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Welcoming the Cuban all-female orchestra, Camerata Romeu *UPDATE* Performance canceled

I’m looking forward to Camerata Romeu making their Seattle debut at Meany Hall on September 25. I’m even more excited to be there surrounded Cuban string orchestra Camerata Romeuby our community of friends, alumni, employees and students. I hope to see you there.

Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act

Twenty-five years ago, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law, establishing a legal mandate to end discrimination against people with disabilities. The ADA has been instrumental in advancing civil and human rights across the nation. The University of Washington is committed to doing all we can to increase access and opportunity for people with disabilities — including nearly a million residents in Washington state.

Our community strives to create welcoming and respectful learning environments and to promote equity and fairness for all. We value and honor the diverse experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and abilities of all individuals.

On the occasion of the ADA’s 25th anniversary, we are hosting various events to reaffirm our commitment to and support for improving accessibility and promoting full inclusion, as well as to celebrate and show respect for the contributions people with disabilities make to our campus. We hope these events will also foster pride among students, staff, faculty, family members and visitors with disabilities.

I invite our entire community to attend these events planned for this spring, summer and the 2015–2016 academic year, including:

  • Tuesday, May 5, 2015
    A special screening of the film “On Beauty“ and discussion with filmmaker Joanna Rudnick
    4:30 p.m., HUB Lyceum
  • Friday, May 8, 2015
    Special presentation on deaf history by Dr. M.J. Bienvenu from Gallaudet University
    6:30–8:30 p.m., Kane Hall, room 120
  • Thursday, May 21, 2015
    Access Technology Center Open House: Drop by to learn about the ATC, meet the staff and help celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day! The ATC provides accessibility consultations and demonstrates a wide variety of hardware, software and furniture for users with disabilities.
    1–4 p.m., Mary Gates Hall, room 064

Additional events and information will be added to the ADA 25th Anniversary website each quarter.

Thank you for your ongoing efforts to make the University of Washington a place that is welcoming to all.

Addressing affordable housing issues in our region

I am so pleased the University of Washington is partnering with the Seattle Times and Microsoft Corporation on the LiveWire series that addresses vital issues impacting our region and its residents.

Earlier this week, we hosted more than 800 people on campus for a lively discussion about affordability and housing. We heard a variety of viewpoints of how to balance our rapidly growing population and the need for more livable and affordable neighborhoods.

Affordability and housing go hand-in-hand and they impact virtually all of our students, faculty, staff and community members. One way we’re addressing this is to work with both businesses and community members to create a new University District Partnership. It will take close campus and community relationships to make sure that issues including public safety, social services and housing are addressed as the U-District is revitalized.

That’s why we are partnering with Children’s Hospital to build a new employee housing project in the heart of the neighborhood. This mixed-income project will include 36 units that are affordable to those making between 65% and 85% of area median income. It will include larger units that we hope will attract families to the neighborhood.

As a public university, we have a responsibility and a commitment to address income inequality, skyrocketing housing costs and other social issues with adverse impacts. And as a community it is simply the right thing to do, taking care of each other and our neighbors.

Together, we can work to ensure that the U-District remains and grows as an affordable and livable region for all of us.

Ana Mari Cauce
Interim President
Professor of Psychology and American Ethnic Studies

A historic day for the UW and Native Tribes of our region

As one of the world’s greatest public universities, the University of Washington is committed to cultivating our culture of diversity. The opening yesterday of wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ – Intellectual House (wash-LEB-alt) marked a historic day for both the University of Washington and the Native Tribes of our region.

This building is the culmination of a decades-long dream to create a gathering place in honor of our region’s First Nations. The Intellectual House — as well as much of the UW campus — rests on the sacred ground of the Duwamish Tribe’s first home and will serve as a meeting place for indigenous people from the Northwest, the U.S. and around the world. It will also be a campus home for academic offerings led by our American Indian Studies Department, strengthening our teaching, research and student recruitment.

I was deeply honored to meet the elected leaders of our region’s tribal governments and to see the outpouring of support and enthusiasm for this special place.

