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A Year of Creating Futures: The Feature Story
In a banner year of outstanding achievements, more UW friends and alumni than ever before provided a record amount of support for our students, faculty and programs. The 97,876 contributors to the UW in fiscal year 2006 brought Campaign UW significantly closer to its $2 billion goal, with Campaign contributions in excess of $1.7 billion. On the following pages are many examples of your profound generosity, which continues to create opportunity for our students and faculty, encourage innovation and creativity, and make possible new advances in knowledge and research that benefit all. The UW Foundation is grateful to each and every one of you for all that you do to ensure brighter futures for the University and the communities it serves. Thank you!
A year in the life of a university is rife with accomplishment, ambition, and achievement. The UW’s stellar roster of outstanding faculty and promising students and its spirit of interdisciplinary cooperation are creating futures each and every day, in big ways and small. Your support enables us to advance the frontiers of health care, foster better cultural understanding and active civic involvement, expand the scope and power of education, promote our region’s economic vitality, and cultivate and sustain our natural environment. Your generosity made possible many advances this past fiscal year. Here are just a few glimpses of the many ways that together, we are creating futures for the citizens of our state and the world beyond.
| July 2005 | August 2005 | September 2005 |
| October 2005 | November 2005 | December 2005 |
| January 2006 | February 2006 | March 2006 |
| April 2006 | May 2006 | June 2006 |
Classic generosity: Dr. Nick and Nancy Vidalakis promote cultural engagement with their commitment to establish a professorship in Hellenic Studies. The couple hopes that their gift will inspire others in the local Greek-American community to support the program, which is housed in the Jackson School of International Studies.
Founders’ dedication: UW Foundation Board director Nicholas Hanauer (’81) and his wife, Leslie Gayle (’92), demonstrate extraordinary dedication to the University and its future with their gift to the UW Founder’s Fund. The fund provides a pool of resources that the University may use to match endowments created for UW students, faculty and programs.
Rewarding outstanding service: A gift from Don and Sylvia Schmid to the School of Social Work will provide assistance to American Indian graduate students who plan to work in a child welfare setting serving primarily American Indian communities. The Don and Sylvia Schmid American Indian Child Welfare Leadership Award will enable the School to present $1,000 cash awards to first- and second-year students in its MSW program, which is ranked number three in the nation.
Investing in hope: The Canary Foundation advances the work of UW scientists seeking breakthroughs in early detection of pancreatic cancer. The foundation’s generosity will support the development of a diagnostic test with the potential to dramatically boost survival rates, offering a ray of hope for those affected by this deadly disease.
Math matters: Longtime UW friends and volunteers Kathy (’82) and John Connors make a commitment through their family foundation to create an endowed scholarship for students in the Educational Opportunities Program (EOP) who are pursuing studies in math. EOP provides resources to undergraduates who are first-generation college students or who come from economically or educationally disadvantaged backgrounds. In addition to the couple’s longtime financial support of the UW, Kathy Connors serves on the UW Foundation Board.
First endowed deanship established: A commitment from Frank (’47) and Julie Jungers establishes an endowed deanship in the College of Engineering — the first ever endowed deanship at the UW. The gift enables the College to recruit new dean Matthew O’Donnell to the UW from the University of Michigan, where he was chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, and provides flexible resources that the dean may use to enhance education and research in the College.
Mapping Seattle’s green future: The Urban Land Institute’s gift to the Department of Landscape Architecture allows students and faculty to launch Open Space Seattle 2100, a public discourse and planning process that engages local citizens in the creation of a 100-year plan for Seattle’s open spaces. The resulting plan will help sustain the natural environments and quality of life that make Seattle such a beautiful — and livable — city.
Enhancing Jewish Studies: Herb (’57) and Lucy (’61) Pruzan promote cultural awareness in the Jackson School of International Studies with the establishment of the Lucia and Herbert L. Pruzan Endowed Professorship in Jewish Studies. The professorship will be held by the director of the Jewish Studies Program, considered the region’s premier institution for the academic study of Jewish life.
Real property makes a real difference: Gifts of real estate from former Regent James Ellis (‘49) support University research and scholarship. His gifts will be directed to the Robert Lee Ellis Memorial Scholarship Fund in Student Financial Aid; the Floyd E. Ellis Scholarship Fund in the College of Ocean and Fishery Sciences; the James R. Ellis Forestry Fund, supporting forest sustainability applications in the Mountains to Sound Greenway; and the Mary Lou Earling Ellis Diabetes Research Fund, created in memory of his late wife, Mary Lou, who joined him in many philanthropic contributions to the UW.
