University updates – UW News /news Thu, 22 Oct 2026 19:16:42 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.10 Notice of Continued Public Comment Period for Rulemaking /news/2026/10/20/notice-of-continued-public-comment-period-for-rulemaking/ Tue, 20 Oct 2026 16:00:54 +0000 /news/?p=93661 Notice of Continued Public Comment Period for Rulemaking

On August 5, 2026, the 天美影视传媒 published proposed amendments to:

  • Chapter 478-121 WAC, Student Conduct Code for the 天美影视传媒 (), and
  • Chapter 478-124 WAC, General Conduct Code for the 天美影视传媒 ().

Following publication, the University accepted written comments on the proposed rules through August 25, 2026, and held a public hearing on August 25, 2026, to receive oral comments.

To provide additional opportunity for public review and comment on the proposed amendments, the University is extending the comment period beginning October 21, 2026, through December 10, 2026.

Information about the proposed rules and instructions for submitting public comments are available on the University Policy and Rules website:

Individuals may contact the University Policy and Rules Office with questions about the rule making or to request copies of the proposed rules.

天美影视传媒 Policy and Rules Office
Barbara Lechtanski, Director of Rules Coordination
Box 351237, Seattle, WA 98195
Email: rules@uw.edu

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ArtSci Roundup: November 2026 /news/2026/10/19/artsci-roundup-november-2026/ Mon, 19 Oct 2026 19:11:29 +0000 /news/?p=93653

Come curious. Leave inspired.

The UW offers an exciting lineup of in-person and online events. From thought-provoking art and music to conversations on culture, history, and science, the UW community invites you to explore, learn, and connect across disciplines throughout the University. And you don’t have to wait until November: Take a look at everything still happening in October.

Go directly to the week you’d like to view:

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ArtSci On Your Own Time:

Graphic that will be on display at the MFA Show

Closing November 7 | (School of Art + Art History + Design)
The annual fall MFA show mediates on accumulation, the underground, labor & capacity, and the movement of systems and objects toward loss, disrepair, and failure. Spanning performance, installation, sound art, and found object sculpture, see the works of Jayden Dukes, Gaeun Kim, Cameron McGaff, and Skye Amber O’Brien. Free.

Opening November 7 | (Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture)
This exhibition focuses on the biodiversity and global importance of Earth’s largest terrestrial ecosystem and the last intact forest on Earth. See, hear, and feel the forest through stunning photography, interactive displays, commissioned artworks, first-person stories, and Burke Museum collections. Learn about stories of resilience, strength, and hope in a changing world. Presented in English and Spanish, the exhibition gives voice to the boreal through the words of Indigenous community members, scientists, conservationists, artists, and writers. It shares how knowing nature can offer a vision for a sustainable future.

(Biology)
Wednesdays, noon to 4 pm / 2nd and 4th Saturdays, 10 am – 2 pm
For nearly 70 years, the Biology Greenhouse at the 天美影视传媒 has played a vital role in research and teaching. Whether focusing on plant-pollinator interactions, paleoclimatology, or other biological questions, the teaching collection has enhanced and inspired UW biological research. Visit the 4 Collection rooms and browse through an amazing diversity of plant species from around the world. Free.

Isabelle Allende A Long Petal of Sea bookcover Book Club | A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabel Allende (UW Alumni Association)
Readers’ Choice! In the late 1930s, civil war grips Spain. Hundreds of thousands flee to France, including a wounded army doctor and his brother’s widow. The two team up to seek refuge in Chile as Europe erupts in war — but life in exile comes with its own dangerous challenges. UW Alumni Book Club invites all curious readers to dig into personal stories, timely topics, and transformative fiction.? Free.


Week 1: November 2 – 8

November 2 | (Chemistry)
Ram Seshadri is the Fred and Linda R. Wudl Professor of Materials Science and has served as the Director of the Materials Research Laboratory: A National Science Foundation Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (NSF-MRSEC) since 2015. He recently took on the additional role of associate dean for research in the College of Engineering. His research contributions are embodied in 450+ journal publications, and broadly address the topic of structure–composition–property relations in functional, crystalline inorganic, and hybrid materials. Ram is the editor of Annual Reviews of Materials Research and is a lead editor of Physical Review Materials. Free.

Virtual option – November 2 | (Jackson School of International Studies)
What do negotiations to end the war in Iran look like to those at the table? What role might the United Nations or Gulf States play in ending the violence in Gaza or Lebanon? Is there hope for diplomacy with Russia? Join us for a moderated conversation and Q&A with UW graduate and diplomat Dr. Mohamed Al-Hassan. With extensive experience navigating the US / Iran relationship; representing Oman at the United Nations and serving as the UN representative in Iraq; and leading Oman’s diplomatic mission to Russia, Dr. Al-Hassan brings an insider’s perspective on some of the most difficult diplomatic challenges of the day. Free.

Photograph of Helen HardacreVirtual – November 3 | ?(Jackson School of International Studies)
Helen Hardacre is Reischauer Institute Research Professor of Japanese Religions and Society, Harvard University. Her publications include The Religion of Japan’s Korean Minority (1984), Lay Buddhism in Contemporary Japan: Reiyukai Kyodan (1984), Kurozumikyo and the New Religions of Japan (1986), Shinto and the State, 1868-1988 (1989), Marketing the Menacing Fetus in Japan (1997), Religion and Society in Nineteenth-Century Japan (2002), Shinto, A History (2016), Constitutional Revision and Civic Activism in Japan (lead editor and contributor, 2021), and Shinto Shrines in Prewar and Wartime Japan (2025). Her current research concerns Shinto shrines in prewar and wartime Japan. She earned her Ph.D. from the Divinity School at the University of Chicago in History of Religions in 1980. Among her academic awards since 2000 are the following: John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellow (2003-04), Walter Channing Cabot Fellow (Harvard University, 2017), and Order of the Rising Sun (2018). Free.

November 4 | (School of Music)
A free lunchtime performance featuring UW School of Music students in the North Allen Library lobby. Presented in partnership with UW Libraries. Free.

November 5 | (Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture)
Admission to the Burke Museum is FREE and the museum is open until 8 p.m. on the first Thursday of every month. Get closer to the daily work happening in the Burke Museum’s visible collections storage, labs and workrooms during Free First Thursday. Free.

November 5 – 7 | ?(Digital Arts & Experimental Media)
DXFEST, a three-day festival showcasing artworks and music by artists in the DXARTS program, opens at Gallery 4Culture with a lecture-performance by Afroditi Psarra as part of her exhibition Pythia Embodied. The festival moves to Meany Center for the Performing Arts, where there will be a digital art exhibition and electronic music performances. The music works will be presented using the DXARTS Ambisonics Audio System, a state-of-the-art multi-channel system designed to provide immersive spatial audio experiences. Artworks by DXARTS artists will be on display in the theater’s lobby prior to the concerts and during intermissions. Free.

November 5 – 15 | ?(School of Drama)
Phèdre is a queen and a mother who has been cursed by the Gods. She receives news that the king, Theseus, is dead. Encouraged by her lady-in-waiting, Oenone, and fueled by her own feelings Phèdre confesses to the King’s son and heir, Hippolytus that she is in love with him. Soon after, King Theseus returns, alive and well, setting off a series of unforeseen consequences.

November 6 | (Cinema & Media Studies)
Join the Henry Art Gallery for a special screening of short films made by students in the Department of Cinema & Media Studies. Spanning a wide range of genres, including documentaries, comedies, dramas, and music videos, get an exclusive glimpse into the work of this emerging cohort of filmmakers. After the screening, stick around to meet the filmmakers and faculty guiding Cinema & Media Studies students’ creative projects and research. Free.

November 6 | ?(Classics)
Presented by Verity Platt (Cornell). Free.

Photograph of Boreal and elk Opening November 7 | (Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture)
This exhibition focuses on the biodiversity and global importance of Earth’s largest terrestrial ecosystem and the last intact forest on Earth. See, hear, and feel the forest through stunning photography, interactive displays, commissioned artworks, first-person stories, and Burke Museum collections. Learn about stories of resilience, strength, and hope in a changing world. Presented in English and Spanish, the exhibition gives voice to the boreal through the words of Indigenous community members, scientists, conservationists, artists, and writers. It shares how knowing nature can offer a vision for a sustainable future.


Week 2: November 9 – 15

Professors Stuart Dempster and Bill Smith (Photo: Steve Korn)November 9 | ?(School of Music)
Seattle Modern Orchestra’s (SMO’s) 天美影视传媒 residency celebrates the legacies of longtime former School of Music professors and West Coast luminaries Stuart Dempster (b. 1936) and William O. Smith (1926-2020) with “90/100, Celebrating Stuart Dempster, William O. Smith, and West Coast Experimentalism.” Curated by longtime SMO clarinetist Rachel Yoder, the evening integrates elements of improvisation, deep listening, and playfully creative movement while rebooting elements of the composer/performer duo’s historic antics.

November 10 | (Clean Energy Institute)
A symposium on innovative technologies, strategies, and partnerships to accelerate a scalable and equitable clean energy future in Washington and beyond, featuring UW President Jones, former WA Gov. Jay Inslee, former U.S. Cabinet members Ernest Moniz and Sally Jewell, David Baker, and world-leading clean energy/materials researchers.

November 10 | (Meany Center for the Performing Arts)
Indonesian pianist Janice Carissa, a Gilmore Young Artist and Salon de Virtuosi recipient, is celebrated for crafting vivid musical narratives that transcend mere virtuosity. Her program spans centuries and styles, opening with Bach’s elegant French Suite No. 5 in G Major, moving to Granados’ passionate Goyescas, “El Amor y la muerte,” and Ravel’s darkly glittering La valse. The evening also features works by Olivier Messiaen and Indonesian composer Eunike Tanzil, showcasing Carissa’s expressive nuance, lyrical sensitivity and command of both classical and contemporary repertoire.

image of map to promote Safia Aidid Lecture — The Unruly Frontier: Mapping the British Somaliland-Ethiopia Border event Virtual – November 12 | ?(Simpson Center for the Humanities)
Safia Aidid is an interdisciplinary historian of modern Africa and Assistant Professor in the Department of History and the African Studies Centre at University of Toronto. She holds a PhD from Harvard University. Her research addresses anticolonial nationalism, territorial imaginations, borders, and state formation in the Horn of Africa, with a particular focus on modern Somalia and Ethiopia. She is currently working on a book manuscript entitled “Pan-Somali Dreams: Ethiopia, Greater Somalia, and the Somali Nationalist Imagination.” Free.