After the cedar ribbon-cutting, wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ – Intellectual House hosted another important event — a Tribal Leadership Summit — at which I affirmed our commitment to honor this partnership, see through priorities such as the construction of phase two of this longhouse-style facility, and to holding annual meetings with the elected leaders of the tribes.

To deepen the University’s engagement with tribal governments in Washington state, I have also asked the Office of External Affairs to support the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity on three new initiatives in the upcoming year:

  1. Re-establish government to government training for senior leadership at the University as called for in the 1989 Centennial Accord.
  2. Work with our Vice Provost for Innovation to conduct a workshop on innovation and entrepreneurship for interested tribal members.
  3. Investigate the potential of partnering with tribal governments and the state Community Economic Revitalization Board (CERB) to pursue high-priority economic development projects for Washington tribes.

A strong connection with leaders from across the region is essential to the UW’s ability to effectively fulfill our public promise to educate, serve, and provide research and economic opportunities for all of Washington’s citizens. Please join me in supporting this essential work on behalf of all whom we serve.

We have so much opportunity to work toward these and other initiatives that will benefit the greater community and beyond. Together, the possibilities are limitless.

Sincerely,

Ana Mari

Photo of the entrance to the wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ – Intellectual House
The entrance to the wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ – Intellectual House Photo: Photo by Kathryn Sauber
Photo of tribal elder
Tribal elders Photo: Photo courtesy of Carmen Español/Capital Projects Office
Photo of tribal drummers
Tribal drummers Photo: Photo by Janae Davis
Photo of Ana Mari Cauce at a tribal meeting
Interim President Ana Mari Cauce gives opening remarks prior to the the cedar ribbon-cutting at the wǝɫǝbʔaltxʷ – Intellectual House. Photo: Photo courtesy of Carmen Español/Capital Projects Office

 

Open Mike: A Conversation with President Young

open mike event

Dear students, faculty and staff,

Please join us for a series of events to continue the conversation President Michael K. Young started in his Annual President’s Address. From enhancing the Husky student experience, to better serving our community, deepening our research impact or expanding UW innovation, our best ideas start with you.

There are three opportunities to talk with President Young in the coming weeks and months:

Focus on staff

Tuesday, Feb. 3, 3:30–5 p.m.
The Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science & Engineering, Microsoft Atrium

Focus on students

Canceled

Focus on faculty

Canceled


Questions, concerns and input from all UW community members are welcome and a reception will follow each event.

 

Saluting our servicemen and servicewomen

At the University of Washington, we strive to remember our veterans not just during Veterans Appreciation Week, but year-round. Across our campuses, monuments honoring those who have served greet us: the Medal of Honor Memorial; the 58 sycamore trees lining Memorial Way, reminding us of the UW students and faculty who lost their lives during World War I in service to our country; and the central flagpole bearing the names of students, faculty and staff who never returned to the UW from the battlefields of World War II.

These tangible symbols remind us of the intangible values our United States veterans have worked — and valiantly fought — to uphold. Values including freedom, peace, opportunity and justice. They help us reflect on the meaning of courage, selflessness and determination.

But we know that monuments and our words of gratitude alone are not enough. Across the University, we are working to strengthen and expand programs to better support our veterans as they embark on the next phase of their journey.

There are more than 40 programs for veterans, active-duty military and their dependents across the UW’s three campuses.For instance, at UW Tacoma — which Victory Media designated as a military-friendly school for the fourth year in a row — the Veterans Incubator for Better Entrepreneurship program, or VIBE, is engaging veterans with entrepreneurial talent. The program recognizes veterans’ unique leadership and problem-solving skills and empowers them to pursue their own businesses.

 

Also at UW Tacoma, we’re responding to the growing demand from the public and private sectors for professionals who can deal with cyber threats. This year, the Milgard School of Business partnered with the UW Tacoma Institute of Technology to launch a new master’s degree in cybersecurity and leadership. It was developed as a direct response to the needs of the military community — and our nation.

