UAA History

2008

• The University of Washington Seattle was named to the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction for exemplary service efforts and service to disadvantaged youth. UW Seattle programs and projects highlighted include the Carlson Leadership and Public Service Center, the Pipeline Project, Jumpstart, Public Leadership and Civic Engagement Academy, the UW-White Center Community Partnership, and the Dream Project.

2007

• Ten year celebration of the Mary Gates Endowment for Students recognizes the Endowment’s impact on undergraduate education and the lives of Mary Gates Scholars.
• More than 600 undergraduate researchers show their work at the Tenth Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium.
• Inside the Undergraduate Experience: The University of Washington’s Study of Undergraduate Learning published, detailing for the first time the process of Undergraduate Learning.
• The first “Live the Dream” Scholarships are presented to six high school students who participated in the Dream Project, a program designed to guide underprivileged Seattle youth through the college admissions process and help them find financial aid for college.

2006

• 2,000th Mary Gates Scholar named.
• Ed Taylor named Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Academic Affairs.
• Honors students and alumni reach out across the country to communities in need and spend spring break in Mississippi, volunteering with Hurricane Katrina restoration efforts.
• UW Common Book launched to give incoming students common intellectual experience. First selection is Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder. The broader UW community reads along with students. Dr. Paul Farmer’s campus becomes the hottest ticket in town.
• Research opportunities for undergraduates expanded through Amgen Scholars program. University of Washington is one of nine universities selected for partnership with the Amgen Foundation.

2005

• UW undergraduates winning national and international awards and competitions on an unprecedented scale. The awards include national academic titles in math and ethics, along with individual wins in Gates, Truman, Javits, Churchill, Goldwater and Udall Scholarships, all nationally highly competitive awards.
• Carlson Leadership & Public Service Center takes on coordination of Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service, in partnership with United Way of King County. 700 UW volunteers sign up for service projects around the county.
• 500+ students participate in 8th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium.
• Christine Ingebritsen named Acting Dean.

2004

• To help economically disadvantaged students connect with civic engagement opportunities, the Carlson Civic Fellows program was established with more than $100,000 raised from private support.
• Honors Program builds connections with alumni, students and others through celebration of the 40th anniversary of the first Honors graduate. The Honors Program was established in 1961.
• Office of Educational Assessment researcher Catharine Beyer begins consulting with departments in the College of Arts and Sciences to facilitate creation and refinement of departmental learning goals.
• Dream Project launched to teach undergraduates about higher education policy and help low-income and first-generation high school students apply to college. Founded by UW student Alula Asfaw.
• Related programs brought together under umbrella of Center for Experiential Learning to bring focused attention on benefits of experiential learning to student experience and increase student access to experiential learning opportunities.
• 1,500th Mary Gates Scholar named.

2003

• Jumpstart launched to connect UW undergraduates with low-income Seattle preschoolers to help these children build necessary language, literacy, and social skills.
• Robinson Center for Young Scholars receives Brotman Award for Instructional Excellence. The award recognizes collaboration within and among departments, programs and groups that improves the quality of undergraduate education.
• Aiming to learn more about the undergraduate experience, UAA completes its four-year UW Study of Undergraduate Learning (UW SOUL). Students most often reported that during their time at UW, they want to learn knowledge in a specific field, broad-based knowledge, and job-related skills.

2002

• Academy for Young Scholars established, creating a path for college-ready high school sophomores to enter the University of Washington through the Robinson Center for Young Scholars.
• Opportunities for undergraduate researchers in the arts and humanities expanded through UW Summer Institute in the Arts and Humanities.
• George Bridges selected Vice Provost and Dean.
• 1,000th Mary Gates Scholar named.

2001

• 250+ students participate in 4th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium.

2000

• Mary Gates Hall opens May 8, establishing an academic home for UW undergraduates.
• Undergraduate Research Program established to increase student involvement in faculty research.
• Emma Brunskill, Robinson Center and Honors student, becomes UW’s first Rhodes scholar in 20 years.
• Helping hundreds of children write and publish their own books, 22 undergraduate students head out on the first annual Alternative Spring Break. Focused around smaller and often marginalized communities, the first schools to partner with UW’s Pipeline Project in this endeavor are located in Harrah, Forks, La Push and Omak.

1999

• Student access to leadership and research opportunities increased by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s re-investment of $10 million to the Mary Gates Endowment for Students. This gift increased the Endowment to $20 million. At the time, the Mary Gates Endowment for Students was the largest endowment on campus. As of 2008, it is still the largest endowment for undergraduate students.
• UW Study of Undergraduate Learning (UW SOUL) project begins. This study aims to gather more information on the undergraduate experience, getting students’ accounts of their academic and personal goals, backgrounds, and viewpoints.
• 500th Mary Gates Scholar named.

1998

• First Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium showcases the work of 70 undergraduate researchers.
• Institute for Teaching Excellence established as opportunity for UW faculty to hone teaching skills.
• First Mary Gates leadership scholarships awarded.

1997

• Pipeline Project founded, extending civic engagement experiences to undergraduates by connecting them to tutoring opportunities in Seattle K-12 schools.
• In continued work to prepare undergraduates to live in a pluralistic society, UAA distributes approximately $200,000 to colleges across campus to add diversity to the curriculum.
• First Mary Gates research and honors scholarships awarded.

1996

• Mary Gates Endowment for Students established.

1995

• Melinda & William Gates III contribute $10 million to establish the Mary Gates Endowment for Students in honor of Mr. Gates’ mother.
• Board of Regents renames the Physics Building Mary Gates Hall.
• Bonderman Travel Fellowship established to expose Honors students to the intrinsic, often life-changing, benefits of international travel.

1994

• Faculty Fellows program established to help new faculty orient themselves to the University, UW students, and improve their teaching.
• UAA begins sharing responsibility for academic progress of student athletes.
• UWired, a collaboration between UAA, Computing and Communications, and the UW Libraries, established to bring technology into the service of teaching and learning and facilitate information literacy.

1993

• Freshman seminars established, helping freshmen make early academic connections with UW faculty in small class-settings.

1992

• Undergraduate Academic Affairs (originally Office of Undergraduate Education) established.
• Frederick Campbell, UAA’s dean and vice provost, highlighted two primary challenges for the new department:
  • Serve 25,000+ undergraduates who spend their first two years as undeclared majors and then disperse across eleven colleges which offer baccalaureate degrees.
  • Bring the full power and special advantages of a research university into undergraduate education.
• Carlson Leadership & Public Service Center established to facilitate student community engagement.
• Honors Program” within the College of Arts and Sciences refashioned into the current University Honors Program with addition of Honors in the College of Engineering. Honors reassigned, administratively, to Undergraduate Academic Affairs enabling coordination of Honors offerings across the University’s schools and colleges.
• Classroom Support Services created from dispersed groups with classroom-related responsibilities to more efficiently manage University’s classrooms.

1991

• Office of Merit Scholarships, Fellowships and Awards formed (originally Undergraduate Scholarship Office).