Viewpoint - Fall 2015 by University of Washington Alumni Association / Alumni Relations

Telling the Story of Diversity at the University of Washington / Fall 2015

We Need to Talk. Race and Equity at the UW

FALL 2015

viewpoint

:: Telling the Story of Diversity at the University of Washington

P U B L I S H E D B Y T H E U W A LU M N I A S S O C I AT I O N I N PA R T N E R S H I P W I T H T H E U W O F F I C E O F M I N O R I T Y A F FA I R S & D I V E R S I T Y

In This Issue Student Awards 5 Race & Equity 6 Terryl Ross

[ The Viewpoint Interview ]

MAP Bridging the Gap Breakfast 16

ON THE COVER | Students gather near the HUB during a Black Lives Matter march on February 25, 2015. Photo by Kevin Kwong for The Daily of the University of Washington.

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The legacy of Roberto Maestas, ’66, Larry Gossett, ’71, Bob Santos, and Bernie Whitebear looms largely in Seattle’s civil rights and progressive movements—and offers a powerful framework for much of the current activism and the programs at the UW highlighted in this issue of Viewpoint. The “story of how an American Indian, African American, Mexican American, and Asian American came together to form a powerful political alliance” is captured in the recently published Gang of Four (Chin Music Press). Gossett, left, and Maestas—who met in early days of the Black Student Union at the UW—are shown at a meeting in early 1970s.

the story of diversity at the UW

Photo courtesy El Centro de la Raza

HAVE BEEN A PROUD Husky for over three decades. I received three degrees from the University of Washington, met my wife here and spent my entire professional career in the UW Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity (OMA&D). So when I was asked to serve as interim vice president for minority affairs and vice provost for diversity after Dr. Sheila Edwards Lange announced her departure in June, I was both humbled and honored. Dr. Lange established a great foundation devoted to advancing access, equity and inclusion at the UW, and I am grateful for the opportunity to

Y WAY OF INTROduction, I’m Rev. Jason Boyd, the new President of the UW Multicultural Alumni Partnership. It is a pleasure and honor to lead MAP, of which I’ve been a part at various times since 2002. As MAP moves into its third decade of promoting diversity at the UW and in the UW alumni community, I want to echo the words of Interim President Ana Mari Cauce on the need for the difficult conversations to take place if UW

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build upon her efforts. My life’s work has been committed to supporting the success and retention of underrepresented minority, first-generation and low-income students, and I am excited to lead OMA&D forward at this time. And this is indeed a great time to be a Husky. Last spring, Interim President Ana Mari Cauce convened students and campus leaders for an open dialogue about race and difference that served as a launching point for a UW Race & Equity Initiative aimed to minimize bias across campus. Diversity has been a longtime core value of the UW, and the

initiative, from my perspective, represents a renewal of our commitment especially in light of recent national and local events. This issue of Viewpoint features just a small sampling of faculty, staff, alumni and programs that are already leading the way to address race and equity. It is an outstanding foundation we look forward to expanding upon and OMA&D will play an important role in these efforts. We are also counting on you to help us accomplish this crucial work. Together we will accelerate our vision for a more inclusive campus environment.

is to be more welcoming, inclusive and just. Recent events in the world that show us the inequity that still exists on matters of race are troubling for many reasons. For me, one of the major reasons is the lack of willingness of many to believe the stories of those who experience systemic and institutional racism. For example, when Native Americans tell their stories of what they experience depicted as mascots, if we were truly

listening, the disavowal and denial would end. Moving into these conversations, MAP stands at the ready to take part. We hope you will join us. Our 21st Annual Bridging the Gap Breakfast will take place October 17, and we invite you to join in the celebration of diversity and scholarship with your fellow Huskies who share the vision of a more just campus, nation and world. We look forward to seeing you and sharing your company.