At UW Bothell, a recently developed course is successfully helping veterans navigate the transition from military life to academic life.And the UW School of Law is working with the Northwest Justice Project to start a veterans law clinic to address legal needs in areas of veteran’s administration and mental health, housing, consumer issues and family law.

As students and teachers, faculty and staff, neighbors and friends, we are all enriched by our veteran and military community. And so it is of vital importance that we support veterans through research that will positively impact people’s lives and help us create a world of good. To give just one example, through projects funded by the National Institutes of Health, the UW School of Nursing is contributing to pain management research at Madigan Army Hospital at Joint Base Lewis-McChord.

Various UW organizations, including researchers in the UW School of Public Health, have created PEARLS, a national evidence-based treatment program for depression. While the program has focused primarily on senior populations, it is now expanding to treat older veterans in King County as well.

Through all of these collective efforts, we are proud to be ranked No. 2 in the nation in U.S. News & World Report’s listing of the Best Colleges for Veterans.

Yet, we are not complacent. We will continue to do more to support our veterans, active-military service members and their families through research as well as educational and employment opportunities. On behalf of the entire University, thank you to all Husky veterans for your service, leadership and commitment to our country and our communities.

Accomplishments and aspirations

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff:

During this Homecoming weekend, Husky friends, family and alumni visiting campus will have a chance to participate in our extensive efforts to operate as a sustainable university. For the past few years, our entire community — students, faculty and staff — has done amazing work to be responsible citizens and caretakers of our environment. As a great tribute to what happens when our community works together toward a common goal, just last night Seattle Business Magazine awarded the University of Washington the Community Impact Award for Sustainability. This is a wonderful achievement. Congratulations to all who made it happen!

The Community Impact Award for Sustainability is the latest example of the UW’s exceptional record of student, faculty and staff excellence. Our research, teaching and public engagement have built a reputation that inspires our work together, energizes those who support us and adds value to the degrees our students earn. Our standing in the region, nation and world — including our recent No. 10 ranking by China’s Shanghai Jiao Tong University’s world university rankings — reflects the UW’s real impact on people’s lives and our values as an institution.

As I said in my Annual Address last week, our vision as a university is simple yet profound: to be the greatest public university in the world, as measured by our impact on our students’ lives, on our region and on people around the world. In the address, I described how we advance this vision in four critical ways:

  • Through the Husky Student Experience, where we unleash the curiosity and potential of every student and in the process transform their lives and our world, one student at a time, one spark at a time.
  • Through the profound impact of our world-class research, here and around the globe. Virtually every major issue our society faces today, from Ebola to early education, is being addressed by somebody affiliated with the UW. We must continue to support this work at all levels — by attracting top talent, securing resources and engaging the best minds in the world as collaborators.
  • Through innovation and creativity, and our emerging Innovation Agenda. From addressing the STEM shortage, to bringing our best creativity and innovation to bear on both technology and societal challenges, we are using our long-standing track record in this arena to deepen student engagement and expand locally and globally.
  • And finally, through our deep commitment to access and the public good, which permeates everything we do. We are proud of our role as a catalyst for social mobility and as a place where we focus our research and discovery on the ways in which it can have the greatest impact.

You may have also noticed we are telling our story in bold new ways. I’ve heard countless times that we are the Northwest’s “best kept secret” and would like to change that. We will use this videoBe Boundless, and other media to tell our story better, and I hope in the process be clearer in communicating what we stand for: a belief in possibility, in unleashing human potential and in the undaunted quest for discovery.

Tomorrow is the UW’s 153rd birthday celebration. We have a lot for which to be proud, thanks to your passion for excellence and steadfast commitment to discovery and education for a better world. Please join me, Provost Ana Mari Cauce and our campus community in Red Square as we celebrate all that we have accomplished — and all that we will — on behalf of those we serve.

President Young welcomes students to the UW at Freshman Convocation

Freshman Convocation
Sept. 21, 2014
Speech transcript

WELCOME to the University of Washington.

