UW and the Community

Quintard Taylor, a prominent professor at the University of Washington and the founder of an online archive of Black history that reached curious minds across the globe, died Sunday at 76. Taylor was professor emeritus of history at the UW. Ana Mari Cauce, professor of psychology and UW president emerita, is quoted.

In a new study, a team of scientists determined the minimum natural habitat on agricultural land that will allow insect pollinators including bumble bees, solitary bees, hoverflies and butterflies to thrive. UW News reached out to co-author Berry Brosi, UW professor of biology, to learn more about these results and how habitat is important to two types of bees native to Washington.

Sven Haakanson, a University of Washington professor of anthropology, worked with three Coast Salish carvers to install a story pole on campus. Story poles were specifically created to share and teach Coast Salish legends, histories and stories.

The Henry Art Gallery scrapped admission fees this summer and saw a jump in visitors.

Connect, explore, get involved! Dawg Daze will take place from September 17 to 26, 2025. It is a great way to discover resources, familiarize yourself with important campus landmarks, and connect with UW staff and other UW students.

According to a citation from the award committee, Aseem Prakash, professor of political science at the UW, has had an outstanding career devoted to exemplary scholarship in the joint tradition of political science and public administration.

Many in the theater world here in Seattle know of David Armstrong, UW affiliate instructor of drama, as 5th Avenue Theatre's artistic director and executive producer from 2000 to 2018. Now he's also an author. Armstrong is interviewed about his new book: "Broadway Nation: How Immigrant, Jewish, Queer, and Black Artists Invented the Broadway Musical."

Featuring exhibitions at the University of Washington.

An exhibit by Rob Rhee, assistant professor and chair of interdisciplinary visual art, is included in this roundup.

Ten years ago, astronomers made an epic discovery with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory. Cosmology hasnt been the same since, and it might not stay that way much longer. James Bardeen, professor emeritus of physics at the UW, is mentioned.

A new book by Ping Wang, University of Washington professor of Asian languages and literature, is bringing fresh attention to one of the most influential poets in Chinese literary history, Xie Lingyun.

UW-trained conservationists helped launch a movement to save some of the world's most elusive animals. Here's how they did it.

A growing number of school districts are implementing new cell phone bans in the classroom, and a University of Washington study found that while teachers generally support the policies, students are less positive, though some concede the policies improve concentration. Luca Magis-Weinberg, assistant professor of psychology at the UW, is interviewed.

Dr. Kroll joined the UW Chemistry faculty in September 2024. With his first year as a Husky in the books, we took the opportunity to get to know him.

Derek Sheffield, ’90, ’99, a poet and English teacher, was appointed Washington State’s Poet Laureate in April by Governor Bob Ferguson. A passionate naturalist known for co-editing the best-selling “Cascadia Field Guide: Art, Ecology, Poetry” with Elizabeth Bradfield, ’94, and CMarie Fuhrman, Sheffield is “always packing” binoculars and hand lens and birds by ear—often in the woods near his home in Leavenworth. He has butterflied alongside Robert Michael Pyle, ’69, ’73, the lepidopterist, and once exchanged letters with Pulitzer-winning biologist E.O. Wilson.