir for a lingering moment. “I [...]

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“I’m exactly where I want to be.”  For associate professor of Urban Design and Planning Jan Whittington, this statement sums up her feelings about being on the faculty of a large public university, doing what she loves, with good opportunities to secure research funding.  Her statement applies equally well to the 1906 Craftsman near Ravenna [...]

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“Study abroad changed my life.” This is a headline for many a blog post, tagline for many a study abroad program brochure, popular Tik Tok theme and a common refrain among students and alumni of overseas study. Indeed, a quick Google search of that phrase pulls up dozens of first-person accounts about how being an [...]

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Veterans can be a tight-knit group. Having spent years building a community on whom they could depend with their lives, many Veterans find retirement from the military—and the sudden loss of that community—unsettling, at best. This is one reason why Veterans recovering from behavioral health or addiction disorders often benefit from the support of a [...]

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The shape and form of a city are like an essay–a composition that is constantly being rewritten and revised by the social and political activity of the people who live in and use it. And like an essay, a city expresses arguments about who deserves the amenities that urban life offers. If that sounds like [...]

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Service to one’s community—in whatever form people choose to offer it—brings people together, bridging ideological, cultural, values-based, and economic differences for the common good. For LeAnne Wiles, Student Academic Services Executive Director for First Year Programs & Strategic Initiatives in Undergraduate Academic Affairs, serving her community has, from a young age, been a conscious choice [...]

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Meaningful recognition is a powerful motivator. People need to know that what they are doing matters. They need consistent acknowledgement of their value in an organization, and they need to be given recognition in a way that is significant to them. For nurses and other patient care providers, meaningful recognition might be the difference between [...]

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