November 13 | (Meany Center for the Performing Arts)
Isata Kanneh-Mason joins artistic forces with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, celebrated for its trademark conductor-less precision and collective spirit. The award-winning pianist from the renowned Kanneh-Mason family and the Grammy Award-winning orchestra present a program of favorites by Mozart and Haydn with Suites No. 1 and No. 3 from Handel’s Water Music and a newly commissioned work by Katie Jenkins, performed with the mindset of a collaborative chamber ensemble.

November 15 | ?(Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture)
Engage with professional archaeologists and researchers as they share their work. Learn about ancient technologies and local cultural heritage, try your hand at sorting artifacts, watch a flintknapping demonstration (that’s stone tool making!), and more.

Image of bull used to promote UW Drama's Phedre performanceThrough November 15 | ?(School of Drama)
Phèdre is a queen and a mother who has been cursed by the Gods. She receives news that the king, Theseus, is dead. Encouraged by her lady-in-waiting, Oenone, and fueled by her own feelings Phèdre confesses to the King’s son and heir, Hippolytus that she is in love with him. Soon after, King Theseus returns, alive and well, setting off a series of unforeseen consequences.


Week 3: November 16 – 22

Picture of Meet the faculty participants (Top Left to Bottom Right): Megan Ming Francis, Angelina Godoy, Erin McElroy, and Stephanie Smallwood.
Top Left to Bottom Right: Megan Ming Francis, Angelina Godoy, Erin McElroy, and Stephanie Smallwood.

November 17 | ?(Honors)
Growing concerns about the health of America’s 250-year experiment in representative democracy should prompt us to think deeply about how civic belonging has been defined in U.S. society since the nation’s founding and what current efforts to restrict access and opportunities for civic participation mean for our collective futures. Civic Belonging in an Anti-Democratic Age brings together UW faculty whose teaching and research straddle law, politics, human rights, urban studies, and digital technologies for a lively interdisciplinary conversation about the stakes of belonging in U.S. society. Join us as we examine the current moment and ask how we can work towards a more inclusive democratic future. Free.

November 17 | (Simpson Center for the Humanities)
We humanists are hoping for, and many of us are fighting for, a new day in the United States when the production and circulation of knowledge are understood as keystones of democracy and of human thriving – and thus as deserving of substantial public investment. Having worked so long in the spirit of doing a lot with a little, how do we envision the humanities in conditions of abundance? What shifts in traditional academic culture and policy will help us meet those conditions? In the spirit of Octavia Butler’s future-oriented thinking, this talk draws together many threads of contemporary thinking to sketch a future where American universities center the values and practices of liberal arts-grounded humanistic inquiry. Free.

November 17 | (School of Art + Art History + Design)
This year-long program series honors the gallery’s commitment to social justice and to gather the community to think about the work of liberation through shared texts, art, film, music, conversation, and workshops. Each month, the club will approach the topic of liberation from several perspectives. Unlike your traditional book club, all the reading and study happens together, and preparation is not required. Come ready to attend a workshop, engage with a piece of art, or chat over a shared meal. Free.

November 18 | (Jackson School of International Studies)
Details coming. Free.

Virtual – November 18 | (Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture)
In this presentation, Jennfier Angaiak Wood will discuss her Yup’ik ancestry, give an overview of Yup’ik artistic tradition, and share examples of how she incorporates historic design elements into her contemporary artworks. Free.

November 18 – 19 | Jazz Infusions – / ?(School of Music)
UW Jazz Studies students perform in small combos over two consecutive nights of original tunes, homage to the greats of jazz, and experiments in composing and arranging. Free.

Photograph of Joanne LeowVirtual option – November 18 |? ? (Jackson School of International Studies)
In this talk, Joanne Leow traces the process of writing and publishing her hybrid memoir Exhumations: In the Body of a Petrostate. By following the trajectory that her writing took from online writing to print journal to bound book, she considers what it means to publish work about Singapore while in the diaspora. Exhumations oscillates between socio-political and cultural analysis and a memoir of grief and illness. Seeing our porous bodies as part of a contaminated and compromised system based on extraction, violence, and political repression, her work asks what must be made visible in our current moment. In doing so, she draws from her time as a journalist for state media, her positionality as a “quitter,” and her current work as a scholar based in Canada. These intersecting experiences have allowed her to explore histories of activism, censorship, weapons manufacturing, terraforming, and petroleum refining in Singapore. Free.

Picture of Trenton Doyle Hancock. Photo: Meridith Kohut.
Trenton Doyle Hancock. Photo: Meridith Kohut.

November 19 | (Henry Art Gallery)
Artist Trenton Doyle Hancock discusses his varied career and current projects. Inspired by the world-building of comics, Hancock’s work iterates over time through the investigation of character, story, and symbols. Co-presented with the UW School of Art + Art History + Design, Hancock will address his use of popular culture, narrative, and autobiography to subvert cultural tropes and national mythologies. A Q&A with the audience will follow the talk. Free.

November 19 | ?(Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture)
Each month, hear from Burke staff about a book they recommend. Read the book ahead of time, or join to learn more about the selection. Free.

November 19 | ?(American Indian Studies)
Readings by Simon Ortiz and Sara Marie Ortiz, followed by audience Q&A. Storytelling offers a spiritual connection, a sharing of sacred breath. Literature, similarly, preserves human experience and ideals. Both forms are durable and transmit power that teaches us how to live. Both storytelling and reading aloud can impact audiences through the power of presence, allowing for the experience of the transfer of sacred breath as audiences are immersed in the experience of being inside stories and works of literature. Free.

November 19 | ?(Geography)
Alums share how their degrees in geography have shaped careers in climate risk, procurement, and user experience design. Featuring Derek Huling (Program Analyst, FEMA), Krystle Jumarawan (Geospatial Specialist II, Woven by Toyota), and Helen Elizabeth Olsen (Deputy Director, The Gates Foundation). Moderated by Professor Sarah Elwood. Free.

November 19 | (Jackson School of International Studies)
This talk examines the historical political divergence between China and Europe. While both regions experienced repeated shifts in territorial unification, political stability, and institutional development in earlier periods, from the medieval period onward, their trajectories increasingly diverged. Europe gradually evolved toward a polycentric political order, while China consolidated into a centralized and authoritarian state. This talk proposes the development of China’s imperial civil service examination system as a key driver of this divergence. Drawing on a synthesis of several recent works, it approaches the question from three complementary perspectives: macro-level patterns of political development, micro-level quantitative evidence on bureaucratic recruitment, and formal theories of political equilibrium and institutional change. Free.

Photo of Pianist Mikhail VoskresenskyNovember 19 | (School of Music)
Celebrated Russian pianist Mikhail Voskresensky leads a master class with UW piano students. Free.

November 20 | (Classics)
Eight years after demonstrators in Charlottesville, Virginia, chanted “Jews will not replace us!” at a rally whose promotional poster featured the acronym SPQR and where one group of activists carried shields emblazoned with images of the Roman fasces, most Classical scholars are aware that white nationalists and other hateful actors take inspiration from Greco-Roman antiquity. There is less consensus, however, about what this phenomenon means for those of us who research and teach about the ancient Greco-Roman world. In this lecture, Curtis Dozier, author of The White Pedestal: How White Nationalists Use Ancient Greece and Rome to Justify Hate (Yale University Press, 2026), draws on his ten years’ experience documenting appropriations of Greco-Roman antiquity by hate groups to bring into focus what white nationalist classicism reveals about the material we study, our discipline, our nation, and ourselves. Free.

November 19 – 21 | (Meany Center for the Performing Arts)
Taiwan’s Hung Dance makes its Seattle debut with BIRDY, a powerful and poetic work choreographed by the company’s founder and artistic director Lai Hung-Chung. Performed by eight dancers, the piece blends contemporary dance with elements of Chinese opera, Tai Chi and myth. Using striking props like rattan poles and flowing pheasant feathers (Ling Zi), BIRDY explores the tension between freedom and constraint, personal feeling and social pressure. The movement is bold, fluid and deeply human. BIRDY invites audiences to reflect on the desire to break free, and the quiet strength it takes to keep moving within the world around us.

November 22 | (School of Music)
UW music students perform music from the Baroque era under the direction of Tekla Cunningham. Free.


Week 4: November 23 – 29

November 24 | (School of Music)
UW voice students of Thomas Harper and Carrie Shaw perform works from the vocal repertoire. Free.


Week 5: November 30 – December 6

December 1 | (School of Music)
The UW Percussion Ensemble (Bonnie Whiting, director) performs contemporary music arranged for percussion ensembles.

December 2 | ?(Meany Center for the Performing Arts)
Celebrate the season with the legendary Michael Feinstein in a festive evening of song and storytelling. A champion of the Great American Songbook, Feinstein brings signature warmth, wit and impeccable style to beloved holiday classics and timeless standards. Backed by lush arrangements, he delivers an elegant, nostalgic journey filled with heart and swing. This joyful concert promises an unforgettable night celebrating the magic, romance, and spirit of the holidays.

Studio Jazz Ensemble in rehearsal (Photo: UW Photography).December 2 | ?(School of Music)
The Studio Jazz Ensemble (Jacob Zimmerman, director) performs big band arrangements and repertory selections. The Modern Band (Cuong Vu, director) performs innovative arrangements of jazz standards, selections from the outer limits of the genre, and new original compositions.

December 2 | (School of Music)
A free lunchtime performance featuring UW School of Music students in the North Allen Library lobby. Presented in partnership with UW Libraries. Free.

December 3 | (Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture)
Admission to the Burke Museum is FREE and the museum is open until 8 p.m. on the first Thursday of every month. Get closer to the daily work happening in the Burke Museum’s visible collections storage, labs and workrooms during Free First Thursday. Free.

December 3 | (School of Music)
The Campus Band (Joshua Michael Smith, conductor) and Concert Band (Yuman Wu, conductor) present “Song and Dance,” performing music by Leonard Bernstein, James Barnes, Frank Ticheli and others.

