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Undergraduate Academic Affairs

Author: Undergraduate Academic Affairs

Reviewed 9/22

Impact of recent funding cuts on community engagement programs in UAA

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UAA’s Community Engagement and Leadership Education (CELE) Center is among the programs and organizations impacted by the federal government’s April 25 termination of $400M in AmeriCorps grants. The grant termination led to the abrupt cessation of CELE Center’s AmeriCorps K-12 Community-Engaged Learning Coordinator position. The impact of these grant terminations on the 40 CELE Center students currently enrolled in an AmeriCorps-affiliated program is not yet known.

This came about on April 25, when one of the CELE Center’s partners for AmeriCorps volunteers, the Washington Campus Coalition for the Public Good (WACC), had its AmeriCorps grant terminated, effective immediately, along with 1,000 other AmeriCorps programs engaging over 32,000 AmeriCorps members across the country. WACC provides funding and support for AmeriCorps positions on more than 30 campuses across Washington state, including all three UW campuses. As AmeriCorps members, students and volunteers contributed to the success of our state and nation by supporting K-12 academic engagement, housing and food security and other critical social issues. AmeriCorps members receive modest education grants or stipends for living expenses, depending on their type of service.

As the federal agency for national service and volunteerism, AmeriCorps has provided opportunities for more than 1.3 million individuals to serve their country, providing billions of hours of service to meet basic needs, improve communities and positively impact young people.

Resources for students

Additionally, the CELE Center recently received notification from National Jumpstart, the umbrella nonprofit the University of Washington Jumpstart program is under, that all 31 of their university-affiliated partner sites will close by this summer. This includes the UW Jumpstart program. The national organization cited financial constraints, a shift in their operational model, and uncertainty about the future of AmeriCorps funding as factors leading to this outcome.

Over the last 20+ years of Jumpstart at the UW, more than 1,200 UW undergraduates worked with over 5,000 Seattle preschool children from low-income families across Seattle to promote quality early learning so all children can be prepared for kindergarten. The lifelong impact of early childhood education is well-documented, and we are proud to contribute to that work. In the last several years, Jumpstart at the UW — which launched in 2003 as a collaboration between Undergraduate Academic Affairs, the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity, the College of Education, and the Work Study Office — enrolled dozens of UW students annually to serve as AmeriCorps members to work with preschoolers. Read one student’s experiences here.

These programs make our communities, state and country stronger, safer and more compassionate. Community-engagement opportunities help student AmeriCorps members develop interpersonal, critical thinking and leadership skills that benefit them in their future communities and careers. CELE Center staff are exploring ways to support affected UW students, staff, AmeriCorps members and community partners.

Celebrating student leadership in action at the CELE Center’s 2025 Spring CELEbration

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On May 7, the University of Washington’s Community Engagement and Leadership Education (CELE) Center will present the 2025 Spring CELEbration, an inspiring undergraduate showcase of student service, leadership and community-engaged work.

The annual event features students in CELE Center programs and Mary Gates Endowment Leadership Scholars, presenting work focused on service, leadership and social change — from mentorship and educational equity to civic engagement and environmental justice.

UW undergraduate receives prestigious Gates Cambridge scholarship

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Tristan Jafari, pursuing his bachelor’s degree in biochemistry at the University of Washington, was selected for the prestigious Gates Cambridge Scholarship. 

Jafari, a departmental Honors student set to graduate a year early this June, will receive a full-cost scholarship to pursue a master’s degree in philosophy in Population Health Sciences at the University of Cambridge, England. 

The highly competitive scholarship recognizes past accomplishments and future potential. This year, 35 students from US-based institutions were selected to join the 2025 class of Gates Cambridge Scholars. In April 2025, 65 additional students from around the world will be named, forming a class of 100 Gates Cambridge Scholars from 36 institutions for the 25th anniversary of the scholarship.

“Being named a Gates Cambridge Scholar is an immense honor,” said Jafari. “It’s both inspiring and motivating to join a global community of scholars who are deeply committed to using their education to improve lives.” 

Photo of Gates Cambridge Scholar Tristan Jafari.
UW undergraduate Tristan Jafari was recently named to the 2025 class of Gates Cambridge Scholars. Jafari is eager to immerse himself in the global academic community at Cambridge, where he will advance his proficiency in spatial epidemiology, biostatistics and public health frameworks. Photo: Photo by Jayden Becles

Alongside this remarkable achievement, Jafari has earned the UW Class of 1962 Endowed Scholarship, the UW Chemistry Scholarship and the Mary Gates Leadership Scholarship twice. He was also honored with the Martin and Anne Jugum Scholarship in Labor Studies, each of which provided him with invaluable opportunities and enriched his undergraduate experience.

