In this video, Honors Program Director Stephanie Smallwood takes on the challenge of explaining the Honors Program in less than 15 seconds at a time. 15 Seconds at a Time is a series where we find out if various Undergraduate Academic Affairs departments can explain their work in only 15 Seconds at a Time.
Author: Undergraduate Academic Affairs
Reviewed 9/22
Narrowing the education gap
Transfer students play a crucial role in the research conducted by Community College Research Initiatives (CCRI), spurring advancement in higher education by addressing the gaps in access to a college degree and the societal mobility it offers. Through their focus on the transfer student experience at community colleges, CCRI is at the forefront of innovation, identifying strategies that enhance postsecondary outcomes for these students, enabling them to thrive in their chosen paths.
Situated at the University of Washington in Undergraduate Academic Affairs, CCRI leverages their research to improve educational outcomes locally and nationally, while serving as a valuable resource for community colleges and state systems. In this Q+A session, Dr. Lia Wetzstein, director of CCRI, delves into the critical work of narrowing the equity gap and creating lasting systems change.
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What are the issues surrounding transferring from a two-year to a four-year institution and how do they impact students and the broader community?
Transfer barriers are a major equity issue because access to an affordable bachelor’s degree is critical in creating economic mobility for individuals and vibrant communities. A major concern is the number of two-year students who intend to transfer and complete a bachelor’s degree, but do not (31% of degree-seeking transfer students transfer to a four-year [college or university] and 14% complete bachelor’s degrees in six years). The issue is exacerbated for low-income and minoritized students.
Reasons behind these rates include a lack of clear understanding of transfer pathways or access to the courses [students need] to be major-ready. This leads to credit loss once students transfer, impacting the cost and length of time to finish. In some cases, students run out of financial aid before they are able to finish their bachelor’s degree. In addition, most students at two-year schools must work to pay for college while also supporting themselves or dependents. Many institutions do not design their course schedules or student supports with this reality in mind, thereby setting up additional obstacles to academic success and degree completion.
What are specific ways CCRI’s research contributes toward educational equity?
We focus our research and the application of our research on improving the educational pathway that most first-generation, low-income and minoritized students take, namely the transfer pathway.
Our research on transfer partnerships [between two-year and four-year institutions] led to an understanding of the multiple ways partnerships are enacted and maintained. That understanding is being put to use to build sustainable STEM partnerships in our state [that improve] the transfer process and outcomes for low-income STEM students.
What role do collaboration and partnerships play for CCRI?
Partnerships are central to all of our work. We could not conduct our research or help facilitate transformative change without the collaboration of individuals, institutions and state-level systems. Our current Stem Transfer Partnership project brings together teams of STEM faculty and staff from nine pairs of two-year and four-year partner institutions in Washington state, who are working to improve outcomes for low-income transfer students. CCRI’s role in this work is to assist them in building sustainable local partnerships, as well as a larger, statewide community of practice that can serve as a network where they can share resources and ideas about praxis.
CCRI doesn’t work with students the same way that faculty, advisers or others in the University might. Yet you talk about the importance of centering the student experience in your work. How do you do that?
In all of our research and evaluation endeavors, we are committed to deeply understanding the student experience and drawing upon it to shape practice and policy. Only students can provide us an understanding of how their lived experiences interact with the institutional context.
Some key insights learned from our STEM transfer partnership include many students crediting a faculty member for their successful transfer, prevailing misconceptions surrounding transfer and associate degree options, the diverse sources where students gather information about transfer, and the remarkable willingness and enthusiasm of transfer students to share their experiences.
You were one of 200 higher education leaders invited by the U.S. Department of Education to attend the first-ever national summit, Raise the Bar Transfer Summit, on improving the student transfer process. Can you share any details or key takeaways from this event?
It was exciting for me to see federal recognition of the notion that improving transfer can level the playing field for access and success in higher education, and of the need to fix the transfer process, rather than transfer students.
Representatives at the Transfer Summit recognized that this work will take collaboration, partnerships and relationships between institutions and systems to make transfer work at scale. Given the recent ruling on affirmative action, improving community college transfer remains one of the most powerful tools to increase widespread access to four-year degrees, particularly for marginalized populations.
What are your hopes for the long-term impacts of CCRI’s work?