December 3 | (School of Music)
UW keyboard students perform from the piano repertoire in the quarterly Brechemin Piano Series concerts. Free.

December 4 | (School of Music)
The UW’s top auditioned choirs present modern vocal works, music from around the globe, and great works from the sacred repertoire in shared quarterly concerts showcasing each group’s most recent work.

December 5 | (School of Music)
The Modern Music Ensemble (Cristina Valdés, director) presents works of our time in several concerts each year. Including repertoire from the early to mid-20th century and beyond, the group focuses on small ensemble and chamber orchestra works, performed by both undergraduate and graduate students. Free.


The ArtSci Roundup

The ArtSci Roundup is your guide to connecting with the UW—whether in person, on campus, or on your couch.

Those who receive monthly emails, with timely updates and engaging content wherever you are. Check the roundup regularly, as events are added throughout the month. Check out the ArtSci On Your Own Time section for everything from podcasts to videos to exhibitions that can be enjoyed when it works for you!

Do you have an event that you would like to see featured in the ArtSci Roundup? Connect with Lauren Zondag (zondagld@uw.edu).

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Coalition breaks ground on Mount Baker Redevelopment and Rainier Rising Early Learning Campus, an innovative multi-use space including affordable housing, early childhood-learning hub /news/2026/10/15/coalition-breaks-ground-on-mount-baker-redevelopment-and-rainier-rising-early-learning-campus-an-innovative-multi-use-space-including-affordable-housing-early-childhood-learning-hub/ Thu, 15 Oct 2026 16:59:49 +0000 /news/?p=93644 a group of people at a ground breaking ceremony
Ground was broken Thursday morning for the Mount Baker Redevelopment and the Rainier Rising Early Learning Campus. The new 3.6-acre site will include affordable housing, and a first-of-its kind early childhood campus. Photo: Ebony Moxey/天美影视传媒

A coalition of housing developers, community organizations, childcare providers and educators today broke ground on the Mount Baker Redevelopment and Rainier Rising Early Learning Campus. The 3.8-acre project is expected to create 400 affordable apartments, provide high-quality childcare and be home to a first-of-its-kind early childhood learning center.

By bringing affordable housing, early learning and community resources together, families will be better supported. This development, across the street from Sound Transit’s Mount Baker light-rail station, creates a unique, transit-accessible place where affordable housing and high-quality early learning exist side-by-side, with resources and partnerships designed to support children and families more holistically.

“This moment represents a major milestone in bringing a long-envisioned, community-centered project to life,” said Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson. “The partnership reflects a belief that complex challenges require us to work differently — and together. No single organization or sector can address the interconnected needs of children, families and communities alone. This project demonstrates what is possible when government, community organizations, philanthropy and the university bring their respective strengths together around shared priorities.”

An artist rendering of a plaza and new apartment buildings
The UW joined community partners to break ground on the Rainier Rising Early Learning Campus and the Mount Baker Redevelopment across the street from the Mount Baker light rail station. Photo: 天美影视传媒

The redevelopment is the result of an eight-year collaboration between the UW College of Education, the City of Seattle Office of Housing, the State of Washington, Mercy Housing Northwest and El Centro de la Raza, among others. These organizations hold a shared commitment to children and families — and a belief that supporting thriving communities requires innovative approaches that work across traditional boundaries.

“Together, this project will bring affordable housing, high-quality early learning and family and community resources together in one dynamic, transit-accessible location,” said Mia Tuan, dean of the UW College of Education. “Rainier Rising Early Learning Campus creates an extraordinary opportunity to bring the UW’s world-class research and expertise in early learning into partnership with the knowledge and experience of our community partners — creating a place where research informs practice, innovation takes root and what we learn together can strengthen early learning for children and families well beyond this campus.”

Since 2018, the UW College of Education and partners across southeast Seattle have worked alongside families, educators and community leaders to imagine a space shaped by community needs and community voices. Co-designed with Rainier Valley residents, Rainier Rising Early Learning Campus (RRELC) was created to address longstanding inequities in access to affordable, high-quality childcare and preschool while centering culturally affirming, anti-racist care for children and families.

The Mount Baker Redevelopment — built in two phases — will create housing for more than 1,000 individuals. The first phase includes 239 affordable rental homes.

“The groundbreaking is an important milestone, but it is only the beginning,” said Colin Morgan-Cross, Mercy Housing Northwest. “Today, we come together to celebrate years of hard work in partnership, planning and community engagement. As we start of the next phase of work, we remain grounded in the fact that the impact of this project will be shaped not just by the buildings themselves, but by the relationships, programs and opportunities that grow from them.”

The development prioritizes affordable family living, cultural diversity and community safety. One-third of the homes will be reserved for families earning at or below 30% of the Area Median Income (AMI) and a total of 60% will be family-sized homes.

Mercy Housing Northwest, together with El Centro de la Raza, are developing more than 400 units of affordable housing. The completed project will be a community that reflects the voices and rich cultural tapestry of the Mount Baker neighborhood. Rooted in the shared principles of justice, equity and partnership, this redevelopment project addresses housing affordability, enhances public spaces and creates economic opportunities for residents and local businesses.

“There is an ongoing role for the community and our broader network of partners.,” said Estela Ortega, executive director of El Centro de la Raza. “This development means a life of dignity for families in our community — access to safe and affordable housing, supportive services and the opportunity to build a better future. As this project takes shape, we invite our neighbors, community members and partners to be part of the journey, share the story, and help create a place where families feel supported, connected, and rooted in our community for generations to come.”?

The $170 million Mount Baker Redevelopment funding comes from a variety of state, city and private sources.

For media:

The RRELC will be a first-of-its-kind early learning hub that will expand access to high-quality early care and education, bring research and evidence-based practices into partnership with community expertise, and strengthen the region’s early learning workforce. The space will consist of about 35,000 square feet split between two floors. An eight-classroom early learning space on the first floor is designed to serve more than 120 children from infancy through preschool. The second floor will host an ecosystem of early learning organizations who support children and families, professional development and adult learning.

What sets the RRELC apart is its integrated approach to learning, support and innovation. The campus will provide high-quality early education for local children while also serving as a training and demonstration center for educators, researchers and community partners. Through partnerships with healthcare providers, early learning organizations, and the UW, the campus will strengthen the early learning workforce, connect families to critical resources, and advance research-informed practices that can improve outcomes for children locally and nationwide.

Beyond the classroom, the RRELC will connect children and families with resources that support their health and well-being. Partners from across the UW — including UW Medicine, the School of Nursing, School of Pharmacy, School of Dentistry and School of Social Work — will work alongside community partners to bring their expertise to the campus and explore new ways to support children and families.

To honor former UW President Ana Mari Cauce’s role in advancing the RRELC from vision to reality, the early learning hub will feature the Cauce Community Space, a dedicated area for families and community members to gather, learn and access resources. This flexible-use space honors Cauce’s dedicated advocacy of this project during her presidential tenure, including uplifting the critical importance of robust, culturally centered and research-informed early learning practices at the local, state and national levels. Made possible through a gift from the Bezos Family Foundation, the Cauce Community Space will expand the RRELC’s holistic support to families and community members in Rainier Valley.

Additionally, the UW College of Education’s Cultivate Learning will bring its expertise in early childhood professional learning, coaching and quality improvement to the campus, creating opportunities for early learning educators to build their skills and learn promising practices. Cultivate Learning will occupy part of the second floor and facilitate classroom learning sessions and trainings for students and in-service professionals, and will amplify results to education leaders nationwide.

The RRELC’s total cost came to about $36 million with funds that were secured through a braided effort of philanthropy, federal, state, county and city resources. These costs are in addition to the funding for the Mount Baker Redevelopment.

In addition to housing and the RRELC, the development will include:

  • Public Spaces: A 20,000-square-foot open space as the centerpiece of the development, fostering connection with the community and outdoor play and activities.
  • Community Hub: 6,000-square-foot space for events, cultural programming, and services to support the residents and celebrate the neighborhood’s diversity.
  • Support for Local Businesses: 4,000 square feet of commercial spaces designed to uplift BIPOC-owned and locally owned businesses.
  • Climate Resiliency: Green design features include advanced stormwater management and beyond-code environmental practices.

The Mount Baker Redevelopment Project phase one and the RRELC is scheduled for completion by 2029. The architect for the Mount Baker Redevelopment is Runberg Architecture Group. Beacon Development Group is the developer consultant and Walsh Construction is the builder. For the RRELC, the architect is Mithun and Walsh Construction is the builder.

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UW College of Engineering receives $12 million gift to advance innovation, research and education /news/2026/10/13/coengwinbond/ Tue, 13 Oct 2026 16:01:27 +0000 /news/?p=93550 two men in business suits shaking hands
The Taiwan-based global semiconductor company Winbond is making a $12 million gift to the UW College of Engineering. Winbond President Pei-Ming Chen (left) and UW President Robert J. Jones (right) are shown here celebrating at an event last month in Seattle. Photo: Mark Stone/天美影视传媒

The 天美影视传媒 today announced a multimillion-dollar gift to establish the Winbond Endowed Fund for Excellence in the College of Engineering, supporting research, education and innovation for students, faculty and staff.

The $12 million gift from Winbond Electronics Corporation America, a U.S. subsidiary of Taiwan-based Winbond Electronics Corporation, a global semiconductor company and leading provider of memory and integrated circuit solutions, provides the College with the flexibility to make strategic investments in exceptional people, promising ideas and emerging opportunities.

“Winbond’s investment in the College of Engineering reflects tremendous confidence in our faculty and students and strengthens our ability to advance discovery in emerging technologies. Deepening the UW’s partnership with Winbond also creates new opportunities to connect with leading companies and scholars across the Pacific Rim,” said UW President Robert J. Jones. “The fact that this partnership is championed by UW alumnus Arthur Chiao makes it all the more special to the University.”

Winbond’s chairman, Arthur Y.C. Chiao, (MS ‘80 Electrical Engineering) has spent more than three decades helping shape Taiwan’s semiconductor industry, advancing innovation in memory and logic integrated circuits, strengthening independent research and development capabilities and fostering collaboration across industry, academia and government. Chiao envisions the new fund as a catalyst for breakthrough discoveries, early-stage research and interdisciplinary collaboration, enabling the College to pursue bold initiatives and respond to evolving opportunities in engineering, technology and fields of future strategic importance. Examples include semiconductors, artificial intelligence, quantum technologies and advanced manufacturing, areas where the UW Engineering already leads, and could expand to include other emerging fields.

