January 4, 2007
Alum gives History Department $1 million
By Marilyn Kliman
Arts and Sciences
Donald Logan, a retired Seattle high school history teacher, has given $1 million to the Department of History to fund the Donald W. Logan Family Endowed Chair in American History.
Logan is a long-time Seattle businessman and teacher with the Seattle public schools, where he worked with hundreds of students for 25 years as a history teacher at Blaine Junior High School and primarily at Ballard Senior High School. During this time Logan developed Logan Investments, involving the ownership and management of several apartment buildings in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. The gift comes from the sale of those investments upon his retirement. It indicates that he has clearly not forgotten the contributions that the UW has made on his life.
Logan received his Bachelor of Arts in history from the UW in 1956 and his Master of Arts in history from the UW in 1967. Several family members have also attended the UW, including his son Greg, a UW Business School alumnus.
The recipient of the Logan Family Chair will have a track record of excellence in both classroom and research settings. The appointed faculty member will be a specialist in 19th century United States history, with a focus on the decades surrounding the Civil War and leading to the emergence of modern and industrial 20th century America. Logan has a special interest in the Civil War as a result of his family’s documented involvement in that conflict.
“The impact of this gift on the Department of History will be profound,” said History Department Chair John Findlay. “Beyond the financial implications of this gift, I’d like to highlight the inspiration it offers. My colleagues and I never tire of hearing how we have positively affected our students. It is clear that we exerted a favorable influence on Don Logan’s life, and through him, on hundreds of students he taught at Ballard High School.
“Don cites in particular the fine teaching of Tom Pressly, Giovanni Costigan, Stull Holt, and Max Savelle in the 1950s and 1960s. I am pleased to say that today’s faculty members continue to keep the very high standards that such colleagues set for the department when Mr. Logan was a student.”
