UW and the Community

Hutchinson Hall was abuzz with excitement and anticipation Tuesday, Dec. 2 for one reason and one reason only. Not for any auditions being held, not for any finals, and not for any performance seated to take place that evening. The buzz was solely because UW Drama alumni Joel McHale was coming to speak with the students in the department. 

“This Is Native Land” is a permanent, 3,000-square-foot exhibition at the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma that weaves the stories of Indigenous peoples into the fabric of the 30-year-old institution. Co-curated by Associate Professor Danica Sterud Miller (Puyallup) and Todd Clark (Wailaki), tribal liaison for the Washington State Historical Society, the project engaged more than 100 Native contributors from more than 60 tribes. 

Key collaborators include elder Philip H. Red Eagle, ’83, ’87 (Dakota and Puget Sound Salish); artist Joe Feddersen, ’83, (Colville); Owen Oliver, ’21 (Quinault); current UW museology student Markus Teuton, ’24 (Cherokee); and museum staff, including head of collections Maggie Wetherbee, ’00, and director of audience engagement Mary Mikel Stump, a former UW student. Viewpoint spoke with Miller, who is on faculty at UW Tacoma, for a look at the making of “This Is Native Land.”

"Survivor accounts of the lasting effects of their prostitution at the hands of Jeffrey Epstein and his wealthy friends repeat the story of every trafficked girl and woman on Aurora Avenue in Seattle," writes Debra Boyer, affiliate faculty in the Department of Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies at the UW.

Trump in the World 2.0 Winter Lecture Series, Ancient Mediterranean Incarceration by UW professor Mark Letteney and Matthew D.C. Larsen, a Grad Lab Concert, and 25+ in-person and online events, podcasts, exhibitions, and more.

Can a cartoonist be a novelist? Charles Johnson, professor emeritus of English at the UW, thinks so.

What happens if you let teens craft the rules that dictate their use of phones at school? You get policy ideas with a nuanced, holistic perspective that rival those being officially issued by the adults in leadership. The UWs Youth Advisory Board, a group of approximately 20 teens from Seattle-area schools, recently published its first memo tackling this contentious issue. The UW's Rotem Landesman, doctoral student in the Information School, and Luca Magis-Weinberg, assistant professor of psychology, are quoted.

The Bainbridge Island City Council approved to have local resident and writer Erin Malone, affiliate associate professor of English at the UW, be the citys new poet laureate through 2027. Malone is the author of Sight of Disappearance, a full-length collection of poems.

Looking for gifts that go beyond the typical stocking stuffers? This holiday season, wrap a little UW magic and celebrate learning, culture and connection across the University. From museum and arboretum memberships to books and performances, this curated list highlights meaningful ways you can share the spirit of curiosity and generosity.

Looking for gifts that go beyond the typical stocking stuffers? This holiday season, wrap a little UW magic and celebrate learning, culture and connection across the University. From museum and arboretum memberships to books and performances, this curated list highlights meaningful ways you can share the spirit of curiosity and generosity.

Nicole McNichols, associate teaching professor of psychology at the UW, writes, "On November 17, my students at the University of Washington heard from someone at the center of todays most complicated conversations about sexuality, labor, and the digital world. That person was Ari Kytsya, an enormously successful OnlyFans creator whose online presence is very different from what many people imagine when they hear 'OnlyFans model.'"

In February, the UW Symphony will perform a symphony that Coast Salish elder Vi Hilbert commissioned years ago to heal the world after the heartbreak of 9/11. The symphony was first performed by the Seattle Symphony in 2006.

Emily Levesque, an associate professor of astronomy at the UW who specializes in massive stars and supernovas, joined host Leah Pezzetti on The Sky Above to discuss the biggest and best discoveries to come from the James Webb Space Telescope this past year.

Historian Coll Thrush researches the dark history of Pacific Northwest shipwrecks in "Wrecked." Thrush, who earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. in history at the University of Washington, spent six years combing through archives, oral histories and ship logs to unearth tales of sinking and survival, exploitation and tragedy. But in the process, he discovered a deeper narrative—an exploration of how people, place and power collided along the Northwest coast, and how nature always won.

While some dancers only appear weightless, Rachael Lincoln—with the help of climbing technology—literally defies gravity.

Public safety in the Chinatown-International District (CID) takes an important step forward with a targeted educational campaign. More than 100 elderly residents and their family members gathered on Nov. 15 at the International District/Chinatown Community Center for CID Cares, a community safety program for one of Seattles most vulnerable populations. The event is supported in part by the UW American ethnic studies department.