I hope CCRI continues to be a collaborator with community colleges, state systems and communities to engage in research to improve higher education access and completion for those farthest from educational justice. And that work is part of making educational equity gaps a thing of the past.
I hope our current work with STEM transfer partnerships leads to more two-year and four- year partnerships in the state and beyond, creating long-term sustainable and adaptable solutions for their shared transfer students.
To learn more about CCRI, visit their website.
The Undergraduate Research Program announces new name: Office of Undergraduate Research
The name of the Undergraduate Research Program has recently changed to the Office of Undergraduate Research. The updated name more accurately reflects the diverse range of research programs, scholarships, events, awards and essential resources the unit offers to support the success of all undergraduates at the University of Washington.
Created over 25 years ago, the office has been pivotal to the growth of undergraduate research at the UW. Recognized as one of the best undergraduate research programs in the nation, the Office of Undergraduate Research hosts the Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium. Since it began, the Symposium has grown from 80 student presenters to more than 1,000 undergraduate presenters from all UW campuses, as well as local community and regional colleges.
A celebration of scholarship and cutting-edge research of undergraduate researchers from all disciplines, the Symposium brings together students, faculty members and the greater community to engage with a diverse showcase of research and academic achievement at a signature event for the University. The presenters represent just a slice of the students who participate in research across the three campuses.
In 2021-22, more than 7,000 undergraduates spent 1,286,468 hours engaged in research advancing technology and discovery for the public good.
The Office of Undergraduate Research name change will further encompass the mission and direct goal of supporting equity, access and inclusion in undergraduate research. Director Sophie Pierszalowski said, “The updated name leaves no question that we are here to support all UW undergraduate students across disciplines, class standing and level of research experience.”
Explore the Office of Undergraduate Research’s mission, vision and values.
Congratulations, Class of 2023!
On June 10, over 7,000 graduating seniors celebrated their academic accomplishments with 40,000 Husky families, friends and guests at the University of Washington’s Husky Stadium. Among the scholars who walked across the stage to receive their diplomas were those who connected to, deepened and expanded their Husky experience with Undergraduate Academic Affairs’ opportunities and programming. We recognize the hard work and dedication of each graduating senior, who now embark on pathways to create a better world. Every single one of these graduates has left a lasting impact on the UW, our community and on us. Congratulations to the class of 2023!
Here are a few examples from the Class of 2023!
Revolutionizing Alzheimer’s care: Undergraduate research in public health
In this video, undergraduate researcher Varuna Ravi, ’23, shares what motivated her to pursue research focusing on Alzheimer’s disease. Ravi’s firsthand experience of the devastating impact Alzheimer’s has on millions of individuals and their families drove her to reimagine how we perceive, comprehend and treat age-associated cognitive decline.
Junior medalist Olivia Brandon
Olivia Brandon, who twice received the President’s Medal, said, “I am constantly inspired by the impact — small or global — an individual can have in the medical and scientific world.” Brandon majored in public health–global health and hopes her future research helps improve global health challenges like infant mortality.
Five UW students named 2023 Goldwater Scholars
Nuria Alina Chandra is one of five undergrads selected for the Goldwater Scholarship, a competitive scholarship that supports students in STEM fields. Chandra plans to pursue a Ph.D. in computer science and then work at the intersection of machine learning, computational biology, and algorithms research. “I will research machine learning, computational biology, and algorithms to develop tools that prevent, treat, and cure disease. My research career will span from theory to clinical application,” says Chandra.
Undergraduates at the intersections of research: from blueprints to breakthroughs and visual arts to virtual reality
Out of the 1,000+ undergraduate researchers who presented their work at the 26th annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, hundreds of them were seniors. Class of 2023 graduate and neuroscience major Shannon Hong reflected: “It was a valuable experience to present my own research and to learn about the work my peers are doing. The Symposium showed me that students can be at the forefront of change.”
Spring CELEbration event recognizes student and community partnerships
UAA’s Community Engagement and Leadership Education (CELE) Center held the 2023 Spring CELEbration, a forum showcasing student service, leadership and activist work. Presenter Greta Fehlan, ‘23, shared her internship experience from the Pike Market Senior Center and Food Bank. Fehlan said, “I loved this experience so much that it solidified for me that this is what I want to be doing with my life — community-based, community-focused work.”