Gabriel Gallardo ’89, ’93, ’00 Interim Vice President for Minority Affairs & Vice Provost for Diversity

ANI L KAPaHI

DENNIS WIS E

points of view

Jason Boyd MAP President

BOYD NAMED MERCK SCHOLAR

KA REN ORDERS

NIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON SENIOR TAYLOR BOYD joined a prestigious group when she received a United Negro College Fund/Merck Undergraduate Science Research Scholarship for the 2015-16 academic year. The honor, which provides up to $25,000 to support tuition and a research-based internship, is awarded to just 15 African American undergraduates from across the nation each year. Even more impressive, Boyd is the fifth Husky to receive the scholarship since 2010. The neurobiology major follows previous scholarship recipients and alumni Dirir Abdullahi, ’15 (2014 recipient), Chinonso Opara, ’14 (2013 recipient), Sarra Tekola, ’15 (2013 recipient) and Alexandra Herndon, ’11 (2010 recipient). Boyd completed her internship over the summer through a partnership between the University of Venda in South Africa and the University of Virginia. The 10-week program featured two weeks on campus in Charlottesville, Va., and eight weeks doing research in the province of Limpopo in South Africa. Her work studied methods for curing HIV and AIDS, as well as “the intersections between their traditional medicine and western medicine.” Boyd sees the scholarship as a “window of opportunity” and if the paths of her predecessors are any indication that will truly be the case. Herndon and Opara currently attend medical school at the University of Pennsylvania and Vanderbilt, respectively. Boyd hopes to follow in their footsteps and ultimately become a doctor who works with underserved populations.

Tracey Claims Inaugural CoEnv Prize BRIAN TRACEY, a graduate student at the School of Marine and Environmental Affairs, received the College of the Environment’s first-ever Outstanding Diversity Commitment Award in May. Nearly 30 faculty members, staff, and students from the College were nominated, but Tracey nabbed the top prize for his dedication and leadership in working toward a more diverse and inclusive program, college and university. Recognized and widely respected for his work in addressing disparities and issues of diversity across the UW campus, Tracey’s thesis will focus on the inclusion of underrepresented minority students in the marine sciences. Tracey chairs the Graduate and Professional Student Senate’s

Diversity Committee, which allocates funds to diversity events on campus and challenges the cultural status quos through their Campus Conversations series. Tracey is also the Executive Liaison to the UW Diversity Council’s Provost Advisory Committee for Students, and serves on the College of the Environment’s Diversity Committee. He is the co-founder of Empowerment Through Education, a community service-based student group that raises awareness of social justice and diversity issues relating to education and society, and he dedicates additional time and energy to student outreach and engagement with Seattle MESA.

the story of diversity at the UW

VIEWPOINT COVER STORY

Race & Eq LECTURE SERIES The Graduate School and the UW Alumni Association are proud to present Equity & Difference: Keeping the Conversation Going, a series of talks that expose and explain transgressions and struggles—both systematic and personal—experienced by too many in our communities today. The talks feature leaders from our campus and around the world who are working to open our eyes to the consequences of prejudice, and seeking solutions for change.

UWalum.com/equity 0 FALL 2015 Oct. 6 An Evening with Harry Belafonte—Interview with Valerie Curtis-Newton

0 WINTER 2016 Jan. 14 Ralina L. Joseph: What’s the Difference with ‘Difference’? Jan. 21 Anita Sarkeesian: I’ll Make a Man Out of You: Redefining Strong Female Characters Feb. 4 Mehnaz M. Afridi: Freedom, Religion and Racism in JewishMuslim Encounters Feb. 10 Tsianina Lomawaima: More than Mascots! Less than Citizens? American Indians Talk: Why Isn’t the U.S. Listening? Feb. 23 Charles M. Payne: Doing Race Better: Race and the Reform of Urban Schools

0 SPRING 2016 April 5 Touré: Microagression: Power, Privilege and Everyday Life May 18 Marieka M. Klawitter: I’m Coming Out: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in the U.S.

As we have demonstrated in the pages of this maga cade, the University of Washington has been enriche and programs committed to celebrating and expand and equity are core values to us, which is why too man national and local—have been so disconcerting. 0 Inter Cauce expressed this concern forcefully in a speech th point of her address was that difficult conversation bias need to take place more openly if we hope to r promise of being welcoming, inclusive and just. (uw.ed begin to acknowledge our shortcomings and talk a them in other people, but in ourselves and in our wo places, and in the places we study and learn—let’s t hold ourselves accountable, and about how we can ch 0 Viewpoint should be an important voice in those issue, we recognize some of the events and people o University’s race and equity efforts. This is a conversa mitted to continuing in subsequent issues, and in ev featured at left. We also encourage your input into t come you to share your perspectives by writing to u

quity

azine over the past deed by numerous people ding diversity. Diversity ny recent events—both erim President Ana Mari his past April. A central ns about prejudice and realize the University’s du/raceequity) 0 “Let’s about them, not about orkplaces, in our living alk about how we can hange and take action.” conversations. In this on the forefront of the ation that we are comvents like the lectures this dialogue and welus at vwpoint@uw.edu.

