UW News

April 21, 2005

Olswang named interim chancellor at UW Bothell

News and Information

Steven G. Olswang, UW vice provost and vice provost for international education, professor of education and adjunct professor of law, has been appointed interim chancellor of UW Bothell, effective July 1, President Mark Emmert announced. The appointment is subject to approval by the Board of Regents at the May 21 meeting.

Warren Buck, who served as UWB Chancellor for six years, announced in March that he will step down and return to teaching.

“Dr. Buck oversaw the development of the UW Bothell campus and guided it through an important phase of its growth,” said Emmert. “We are fortunate that after serving as interim chancellor of UW Tacoma, Dr. Olswang is available to direct his considerable administrative and leadership talents to the needs of UW Bothell while we mount an aggressive national search for a new chancellor. I’m confident he will continue Bothell’s forward momentum over the coming months.”

Olswang, 58, has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Northwestern University, a J.D. from the University of Illinois, and a doctorate in higher education administration from the UW.

He came to the UW in 1974 as a graduate student and soon became an administrative intern in the Office of the President. He became assistant to the provost in 1976 and assistant provost for academic affairs in 1979, a position he held until 1985, when he became vice-provost.

Olswang teaches several courses in the area of education leadership, including: Higher Education and the Law, School Law, Collective Bargaining and Faculty Governance in Higher Education, and Resource Allocation in Higher Education.

He has served on the Northwest Accreditation Association previously as commissioner of the Colleges Commission and as a commissioner on the Schools Commission. Olswang is a Fellow of the National Association of College and University Attorneys.

Olswang most recently has served as interim chancellor at UW Tacoma from 2004 to April 1, 2005. With new UW Tacoma Chancellor Patricia Spakes on board, he became available to fill a similar role at UW Bothell while a search for the new Bothell chancellor is undertaken. Olswang will officially leave his vice provost position June 30, and upon completion of his assignment in Bothell, will return to the faculty in the College of Education. He will not be a candidate in the search for the new chancellor.

Founded in 1990, UW Bothell moved to its permanent location in autumn 2000. It is co-located with Cascadia Community College on 127 acres, 58 acres of which is an acclaimed wetlands restoration. It currently offers upper division (junior and senior level) classes leading to a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies, business administration, nursing, environmental science, and computing and software systems. It also offers master’s degrees in business administration, policy studies, nursing and education, as well as initial and professional certificate programs for K-8 teachers. It recently inaugurated its first international faculty and student exchange program with Ehime University in Japan. The business program is one of the founding partners of the Bellevue Entrepreneur center.

Autumn 2004 enrollment was 1,608 students. UW Bothell has over 4,200 alumni and graduated 670 students in 2004.