May 13, 2015
Message from Vice Provost and Dean Ed Taylor
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Dear Friends of Undergraduate Academic Affairs,
Vice Provost and Dean Ed Taylor
The complexity of our world is always on display and the past several months is certainly no different. A tragic earthquake struck Nepal, migration issues span the world, and unrest in Baltimore and our own city of Seattle breeds more unrest.
These issues demand deep and reflective thinking about the intricacy of our community and our world — and then action that stems from passion and compassion and works toward resolving conflict and ending suffering.
For Undergraduate Academic Affairs, this is a particularly significant moment as we showcase how students are learning about the world. For example, in this e-newsletter you’ll learn about how Levinson Scholar Krittika D’Silva is already finding ways to improve people’s health and well-being in low-resource areas through smart phone applications. Benjamin Lee is building a set of research and scholarship experiences and hopes to one day help ease tensions in East Asia. Varsha Govindaraju is one of 18 students nationwide to be selected for the prestigious Luce Scholarship to intern in Asia and be part of a larger effort to create pathways of understanding between the US and Asia.
These are only three examples. This week and next, more than 1,000 students will show how one hallmark of a UW degree is that we will forever question the answer. At the 18th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, students from all disciplinary backgrounds will present their research, showing that passion never rests when it comes to creating innovations or better understanding our world. At Beyond the Selfie: Spring Celebration of Service and Leadership, students highlight their service to the community and how they are preparing to be leaders who create a world of good.
Soon after these events, the University community of students, faculty, staff, alumni, friends and supporters will come together in Husky Stadium and celebrate 5,000 graduates at the UW’s 140th Commencement Exercises. It is a wonderful rite of passage that inspires hope in our collective future and recognizes the potential and possibility when you bring together promising students, outstanding faculty and an environment that encourages a boundless spirit.
We wish our graduates all the best and encourage our continuing students to continue their engagement with issues that matter. We are inspired by the ways in which our students and graduates make a difference each and every day.
Sincerely,
Ed Taylor
Vice Provost and Dean
Undergraduate Academic Affairs