MAKING IT MATTER A Campus Responds to National News By Britt Olson Eric Garner died in a New York police officer’s chokehold on July 17, 2014. Three weeks later, Michael Brown was shot by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. Then 12-year-old Tamir Rice was shot by a policeman’s bullet on a Cleveland playground on Nov. 22, 2014. All victims were black and unarmed. Protesters in this wake beseeched that “Black Lives Matter.” Among the responses on campus to the distress in Ferguson and elsewhere, the Samuel E. Kelly Ethnic Cultural Center hosted a special Conversation Circle on Dec. 5. The format featured small discussion groups and provided a safe space for around 60 students, faculty, staff and community members to engage in an open dialogue about these issues. “It was really exciting to see a mixed race, intergenerational group of individuals get together,” said UW junior Mariama Suwaneh. “It felt good to know that someone on campus recognizes the hurt that the African American community is feeling right now. There was a level of understanding that was healing for me.” In January, UW faculty hosted a teach-in at the Kelly Ethnic Cultural Center. Organized by Ralina Joseph, director of the Center for

Communication, Difference and Equity, and Stephanie Smallwood, associate professor of history, “Ferguson and Beyond” featured a dozen-plus educators from the Bothell and Seattle campuses. More than 150 participants came to hear about state violence, immigrant rights and the prison system. Sociology professor Alexes Harris spoke about monetary sanctions that oppress poor, often minority, populations. “The aim [of the teach-in] was to help people process all of the stuff we’re seeing—the images of the black men being killed, the images of police force and its militarization—and to try to get faculty, staff and students to think about it through our various lenses and disciplines.” On Feb. 25, 2015, hundreds of UW students walked out of classes to address diversity issues in the community and on campus, including the disproportionate representation of black students and faculty. This Black Lives Matter march, while welcomed by faculty and administrators, reportedly met with racial slurs as it crossed the University’s Greek Row. Then on April 12, 2015, Freddie Gray died in police custody in Baltimore. The city erupted in protests and riots, sending a revolting déjà vu across the nation. Two dialogues in May by UW Graduate School students and Graduate Opportunities and Minority Achievement Program (GO-MAP) administrators offered more opportunities for the campus community to respond. The first, titled “What’s Really Happening in Baltimore?,” was facilitated by Ph.D. candidate Maurice Dolberry. “We talked about what racism looks like on the UW campus versus in Baltimore,” says Dolberry. Several days later, Tonya Mosley spoke with another group of 25 to 30 students. GO-MAP program officer Vanessa Álvarez says these events are necessary. “Being a grad student is hard enough in itself, but having to deal with these feelings on top of it can be very difficult to manage,” she says. “Many students may be the only student of color in their program. A lot of students were able to get things off their chest and find community.”

the story of diversity at the UW

EDUCATION IN ACTION Dean Mia Tuan Puts Pedagogy in Practice

ERI N LOD I

By David Volk

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Mia Tuan still remembers the comment that set her on the path to her job as the new dean of the College of Education. She was teaching a sociology class at the University of Oregon that covered inequality in society and her students’ position of privilege when one of the participants commented: “You can’t keep bludgeoning us with this information and not tell us what to do about it.” His classmates were aghast, but she got the point. A Chinese immigrant to the U.S. at age 3, Tuan went on to attend UC Berkeley and planned to study architecture, but after accompanying a friend into a sociology class, she discovered that it helped her understand that her experiences as a female immigrant were part of the larger immigrant experience. Tuan’s interest in action led her to help found the Center of Diversity and Community at Oregon after tensions flared over racist comments made by students. When the school’s college of education launched a program involving sociology, she jumped at the chance to switch programs. “I liked the idea of teaching teachers,” Tuan explains. “A teacher is going to ask ‘What can I do to make it better?’” Given her interest in equity in access to education, Tuan was a natural fit for the opening at UW’s College of Education. “The first impression that I had was that equity and access are at the core of their values. This college and this group of faculty, they walk their talk,” Tuan says. UW professor Elham Kazemi agrees with her assessment. “We’re seeking out new faculty who are interested in connecting scholarship to practice,” says the professor of curriculum and instruction in mathematics education. “We are not just doing work, collecting data and leaving. We are in communities where we are doing our work.” One example is a new Native Education certificate program designed to help educators work with Native American students and their families. Megan Bang, an associate professor in educational psychology involved in the effort, says she believes Tuan is a good fit for the UW. “The new dean is well positioned to take up the complexity of efforts that are taking place at the College of Education and potentially identify where gaps are,” says Bang. “I’m really excited about her arrival.”

