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  • Happy New Year from OMA&D

    January 4, 2022

    Dear Alumni, Colleagues, and Friends, Reflecting on the past year, I am grateful for the engagement and encouragement received from our alumni and OMA&D community. Likewise, I have such respect for the determination and resilience of our students, faculty, and staff. Your support, talents, and leadership are inspirational and give us hope of a better tomorrow. The new year brings…

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  • Emile Pitre Featured on KIRO 7’s Western Washington Gets Real Series

    December 7, 2021

    Emile Pitre

    When telling the story of diversity, equity, and inclusion at the University of Washington and origins of the Office of Minority Affairs  Diversity – the story would be incomplete without including the lifelong activism of Emile Pitre. Emile is a pillar of the OMA&D community, and still to this day, more than 50 years later, advocates for expanded diversity, equity,…

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  • OMAD Celebrates Raul Anaya and 49 Years of Service

    December 7, 2021

    Contribute to Raul’s legacy by donating to the Raul Anaya EOP Fund Raul Anaya retired in 2020, after 49 years’ of service to the University of Washington in the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity. At the time COVID-19 restrictions prohibited an in-person celebration of Raul and his time at UW, however, we were able to gather folks for a…

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  • University of Washington Partners With College Advising Corps

    November 25, 2021

    University of Washington Partners With College Advising Corps SEATTLE, WASHINGTON—College Advising Corps (CAC) recently announced its partnership with the University of Washington to help boost the number of low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented high school students enrolling in higher education. “Working together, we can reduce barriers and increase opportunity by empowering Washington’s high school students with the guidance and information they…

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  • Frank Irigon to Receive UW’s 2022 Odegaard Award

    November 22, 2021

    Frank Irigon

    The University of Washington Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity (OMA&D), and the Friends of the Educational Opportunity Program Board (FEOP) are thrilled to announce Frank Irigon (’76, ’79) as the 2022 recipient of the University of Washington Charles E. Odegaard Award. Irigon will be presented with this honor at the 2022 Celebration event on May 18, 2022 hosted by…

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  • Welcome Madrienne White as the OMA&D Representative to the University of Washington Foundation Board

    November 8, 2021

    Madrienne White (’08, 19) has joined the University of Washington Foundation Board (UWFB) as the representative for the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity (OMA&D). She is moving into the position previously held by long term OMA&D advocate and 2015 Charles E. Odegaard Award recipient Colleen Fukui-Sketchley. White graduated from UW in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in American Indian…

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  • Remembering Dr. Millie Bown Russell

    November 5, 2021

    The Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity learned the sad news that Dr. Millie Bown Russell passed away on November 1, 2021. Born in 1926 and raised in the Seattle central area, Dr. Russell was one of seven children born to Augustus and Edith Bown. Dr. Russell was guided into pursuing an education in the health sciences by her parents…

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  • Celebrating Our First-Generation College Community

    November 1, 2021

    Dear Students, Faculty and Staff, On November 8, for the fifth year, the University of Washington joins the Council for Opportunity in Education, NASPA’s Center for First-Generation Student Success, the American Association of Colleges & Universities, and higher education institutions across the country in recognizing the National First-Generation College Celebration. This celebration falls on the anniversary of the signing of…

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  • Removing Barriers One Opportunity Grant at a Time

    October 27, 2021

    University of Washington Black Opportunity Funds reach one million dollars of funding after first year of creation.   In the wake of several tumultuous years, uncertainty about the future for many underrepresented communities, and the all-too-frequent reports of Black men and women dying at the hands of law enforcement – the nation was on edge and racial justice was once…

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  • OMA&D Welcomes Regent Leonard Forsman

    October 26, 2021

    On Monday October 25, 2021, Governor Jay Inslee appointed Leonard Forsman to the UW Board of Regents. This historic appointment makes Regent Forsman the first American Indian to serve on the board. Forsman is deeply involved in many areas of UW, including providing decades of support to the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity (OMA&D). As chairman of the Suquamish…

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