UW students, alumni selected for Fulbright awards and a world of opportunities
Among this year’s group of students and alumni selected for Fulbright Fellowships are seniors Jessie Cox, Mia Filardi, Auden Finch, Kennedy Patterson and Lillian Williamson. They will join approximately 2,000 students and recent graduates from around the country to teach, study and research abroad in countries such as Botswana, Taiwan and Finland.
UW senior Casper Suen selected for China’s Yenching Academy
Casper Suen, ’23, was recently selected for the competitive Yenching Academy Scholars program at Peking University. One of two scholars from the UW, both of whom majored in international studies, will join 115 scholars hailing from 31 countries as the 2023 cohort participating in the interdisciplinary China Studies master’s program. Through his coursework at the UW, Suen developed his interest in China’s policy institutions and international relations.
15-seconds at a time: Academic Support Programs [video]
In this video, Academic Support Programs Director Ryan Burt takes on the challenge of explaining Academic Support Programs in less than 15 seconds at a time. “15 Seconds at a Time” is a series in which different Undergraduate Academic Affairs programs explain their work in bite-sized bursts.
Academic Support Programs, located at the UW in Mary Gates Hall, provides a space for all UW undergraduate students to be included, challenged and supported in their educational journey. An academic home away from home, Academic Support Programs offers peer-to-peer programs and services include tutoring and coaching, as well as connections to other academic support programs across campus.
Academic Support Programs’ resources are available to you online and in person. Academic coaching is available through the day into the evening, CLUE tutoring on evenings and online appointments can be made at academicsupport.uw.edu. CLUE tutors cover a wide range of majors including: math, physics, political science, chemistry, public health, English, social work, statistics, economics and more. Visit Academic Support Programs to learn more about scheduling with one of their amazing student coaches and tutors.
Produced by: Ian Teodoro and Kirsten Atik
Edited by: Ian Teodoro
Thanks to: Ryan Burt
Creating your UW academic adventure
Welcome to the University of Washington! This story is your own choose-your-own-adventure story, and begins right here with you. You are a first-year student in your first quarter. As you read, you will face challenges that ask you to decide which way to go. What will your pathway be? As you jump from storyline to storyline, you will learn about the resources available to you through UAA’s Academic Support Programs. Just as in life, you can’t go backward in this story, but you will get opportunities to redirect along the way. Have fun, and see you at the finish line: commencement!
Editor’s note: This story is not meant to be read straight through. Read a section, make your choice and see what part of your academic adventure unfolds next.
1
It’s your first quarter at the UW! You feel very motivated and excited by the possibilities of a big university and living on your own for the first time.
As you prepare for classes, you reflect on how you want to make a difference in people’s lives and help others. You aren’t entirely sure what this may look like, but you are leaning pretty heavily toward a major in a STEM field. You talk it out with your family and they support this idea, saying, “Not only would you be able to help others, but you will have many post-graduate opportunities in a medical field.”
You signed up for a series of introductory classes at summer Advising & Orientation, including a chemistry class. In the first week of class, you overhear a student saying, “I heard this is a weed-out class,” but you feel pretty confident in your academic ability based on your grades in high school.
Continue to #2
2
The quarter is underway, and after just a few weeks you find yourself overwhelmed with the workload in your chemistry class. Looking around you say, “Why does everyone else seem to be managing this better than me?” Your new friends are going to parties and get-togethers while you are stuck at your desk for hours trying to understand the textbook. You realize you never really learned how to study in high school, and have no idea if you are doing it effectively.
You decide you need to either increase your study hours and commit to study nights at Odegaard Library or talk to your TA about your challenges.
#3 Decide to do more solo studying at Odegaard
#4 Decide to check in with a TA
3
Decide to solo study at Odegaard
Having dedicated more time to studying at night in Odegaard library, you begin to get caught up on all your readings before each class. Although the evenings there come with fewer distractions, the late nights start to wear on you, leaving you feeling isolated and sleep-deprived. You make plans with new friends only to cancel, telling them, “I can’t hang out because I need to study. I’m so anxious about answering questions in class correctly.”
Your focus has improved as you move through the quarter. You review your lecture notes, the readings from the textbook, and do all the practice exercises. Since you are studying alone, though, you question if you are answering the questions correctly. The back of the textbook has some of the answers but not the ones you are most stuck on.