Taking care of UW Tacoma Business: Russell Investment Group and its chairman, Michael Phillips, make an investment in faculty at UW Tacoma with their commitments to create an endowed professorship at the Milgard School of Business at UW Tacoma. Phillips is chairman of the UW Tacoma advisory board.
Marine studies enhanced: Brooks and Suzanne Ragen support marine research by undergraduate and graduate students with their contribution of endowed student support for Friday Harbor Laboratories (FHL). Located on San Juan Island, FHL has provided UW students opportunities for field studies in marine biology since 1904.
Hurricane response immediate at UW: The UW joins universities across the nation in opening its doors to students displaced by Hurricane Katrina. The University community, which welcomes more than 100 students affected by the hurricane, responds to the disaster with financial assistance and donations of food, housing and clothing, as well as other needs. Theiline and Douglas (’58) Scheumann and other contributors also respond by establishing the Hurricane Katrina Scholarship to cover tuition and fees, books, transportation and living costs of undergraduate and graduate students affected by the hurricane.
UW ranked in World Top 20: The London-based magazine The Economist ranks the UW number 20 in its list of the world’s top universities. Rankings focused on academic and research performance and were compiled from data collected by Jiao Tong University in Shanghai, which placed the UW 17th.
Bequest rewards worthy students: A bequest from Clarence H. (’30) and Vivian C. (’58) Campbell supports outstanding students in the School of Law and the College of Ocean and Fishery Sciences. The Clarence H. Campbell Law Scholarship and the Clarence H. Campbell Lauren Donaldson Scholarship in Ocean and Fishery Sciences will be awarded annually to students demonstrating academic merit and financial need.
Promoting teaching and research: A gift from the Norcliffe Foundation completes funding for The Nancy R. Hooyman Endowed Gerontology Professorship in the School of Social Work. The professorship, named for the School’s former dean, will enhance the UW’s ability to attract top faculty to the School in the field of gerontology.
Campaign milestone attained: The College of Arts and Sciences attains its Campaign UW goal of 100 endowments for faculty support with a professorship established by Department of Chemistry professor Larry Dalton and his wife, Nicole Boand.
A celebration and a challenge: UW Medicine volunteers, donors and faculty join
Gov. Chris Gregoire in celebrating the opening of the Women’s Cancer Center at
the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. Cherie Myers of Safeway, Inc. issues a challenge
to guests on behalf of the Safeway Foundation to match contributions of up to $100,000. A celebration of academic publishing: UW Press marks 85 years of publishing excellence with a gala celebration for friends and supporters. A division of the
UW Graduate School, UW Press is the largest publisher in the Northwest, with
1,400 active titles and an additional 60 to 70 original books published each year.
iSchool receives support from alumna and lecturer: A gift from Nancy Gershenfeld (’91) to the Information School supports doctoral students in the Information Science program. Gershenfeld, a lecturer at the School, also has made a commitment to provide financial assistance to graduate students through the Nancy J. Gershenfeld Endowed Fellowship in Special Librarianship.
Planning for the future: A planned gift from Jon (’65) and Judy (’74) Runstad to the Runstad Endowment for Excellence in Real Estate ensures a vibrant future for real estate studies in the College of Architecture and Urban Planning. The couple, along with a consortium of donors, including the Weyerhaeuser Company Foundation, Kemper Freeman Jr. (’63), George Rolfe, Gary Waterman (’68), the ICSC Educational Foundation, and Jim Kenyon (’59), had previously enhanced the Runstad Center for Real Estate Studies by endowing a new chair, named in honor of the late Bob Filley, the Center’s first director.
A commitment to students: Lifelong Seattle resident Daniel R. Davis (’71, ’73) commits to a planned gift of his house in Seattle’s Greenwood neighborhood to fund scholarships for needy students at the UW. In making his planned gift, Davis, who earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in mathematics, wanted to give students who would not otherwise be able to afford an education the means to attend the University.
