Profiles

A spring quarter sabbatical in 2025 provided the time and space for Professor Giselle Wyers to complete and debut parts of "The Lips of the Sky," a multi-movement choral work that premiered at Carnegie Hall in May 2026 in a performance presented by MidAmerica Productions.

Kasaba served as director of the Jackson School of International Studies (JSIS) for 10 years. Kasaba also served as Director of the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program in Near and Middle East Studies (NMES) intermittently between 2004 and 2024. He’s now retiring from his position after 41 years at UW.

Ron Krabill, a professor in UW Bothells School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences and director of the Global Sport Lab in the UW Jackson School of International Studies, is co-leading this years UW Summer Institute in the Arts & Humanities Seattles World Cup: Storytelling Through Community Mapping. Krabill talked with UW News about his plans for participating students, his background in sports scholarship, what hell be watching during Seattles tournament games and more.

UW Department of Communication alum and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, David Horsey, '76, first discovered his love for journalism where so many Daily alumni have: in the orange-painted walls of The Daily’s newsroom in the Communications Building, CMU 132.

“I feel like my experience at the UW has been incredibly well-rounded," says Eddie McClary, who graduates in June 2026 with bachelor's degrees in dance and biochemistry. 

Evans School alum Randy Engstrom returns to public service to lead Seattle Center into its next era.

Roberto Maestas grew up in a small New Mexico town but became a Seattle legend as a UW student and social-justice leader.

Roberto Maestas grew up in a small New Mexico town but became a Seattle legend as a UW student and social-justice leader.

Elissa Khodikian, a graduate student in the Department of Biology, researches how certain mosquito species adapt to saline environments in the Pacific Northwest. Originally from Lebanon and later studying in Canada, Elissa came to UW to continue her research under Dr. Andrea Durant. Her story highlights her passion for evolutionary biology and the important role mentorship as well as community have played in shaping her experience at UW.

Mary Brunkow's unconventional journey from UW genetics student to Nobel laureate was shaped by a love of discovery.

The University of Washington has produced its share of poet laureates, but Mateo Quispe, a queer and trans Peruvian American poet and senior in the Comparative History of Ideas program, may be the only student ever to hold a laureateship while at the UW. University of Washington Magazine shares this profile of Quispe, who is studying the comparative history of ideas at the UW while completing his tenure as Auburn Poet Laureate.

In his new memoir, Department of Philosophy alum Kim Thayil, '85, reflects on Soundgarden, Seattle's music scene and his journey from UW student to '90s rock icon.

Graduating with bachelor's degrees in neuroscience and French, Hunter Jung is heading to France for a cognitive neuroscience program that reflects both interests.

Through summer excavations at a former plantation and an anthropology honors thesis, Raquel Matthews is advancing our understanding of the lives of enslaved people who lived there. 

For his UW master's in Scandinavian Studies, Estonian student Greg Rahuoja addressed political and practical challenges for Khanty, an Indigenous language spoken in parts of Siberia.