Julia Pevtsova and colleagues in the Department of Mathematics weren’t sure what to expect when they organized an on-campus lecture for middle school students in 2010. After all, it was being held on a Sunday afternoon, on a math topic that was unfamiliar to most people. How many tweens and teens would give up their Sunday for math?

As it turns out, quite a lot.

Thaddeus Spratlen paved the way for professors of color to join non-black universities and expanded access for other women and people of color in business by establishing the Business and Economic Development Center. Lois Spratlen contributed to gender equality by writing the book on how women are treated in university settings. She also was the first female UW ombudsman.

Their $1 million lifetime gift to the UW ensures the BEDC will flourish.

The University of Washington unveiled a new business incubator that will provide startup businesses access to critical lab and office space on the UW campus for their work.

The incubator is one key element in a larger commercialization initiative announced by President Michael Young that will double the number of startups produced by the UW – from an average of 10 a year to 20 – during the next three years.

Two signature oaks in the Washington Park Arboretum toppled under January’s heavy snows. After careful inspection, it turned out that the root balls of each tree had not pulled out of the ground, avoiding death sentences.

Aborist Chris Watson and assistant Darrin Hedberg embarked on an effort to pull the 60-foot oak, estimated to weigh more than 8,000 pounds, back into the upright position.

View a slide show of the rescue effort.

With the 2012 primary campaign heating up, David Domke and colleagues are returning to the campaign trail in partnership with the Seattle Times.

Election Eye 2012, a blog on the Seattle Times website, provides on-the-ground  coverage of the 2012 primary campaign as seen through the eyes of UW students and faculty.