Supporting students through her interests: Afton Woolley Crooks (’47) turns her interest in literature and a love of geology shared with her late husband, Jim, into opportunities for students at the UW. Her planned gift will create the Afton Woolley
Crooks Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship in English and enhance two existing endowments in English and one in Earth and Space Sciences that benefit both undergraduate and graduate students.
Petite auction, big support: The UW Medicine Friends of Alzheimer’s Research receive record-breaking support of nearly $180,000 at its annual Petite Wine Auction. Proceeds advance Alzheimer’s research at UW Medicine.
Designs of tomorrow receive support today: David (’53) and Jeannette McKinley make a planned gift to their Endowment for the Design of Future Architectural Environments, which they established in 1993 at the College of Architecture and Urban Planning. The endowment supports the multi-disciplinary study of future-oriented design, including the work of the College’s Design Machine Group, which focuses on design computing of tomorrow.
Women in pharmacy receive boost with new professorship: Shirley (’45) and
Herb (’47) Bridge enhance an existing fund to create an endowed professorship in the School of Pharmacy. The Shirley and Herb Bridge Endowed Professorship for Women in Pharmacy will provide support for teaching and research in geriatrics and senior care, emphasizing women in pharmacy.
A bequest for medical students: A bequest from the late Erick Nilsson (’55) increases opportunities for outstanding students in the School of Medicine. The Erick Nilsson Endowed Scholarship will be awarded to students demonstrating academic merit and financial need. UW wins the student trifecta: UW senior Eliana Hechter becomes the second-youngest Rhodes Scholar in the history of the award when the 18-year-old math major accepts the prestigious scholarship. Hechter joins other outstanding UW
award winners Lesley Everett, who won the Gates Cambridge Scholarship, and
Sariah Khormaee, who was awarded a Marshall Scholarship. Few universities
have ever achieved this record. The awards provide full tuition and expenses for awardees to attend top universities in the United Kingdom.
Dentistry faculty members establish fellowship for children’s health: Drs. Thomas H. Morton (’75) and Kyoko Awamura (’87), both faculty members in the School of Dentistry, make a commitment to establish the Pediatric Dentistry/Oral Biology Leadership in Children’s Oral Health Research Endowed Fellowship. The endowment will support graduate students in the School who are jointly enrolled in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry specialty degree program and the Ph.D. program in the Department of Oral Biology. The gift will be enhanced by matching funds through the UW Faculty-Staff-Retiree Campaign for Students.
Preserving stream habitats: Active outdoorsman Nick Graves (’64) supports conservation efforts at the UW with his gift to the interdisciplinary Water Center.
His support (both financial and volunteer) is helping the Center to create a West Coast collaboration for regional impact on water issues. The Water Center draws on expertise from UW departments in Engineering, Forest Resources and Ocean and Fishery Sciences to address critical issues and solve problems concerning water resources in the region.
Searching for new materials: Micron Technology Inc. supports Materials Science and Engineering professor Fumio Ohuchi with its contribution to establish a Combinatorial Materials Exploration (CME) laboratory. The lab will encourage collaboration among faculty from Materials Science, Electrical Engineering and Physics and enhance the UW’s efforts to seek new materials that might be used in the next era of technology.
A clean sweep: The UW women’s volleyball team defeats the University of Nebraska in three straight matches to claim its first-ever NCAA division championship title. With this victory, the volleyball team becomes the third UW athletics program to capture a NCAA national title, joining football and women’s crew as national title holders.
A new department of global health: A gift from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation creates a new Department of Global Health, to be jointly operated by the School
of Medicine and the School of Public Health and Community Medicine. The new department, expected to begin offering classes in 2007, will be the first jointly administered department of global health in the nation and will serve as a model for creating enduring improvements in global health through interdisciplinary educational programs, collaborative research, public health policy and practice, and clinical medical care.
Yakima vintner raises a glass in support of students: Vintner Gary Jackson (’60) supports UW students with the fruits of his labors through his commitment to fund scholarships for farm workers and their children through sales of two new wines. Jackson is donating a percentage of the profits from the wines to create a series of undergraduate scholarships at the UW and Washington State University.
News Tribune supports next steps: The Tacoma News Tribune gives UW students opportunities for positive steps forward with its support of the Tacoma Next Step Scholarship. The scholarship provides full tuition to top community college graduates transferring to UW Tacoma.
