Patti Warashina, ’62, ’64
2024 Golden Graduate Distinguished Alumni
The UW Alumni Association is pleased to honor ceramic artist Patti Warashina, ’62, ’64 with the 2024 Golden Graduate Distinguished Alumna Award. Highly regarded for her artistry, as well as her interest in challenging gender barriers, Warashina’s work is often humorous, offering clay figures placed in imagined environments that reflect her subversive thinking. In 1970 she joined the University of Washington faculty and, together with fellow ceramic artists Robert Sperry, Howard Kottler, and later, Jamie Walker and Akio Takamori, was instrumental in helping to build one of the strongest ceramic and sculpture departments on the West Coast — a legacy that lives on today.
Read more about Warashina’s career in this UW Magazine appreciation.
Tom Hinckley, Ph.D., ’71
2023 Golden Graduate Distinguished Alumni
Tom Hinckley has a BA in Biology from Carleton College and a Ph.D. in forest biology from the University of Washington. He has taught at the Universities of Missouri, Natural Resources & Life Sciences (Vienna, Austria), and Washington for a total of 51 years.
Hinckley has conducted research from spruce-hemlock forests of SE Alaska to chaparral in southern Turkey, from old-growth Douglas-fir to fast growing hybrid cottonwood trees, and from shrub species in the Vienna woods to giant rosette plants of the Paramo in Venezuela. Four and half months after he returned to the University of Washington, Mt. St. Helens erupted and he had his first research project. He has taught in Austria, Canada, China, Finland, and South Korea. He has had a wide range of administrative positions; the directorship of CUH was most impactful for him. His teaching has spanned from “Introduction to Environmental Studies” to “Plant Water Relations” to the “Role of Culture and Place in Natural Resource Stewardship: The Yakama Nation Experience.”
Read the UW Magazine article about how Tom Hinckley collaborated with the Yakama Nation to reimagine his approach to teaching forestry.
David, ’68, and Marcie, ’69, ’76, Stone
2021 Golden Graduate Distinguished Alumni
Nearly any time the UW Alumni Association Board of Trustees, Meany Center, the UW Libraries, or the iSchool have something important in the works, there’s a good chance you’ll run into David, ’68, and Marcie, ’69, ’76, Stone. Simply put, they are two of the most dedicated, passionate volunteers the UWAA and the University have.
Frazer Cook, ’65
2019 Golden Graduate Distinguished Alumnus
For 57 years, Frazer was the voice of the Husky Marching Band. Through rain, sleet, wind, snow and hot sun, he announced close to 2,000 songs, from “The Star Spangled Banner” to “Bow Down to Washington” and “Tequila.” In doing so, he become a legend, creating countless memories for generations of Husky fans who could not imagine game day at Husky Stadium without his golden voice.
Vivian O. Lee, ’58
2018 Golden Graduate Distinguished Alumna
Vivian O. Lee was the first African American student to be admitted to the special accelerated bachelor’s degree program in nursing in 1955, the first African American RN hired at the Seattle Veteran’s Administration Hospital and the first African American hired by the U.S. Public Health Service, where she became director of the first federal regional office on women’s health in the nation. Vivian co-founded the first UWAA club focusing on diversity, the Multicultural Alumni Partnership (MAP).
Gary J. Ausman, ’63, ’64
2017 Golden Graduate Distinguished Alumnus
Gary Ausman was the link between the UW and its international community of students, faculty and visiting scholars for 27 years as the director of the International Services Office. In addition to serving as a liaison between the UW and the Evans Scholars (a program that has no connection to the Evans School of Public Policy & Governance), he continues to serve as an emeritus director of the campus Interfraternity Council and was on the Board of Directors of the UW Retirement Association.
Bert Pound, ’40
2016 Golden Graduate Distinguished Alumnus
When Bert Pound became part of the 1936 Husky Marching Band, a lifelong relationship with the Husky Marching Band was created that would last until he passed at age 100 in 2016. He became part of the Alumni Band, not only as a member but also as the band’s mascot, cheerleader, benefactor and historian. Bert became known as the UW’s “push-up guy” for doing one-handed push-ups to celebrate every Husky Football score. In 2011, it was estimated that he had done at least 15,000 push-ups in support of Husky football.
