About the UWAA

GGDAA

In 2016, the UW Alumni Association hosted the first Golden Graduates Brunch, honoring Huskies who graduated 50 or more years ago. That same year, they also created the Golden Graduate Distinguished Alumnus Award (GGDAA), given to an alumnus who has demonstrated sustained, long-term and meaningful engagement with the UW. We are pleased to recognize these esteemed graduates who embody the best of the Husky spirit.

Tom Hinckley, Ph.D., ’71
2023 Golden Graduate Distinguished Alumni

Tom Hinckley has a BA in Biology from Carleton College and a Ph.D. in forest biology from the University of Washington. He has taught at the Universities of Missouri, Natural Resources & Life Sciences (Vienna, Austria), and Washington for a total of 51 years.

Hinckley has conducted research from spruce-hemlock forests of SE Alaska to chaparral in southern Turkey, from old-growth Douglas-fir to fast growing hybrid cottonwood trees, and from shrub species in the Vienna woods to giant rosette plants of the Paramo in Venezuela. Four and half months after he returned to the University of Washington, Mt. St. Helens erupted and he had his first research project. He has taught in Austria, Canada, China, Finland, and South Korea. He has had a wide range of administrative positions; the directorship of CUH was most impactful for him. His teaching has spanned from “Introduction to Environmental Studies” to “Plant Water Relations” to the “Role of Culture and Place in Natural Resource Stewardship: The Yakama Nation Experience.”

Read the UW Magazine article about how Tom Hinckley collaborated with the Yakama Nation to reimagine his approach to teaching forestry.

Past Golden Graduate Distinguished Alumni