As midterms approach, you find yourself falling behind again. The late study nights leave you sleeping through your alarm clock and running late to classes. You are exhausted and bail on your quiz section to take a nap. At this point in the quarter you find yourself asking, “Do I need to go talk to my chemistry TA, or should I just keep doing what I’m doing and hope for the best?”
#4 Decide to go check in with a TA
#5 Head to the midterm
4
Decide to check in with a TA
You schedule a meeting with your TA and share how much time you are studying. The TA reassures you that it’s enough time and gives you a piece of advice, “It is important to find study strategies that work best for you to understand the material.” You know the TA cares about your success and talking with them was helpful, but when you leave you realize you aren’t exactly sure how to find the strategies that work best for you, especially when you never had this type of workload in high school. You feel a little lost and stuck, so you head to the library for a few more late nights of midterm prep.
#5 Time to head to the midterm
5
It’s time for the midterm
The first midterm of the quarter is here, and with all the extra nights you spent studying, you feel like it went pretty well! The professor mentioned it would be graded on a curve, so you think you will get at least a B. When the test scores come back you find out you did not even pass! Looking at your score you think, “I don’t even know how this could happen! I studied so much, and missed out on all the fall events. I’m nervous about asking for help, but with this score, it’s clear I am going to need it.”
You remember seeing a post for CLUE tutoring on your Instagram feed and think they might be able to help you with your chem homework. You also remember an Academic Success Coaching flyer in the HUB and think they might be able to help with study skills and time management. You feel anxious about either option but eventually decide to reach out.
#6 Go to CLUE tutoring
#7 Go to the academic success coach
6
Decide to go to CLUE tutoring
You have been feeling a little intimidated connecting with others, and your nervousness has kept you from going to CLUE tutoring yet. You realize you really do need the help as you say, “What’s the worst thing that could happen?” while eying the time on your phone. It’s 7 p.m., so the CLUE tutoring drop-in sessions just started. You grab your chemistry homework and head over. You sit in the chemistry tutoring section and hear other students talk about tips they have used to better understand concepts. It’s reaffirming to hear that others struggle with the same material, and you feel like you’ve warmed up to working with other students. The CLUE tutor reviews additional problems with you, helping you identify what step you were missing. You write down the steps to solve the problems, and are so happy to have that for later reference!
You feel like you have gotten help with some of the concepts you were struggling with in class, so now you need to choose if you want to keep studying these concepts for finals, or meet with an academic success coach and dive deeper into your study skills.
#10 Apply what you learned at CLUE and head to finals week
#8 Stopover with an academic success coach before finals week
7
Meet with the academic success coach
“What’s the worst thing that could happen?” you ask yourself as you schedule a session to meet with an academic success coach. When you arrive and settle in, they ask how the quarter is going, and at first you say, “It’s going okay.” They continue to ask you questions and mention that they had a challenging time their first quarter at the UW. You decide to tell them how you are actually doing: “I’ve worked so hard and it’s as though I don’t see any of it reflected in my grades. I am homesick and sad to have missed out on new adventures with friends. I’m just always studying and barely making it!”
The coach listens and says, “It’s completely understandable that you are feeling homesick with all this time spent studying alone. I know when I studied alone and tried to teach myself all of the material my first quarter of college, I was totally exhausted and realized I needed to try new study strategies that would work for me.” You feel relieved that someone understands you, and even more relieved when they share these active studying techniques with you. The coach suggests you start working with others to avoid isolation and collaborate through practice problems. “You can actively study with others by working together through practice problems and having discussions on the material,” they suggest.
Before you leave, they go over what your academic needs and learning styles are so they can coordinate the right resources for you. You end up walking out with a list of CHEM student organizations for group course content discussions, CLUE tutoring to work through problems with and strategies for tackling practice problems. You think, “I am so happy that I gave this a shot! You think about whether you should also get some 1:1 tutoring at CLUE or join a study group as you head to finals week.
#9 Decide to go to CLUE tutoring
#10 Head to finals week
8
Dive into study skills with an academic success coach
After going to CLUE tutoring, you are less intimidated in connecting with others. Now that you have gotten support with some of the class concepts, you want to address potential study strategies.
You head in to meet with an academic success coach and they ask how the quarter is going. You say, “It’s going okay,” but they continue to ask you questions and mention that they had a challenging time their first quarter at the UW. You decide to tell them how you are actually doing, “I’ve worked so hard and it’s as though I don’t see any of it reflected in my grades. I am homesick and sad to have missed out on new adventures with friends. I’m just always studying and barely making it!”