“Seattle is a gateway to the Pacific Northwest of North America, and the 天美影视传媒 will play an important role in connecting future technology innovation between North America and East Asia,” Chiao said.

Read related

The fund will support research, faculty recruitment and retention, student scholarships and fellowships, research infrastructure, interdisciplinary collaborations and emerging opportunities across the College.

The work will build upon existing Pacific Rim collaborations and further interconnect the UW with industry and research across the globe.

“Arthur Chiao’s vision, leadership and lifelong commitment to the 天美影视传媒 make this gift especially meaningful. This investment strengthens our ability to attract talent, foster innovation and deepen collaborations across the Pacific Rim, creating new opportunities for students and researchers while advancing the technologies that will shape the future,” said Nancy Albritton, the Frank and Julie Jungers Endowed Dean at the College of Engineering.

For more information, contact Jackson Holtz at jjholtz@uw.edu.?

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UW establishes new home on Microsoft’s Redmond campus /news/2026/09/30/uw-establishes-new-home-on-microsofts-redmond-campus/ Wed, 30 Sep 2026 22:58:50 +0000 /news/?p=93481 a curved room with signage and benchs
The UW and Microsoft expanded their decades-long partnership with the opening of the university’s first-ever, full-time location on Microsoft’s Redmond campus. The UW’s location in Redmond will serve as the new permanent home for the UW’s Global Innovation Exchange. Photo: 天美影视传媒

The 天美影视传媒 and Microsoft today expanded their decades-long partnership with the opening of the university’s first-ever, full-time location on Microsoft’s campus in Redmond.

Dedicated to preparing students and professionals to lead responsibly in an era of disruptive technological change, the UW’s location in Redmond will serve as the new permanent home for the UW’s Global Innovation Exchange (GIX), a globally recognized engineering and business institute for emerging and established technology leaders.

Propelled by a $42 million in-kind contribution from Microsoft, the new facilities at GIX will support education, lifelong professional development, and signature thought-leadership events and activities.

Unlike other industry-academia co-location initiatives, where companies might establish a small presence on a university’s campus, this move embeds an academic unit of the UW on Microsoft’s expansive grounds, representing a new partnership model that demonstrates how a public research university can engage deeply with industry while maintaining its academic independence and public purpose.

Office suite entry area
The new home for the UW’s GIX is on Microsoft’s Redmond campus. Photo: 天美影视传媒

The 48,500-square-foot site, provided by Microsoft to the university under the terms of a rent-free lease, will provide UW students, faculty, staff and guests with access to scholars, researchers, technologists and business professionals from around the world while operating in close proximity to one of the most dynamic and storied global technology companies.

UW’s presence on the campus demonstrates Microsoft’s commitment to student success and higher education in the state of Washington and serves as a one-of-kind talent magnet.

“It’s fitting that this new chapter in the longtime partnership between the UW and Microsoft is such an innovative and novel approach to educating adaptable, ethical leaders, creators and problem solvers,” said UW President Robert Jones. “As we face the complex future of emerging and rapidly evolving technologies, our state, region and world will benefit from the training taking place here at the UW in the heart of the Microsoft campus.”

The combined efforts of the UW and Microsoft through GIX will provide intellectual leadership on the challenging technology issues confronting society and will educate students in an interdisciplinary manner so they can navigate the complex problem solving these issues will require.

students in a laboratory
Students collaborating the new GIX space on Microsoft’s Redmond campus. Photo: Microsoft

Microsoft and the UW see their partnership, embodied in the new location for the UW’s GIX in Redmond, as an opportunity to create a center of gravity for applied learning around responsible technology, leadership and innovation in AI, robotics and other emerging fields.

“GIX’s new headquarters on Microsoft’s Redmond campus is uniquely positioned to bring together world-class research, cutting-edge industry expertise and the next generation of talent under one roof,” said Brad Smith, Microsoft Vice Chair and President. “At a time when AI is transforming how we learn and work, that proximity will create new opportunities for 天美影视传媒 students, Microsoft employees and researchers to learn from one another and accelerate innovation.”

Most importantly, the GIX is envisioned as being a model for turning interdisciplinary collaboration into economic opportunity and public benefit for the region.

Altogether, the new location for GIX comprises two floors of dedicated, custom-designed space in the south wing of Building 92 on Microsoft’s West Campus. It includes six classrooms, extensive prototyping facilities, a state-of-the-art distance learning studio, and specialized labs, studios, workshops and collaboration spaces.

“At GIX, we keep people — not technology — as our focus, recognizing that technological change is not an end unto itself. Its value depends on how people use it to create opportunity, strengthen institutions and contribute to broader social progress,” said Sean Carr, executive director and CEO of the UW’s Global Innovation Exchange. “Today, as we begin operating from our amazing new home in Redmond, we can now confidently offer a truly incomparable learning experience that is destined to make our vision a reality.”

Launched in 2017 with foundational support from Microsoft, GIX’s mission is to develop responsible technology leaders through transformative interdisciplinary learning that cultivates sound judgment, technical fluency and an innovative spirit. Through its graduate and professional development programs, GIX supports more than 150 students annually in its flagship Master of Science in Technology Innovation (MSTI) program.

The investment in the facilities at Building 92 builds upon Microsoft’s previous legacy of support for GIX, which includes its founding endowment of $10 million in 2017, and $60 million of in-kind facility improvements and lease payments at the previous GIX location in Bellevue between 2017 and 2023.

As a self-sustaining unit of the UW, GIX does not receive direct, operational funding from the UW or the State of Washington.

For more information, contact David Rey at drey94@uw.edu.

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UW breaks ground on Chemical Sciences Building, paving the way for future discoveries /news/2026/09/30/uw-breaks-ground-on-chemical-sciences-building-paving-the-way-for-future-discoveries/ Wed, 30 Sep 2026 22:45:33 +0000 /news/?p=93488 people shoveling dirt at a ceremonial groundbreaking
The UW broke ground on the Chemical Sciences Building on Wednesday. Shown here are, from left to right, Provost Tricia Serio; Chemistry major Alan Zhan; President Robert J. Jones; Gov. Bob Ferguson; Dean Daryl Maeda; Chemistry Chair Al Nelson. Photo: Juan Rodriguez/天美影视传媒

The 天美影视传媒 today broke ground on a $231.1-million Chemical Sciences Building. Once completed, the state-of-the-art facility will be a nexus for collaborative research and teaching that will help the UW define the next 100 years of science education and breakthroughs.

Recognized worldwide, the UW’s Department of Chemistry is one of the largest in the country, and faculty are leaders in the field. The new Chemical Science Building will provide research synergies and dynamic, active learning spaces.

“The Chemical Sciences Building will be more than a new facility. It is an investment in the students, faculty and researchers whose curiosity and collaboration drive discovery. We are deeply grateful to the donors, state leaders and supporters who are making this investment possible,” said UW President Robert J. Jones. “The work that happens here will help advance science, strengthen our state and improve lives for generations to come.”

artist rendering of building
An artist rendering of the Chemical Sciences Building. Photo: 天美影视传媒

The Chemical Sciences Building opens additional pathways for workforce development, industry collaboration and academic excellence in Washington. Updating facilities also helps the UW attract and retain top-notch students and scientists, further fueling the state’s economy and renown.

“Washington’s economy is built on innovation,” Gov. Bob Ferguson said. “Maintaining our leadership requires a reliable pipeline of skilled, highly educated workers. We’re proud to be an investor in this state-of-the-art new building. It’s an investment in our students, and Washington’s economic vitality.”

For media:

Funding for the project is led by the State of Washington, the College of Arts & Sciences and private support. The 104,500-square foot, five-story building will be constructed on the former site of the Chemistry Library Building behind the Molecular Engineering and Nanoengineering buildings on West Stevens Way NE. New classrooms and laboratories in the Chemistry Sciences Building will allow the UW to complete a renovation and update of Bagley Hall, the 1937 structure that’s long housed the Department of Chemistry.

“This new building will be a catalyst for both the Department of Chemistry’s and the College’s collaborative work that addresses some of the most pressing and complex challenges of our time,” said Daryl Maeda, the Katherine and John Simpson Endowed Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences. “Researchers will push the boundaries of chemistry further than ever before, partnering with students in spaces designed for creativity and connection. Our students will benefit from a world-class education and research opportunities that set them up for success and impact after graduation.”

The Chemical Sciences Building will:

  • Expand student opportunity by providing hands-on research labs and connecting classroom learning with scientific discovery. Students will work alongside faculty, gain experience with modern tools and prepare for high-demand careers across Washington and beyond.
  • Enhance collaboration by bringing research groups together and giving them the newest and best tools to do their jobs, spark new ideas and accelerate solutions.
  • Create paths to discovery. Flexible, state-of-the-art laboratories will remove barriers posed by aging facilities and support work in sustainable chemistry, human health, advanced materials, quantum science and more.

The design-build team is Skanska and Payette+EHDD. Completion is scheduled for 2029.

For more information, contact Lance Kissler at lkissler@uw.edu.

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UW’s Convocation welcomes the Class of 2030 /news/2026/09/27/uws-convocation-welcomes-the-class-of-2030/ Sun, 27 Sep 2026 22:20:42 +0000 /news/?p=93351 students making a hand symbol
The UW’s Class of 2030 was welcomed officially at the University’s 43rd annual New Student Convocation held Sunday in Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. Photo: 天美影视传媒

The 天美影视传媒 Class of 2030 was welcomed officially at the University’s 43rd annual New Student Convocation held Sunday morning in Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.

New Student Convocation is one of two landmark occasions where the University president, the Board of Regents, the deans of the schools and colleges, and the faculty gather in academic regalia for a ceremony focused on students. The other is the graduation ceremony, Commencement. These two events are the seminal bookend events of a college career.

Students heard from President Robert J. Jones, Vice President for Student Life Denzil Suite, Vice Provost and Dean of Undergraduate Academic Affairs Ed Taylor and others.