Endowed support for diversity studies: Linda and Kerry Killinger create educational opportunities in the College of Education with their gift to the Linda and Kerry Killinger Endowed Professorship in Diversity Studies. The Killingers are co-chairs of
the College’s current fundraising campaign.
A special commitment: A pledge from Professor Emeritus Norris Haring and his wife, Dorothy (’68), will create the Haring Family Endowed Fellowship, supporting students in the field of special education, particularly those who work and study at the Experimental Education Unit (EEU) in the College of Education. Dr. Haring is founding director of the EEU and a leading special education researcher. The Harings’ pledge will be matched by the UW Graduate School’s special matching incentive program for emeritus faculty.
Purely renewable: Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels recognizes the UW as the city’s largest purchaser of “green power.” By joining City Light’s Green Up program, the UW
is transitioning to using 100 percent renewable energy. The University has made conservation improvements in every building on its Seattle campus since the early 1990s, when it began working with City Light.
Dedicated to excellence: The dedication of the William H. Foege Building brings President Jimmy Carter, Microsoft co-chair Bill Gates III and the building’s namesake, William H. Foege (’61), to the Seattle campus to inaugurate the new home for the departments of Genome Sciences and Bioengineering. The new facility, made possible by private support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Whitaker Foundation, the Washington Research Foundation, David C. Auth, and the government of Singapore, enhances the educational experience of outstanding students as well as dynamic research efforts addressing some of the world’s most significant health issues.
A gift from the air: Air New Zealand enhances the cultural experience at the UW
with its support of Toi Maori: The Eternal Thread, an exhibit at the Burke Museum, one of four museums in the United States to feature this collection of weavings by
40 contemporary and traditional Maori weavers. Additional support was provided by the New Zealand Consulate-General, Los Angeles; The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation; Port Blakely Tree Farms, L.P. and Blakely Pacific Ltd. (New Zealand);
John and Joyce Price; the Quest for Truth Foundation; the D.V. & Ida McEachern Charitable Trust; the Muckleshoot, Suquamish and Tulalip tribes; the Northwest Association of Pacific Americans; the Rosemary Horwood Trust; and the Seattle Christchurch Sister City Association and its members.
Saluting Harborview: More than 800 community members attend the annual Salute Harborview Gala, where the medical center’s annual Mission of Caring Award is presented to PEMCO Insurance Companies and its CEO, Stan McNaughton. Proceeds from the Gala support programs at Harborview that provide uncompensated care to the needy.
Preserving Rivers History: A gift from Stillwater Sciences to the Department of Earth and Space Sciences supports the Rivers History project. The project, under the direction of David R. Montgomery, director of the Quaternary Research Center, undertakes interdisciplinary research integrating archival investigations, field studies, and the tools of geographic information systems and remote sensing to address regional problems of resource management, restoration and planning.
Legislature approves four-year programs at UW Tacoma and UW Bothell: Freshmen in the north and south Puget Sound regions receive expanded educational opportunities and the option of enrolling at any of the UW’s three campuses when the state Legislature approves four-year programs at UW Bothell and UW Tacoma. The inaugural freshman class at both institutions will attend summer orientation sessions before beginning classes in fall 2006.
Good business sense: A gift from Deloitte and Touche LLP augments the company’s substantial support for the Business School and its campaign to fund a new facility. Additional support through a consortium of the firm’s partners, principals and directors, who made five-year pledges, will establish the Deloitte Undergraduate Commons in the new building. The firm’s consortium also has established an endowed professorship, with the lead gift provided by William Fowler (’66),
former chief financial officer of the firm and a member of the Business School Advisory Board.
A commitment to dental excellence: Dr. Byron Mizuha (’76, ’79), affiliate faculty in the Department of Periodontics, supports graduate students in the department with his pledge to establish an endowed fellowship. The endowment, created through the Faculty-Staff-Retiree Campaign for students, was further enhanced by friends and colleagues in honor of Dr. Mizuha’s 60th birthday.
Excellence close to home: UW Bothell celebrates 15 years of excellence in education with a community open house for friends and alumni, followed by a gala dinner and reception hosted by UW President Mark Emmert and UW Bothell Interim Chancellor Steven Olswang. Since its opening in 2000, UW Bothell has admitted more than 10,000 students, providing quality education close to home for residents of north Puget Sound communities.