The coach listens and says, “It’s completely understandable that you are feeling homesick with all this time spent studying alone. I know when I studied alone and tried to teach myself all of the material my first quarter of college, I was totally exhausted and realized I needed to try new study strategies.” You feel relieved that someone understands you, and even more relieved when they share these active studying techniques with you. The coach suggests you start working with others to avoid isolation and collaborate through practice problems. “You can actively study with others by working together through practice problems and having discussions on the material,” they suggest.
Before you leave, they give you some great resources. A list of CHEM student organizations for group course content discussions and strategies for tackling practice problems. As you walk out you tell yourself, “I think I have a better handle on study strategies I want to try. I’m going to reach out to these groups today and commit to studying with new friends instead of by myself!” You are very happy you decided to schedule an appointment, and head out for boba to celebrate.
#10 Time for finals!
9
Decide to go to CLUE tutoring
You decide to head over to CLUE after your coaching session, grabbing your chem books and unanswered problems. The CLUE tutor reviews the problems with you and is able to identify what step you were missing. “I could tell right away, because that is the step I always forgot and most students struggle with,” they share. It’s reaffirming to hear that others struggle with the same material, and it feels good to be working with another student. After you complete a few problems, they have you write down the steps you took to solve it. You are grateful to take that with you for later reference. You feel like you have gotten help with some of the concepts you were struggling most with in class. Between the coach and CLUE, you feel ready now for finals.
#10 Head to finals week
10
It’s finals week!
As the week begins, you find yourself thinking “I’m definitely more prepared now than I was for midterms. I’ve reviewed the concepts from the CLUE tutor and I’ve been using the active studying techniques from the academic success coach. I’m ready for this week!”
When final scores arrive, despite your hard work, you discover you are ending the class with a grade lower than what you were expecting. As you reflect on the experience of this first quarter, you wonder if you should sign up to retake the course. The idea alone has you feeling burned out and unmotivated. You ask yourself, “Do I really belong in STEM? I thought I would be motivated by studying something I could use to help people in a career. What am I doing wrong?”
#11 Reinvigorate your path to STEM
#12 Continue as you have been
#13 Decide to switch majors
11
Reinvigorate your path to STEM
Thinking back to the conversation you had with the academic success coach, you remember them asking, “What’s your motivation?” When the year began, your goal was just to pass your classes. “What is my motivation?” you wonder. You pull up a goal-setting worksheet from the coaching website and spend the rest of the evening filling it out. Identifying specific short-term goals for each week, you put them all together toward one major long-term goal.
Keeping on track over the coming weeks helps you regain the motivation you felt before school started and you start to feel less burned out. With your free time you do self-care activities including more calls to your family. On a recent call you share, “I’ve really been questioning myself and if I belong in STEM.” Your family reminds you of how much of an impact and a difference you can make in your community! You feel inspired again and that is the fuel you need for the next quarter. Keeping your mind on the big picture, you eventually make it through the hardest times. You find yourself enjoying your studies and succeeding. You become a regular at CLUE and also continue meeting with an academic success coach. You feel invigorated and continue on through the school year — excited for class, happy to share time with new friends and look forward to what the future holds.
This is the end of this story, but yours is just getting started …
12
Continue as you have been
This quarter passes, then the next, and you keep grinding in your CHEM classes. You are so burned out you don’t even have the motivation to complete your work or reach out for more help. Thinking back to the conversation you had with the academic success coach, you remember them asking, “What’s your motivation?” When the year began, your goal was just to pass your classes. “What is my motivation?” you wonder. “I really felt like this was an optimal path for helping people and ensuring a great career post-college, but I think there might be another pathway for me to do that,” you tell yourself. You schedule a meeting with your academic adviser, and share your recent self-discovery. “I don’t feel connected to this side of the STEM world anymore. I’ve been thinking about a move toward psychology as a potential field to help people.” Your adviser helps you develop a plan to switch potential majors. You feel invigorated by your new self-discovery and continue on through the school year becoming a regular at CLUE and regularly meeting with an academic success coach. You are excited for class, happy to share time with new friends, and look forward to what the future holds for you.
