UW News

November 21, 2012

News digest: WWI Christmas Truce lecture, winter-weather policy overviews, Honor: Rob Corser

Group of World War I soildiersWWI Christmas Truce subject of Dec. 5 lecture
U.S. Army Lt. Col. Clay Mountcastle, professor and chair of the University of Washington Department of Military Science, will discuss the World War I Christmas Truce of 1914 in a lecture at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 5, in Room 120 of Smith Hall on the UW campus.

Mountcastle will sort the myth from the reality of the event. “It was not officially sanctioned by military authorities, and on some parts of the front, it did not occur,” said Mountcastle, “The war resumed in earnest the day after Christmas, and waged on for another three years, eventually claiming over 16.5 million lives.” There were no other holiday truces.

Cpl. John Ferguson of the British Army was heard to say at the time, “Here we were laughing and chatting to men whom only hours before we were trying to kill.”

The lecture, part of the UW’s ongoing History Lecture Series, is free and open to the public.

Winter weather on the way, UW has policies
With winter weather fast approaching, now is the time to review the UW’s policies on suspended operations and inclement weather. Learn about telework options, how pay and leave balances could be impacted and where to look for official UW announcements regarding operational status.

The Inclement Weather Policy addresses employee time off when the university is in operation, but local weather conditions are hazardous or impact transportation.

The Suspended Operations Policy is used when UW officials temporarily suspend non-essential operations, requiring only staff performing essential functions to report to work.

Head shot of Rob CorserRob Corser named among 30 ‘most admired educators’ in design
Rob Corser, UW assistant professor of architecture, has been named one of the 30 most admired educators in design for 2013 by the editors of DesignIntelligence magazine.

Each year DesignIntelligence, which is published by the Design Futures Council, names 30 educators in the field that the magazine considers exemplary.

DesignIntelligence wrote that Corser “has become one of the leaders in design and digital fabrication. He has established an energetic presence on campus that brings in­fectious enthusiasm and breadth of knowledge to students and his colleagues.”

Corser, who is also a member of the American Institute of Architects, said, “I’m honored to be included among such an outstanding group of educators – many of whom were teachers of mine. Since DesignIntelligence reaches out to industry professionals as well as other academics to compile this list, I’m pleased to know that my work is reaching a wide audience.”

The magazine’s staff selects the awards with input from thousands of design professionals, academic department heads and students. Educators and administrators from the disciplines of archi­tecture, industrial design, interior design and landscape architecture are considered.

Corser, who joined the UW in the fall of 2008, is a licensed architect in the state of California, and his professional experience includes work in San Francisco and London.