Jafari was born in Oklahoma City and raised in Mukilteo, Washington, by Iranian parents who left their homeland as teenagers. They resettled in Germany before immigrating to the United States. As dual citizens of the U.S. and Germany, Jafari’s family spoke English, German and Farsi. This multicultural upbringing allowed him to navigate a blend of cultures, shaping his perspective on identity and global health.

After witnessing a life-saving medical response, Jafari became an emergency medical technician (EMT) during his freshman year and has since worked in Snohomish County. At the UW, he has grown through a diverse set of experiences — researching cardiometabolic disease at the UW Diabetes Institute, leading campus blood drives with the American Red Cross, establishing a free CPR training program on campus and volunteering to improve patient health literacy.

Jafari is eager to immerse himself in the global academic community at Cambridge, where he will advance his proficiency in spatial epidemiology, biostatistics and public health frameworks to better understand how systemic health challenges, such as addiction, chronic disease and emergency response, can be addressed.

“I know that this experience will challenge my thinking, broaden my perspective and equip me with the tools to become a more impactful leader in medicine and public health,” said Jafari. He hopes to pursue an M.D. after his master’s degree, with long-term aspirations to integrate public health leadership and clinical medicine.

Jafari expresses deep gratitude to his mentors and professors, including Mr. Eric Timm, Dr. Charlie Barrows, Dr. Hannah Jordt, Dr. Daniel Roberts, Dr. Inma Velasco, Dr. Mauricio Dorfman, and Dr. Josh Thaler. He also thanks his friends and family for their unwavering encouragement.

About the Gates Cambridge Scholarship 

Established in October 2000 by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Gates Cambridge Scholarships are awarded on a student’s intellectual ability, leadership capacity and desire to use their knowledge to contribute to society throughout the world by providing service to their communities and applying their talents and knowledge to improve the lives of others.

Learn about scholarship opportunities at the UW

The Gates Cambridge Scholarship application process is supported by the Office of Merit Scholarships, Fellowships and Awards (OMSFA), a UAA program. OMSFA works with students, faculty and staff to identify and support undergraduate students and alumni in developing the skills and personal insights necessary to become strong candidates for scholarships.

Woke Up This Morning (With My Mind, Stayed on Freedom) [video]

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Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Academic Affairs Ed Taylor shares his talk, “Woke Up This Morning (With My Mind, Stayed on Freedom)” at the College of Education’s EduTalks: Thriving Generations on March 28, 2024. Taylor is also a professor in the College of Education.

In appreciation of David Bonderman, whose vision broadened horizons and changed lives

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Photo of David Bonderman
David Bonderman encouraged students to go outside their comfort zones and their time zones through the Bonderman Fellowships.
Photo by Web Summit Web Summit, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

We join friends, colleagues and the Bonderman Fellow community who are saddened to learn of David Bonderman’s recent passing. David earned his undergraduate degree in Russian from the University of Washington in 1963. A proponent of the transformative power of travel, he created the Bonderman Fellowship in 1995 to provide opportunities for students to have life-changing, international experiences.

His influence in and talent for business, and his interests in sports and rock-and-roll music are well-documented with far-reaching impacts. The Bonderman Fellowships at the UW are, arguably, the most individually-impactful of David’s visionary interests and gifts. David received a travel fellowship after graduating from Harvard Law School which inspired his vision for the Bonderman Fellowship at the UW.

Bonderman Fellowships offer undergraduate, graduate and professional students at the UW $26,000 for independent exploration and international travel. Bonderman Fellows travel on their own for eight months, to at least six countries in two regions of the world. Their “assignment” is to seek out new experiences and learn about the world around them. While there is frequently a guiding interest that shapes their trip, fellows are not allowed to engage in formal study at a university, conduct research or travel with an organized group.

More than 300 students have been named Bonderman Fellows since 1995. Collectively, they have traveled from Algeria and Argentina to Vietnam and Zimbabwe and dozens of countries in between. Their interests are as wide-ranging as their flight paths and other modes of travel.

“These journeys have created a sense of connection with all of humanity and trust in oneself that can’t be replicated by any other experience,” said Brook Kelly, Bonderman alum and assistant director in the Honors Program who also supported the Fellowship for nearly two decades.

“My own Bonderman journey was 20 years ago, and I first met David just after I’d returned to Seattle from six months of traveling in east and southern Africa. I felt lucky to meet and thank him, and to get a little glimpse into the direct, funny and impact-minded person behind the gift that had changed my life. I feel so lucky to have known him, to have helped to bring his vision to life, and for the ripples my own Bonderman trip continues to create.”
— Brook Kelly

Upon learning of David Bonderman’s passing, Bonderman Fellow Drew Pierce-Street wrote that she “reflected on how every nook and cranny of my present day have been touched by David Bonderman’s generosity, and how vastly different I am from one year ago (almost to the day) when I boarded a plane to discover the greatest internal adventure and period of growth in my life. … Perhaps there is more motivation for me now to keep surging forward with an added sparkle of gusto on the path that the fellowship laid down for me.”