This is the end of this story, but yours is just getting started …
13
Decide to switch majors
You’ve struggled all year with the question: “Is STEM really for me?” Thinking back to the conversation you had with the academic success coach, you remember them asking, “What’s your motivation?” When the year began, your goal was just to pass your classes. “What is my motivation?” you wonder. “I really felt like this was an optimal path for helping people and ensuring a great career post-college, but I think there might be another pathway for me to do that,” you tell yourself. You keep coming back to psychology as an option where you could redirect yourself and still be helpful to people in your community. You meet with your adviser for support and together you put plans in place to switch potential majors. You feel invigorated by your new self-discovery and continue on through the school year becoming a regular at CLUE and regularly meeting with an academic success coach. You are excited about class, happy to share time with new friends, and look forward to what the future holds for you.
This is the end of this story, but yours is just getting started …
This story came together through collaboration. Thank you to these generous and creative colleagues for your work and dedication to this endeavor: Alli Botelho, Danielle Marie Holland, Gracie Pakosz, Ian Teodoro, Jenelle Birnbaum, Kirsten Atik and Mina Zavary. Photo illustrations by Ian Teodoro.
Stephanie Smallwood named director of Honors Program
Congratulations to Stephanie Smallwood, acclaimed professor and historian, who has been appointed the new director of the University Honors Program, officially beginning her term in September, 2022.
The University Honors Program, now celebrating its 60th birthday, serves as an academic core of Undergraduate Academic Affairs, bringing students and faculty from every corner of campus together for original learning opportunities focused on collaborative, cross-disciplinary curriculum, experiential learning, research and critical reflection.
In the past eight years under the direction of geography professor and poverty researcher, Victoria Lawson, the Honors Program has contributed to the deepening of its interdisciplinary focus and approach to intentional community building, innovative thinking and global citizenship. As Lawson prepares to retire from the University of Washington, she expresses admiration for Honors’ incoming director, stating: “I am a huge fan of Dr. Smallwood and I am confident she will love leading within this community, as I have.”
Fostering collective and diverse brilliance
Honors by the numbers
The UW Honors Program facilitates Interdisciplinary, College and Departmental Honors for over 1,400 undergraduates annually.
83% of Honors students come from public high schools.
100+ UW majors represented by Honors students and faculty.
70% say Interdisciplinary Honors admission is a top reason they chose the UW.
Smallwood says she’s excited by the Honors Program’s trajectory and sees great opportunities to continue expanding this interdisciplinary educational hub at our public research university. Smallwood’s vision of fostering collective and diverse brilliance aligns with the program’s long arc toward education that centers public needs and un-siloed, collaborative inquiry.
“Interdisciplinarity informs my scholarship, my mentoring, my teaching, and informs everything I do,” shared Smallwood. A narrow singularly disciplinary lens cannot adequately approach the questions which animate her work, or the questions that remain most urgent and pressing to our society today.
“Undergraduate Academic Affairs is a unit devoted to changing lives of students by deepening their UW experience,” shares Vice Provost and Dean Ed Taylor. “Stephanie Smallwood has the vision, knowledge and experience to move the program and experience of students into a future that is much in need of their potential to help make the world better.”
Guiding students in intellectual exploration
Smallwood is an associate professor in the Department of History, where she holds the Dio Richardson Endowed professorship, and she has a joint appointment in the Department of Comparative History of Ideas. She has devoted the past 15 years at the University of Washington to undergraduate teaching and mentorship on the histories of slavery, race and colonialism in the early modern Atlantic world. Guiding students in their exploration of the challenging problems that have profoundly shaped our world remains as fresh and rewarding for her today as when she began her career as a teacher-scholar nearly 25 years ago.
Her book “Saltwater Slavery: A Middle Passage from Africa to American Diaspora” (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007) was awarded the 2008 Frederick Douglass Book Prize; the award for best book written in English on slavery or abolition by the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale University; and was a finalist for the 2008 First Book Prize of the Berkshire Conference of Women Historians.
“The University of Washington is so fortunate that Professor Stephanie Smallwood has accepted a three-year term as director of the Honors Program. Professor Smallwood is a prize-winning historian, gifted teacher and exemplary University citizen. She will bring her gifts of shrewd analysis, excellent judgment and visionary leadership to this position,” shared Glennys Young, chair of the Department of History.