 

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Alexes Harris, the Gordon Hirabayashi Professor for the Advancement of Citizenship and a professor of sociology in the College of Arts & Sciences, was the featured faculty speaker. Harris’ research fundamentally centers on issues of inequality, poverty and race in United States’ legal systems. In 2022, Harris was appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee to serve as the inaugural faculty representative to the Board of Regents. She is also the chair of the Department of American Ethnic Studies and the UW faculty athletics representative.

Following the Convocation ceremony, incoming students formed a giant block “W” on the field inside Husky stadium.

Preliminary fast facts on the incoming class:

  • Preliminary figures project the incoming first-year class at UW Seattle at about 7,455 students.
  • Around 4,720 first-year students, or about 63%, are projected to be from Washington state.
  • An additional 1,719 transfer students are projected to enroll at the UW’s Seattle campus this fall, including about 1,457 from Washington community colleges.
  • UW Bothell is projecting about 1,153 first-year students and 660 transfer students.
  • UW Tacoma is projecting 730 first-year students and 730 transfer students.

Official enrollment data will be announced later in the quarter.

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ArtSci Roundup: October 2026 /news/2026/09/24/artsci-roundup-october-2026/ Thu, 24 Sep 2026 22:23:35 +0000 /news/?p=93335

Come curious. Leave inspired.

The UW offers an exciting lineup of in-person and online events. From thought-provoking art and music to conversations on culture, history, and science, the UW community invites you to explore, learn, and connect across disciplines throughout the University.

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Go directly to the week you’d like to view:

See all that’s to come in the November ArtSci Roundup.


ArtSci On Your Own Time:

exhibition photo, image
Eric-Paul Riege: ojo|-|o?l?? [Installation view, Henry Art Gallery, 天美影视传媒, Seattle. 2026]. Photo: Jueqian Fang.

Closing October 25 | (Henry Art Gallery)
ojo|-|o?l?? (pronounced oh-ho hol-ohn) is an exhibition of recent and newly commissioned work by Diné artist Eric-Paul Riege (b. 1994, Na’nízhoozhí [Gallup, New Mexico]) that includes sculpture, textile, collage, and video, activated by moments of performance. Across this work, Riege combines customary Diné practices of weaving, silversmithing, and beading with contemporary cultural forms, exploring Diné cosmology, the history of Euro-American trading posts in and adjacent to the Navajo Nation, and the notion of “authenticity” as a value marker of Indigenous art and craft.

(School of Art + Art History + Design)
The annual fall MFA show mediates on accumulation, the underground, labor & capacity, and the movement of systems and objects toward loss, disrepair, and failure. Spanning performance, installation, sound art, and found object sculpture, see the works of Jayden Dukes, Gaeun Kim, Cameron McGaff, and Skye Amber O’Brien. The exhibition runs from September 30 through November 7. Free.

(Biology)
Wednesdays, noon to 4 pm / 2nd and 4th Saturdays, 10 am – 2 pm
For nearly 70 years, the Biology Greenhouse at the 天美影视传媒 has played a vital role in research and teaching. Whether focusing on plant-pollinator interactions, paleoclimatology, or other biological questions, the teaching collection has enhanced and inspired UW biological research. Visit the 4 Collection rooms and browse through an amazing diversity of plant species from around the world. Free.


Week 1: September 28 – October 4

Graphic that will be on display at the MFA ShowSeptember 30 | (School of Art + Art History + Design)
The annual fall MFA show mediates on accumulation, the underground, labor & capacity, and the movement of systems and objects toward loss, disrepair, and failure. Spanning performance, installation, sound art, and found object sculpture, see the works of Jayden Dukes, Gaeun Kim, Cameron McGaff, and Skye Amber O’Brien. The exhibition runs from September 30 through November 7. Free.

Image of Gyetk book coverSeptember 30 | (Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture)
Authors Spencer Greening and Rachel Greening discuss their new book, Gyetk: Coastal Fusion and Ancestral Knowledge from a Ts’msyen Kitchen.?Gyetk (pronounced gy-e-tk and meaning “to feed the people”) immerses readers into the rich food traditions, knowledge, and relationships that have sustained the Ts’msyen (Tsimshian) people for millennia along the Pacific Northwest Coast. Drawing from the authors’ lived experiences practicing a land-based lifestyle, as well as their backgrounds in Indigenous food sovereignty, health and well-being, and cultural research, Gyetk weaves together modern culinary fusion, traditional knowledge, and scholarly insight. Through 60 beautifully photographed recipes, the book follows the Ts’msyen seasonal round, weaving together ancestral foodways, traditional ecological knowledge, dietetic perspectives, and thoughtful harvesting practices — inviting readers to feast in relationship with the natural world.

October 1 | ?(Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture)
Admission to the Burke Museum is FREE, and the museum is open until 8 p.m. on the first Thursday of every month. Get closer to the daily work happening in the Burke Museum’s visible collections storage, labs, and workrooms during Free First Thursday. Free.

October 1 + October 3 | (Henry Art Gallery)
To celebrate the culmination of the exhibition, ojo|-|o?l?, join Eric-Paul Riege with guest artists Olivia Camfield and Kole Galbraith for a multi-day convening of film screenings, performances, and conversations. Inspired by the modularity of Riege’s work in which materials and motifs are re-worked and re-imagined in perpetuity, the artists will explore how history and culture are neither static nor permanent. To close the convening, join Riege, Camfield, and Galbraith as they source new meanings from the sounds, materials, and images of both the past and present, challenging high art through lo-fi means. Free.

October 2 | ?(Meany Center for the Performing Arts)
On Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday, three-time Grammy Award-winning composer Ricky Kej performs music from his acclaimed album Gandhi — Mantras of Compassion. Kej, a UN Goodwill Ambassador and recipient of India’s fourth-highest civilian award, Padma Shri, blends ancient Indian mantras with global musical traditions and contemporary orchestration. His sweeping melodies and meditative soundscapes honor Gandhi’s legacy. Featuring local performers and a youth choir, Kej invites audiences to reflect on the power of nonviolence, compassion and unity in today’s world.

Book cover of Latin Poetry Across Languages by Stephen HindsHybrid – October 2 | (Classics)
Latin poetry is defined by its relationships with poetry in other languages. It was originally constituted by its relation to Greek, and in later times has been constituted by its relation to the European vernaculars. In this bold and innovative book, distinguished Latinist Stephen Hinds explores these relationships through a series of vignettes. These explore ancient conversations between Latin and Greek verse texts, followed by modern (especially early modern) conversations between Latin and European vernacular verse texts, reflecting the linked stories of reception that make up the so-called ‘classical tradition’: conversations across language, across period, and sometimes both at the same time. The book’s range is expansive, ranging from Homer through Virgil and the Augustans to late antiquity, the Renaissance, Romanticism and on to Seamus Heaney. Free.

October 3 | Washington Warm Up at USC (UW Alumni)
The Huskies head to Southern California to take on the Trojans at Memorial Coliseum. Join the UWAA’s official pre-game party!

October 3 | (Philosophy)
In conversation with UW Political Science Professor Jamie Mayerfeld, UW Philosophy Professor Dr. Karen Emmerman will discuss her recently published book, Defending Animals, Disappointing People. Emmerman offers a ground-breaking exploration of what happens when caring deeply about animals places us in conflict with the people we love. Free.

October 4 | (School of Music)
In never leave story, percussionist Bonnie Whiting explores intersections of storytelling and experimental music, integrating text, movement, creative sonification, and technology. Act I features collaborations with dancer Jennifer Salk and ceramicist Timea Tihanyi, plus music by Jeffrey Trevi?o and field recordings of poet Alice Notley. In Act II, Whiting extends her speaking percussionist project via a new commission from composer Kevin Clark and a reimagining of a historic work by Iannis Xenakis. Tennyson’s Ulysses looks back on his life, while Aeschylus’ Kassandra looks forward: in reality, both point to the urgency of “the now.”


Week 2: October 5 – 11

Painting by a Japanese artist. October 6 | (School of Art + Art History + Design)
Assistant Professor Miriam Chusid will present her ongoing research on premodern Japanese art history and visual culture, with a particular focus on Buddhist art. In thirteenth-century Japan, beliefs about life after death underwent a dramatic transformation. This era of profound political upheaval and social instability brought with it increasing anxiety around the ability to attain religious salvation, an event dependent on dying with sole focus on the Buddha. Chusid’s book examines the most notable innovation to alleviate such fears: the creation of images of Buddhist hell used to benefit the dead. In this talk, Chusid uncovers the visual, ritual, and material matrix from which these depictions were given form and meaning, and demonstrates how ritual specialists employed them to address a range of postmortem concerns and expectations within increasingly diverse Buddhist communities. Chusid’s book, The Ill-Fated Afterlife: Painting the Buddhist Cosmos in Premodern Japan, is forthcoming from the 天美影视传媒 Press in December 2026. Free.

October 7 | (Simpson Center for the Humanities)
The American example of the end of Slavery inspired a number of social movements in India. Satyashodhak Samaj was one of them. It was a socio-cultural sect established in 1874 by Jotirao Phule and others, with a view to create a society based on the ideals of equality and justice. Engaging with the writings of Jotirao Phule, Mukta Salve, Dhondiram Kumbhar and Tarabai Shinde, the talk will try to connect the issues of discrimination based on caste and gender in the late nineteenth century Maharashtra and explore the ways in which the Satyashodhak Samaj offered to mitigate the challenges posed by the unequal social structure. Free.

October 7 | (School of Music)
Faculty pianist Cristina Valdés performs works honoring the 100th birthday of 20th century composers Betsy Jolas, Morton Feldman, and Gyorgy Kurtag. Program includes Betsy Jolas’s Signets, hommage à Maurice Ravel; Morton Feldman’s Palais de Mari; and Gyorgy Kurtag’s Eight Piano Pieces, Op. 3, as well as works by Ravel and Haydn.

Hybrid – October 8 | State of the University Address (Office of the President)
天美影视传媒 President Robert J. Jones invites you to his first State of the University Address. He’ll reflect on his first year as president and share his vision and the University’s strategy for the future as it navigates the challenges and opportunities ahead. Free.

October 8 | (Jackson School)
As part of the 18th Annual Seattle Latino Film Festival, the event will feature a special screening of this powerful Indigenous-themed documentary, followed by a Q&A with members of the filmmaking team, including directors Guido Bilbao and Elio Cunampio, an Indigenous Emberá filmmaker from Panama. Free.

