Across Seattle and throughout Washington state, the Community Engagement & Leadership Education (CELE) Center is instrumental in the University of Washington’s community engagement — connecting the UW with neighborhoods, schools and community organizations to address critical social issues. Through authentic, reciprocal partnerships, the CELE Center provides students with opportunities to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to contribute to thriving communities. The CELE Center’s programs are centered around four focus areas: community-engaged learning, leadership education, pre-K–12 student success and…
Community engagement stories archive
Community partnerships spawn salmon education for local park
Students, faculty and staff collaborate to bring new signage and geocaching tours to O.O. Denny Park in Kirkland, Washington. As any good outdoor enthusiast knows, the first rule of exploring nature is: “Leave no trace.” There are, however, the occasional exceptions to this principle — such as when small, human-made additions to wild places raise awareness about conservation and other environmental issues. When Ash Putzke spent their summers as a kid catching salmon fry at the mouth of Denny Creek…
Meet Seattle’s first indigenous planner
Tim Lehman (Northern Arapaho) didn’t set out to become Seattle’s first Indigenous planning strategist. As a teen, he was drawn to the hands-on craft of masonry. It wasn’t until his time at the University of Washington (UW) — and a FEMA-supported coastal hazard mitigation project — that he discovered a love for design. That turning point launched a career grounded in equity, environmental justice and community-rooted planning. After earning dual master’s degrees in urban planning and landscape architecture from the…
Building the UW’s capacity for CE documentation and assessment: CCUW Fall 2025 Update
Community Connect UW (CCUW) is a database and management platform that allows UW faculty, staff, students and community partners to connect, organize, and understand impacts of collaboration. Fall 2025 Update This autumn, we’re rolling out the platform to support community-engaged courses. We are also exploring new uses such as: Civic Health Scorecard, piloting on the Seattle campus Internships, piloting on the Bothell campus “courses” for community partner field supervisors, piloting on the Tacoma campus We have been working hard to…
UW President Dr. Robert J. Jones Lays Out Bold Vision for Affordability, Innovation, and Community Partnership
In his inaugural address as the newly appointed president of the University of Washington, Dr. Robert J. Jones delivered a powerful and forward-looking message about the future of higher education, the urgency of affordability, and the need for transformational collaboration across sectors. Jones, a nationally recognized higher education leader, spoke candidly about the challenges universities face, including student debt, the changing demands of the workforce, and the need to expand access and equity. Central to his message was a call…
Seattle to launch first connected network of community food micro-pantries
New NSF-funded UW project will use smart sensors to fight hunger, reduce food waste, and increase food access Seattle will soon pilot the first connected network of community food micro-pantries in the U.S., using smart sensors to track supply and demand. Led by the Urban Freight Lab at the University of Washington, the project aims to predict food needs, reduce food waste, and ensure donations reach neighbors who need them most. The UW has received a $700,000 Stage 2 award…
Toward liberation
Dr. Dan Berger, professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences, is recipient of the 2025 Outstanding Community-Engaged Scholar Award. As a young activist, Dr. Dan Berger found special inspiration in the Black visionaries of the ’60s and ’70s. So how, he wondered, did we get here? “Here” is an era of mass incarceration, he said, in which more Americans have criminal records than have union cards. And he has made it his life’s work to answer that question….
UW-Tacoma led research team awarded NSF grant to improve wildfire models
Researchers at UW Tacoma and the University of Nevada, Reno will collaborate to develop a new model that helps land and fire managers better predict and manage wildfires. Washington sees hundreds of wildfires each year, and climate change is causing these destructive events to become larger and more severe. In 2024 alone, Washington and Oregon fought more than 4,000 fires that burned over 2 million acres, underscoring the need for enhanced tools to plan for the future. In response, researchers…
Interdisciplinary collaboration highlights social change projects across East Asia
In 2021, Andrea Gevurtz Arai, Acting Assistant Professor, Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, and Jeff Hou, Professor, College of Built Environments, were awarded a Research Award through the Global Innovation Fund by the Office of Global Affairs. The Global Innovation Fund supports transformative cross-college, cross-continent global research, teaching, and learning experiences at the University of Washington. With additional funding support from the East Asia Center, UW Japan Studies Program, Department of Landscape Architecture, UW College of Built Environments,…
UW Bothell faculty selected as part of 2025-2026 Cohort of Engaged Scholars
Campus Compact recently announced the 18 faculty and staff selected as the 2025-2026 cohort of Engaged Scholars as part of the Engaged Scholars Initiative. The Engaged Scholars Initiative is a one-year, cohort-based leadership & professional development program that supports early career faculty and staff in strengthening their community-engaged scholarship. Each cohort consists of a diverse group of scholar-practitioners who are equipped to lead equity-focused change at their institution and in communities. Dharma Dailey | University of Washington Bothell Dharma…