UW and the Community

The term "ivory tower" dates back to the Bible, but when used to describe academia, it's way off base, says Dean Robert Stacey.

Should college athletes be paid? To what extent should politicians’ sexual indiscretions be forgiven? Is it ethical to arm rebels in countries where we’re not at war?

EMP Museum curator Jacob McMurray ('95) discovered a passion for museums while working at the UW's Burke Museum as an undergrad.

A collaboration between the UW and the Bellevue School District, designed to improve student engagement and performance in advanced placement (AP) courses, is now finding wider success.

Death Over Dinner is a web resource that encourages people to host dinners for family and friends to discuss end-of-life issues. To date, Death Over Dinner has been the impetus for more than 1,000 dinners in 17 countries.

“The fabric of my life has been ever so enriched by each and every one of you.” A grey-haired gentleman is speaking during a sharing session at the close of UW EAR (Experience Auditory Rehabilitation), a conference for people with hearing loss and their communication partners. His voice cracks as he reaches for a tissue. “I haven’t used Kleenex in such a long while.”

A set of letters dating back to the 1940s led Devin Naar to study the history of Sephardic Jews. Now he heads the UW's Sephardic Studies Initiative and oversees an archive of Sephardic materials that is among the nation's largest.

Philosophy graduate student Amy Reed-Sandoval has spent the past three summers leading a philosophy program for children in Oaxaca, Mexico, guiding conversations on everything from individual rights to the nature of happiness.

With so many fantasy novels and their on-screen adaptions set in neo-medieval times, EMP looked to members of a UW medieval studies group to help with its new exhibit on the fantasy genre.

When scientists studying the deadly H5N1 “bird flu” virus reengineered it to be transmissible in humans, the potential for the virus to become a public security threat intensified.

Through a national program, ten high school students spent a recent Saturday as physicists, analyzing real data from the world's largest particle accelerator and discussing their findings with scientists at a national lab.

Black Cultural Studies students combined traditional coursework with community projects through a winter quarter collaboration with the Northwest African American Museum.

A&S alumni and siblings Gary and Carver Gayton have led extraordinary lives, following in the footsteps of their great grandfather Lewis Clarke, who escaped slavery to become a well-known abolitionist.

It began as a modest resource to address students' frequently asked questions, but Professor Quintard Taylor's BlackPast.org website now attracts 2.8 million visitors a year with its trusted information about African American history.

The new Dean of  the College of Arts and Sciences shares his thoughts about his role, the value of the liberal arts, and the state of higher education.