Mural by Pablo O HigginsOctober 8 | ?(School of Art + Art History + Design)
Moderated by Swagato Chakravorty (The Henry Art Gallery), Dr. Jennifer Jolly (Ithaca College) and Dr. Gigi Peterson (SUNY Cortland) will be in conversation about? Mexican Muralism and Networks of Solidarity: The Struggle Against Racial Discrimination” in Seattle and Beyond. This conversation situates Pablo O Higgins’ 1945 mural, currently on display at the UW, in the larger context of mural-making and international organizing to explore the conditions and contradictions that conspired to make this form of expression a radical, if imperfect, tool for social change. Free.

October 9 | (GWSS)
The Department of Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies welcomes the entire campus community to celebrate the start of a new academic year and greet new students. The gathering will feature the presentation of the Doman Excellence in Teaching and Alumni Awards, as well as snacks and festive community celebration. Free.

October 9 | ?(Henry Art Gallery)
Joiri Minaya presents Fabricating the Global Tropics, a talk about textiles, place, identity, and the fantasy realm for the “exotic” that extends from the Caribbean to the Pacific. This public talk is one of two keynote lectures for the 7th Triennial Conference of the Association for Latin American Art, Reclamations: The Afro-Asian-Native Turn in the Arts of Latin America, presented in conjunction with her current exhibition Joiri Minaya: To Hell With Hibiscus. Free.


Week 3: October 12 – 18

October 12 | (History)
2026 Inaugural Linda Nash Memorial Lecture: Drawing on archival research, fieldwork, Indigenous legal theory, and the natural sciences, Dr. Bathsheba Demuth’s talk examines how Indigenous, imperial, and nation-state legal traditions made law with, for, and about the Yukon River over the past two centuries—from seeing law in the actions of salmon to using laws to shape human relations with beavers. In doing so, it offers an argument for how environmental history can widen the scope of the social in ways critical to our understanding of what law is, and who it is for, in an era of climate change and species loss. Bathsheba Demuth is a writer and environmental historian focused on the lands and seas of the Russian and North American Arctic and teaches environmental history and creative nonfiction at Brown University. Free.

Photograph of Paola RamosHybrid – October 14 | A Conversation with Paola Ramos (Public Lectures)
Emmy Award-winning journalist, Paola Ramos, in conversation with UW Political Science faculty member Sophia Jordán Wallace, explores the evolving landscape of Latino voter engagement and political participation. This compelling discussion examines demographic shifts, policy priorities, and the critical role Latino voters play in shaping electoral outcomes across America. Free.

October 14 | (Dance)
UW Department of Dance second-year MFA candidates present their research:

  • “The Edge of Comfortability: A Phenomenology of Trust and Risk in Contact Improvisation” by Jake Bone
  • “Disrupting the Script: Audience Agency, Care, and the Unpredictability of Performance in Public Spaces” by Alice Gosti
  • “The Straightening of Bachata: Studio-fication as (mis)Translation” by marco farroni leonardo
  • “Litefeet’s Visibility Paradox: Competing Media Narratives and the Politics of Being Seen” by Jillian Amadi Roberts
  • “Waacking Battles: Spaces of Translation and Transformation” by Tracey Wong

Free.

October 14 | ?(Jackson School)
Over the past four decades, China has witnessed a shift in its public sphere, transitioning from a period of flourishing to one of decline. Conversely, the realms of culture, arts, and private life have remained highly vibrant. Furthermore, the center stage of social media has shifted from intellectuals to internet celebrities. What does this mean for China’s future? Free.

October 15 | (Speech & Hearing Sciences)
Annette Estes, PhD, is the director of the 天美影视传媒 Autism Center. The Center is devoted to supporting autistic individuals and their families, caregivers, and community through clinical services, research, and education. She holds the Susan and Richard Fade Endowed Chair, is a Research Professor in the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, and an Adjunct Research Professor in the Department of Psychology at the 天美影视传媒. She is also a licensed psychologist in the state of Washington. Her research is carried out at the UW Autism Center and Center on Human Development and Disability. Free.

October 15 | ?(Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture)
The October book club selection is The North Cascades: Finding Beauty and Renewal in the Wild Nearby by William Dietrich. The discussion will be led by Burke Museum Herbarium Collections Manager, David Giblin. Free.

Photograph of Beth TsaiOctober 15 | ?(Jackson School)
As “hyphenated people” (Chow 1993) and “Taiwanese new immigrants” (Robinson 2020), Chinese diasporic and Southeast Asian directors making films in Taiwan today embody a transnational dimension of Taiwan New Cinema (first wave, 1982–9; second wave, 1990–), raising questions about gender, identity, queerness, migration, mobility, and more crucially, the global structures that fund, produce, circulate, and exhibit world cinema. Their internationally co-produced and circulated films materialize these flows of capital and people, while film festivals mediate their reception and reposition Taiwan geopolitically toward Southeast Asia, renegotiating the island’s uncertain and ambiguous national identity. This talk approaches film festivals as a theoretical framework for understanding how Hou Hsiao-hsien, Tsai Ming-liang, and Midi Z came to represent Taiwan through international circulation and reception. Situating Taiwan New Cinema within this exhibition context, Beth Tsai also considers its persistent feminist caliber within the nation’s cultural imaginary and slow-cinema aesthetics, focusing on female fl?neurs in Hou’s city films as a case study. Free.

Photograph from the movie The Boys from FengkueiOctober 15 | (Jackson School / Cinema & Media Studies)
The film follows a group of restless young men who leave their fishing village on the Penghu Islands for the port city of Kaohsiung, where new encounters with work, urban life, friendship, and desire mark their passage into adulthood. Through its attention to everyday rhythms, place, and the changing social landscape of 1980s Taiwan, The Boys from Fengkuei anticipates the cinematic style that would make Hou one of Taiwan’s most influential filmmakers. The screening will be followed by a Q&A and discussion with Beth Tsai (Film & Media Studies, Hunter College, CUNY) and James Tweedie (Cinema & Media Studies, 天美影视传媒), exploring the film’s place in Hou’s career, Taiwan New Cinema, the histories and environments that shape its coming-of-age story, and how the film continues to speak to audiences today. Free.

Photograph of Eve TuckOctober 15 | (Simpson Center for the Humanities)
Writing is a relational practice. Like teaching, writing is central to our lives as educators, artists, and university workers. And like teaching, we rarely engage one another on what we are doing when we are writing. As such, writing can be underestimated as a practice, and overlooked as a form of relation. Writing can be a way of knowing, a visitation, a keeping, and a keeping away. Following her lecture, Eve Tuck will be joined by UW professor Dian Million (Tanana Athabascan) for a conversation on writing as one way we attend to our many relations of care and responsibility to communities, to lands and waters, and to one another. Free.

October 15 – 17 | (Scandinavian Studies)
ASTRA/NORTANA/DANA unified symposium explores how archives shape culture, memory, and citizenship, and can be used as a powerful pedagogical tool to help students engage with language and culture. Authors, archivists, and fellow teachers from both sides of the Atlantic will present and lead workshops on why the archives matter more than ever and how we can use them in our teaching and research. Free.

Photograph of Dr. Stephon AlexanderOctober 16 | (Physics)
Dr. Stephon Alexander (Brown University) revisits the deep interconnection between music and the evolution of astrophysics and cosmology. We explore new ways in which music, particularly jazz, mirrors ideas in modern physics, including quantum mechanics, general relativity, and the physics of the early universe. Finally, we discuss how innovations in physics have been, and may continue to be, inspired by the kind of “improvisational logic” exemplified in jazz performance and practice. Free.

October 16 | (Meany Center for the Performing Arts)
The Arditti Quartet enjoys a worldwide reputation for its spirited and technically refined interpretations of contemporary and 20th-century music. Since its founding in 1974 by violinist Irvine Arditti, the Quartet has inspired hundreds of composers to write groundbreaking works specifically for the ensemble, shaping how this music is heard and played. As explorers of cutting-edge string quartet music, their Meany debut features selections from the wide collection of the Quartet’s repertoire.

October 16 | ?(School of Music)
Following the Quartet’s Oct. 16 Meany Center appearance, the quartet premieres UW School of Music director and faculty composer Jo?l-Francois Durand’s String Quartet No. 4, a new work written for the group for this performance, as well as pieces by James Clarke and Brian Ferneyhough. Free.

Alaska Airlines Dawg Dash bannerOctober 18 | Alaska Airlines Dawg Dash (UW Alumni)
Hit the road, Huskies! Lace up your sneakers and soak in the fall campus beauty at our annual 10K run and 5K run/walk in support of students. All Dawgs (and dogs) are invited. UWAA members save on registration! From race start to the Post-Dash Bash finish, it’s a day of fun for the whole Husky pack.


Week 4: October 19 – 25

photograph of Alfredo VillarOctober 19 | (Jackson School)
A journey through the evolution of Peruvian tropical music, beginning in 1950s Lima, when large orchestras embraced Cuban music and mambo, and continuing through the 1960s, when cumbia emerged alongside and competed with Afro-Caribbean sounds. By the end of that decade, cumbia had become the leading genre of Peruvian tropical music, giving rise to Peruvian cumbia. The story continues in the 1970s, as tropical music spread across the country before returning to Lima, bringing diverse regional sounds into the capital’s recording studios. In the 1980s, the growing influence of Andean music gave rise to the term “chicha.” The genre evolved through Peru’s sociopolitical and economic crisis of the 1990s, the rise of tecnocumbia and northern cumbia, and a chicha revival that began in the late 2000s and continues today. The presentation combines active listening to chicha music with an exhibition of neon chicha posters, tracing the musical and visual evolution of this influential Peruvian genre. Free.

Photograph of Ethan KatzOctober 19 | (Jackson School)
Is Zionism a movement of national liberation or a story of colonialism and dispossession? Most public debate insists it has to be one or the other. This talk makes the case that it’s both, and that treating it as an either/or question gets in the way of actually understanding Zionism’s history, its current crisis, and its possible futures. Drawing on history that ranges from French Algeria to the broader question of Jewish nationalism, this talk will ask whether Zionism should be seen as an exceptional case or as part of larger histories of liberation, nationalism, and colonialism since the late 19th century. By reframing Zionism in a series of wider contexts, the talk clarifies the stakes of the existential choices currently facing Israel and Palestine. The talk also offers a preview of speaker Ethan Katz’s current book project, “Unsettling Histories: Zionism and Colonialism Reconsidered,” forthcoming from Princeton University Press. Free.

