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…
Community engagement stories archive
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…
Local grassroots climate action
Dr. Dana Campbell’s vision for community-based climate action takes shape in the Lake Forest Park Climate Hub. When it comes to an issue like climate change, the sheer magnitude of the problem can, at times, be enough to make anyone feel hopeless. It’s tough to know where to even begin — especially when large-scale solutions fail to materialize or are set back because of politics or a priority of profits over people and the natural environment. One of the best…
Helping to restore tribal fishing stocks by harnessing satellite data to determine river temperatures
Fishing for salmon along the Klickitat River is in Ira Lee Yallup’s DNA. An enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, Yallup catches salmon with dip nets, a method his family and ancestors have been using for generations. He stands on a hand-built wooden platform about 40 feet above Lyle Falls. Then he maneuvers a 30-foot pole with a large hoop and net at one end — imagine a butterfly catcher on steroids. With skill…
Capstones benefit local businesses
MBA students shared their expertise with members of the Historic Downtown Snohomish Association. A capstone project is an integral part of many degree programs. It’s the culmination of everything a student has learned throughout their studies, and often, it’s a chance to put their knowledge and skills to the test in the real world. Master of Business Administration students at the University of Washington Bothell got to do just that in two spring 2025 capstone courses taught by Dr. Stephen…