I remember what seems not so many years ago sitting in seats very much like those in which you are sitting when I was being oriented as a freshman.

I remember days full of new experiences, new friends, new challenges, new opportunities.  Most clearly, I remember being overwhelmed and a more than a little daunted by almost everything.

But, over time, I came to understand that these full, demanding, overwhelming days were just a series of moments.

Moments of fun, boring moments, trivial moments, some were difficult and more than a few were happy and exciting.  There were forgettable and memorable moments.

I came to understand most acutely that within the series of moments, some were important.

I learned that WHAT I DID with those important moments was itself important, it mattered.

Now, I know you better than you might think.  I’ve read many of your applications.  I’ve met many of you.  You are among the most amazing, talented students who have ever walked onto this campus.  You are brilliant, powerful, curious, ambitious.

More than any other group of students I know, you have the capacity to seize important moments when they present.

I remember clearly, a moment in my sophomore year, one of those important moments that mattered, though I can’t say I understood that at the time.

I was sitting in the back of one of my classes (where I always sat in all my classes), devoutly hoping to avoid the attention of the professor (as I always did).  The course was designed to introduce us to research methodologies in the field of political science and prepare us to do some actual research of our own.  We prepared short research proposals of various kinds every week and the professor evaluated them (or, perhaps more correctly, he ripped them apart).

One day, the professor asked whether Michael Young was present in the class.  Crossing my fingers that there was another Michael Young, I put my head down and refrained from raising my hand.  He repeated his inquiry and I had no choice but to acknowledge my attendance.

He then ordered me to come talk to him immediately after class.  You have no idea how long 50 minutes is when that Damocles sword is hanging over your head.  I don’t remember anything else he said during that class, but I well remember wondering whether my father might be willing to reemploy me in his grocery store as a bag boy after I was kicked out of college.

To my utter amazement, after class the professor told me that he had seen some promise in some of the papers I had submitted and wondered whether I would like to be a research assistant on a large-scale research project he was about to begin.

I accepted with alacrity and it changed my life.

Do you know, I can draw a direct line from that moment to the moment I was sitting in my first law school class.  The list of things I learned while working with that professor is long.  I learned how to research, how to prepare an analysis, how to write a coherent argument, how to analyze data.  It helped me realize my ambition to go to law school.

I was fortunate.  That generous professor played a major role in the formation of my career.

This is a university of limitless opportunities—and generous professors.  Seek out those opportunities, make your own moments, and especially, be willing to accept help from others.

And whether the moment is expected or unexpected, seize it.

I had done well in college, in part because I had a good short-term memory.  I could master most of the material in the textbook in relatively short order and repeat it back on the test with some efficiency.  That isn’t to say I really learned the material in any useful sense, but I didn’t view that as my highest priority.  I was skiing five days a week and that seemed to take precedence.

So when I got to law school, I thought the same skill set would suffice.  The professor would assign cases to read, I would memorize and repeat them back on the exam and the professor would dutifully give me a good grade.  I’d go skiing five days a week and all would be in its proper order.

Things proceeded well right up until that first class.

The professor assigned the cases, which I memorized, fully prepared to dutifully repeat them back.

Then the professor asked the class, “Why is this relevant?”

“Because it’s written in the book,” I thought to myself.

A classmate responded with that exact answer and was promptly eviscerated by the professor.

Then it got worse.

The professor went on to ask why the judge’s reasoning in the case was wrong.

Again, I rehearsed my father’s phone number and pondered whether that bag boy job in his supermarket might still be available.

But I had wanted to be a lawyer my entire life and I decided that I wouldn’t let a little thing like being entirely clueless deter me.  So I started to study non-stop every single day.  I remember starting early in the morning and ending long after any sensible person should have been in bed.

I refined my approach to the information.  Every time I read a line or reflected on an argument, I questioned its relevance, its coherence, its correctness.  What was the purpose and result of every decision?  What impact might that decision have on other areas of law or on human behavior?  I took nothing for granted and questioned everything.