October 19 | (Statistics)
The 2026 Blackwell Seminar is presented by Stephanie Cook, Associate Professor in the Departments of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Biostatistics and New York University James Weldon Johnson Professor, New York University. The Blackwell Seminar was established in 2020 to honor the contributions of David Blackwell to mathematical statistics, game theory, probability theory, and information theory. The Blackwell Seminar focuses on topics at the interface between statistics and equity issues such as racial disparities, social justice, and ethics. Speakers are invited based on their contributions to these areas. Free.

October 20 | (Meany Center for the Performing Arts)
Bruce Liu has emerged as one of the most compelling pianists of his generation since winning the 18th International Chopin Piano Competition in 2021. He is praised not only for his dazzling technique but also for his curiosity and artistry, which combine “nimble versatility” (The New York Times) with “playing of breathtaking beauty” (BBC Music Magazine).

Online – October 20 | (Harry Bridges Center for Labor Studies)
The Bridge’s Center presents the findings from their research project, “Rights on the Line: Policy and Regulatory Gaps Affecting Migrant Fishers in Washington State Ports.” Free.

October 21 | (Chemistry)
Professor Emeritus Ned Sibert (University of Wisconsin, Madison) presents “Exploring the CH Stretch Spectral Region with Local Mode Hamiltonians.” Free.

headshot wearing blue checked shirt and glasses
Phil Levin

October 21 | (College of the Environment)
Conservation has always been about more than protecting species and ecosystems—it is about our relationship with the living world. Drawing on lessons from The Nature Record, the first independent national assessment of nature in the United States, Phil Levin, professor and director of the UW School of Marine and Environmental Affairs and director of The Nature Record, reflects on what four years of scientific synthesis revealed about stewardship, resilience and responsibility. Blending personal stories, ecological science and reflections from ancient wisdom and contemporary literature, this talk explores why nature matters not only for biodiversity but also for our shared future. At a moment of rapid environmental and social change, Levin considers what the evidence tells us about our relationship with nature and the choices before us.

Photo of Ray LahiriOnline – October 22 | (Classics)
Roman imperialism brought about interconnected world history. So argues the second-century historian Polybius. Beginning in the 140th Olympiad (220-216 BCE), “history became corporeal, so to speak, [hoinoei sōmatoeidē] and Italian and African affairs were woven together with those in Asia and Greece, and the direction of everything became towards one end [telos]” (1.3.4). The rise of Rome marks a historical threshold: the first truly “world” empire and a moment of unification for world history. This talk sets Polybius’ organicist claims about Roman empire in the context of Hellenistic historiography, and examines some aspects of Polybius’ reception history in later Roman historical writing. In so doing, I trace a long tradition of using corporeal metaphor to theorize the intersection of world empire and effective historiography. Free.

Photograph of Togzhan KassenovaOctober 22 | (Jackson School)
Central Asia is considering a major expansion of nuclear energy. The appeal is clear: nuclear power could support economic growth, reduce reliance on imported fuel, and help meet climate goals. But the region also carries a difficult history with nuclear activity, from Soviet-era testing and mining, and faces ongoing concerns about safety, security, waste management, corruption, and geopolitical competition among major powers. This talk examines these competing pressures and what they mean for the region’s energy future. Free.

Photograph of Susan WhitingOctober 22 | (Jackson School)
Susan Whiting’s book advances institutional economic theory with original survey and fieldwork data by addressing two puzzles in Chinese political economy: how economic development has occurred despite insecure property rights and weak rule of law; and how the Chinese state has maintained political control amid unrest. She answers these questions by focusing on the role of illiberal law in reassigning property rights and redirecting grievances. The book reveals that, in the context of technological change, a legal system that facilitates reassignment of land rights to higher-value uses plays an important and under-theorized role in promoting economic development. This system simultaneously represses conflict and asserts legitimacy. Comparing China to post-Glorious Revolution England and contemporary India, Whiting offers a critical new argument that brings the Chinese case more directly into debates in comparative politics about the role of the state in specifying property rights and maintaining authoritarian rule. Free.

October 23 | (German Studies)
The Seattle Opera and the German Studies Department are teaming up for a German Night at the Opera for their performance of Richard Strauss’s Salome, followed by a Q&A with Professor Annegret Oehme. There will also be a to discuss the opera on Monday, October 26. Details coming.

Photograph of Zack Davisson holding a bookOctober 23 | (Asian Languages & Literature)
From Godzilla to Pokémon, Japan is monster country. And all of Japan’s monsters have their roots in the bizarre menagerie of creatures called yokai. Noted monster scholar and yokai folklorist Zack Davisson guides you through the history behind yokai; a journey from the invisible monsters of the Heian period to the yokai catalogs of Edo. Free.

October 23 | (Philosophy)
The Annual Ethics Lecture features Linda Alcoff (Hunter College). Racism in the United States today cannot be understood in a narrow national frame. Rather, it needs to be understood in relation to the coming end of the US Empire and of Western intellectual and financial dominance, and the resulting precarity of the social contract citizens have expected in the global north. To chart this terrain, Alcoff argues that we need a historical understanding of racial formations, a focus on cultural racism, and an honest approach to the complex history of settler colonialism in this hemisphere that can be the basis of new and stronger coalitions for all working-class peoples. Free.

October 25 | (School of Music)
Members of the UW Wind Ensemble (Christopher Vongvithaymathakul, director) perform music by W.A. Mozart, Claude Arrieu, Joan Tower and others. With Yuman Wu and Joshua Michael Smith, assistant conductors. Free.


Week 5: October 26 – November 1

The Crossing of the Boars book coverOctober 26 | (Jackson School)
Christopher Rea discusses how he and Julie M. Wang rendered an award-winning novel into English, including the process of researching a historical epic of bestial violence also filled with Malaysian vampires, Japanese demons, and Bornean bog monsters. In doing so, he offers answers to a more general question: When faced with a challenging text, how can a translator get out alive? Free.

 

Photograph of Pamela RonaldHybrid?– October 26 | What Feeds Us: Science, Climate, and the Future of Food with Pamela Ronald (Public Lectures)
Climate change is threatening the crops that feed us all. UC Davis geneticist Pamela Ronald reveals how her discovery of flood-tolerant rice is helping millions of farmers adapt — and what plant science means for the future of food. Free.

Photograph of Dean MaedaOctober 28 | (Simpson Center for the Humanities)
How did the martial artist and actor Bruce Lee vault to global stardom? In this lecture, Daryl Joji Maeda describes how transpacific contacts and migrations created the world in which a singular individual encountered, absorbed, and synthesized multiple philosophical and aesthetic influences to create a hybrid form all his own. Tracing Lee’s evolution as a fighter and performer reveals how macroeconomic and geopolitical forces can manifest new forms of culture and resistance. Free.

Photograph of Jonathan ChengOctober 28 | ?(Jackson School)
The U.S. faces more challenges in East Asia than it has seen in decades: An ascendant China that is threatening American dominance of geopolitics, economics and technology, and a nuclear North Korea that has been newly emboldened by its ties with Moscow and Beijing. Jonathan Cheng, the China bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal and the former Korea bureau chief, will talk about more than a decade reporting from on the ground in China and on the Korean peninsula, and his new book, “Korean Messiah: Kim Il Sung and the Christian Roots of North Korea’s Personality Cult.”?Free.

October 29 | (School of Music)
Dr. Stephen Price is joined by students, colleagues, and friends of the UW Organ Studies program in this concert of spooky organ classics and Halloween fun. Free.

October 29 | (Jackson School)
Tadashi Ishikawa introduces Geographies of Gender, which examines the fringes of family and marriage in imperial Japan and colonial Taiwan in the 1910s through the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937. The talk focuses on daughter adoption as one of the boundaries of family and marriage under study. As elite and ordinary Japanese and Taiwanese men and women exchanged competing social norms and ideals in colonial and anticolonial spaces, daughter adoption became a point of negotiation in the colonial courtroom. Those processes, his book argues, ultimately redefined the Japanese empire along gender lines. As the colony of Japan as a non-Western empire during the interwar era, Taiwan showed both the possibility of progress and its repeated gendered contradictions among both colonizer and colonized, suggesting that it is a promising object of historical research not only as spatially open, but as temporally circular. Free.

Picture used to promote eventOctober 30 | ?(Simpson Center for the Humanities)
Spot Reservation, Swinomish artist Daniel R. Smith’s newest participatory public art project, is a free event he describes as an “Indigenous, celebratory occupation of the 天美影视传媒.” Taking place the day before Halloween, Friday, October 30, from 11:00am – 3:00pm, the project transforms the lower level of the Padelford Parking Garage into an unexpected gathering place centered around participatory art making in a tiny forest, or “nanoforest,” of native plants growing from industrial oil barrels. Featuring photo portraits with costumes and wearable taxidermy in a tiny post-apocalyptic forest, fry bread tacos, live birds of prey demonstrations, and an open mic; all free and open to the public.

October 30 | ?(Middle Eastern Languages & Cultures)
Nearly half a century after the Iranian Revolution, a striking paradox has emerged. Many young Iranians reject 1979 as the origin of the political order they seek to overcome, while many of the revolutionary generation have become estranged from the revolution they once made. Yet successive waves of protest, from the Green Movement to Women, Life, Freedom, have returned to the street—the quintessential space of revolutionary politics—to challenge the Islamic Republic.
In the wake of state brutality, political disappointment, and the ongoing effects of the US and Israeli wars on Iran, the present is increasingly marked by exhaustion and political impasse. This lecture asks what becomes visible when we remember 1979 before its outcome was known: when leftists, nationalists, Islamists, workers, students, intellectuals, merchants, and others occupied the same streets while imagining radically different futures. Free.

October 30 | (School of Music)
David Alexander Rahbee and the UW Symphony present “Hungarian Connections,” a program of music by Leó Weiner, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Bela Bartók. With faculty artist Pala Garcia, violin.