A history story
Smallwood’s interest in history began as an undergraduate at Columbia University, stemming from her involvement in anti-apartheid demonstrations. In 1985, on the anniversary of the assasination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Smallwood demonstrated in a domestic divestment campaign. When camping out on the steps of an administrative building for three weeks was followed by a summer of disciplinary hearings, she was led directly toward learning more about the history behind the political actions she found herself engaging in.
For the first time in her life, Smallwood began to read African history — and found herself blown away. She spent the last two years of her undergraduate studies taking graduate-level seminars. “I knew then that history was what I wanted to do and study,” said Smallwood. Under the mentorship of Marcellus Blount, she was guided towards an interdisciplinary M.A. in African and African-American studies at Yale University.
Smallwood became a research assistant to renowned historian John Blassingame, who was beginning to examine the 17th- and 18th-century slave trade. During days spent in the Yale library’s microfilm room, Smallwood poured over newspapers from 17th century Maryland and Virginia, reading the announcements of arrivals of slave ships. Her time there would prove to be invaluable, as she began to piece together the literal connections between African and African-American history. “It was the first time, that past, that period, was animated for me intellectually,” she said. Transcended beyond just responding to contemporary politics, she sought out to study the entire expanse of Black history. Smallwood would go on to earn her Ph.D. in early African-American history at Duke University.
“I am incredibly excited to see Professor Smallwood’s leadership and inclusionary vision applied to the Honors Program as its community continues to grow and build connections across campus. Her support and encouragement enabled us students to reach our full potential and I know she will do the same for the many students who come under her guidance as she takes on the role of director,” shared Erin Nicole Kelly, senior.
The role imagination plays
The interdisciplinary impact of her studies and research have informed the lens for all of her ongoing research, leadership and publications. Smallwood recognizes that a key component of the role of a historian is to imagine. “The fact of the matter is that historians have to imagine, to tell stories.” She cites the fiction of novelist Toni Morrison as being in relationship and conversation with her historical research. “We have to be able to use the gifts that only a Toni Morrison can bring to the table, to guide us in how to dare to imagine. You can’t ask good questions if you can’t imagine outside of the box,” Smallwood said.
Smallwood connects the value of the Honors Programs to its interdisciplinary imagination. A program that curates small classes and dynamic curriculum where students experience, as she describes, “the freedom of when you’re not already locked into a particular methodology or a set of rules that govern a particular discipline.”
Her recent experiences teaching the classes, Honors Historical Method and Race and Slavery Across the Americas, have served Smallwood as continued affirmations of what’s possible in intimate learning environments. “Knowledge production happens best when we put different disciplinary methods in relationship to one another,” she shared. “Often our best and most innovative learning happens in collaboration.”
Our best learning happens in collaboration
Smallwood remains continually fueled and reinvigorated as an educational collaborator and mentor. Facilitating class experiences for undergraduates to engage in intellectual discovery and risk taking, Smallwood is focused on new approaches to learning that can meaningfully advance a social justice mission.
Smallwood sees her appointment as director of the Honors Program as an honor within itself. She intends to use her skills and background of scholarship and teaching in a public research university to serve students and boost their capacity to imagine, contribute and make change. “To be at a public research institution like the UW means you’re in a community of extraordinary scholars with extraordinary resources,” said Smallwood. “It’s the best possible combination of what it takes to be a scholar and for the largest impact you can have on reaching and touching people.”
Welcome, Stephanie Smallwood!
Rosalie Fish, student, athlete and activist, selected as Truman Scholar
Congratulations to junior Rosalie Fish, the University of Washington’s newest Truman Scholar! Learn more about her and the national, competitive scholarship recognizing student leadership.
UW sophomore Alex Mallen and junior Sharlene Shirali selected for the Goldwater Scholarship
Congratulations to University of Washington sophomore Alex Mallen, a computer science major, and junior Sharlene Shirali, a neuroscience major, whom the Goldwater Foundation honored with its undergraduate scholarship for students studying the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering. Mallen and Shirali join 417 undergraduate students selected for the award from a pool of 1,242 students nominated by 433 institutions across the country.
Celebrating the 2020–21 Undergraduate Medalists
From the thousands of undergraduate students at the University of Washington, three are selected each year for the prestigious President’s Medalist Award.