More happy birthdays: The Information School celebrates the 90th birthday of distinguished alumna and renowned children’s author Beverly Cleary (’39) with a special event introducing Dr. Lynne McKechnie, the UW’s first visiting Cleary Professor in Children and Youth Services. The professorship was created with gifts from the Cleary family, HarperCollins and friends of the iSchool.
Construction zone: Construction begins on the second phase of UW Medicine’s South Lake Union research complex, expected to be completed by June 2008. Private support from corporations, private foundations and individuals has provided a crucial source of funding for the project. In recognition of a leadership gift from Jeff (’64, ‘67) and Susan Brotman, the first building completed at the complex has been named the Brotman Building. The new facilities will provide lab space for 900 scientists and staff and enable UW Medicine to continue to attract top scientists and grant funding and to address health problems — such as breast cancer and heart disease — that affect countless people.
Farewell to the Dean: College of Arts and Sciences Advisory Board members pay tribute to departing dean David Hodge with a gift to the David and Valerie Hodge Endowed Scholarship. The Hodges, both first-generation college graduates, established the scholarship in September 2005 to benefit first-generation college students from Washington state. David Hodge leaves the UW after 35 years of service to become president of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Celebrating international ties: UW Bothell hosts its fifth annual Intercultural Night to celebrate the cultural diversity of its student body and to raise funds for the UW Bothell International and Immigrant Student Scholarship. UW Bothell’s student body includes international students from Bulgaria, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Morocco, Nigeria, Peru, Taiwan and Vietnam.
Honoring a legacy: Robin Wright, curator of Native American Art at the Burke Museum, is appointed to the Bill Holm Endowed Professorship. Wright’s work for the center continues the legacy of Burke curator emeritus Bill Holm to make the Burke Museum one of the premier centers for the study of Native arts of the Pacific Northwest Coast.
Supporting student dreams: Mary and James Dunnam create opportunities for underserved college-bound high school students with their support of the Dream Project. A pilot program of the Office of the Vice Provost for Student Life, the Dream Project sends UW students to three Seattle-area high schools (Chief Sealth, Renton High School and Foster High School) to help students — many of whom are the first in their families to apply to college — navigate the extensive college admissions and financial aid processes.
Laughing monks in pairs at the Henry: The Henry Art Gallery stimulates cultural and artistic engagement with a major exhibition by Akio Takamori, head of the ceramics program in the School of Art. Akio Takamori: The Laughing Monks features a pair of installations combining objects from the Henry’s permanent collections with his own sculptures. Sponsors of the exhibit include ArtsFund, PONCHO, and the Seattle Mayor’s Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs.
Distinguished lectureship established at UW Tacoma: A commitment from alumnus Arthur Paulsen (‘40, ‘46) creates the Arthur and Anna Mae Paulsen Endowed Visiting Chair in Public Affairs at UW Tacoma. The chair will establish a lecture series to bring distinguished national and international public figures to UW Tacoma. Arthur Paulsen, who has memories of hearing British Labour leader Harold Laske speak at the UW in 1939 as part of the Walker Ames Lecture Series, wants students to benefit from balanced presentation of viewpoints on world affairs.
Better teaching for better learning: Dr. Cynthia J. Atman is installed as the inaugural holder of the Mitchell T. and Lella Blanche Bowie Endowed Chair in the College of Engineering, established by Mitchell Taylor Bowie to honor his parents. His bequest supports Atman’s work as founding director of the Center for Engineering Learning and Teaching (CELT), which is known internationally for its research on engineering learning and for promoting effective teaching in engineering classrooms.
Supporting Education: An extraordinary estate provision from Irma Mathisen creates the Kenneth and Irma Mathisen Endowed Scholarship Fund to benefit undergraduates at the UW and the College of Education’s teacher preparation program.
Building excellence in business: Alumnus J. Gary Shansby (’59) supports excellence in education for students in the Business School with his pledge to create an endowed chair in marketing and to support the construction of a new building to house the School and its programs. Shansby’s contribution to the School’s building campaign will help move the project into the design phase for the new, world-class facility, with construction slated to begin within the next two years.
The contributions noted provide a brief snapshot of the tremendous support the UW received during fiscal year 2006. With your enduring generosity, the University continues to promote advances in education, cultural and civic awareness, economic vitality and improved health for people and environments in the Puget Sound region and beyond.
Thank you for your many contributions to the excellence of the University, this past year and always.