Photograph of John ClarkeOctober 30 | ?(Classics)
Learn about recent archaeological excavations at the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Oplontis in the Bay of Naples. Through the two Roman villas found there, we encounter both unbridled luxury and the lives of working individuals.


The ArtSci Roundup

The ArtSci Roundup is your guide to connecting with the UW—whether in person, on campus, or on your couch.

Those who receive monthly emails, with timely updates and engaging content wherever you are. Check the roundup regularly, as events are added throughout the month. Check out the ArtSci On Your Own Time section for everything from podcasts to videos to exhibitions that can be enjoyed when it works for you!

Do you have an event that you would like to see featured in the ArtSci Roundup? Connect with Lauren Zondag (zondagld@uw.edu).

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The UW launching redesigned homepage /news/2026/09/21/the-uw-launches-redesigned-homepage/ Mon, 21 Sep 2026 23:52:59 +0000 /news/?p=93287
For millions of people each year, the 天美影视传媒 homepage is a digital front door to the UW.

Some arrive looking for information about attending or applying. Others need to log into MyUW, the University’s online portal for students, faculty and staff. Visitors may be looking for the latest research discovery, searching for a resource, seeking care at UW Medicine or simply landing on the page through a search engine. Serving such a broad mix of audiences meant the redesign had to go well beyond a visual update.

The new UW homepage, launching on Sept. 30, is the result of nearly two years of work that began with a review of user behavior, analytics and the existing homepage experience. That work grew into a broader effort spanning research, strategy, design and development to rethink how the site can better serve its audiences, tell the UW story and evolve alongside the institution.

“The 天美影视传媒’s homepage is more than a website. It is an expression of our public mission, our academic offerings and the impact our students, faculty and staff are making every day,” said UW President Robert J. Jones. “This redesign gives us a stronger way to reflect the excellence, energy and impact of the UW.”

It has been more than a decade since the University’s homepage has undergone a major transformation of this scale, and the project began with research rather than design.

The University Marketing & Communications team examined a full year of homepage analytics, surveyed users, studied peer university websites and evaluated the existing experience to understand what was working and where there were opportunities to improve. The volume and breadth of usage alone makes those decisions consequential. Over the year studied, the homepage recorded more than 2.7 million users across 4 million sessions.

Input extended well beyond the analytics. In the early stages of the project, hundreds of current and prospective students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents and others were invited to share what they expected from a new UW homepage and what information and experiences mattered most to them. Opportunities to participate were shared through channels including the Husky Pawket Guide — a student-focused email newsletter — and UW Insider — an internal newsletter for faculty and staff — as well as public UW social media platforms, including LinkedIn and Instagram. Using both internal and public-facing channels helped gather perspectives from people currently closely connected to the UW as well as prospective students, parents, alumni and others outside the University.

This research revealed clear patterns in how people use the homepage. Search overwhelmingly dominated user activity, while resources such as MyUW, admissions and academic information were among the most frequent destinations. Survey feedback also showed that people wanted the homepage to highlight University news and achievements, student stories, research and innovation, and important information about financial aid and affordability.

Accessibility was a core consideration from the beginning of the project. UW accessibility standards and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), an international standard for making web content more accessible to people with disabilities, informed decisions about video controls, navigation, headings, image descriptions, links and other interactive elements.

As the design developed, early previews were shared with, and input invited from, a broad cross section of the University community, including the president’s council and provost’s council; the Board of Regents; the Faculty Senate Executive Committee; student government leaders from our Bothell, Seattle and Tacoma campuses; and partners representing admissions, alumni engagement, philanthropy, research, UW Medicine, UW Athletics, UW Bothell, UW Tacoma and other areas. Those conversations helped surface different needs, test assumptions and refine the direction before launch.

From a static page to a flexible system

The new homepage was designed as a modular system, making it easier to update and adapt as priorities, seasons and major moments change.

That thinking shaped nearly every element of the new experience.

Search is more visible. Navigation has been simplified around the destinations people use most. MyUW has greater prominence. News and events have separate and distinct sections. Statistics and rankings can become clickable pathways into deeper stories about the UW’s impact.

New, adaptable spaces also allow the University to respond to the rhythm of the year — from admissions and commencement to cherry blossom season — and to highlight major research discoveries, significant University announcements or even an unexpected moment of Husky pride.

The result is a homepage that provides more flexibility to update content without redesigning the page itself.

One of the most visible changes is the new hero section at the top of the homepage. The hero section uses short-form video to create a stronger sense of UW identity and place, giving visitors an immediate visual sense of the University and the people, settings and experiences that make the UW distinctive.

As the design developed and moved into production, early partners were brought back into the process to review the evolving direction, respond to previews and help refine how the homepage could support different needs across the University. That input further informed both the design and the approach to keeping individual homepage components updated after launch.

“This was an opportunity to rethink one of the University’s most visible spaces,” said Jack Martin, vice president for marketing and communications. “The goal is to create something that feels unmistakably UW, while giving us more flexibility to respond to major moments, elevate important priorities and better reflect the breadth of the University.”

Building for what comes next

Launching the page isn’t intended to be the end of the redesign.

The new homepage was built to support ongoing testing and refinement, giving the team more ways to understand what people use, what they engage with and where the experience can improve.

Future possibilities include A/B testing and more personalized experiences tailored to audience needs.

The redesign, then, is not only about what the homepage looks like in September 2026. It creates a framework the UW can continue to shape over time, based on how people actually use it. The redesign is an expression of our commitment to making the UW’s web presence a truly useful resource for our many audiences and the state of Washington.

Share your feedback

The new homepage will continue to be evaluated and refined after launch. Visitors are invited to share feedback about their experience with the redesigned site through .

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UW faculty, researchers and students earn recognition from the Berkeley Prize, Marconi Society and National Science Foundation /news/2026/09/21/uw-faculty-researchers-and-students-earn-recognition-from-the-berkeley-prize-marconi-society-and-national-science-foundation/ Mon, 21 Sep 2026 17:03:33 +0000 /news/?p=93261

Recent recognition of the 天美影视传媒 includes a Berkeley prize recognizing research on ancient galaxies, a 2026 Marconi Society Paul Baran Young Scholar Award for a doctoral student, and an NSF CAREER Award supporting research on the brain circuits that drive social behavior.

UW astronomer is part of team that receives Berkeley prize for study of ancient galaxies

, UW postdoctoral scholar in astronomy, is part of a team of astronomers who received the 2027 Lancelot M. Berkeley–New York Community Trust Prize for Meritorious Work in Astronomy.?

Khullar is one of 60 astronomers who make up the UNCOVER team, an international collaboration built to study tens of thousands of galaxies, black holes and star clusters. The Berkeley Prize recognized the UNCOVER team for its work using the to study galaxies behind “Pandora’s Cluster,” a massive galaxy cluster. The large mass of this cluster causes it to act as a powerful magnifying glass, bending the light from faraway background galaxies.?

Deep imaging and spectroscopy of this gravitational lens have enabled the UNCOVER project team to identify and characterize distant galaxies from some of the earliest stages of our universe.?

“This team award is a genuine recognition of the incredible work that this new collaboration has conducted, spearheaded by early career astronomers,” Khullar said. “I am fortunate to have played a small part in contributing to studying the first galaxies in the universe which have paused star formation — systems called quiescent galaxies.”

Awarded annually since 2011 by the American Astronomical Society (AAS), the Berkeley prize recognizes research that advances the field of astronomy. The prize includes a monetary award and an invitation to give the closing plenary lecture at the AAS winter meeting in January.

This story was adapted from a press release by AAS.

UW doctoral student receives 2026 Marconi Society Paul Baran Young Scholar Award?

, a doctoral student in the UW Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, was , which recognizes exceptional early-career researchers advancing the future of information and communications technology.?

A researcher in the Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering’s Mobile Intelligence Lab, Itani works with , a UW professor of computer science and engineering, to develop AI-powered? devices that give users greater control over what they hear. The technology could allow someone wearing earbuds or hearing aids to amplify specific voices or sounds they want to focus on while reducing unwanted background noise.?

That ability could?make? listening?more customizable, from following a conversation in a crowded restaurant to better distinguishing important sounds in noisy environments. Itani and his collaborators are currently advancing systems designed to enable this kind of real-time “superhuman” hearing on earbuds and hearing aids.?

“I feel like I’ve hit a niche that’s going to be so transformational,” Itani said, noting that the technology could eventually reach billions of devices. “It’s going to change the way we hear the world.”?

Because of that potential reach, Itani said he feels a responsibility to continue advancing the technology and its ability to?impact?people’s? lives.?

Itani and his collaborators have also launched?Hearvana?AI to commercialize their research. He and his fellow honorees will be formally recognized at the Marconi Awards Gala & Institute Forums, held Nov. 4–6 in San Francisco.??

UW assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience receives NSF CAREER Award to study brain circuits driving social behaviors?

Sama Ahmed, UW assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience, received a 2026 National Science Foundation CAREER Award of more than $1.4 million.?

The NSF CAREER Award is the agency’s most prestigious honor for early-career faculty, recognizing those with the potential to become academic leaders in both research and education.?

With the award, Ahmed and his team will study the brain circuits behind “proceptivity” — the active behaviors animals use to pursue and engage potential mates. Using fruit flies, the most complex organism with a fully mapped brain and a species with well-studied social behaviors, the researchers will use advanced genetic and imaging tools in the Ahmed Lab to watch how different neural networks in the brain talk to each other in real time.?

Instead of looking at how the brain does one thing at a time, Ahmed’s team tracks how the nervous system switches between responding to external social cues and actively generating social behaviors. Understanding how the brain juggles these competing choices helps researchers understand how more complex brains — including our own — prioritize information and decide when to act.?

“I’ve always wanted to understand how our brains generate and respond to social signals,” Ahmed said, adding that the CAREER Award opens a new way for his lab to investigate that question.?

The project will also provide research training opportunities for high school, undergraduate and graduate students and support the development of open-source computational tools and STEM modules focused on coding and automated behavioral tracking. The award will also allow Ahmed to create a new Course-based Undergraduate Research Experience (CURE), where students will use technologies such as?connectomics?and optogenetics to investigate questions that, as Ahmed put it, “nobody has answered yet.”?

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