I answered every question and then I questioned every answer.

Is the expert wrong?  What does this really mean?  Is it right?  Is it possible?  Is it plausible or probable?  Is it moral or ethical?  Is it true?

I was, for the first time in my life, THINKING FOR MYSELF!!!!

And, just as I can draw a straight line from my experience in that sophomore political science class to my first day of law school, I can draw a straight line from that first day of law school to where I stand today, presiding over this wonderful university.

From studying fervently out of sheer terror, to developing a PASSION for law that has taken me all over the world, I have learned to engage in deep and meaningful exploration.

You will have many moments while you’re here to do the same.

For instance, you may read The Iliad and The Odyssey.  And when you do, ask:

What does it tell you about the human instinct and quest for power, for glory, for riches, for peace, and how does that help you better understand what is going on in the Middle East, or Asia, or even Washington, D.C.?

What does it tell you about leadership and persuading people to do something?  What does that say about how to run a corporation or a non-profit organization?

What does it teach about loyalty and rivalry?  How does our understanding the genesis of the animosity between Agamemnon and Achilles help us better understand what is happening in Iraq or Syria and how could we use that understanding to promote a more just, peaceful world?

What does the relationship between Odysseus and Penelope teach about love?  About commitment?  About how to deal with annoying boyfriends?

Maybe while you’re here, you might learn how to develop and program a computer game.

And when you do, ask whether it can be used to teach math or science to young children, just as Professor Popovich and his colleagues do in the Center for Game Learning.

Or ask whether it can be used to cure a disease, just as Professor David Baker and Biochemistry student Brian Koepnick and their colleagues do in the Institute for Protein Design, where they team up with gamers who play FOLDIT, the game they developed to learn how to design proteins that might cure AIDS or Ebola.

You might learn how to speak Japanese or Chinese or Arabic, and when you do, ask:

How do the grammatical constructions of these languages affect the way people think, the way they interact, the way they make decisions, the way they learn…?

You might study the oceans, and when you do, ask how we might harness its great energy to produce power and reduce greenhouse gasses, or how we can predict earthquakes that produce devastating Tsunamis or how we might preserve the coral reefs and their essential functions.

You might study global health, and, when you do, ask how we develop – and, equally importantly, implement – policies across the globe that genuinely and effectively improve health outcomes, like Professor Chris Murray and his colleagues in the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

FRIENDS, THERE ARE ANSWERS LOCKED INSIDE YOUR QUESTIONS, so you CAN and SHOULD ask them.

The process of asking questions AND QUESTIONING THE ANSWERS is the very purpose of this great university and it is YOUR purpose while you are here.

Asking the questions and questioning the answer will lead you to places you can hardly imagine.

It certainly did for me. I was born in a small lumber town in northern California.  My high school graduating class had 50 students. Before college, I had never been out of the United States; I had never visited more than 4 states; I spoke no foreign languages.  Indeed, I don’t remember ever meeting anyone from another country before I went to college.  I hadn’t read virtually any of the cannon of great literature. I’d dissected a frog and had blown up one chemistry lab, but that was my entire exposure to science.

By seizing my moments, I was able to do things of which I am very proud.

And I know you will too.

LOOK UNDER YOUR SEATS.

You will find a tee shirt that bears one of many messages.  The size may not fit you, and you can exchange it on the way out.  But the messages on the tee shirts will fit you, no matter which one you get.  These are the messages:

Dare to do.

Be the first.

Question the answer.

Together we will.

Passion never rests.

Be a world of good.

Driven to discover.

And, my personal favorite, Undaunted.

These themes reflect the amazing potential in each of you to recognize your moments.

You will seize opportunities.

You will be boundless.

You will question the answer.

You will change this world for good.

Great universities, like this one, are designed to help you believe in yourself.

This University is a network of extraordinary professors, exceptionally dedicated staff and remarkable alumni spread all over the world – all united in a shared belief in the future.

And you are that future.

Welcome to your moments.  Welcome to the University of Washington.