Photo looking out a window of a train.
With gratitude, we remember the impact David Bonderman had on more than 300 Bonderman Fellows in providing them with life-changing experiences of international travel. Photo: Photo by Bryan Nakata

Bonderman Fellows talk about their gratitude in being able to travel the world; how prolonged, solo travel can be difficult but inspires courage and confidence; how they view the world differently and see the interconnectedness of people more readily; how they want to make a difference in the lives of others.

Bonderman Fellow Bryan Nakata reflected they were “inspired to push boundaries, challenge assumptions and find ways to connect with others across cultures and geographies. I grew immensely as a person, and it was undoubtedly one of the most important experiences of my life. The lessons I learned as a fellow will guide me for the rest of my life, and I am very proud to call myself a Bonderman alum. I believe his legacy will live on through the work we do and the next generations of fellows for years to come.”

Bonderman Fellowships are administered by Undergraduate Academic Affairs and The Graduate School. In 2017, the UW Bonderman Fellowship expanded its impact with a $10 million endowment from David Bonderman. Prior to that he funded the Fellowships annually.

Read President Ana Mari Cauce’s appreciation of David Bonderman.

Learn more about the experiences of Bonderman Fellows through this audio slideshow, created in 2007 for the 15th anniversary of the Bonderman Fellowships.

UAA statement on leadership transition for the Robinson Center for Young Scholars

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Undergraduate Academic Affairs is recognizing Dr. Kristina Henry Collins for her leadership of the Robinson Center for Young Scholars. After much consideration, Dr. Collins has decided to resign from her position of executive director of the Robinson Center, effective Jan. 27, 2025. She intends to continue her research, teaching and leadership foci of broad-based advocacy for equity and access in STEM, gifted and accelerated programming for students from kindergarten through college.

During her time as executive director, Dr. Collins and the Robinson Center’s directors:

  • Updated the Center’s mission, vision and values to align with the UW’s Diversity Blueprint and addressed operational recommendations from an evaluation taskforce.
  • Made the Transition School application more accessible, leading to an increase in students, scholarships and student diversity.
  • Increased enrollment for all Robinson Center programs, which include Transition School, Academy and Enrichment.
  • Developed a new partnership with the Auburn School District to support student transportation needs and increase access to Robinson Center summer programs.
  • Enlivened community and donor outreach through a refreshed e-newsletter; saw record giving for the Center’s involvement in Husky Giving Day; and reinstated parent programming.

As a public scholar and expert in the field of gifted and talented education, Dr. Collins has advised the Seattle Public School District and Washington state’s Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction on matters related to equity in education for highly capable learners. She is co-author, with Javetta Jones Roberson, of the 2024 book “Sparking Change to Promote Equity: Implementing Culturally Responsive Leadership Practices in Gifted and Advanced Programs” and works with the national nonprofit Council for Exceptional Children to create standards for gifted education that can inform standards for different states.

For more than 40 years, the Robinson Center has offered accelerated learning opportunities to young learners who are highly capable and motivated. It is recognized as a national leader in this field.

As plans for the Robinson Center’s next steps take shape, LeAnne Wiles has been appointed to serve as interim executive director. This decision reflects Wiles’ outstanding leadership and extensive expertise, honed over 15 years of experience in organizational management and student success initiatives within UAA’s First-Year Programs and Student Academic Services. Wiles will continue to work under the leadership of Dr. Michaelann Jundt to ensure the Robinson Center’s continued success.

 

Contact: Kirsten Atik, katik@uw.edu

Pep talks for voting

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These videos are designed to support students’ democratic engagement and cover such topics as how to vote, what other students think about voting and why it’s worth it.

Why vote?

This series of videos about why students, young people and all those eligible to vote should vote, features Eric Liu, American lawyer and CEO and co-founder of Citizen University.

Get involved with civic engagement and voting resources at the Huskies Vote webpage.

Not Voting Is Voting

Voting Is a Path to Revolution

Responsibilities of a Citizen

Talking with students about voting

For this video, we asked students their thoughts on voter engagement and disengagement and why voting matters to them.

How to register to vote and vote

This video provides an overview of how to register to vote in Washington state and key things to know about how to vote at the UW. Links for students who are registered outside of Washington state are also included.

Democracy Dawgs is a coalition of students, staff, faculty, community members and civic leaders who are working to increase student voting rates and build an even stronger culture of civic and democratic engagement at the University of Washington. 

The Community Engagement and Leadership Education (CELE) Center at the University of Washington provides students with opportunities to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes needed to contribute to thriving communities; building authentic community and campus partnerships drive our work.