Piper Coyner, Olivia Brandon and Catherine Chia are the medalists for 2020–21, selected by a committee for their high GPAs, rigor of classes and numbers of Honors courses. All three are students in the University Honors Program, completing the Interdisciplinary Honors track.
Each medalist has carved a unique path at the UW, but they’re united in their passion for their chosen areas of study, ranging from neuroscience to anthropology to film studies. They’re also dedicated to giving back to the community, in both their extracurricular activities and their post-graduation career plans.
The students will be recognized by University President Ana Mari Cauce and Provost Mark Richards at a special reception, where each recipient will receive their medal in front of family, friends and mentors.
Read on to learn how these exceptional students embody the Husky Spirit.
Piper Coyner, junior medalist
Majors: Near Eastern studies–languages and cultures; cinema and media studies
Hometown: Olalla, WA
The moment Piper Coyner learned that the UW had a Near Eastern studies major, she knew she wanted to become a Husky. Since childhood, her dream had been to study the Middle East — and she was thrilled she could do it so close to home.
At the UW, Coyner has been able to dive into many aspects of Middle Eastern culture, history and language, studying Persian and Arabic. She has also discovered a second major in cinema and media studies, thanks to her involvement with the UW Film Club, where she leads a team of 20 writers. When she’s not exploring a canon of classic films or writing reviews, she’s an avid reader who enjoys contemporary fiction and history.
Whether focused on the screen or the pages of a book, Coyner takes inspiration from “stories of perseverance and self-sacrifice, of people caring deeply for others and making change in the world.” It’s with this model of making a difference that she hopes to attend law school after graduation.
For Coyner, who was also recognized in 2020 as a freshman medalist, this award is an important validation of her passion for and pursuit of the humanities.
“I often compare myself unfavorably to those in STEM and buy into the narrative that my work is not as important,” Coyner says. “This award shows me that’s not true — that students who study arts, cultures and languages are just as valued.”
Olivia Brandon, sophomore medalist
Majors: Neuroscience and public health–global health
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Olivia Brandon became fascinated with the study of human physiology during an introductory survey class — and that has shaped her UW journey.
Realizing her true passion, she packed her schedule with chemistry, biology and global health classes. She landed on neuroscience after learning about brain pathology as a research assistant in UW Medicine’s Neonatal Neuroscience Lab.
In her research role, Brandon works closely with UW faculty to help develop treatments for babies at risk for encephalopathy. “Being able to ask a scientific and medical question, create the database, extract the necessary variables, analyze the data and convey the information has sparked the scientist in me,” she says. Later this spring at the 2022 Pediatric Academic Societies medical conference, she plans to present a research project she spearheaded.
Inspired by her lab mentors and her physician parents, Brandon plans to attend medical school after graduation.
“I hope to become a physician who has an impact on improving people’s health, but I also want to be an advocate for improving equity in global and public health systems,” says Brandon, who is also majoring in public health–global health. During her first year at the UW, Brandon gave a TedX talk about the importance of addressing global issues like climate change.
As an animal lover, Brandon is also president of the UW equestrian team and has raised funds and volunteered for an equine rescue and rehabilitation center.
Catherine Chia, freshman medalist
Hometown: Redmond, WA
Majors: Biochemistry, neuroscience and anthropology
Catherine Chia got a firsthand look at the UW’s Seattle campus — and its many opportunities — when her older brother became a Husky. That glimpse helped shape her decision to attend the UW.
With a goal of attending medical school, she found herself naturally drawn to studying biochemistry and neuroscience.
“I love the mechanistic nature of both subjects, where I can learn to look for sources of a disease from the tiniest mechanisms of the body,” explains Chia, who is balancing her two science majors with anthropology. That subject serves as “an important reminder that innovation and development should always be aimed at helping others.”
Outside the classroom, she’s an undergraduate research assistant in Prof. Jonathan Posner’s lab, which is developing a diagnostic test for hepatitis C. The supportive community of the lab has built Chia’s confidence as a scientist and made her feel more at home at the UW.
Chia’s volunteer work includes helping elementary school students develop reading skills, leading summertime science activities at the Pacific Science Center and mentoring her fellow students in the UW Honors Program. As a future physician, Chia hopes to improve people’s lives in a holistic way. She’s passionate about rectifying education disparities and plans to continue volunteering in learning spaces.
“Receiving this honor is not just for me,” Chia says, “but also for everyone who has been there for me along the way.”