NATIVE LENS A New Framework for American Indian Studies

American Indian Studies has typically been associated with culture, music, art and history. “The courses are often perceived as classes simply about Native peoples,” says Chris Teuton, the literary scholar who came to the UW in 2014 to chair the emerging American Indian Studies Department. “At the UW our courses foreground Native knowledge and Native perspectives on their own histories, cultures, arts, homelands, and forms of governance.” While those working within the field of American Indian and Indigenous studies have long considered Native knowledge and cultures worthy of academic study, academe in general is only now recognizing that Native knowledge may stand on its own intellectual tradition. The new approach for AIS is to study it from within an Indigenous conceptual framework. “What better place to do it than the UW?” asks Teuton, pointing to the strong faculty base and significant resources for exploring and supporting Indigenous research and knowledge. The first efforts for Indian Studies at the UW came in 1970 during a time of student protests about the lack of diversity in courses and the student body. By that fall, the University had an American Indian Studies Center to create courses with faculty in areas like the Burke Museum, English, anthropology, history and political science, and to foster the recruitment and retention of Native students and faculty. For the next few decades AIS existed as a sub-unit in the Department of Anthropology, but in 2009, the program became its own distinct academic department.

A NIL KA PA H I

By Hannelore Sudermann

With six tenured faculty and one principal lecturer at its core—as well as ties to faculty around campus in disciplines including law, international studies, ecology, medicine and art—the department is poised to broaden its approach using a platform of Indigenous knowledge. Teuton, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, does this in his own scholarship, developing ways of studying Indigenous literature through lenses other than the traditional European-style criticisms. As the AIS department chair, Teuton will also guide the programming in the new –Intellectual House. “Now we have this wonderful space,” he says. “It is a hub for the work we do in academics and scholarship, as well as a place to link that knowledge to the community. And we can use the space and our expertise to address the everyday concerns of Native people.” One annual symposium moving to –Intellectual House explores cultural food practices and ecological knowledge. Experts in tribal food sovereignty, traditional foods and health, and climate change seek ways to better serve the region’s Indigenous communities and help them build networks to support sustainable food practices. This is a great time to show the University’s strength in Indigenous studies, says Sheila Edwards Lange, former vice president for minority affairs and vice provost for diversity. With the talented and accomplished American Indian Studies faculty and the great resource of the –Intellectual House, “the University is poised to become a leader nationally.” the story of diversity at the UW

Undocumented Students Find a Home at the UW By David Volk

It’s not easy being an undocumented student, says Luis Ortega. While they may feel proud to attend college, they may also feel trapped and frustrated because they don’t seem to fit in, says Ortega, an alumnus and consultant to the recently opened Leadership Without Borders Room. Housed at the Kelly Ethnic Cultural Center (ECC), the room is part of the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity’s infrastructure of support for students. “It’s hope and hopelessness at the same time,” says Ortega, who knows the feeling firsthand as a political science student at the UW from 2005 to 2010. Although he was lucky enough to find someone to confide in at the ECC during his college career, there were times he still felt alienated. He recalls being so cash-strapped that “I had to choose between paying tuition and books and food and rent. I chose tuition and books,” says Ortega, who ended up being homeless for two years. If Dr. Marisa Herrera, co-founder of the Leadership Without Borders Room has her way, future students will have an easier time. The room is designed to give undocumented students a defined space

Staffers Magdalena Fonseca, Luis Ortega, Marisa Herrera (top row, from left) and Yuriana Garcia (bottom row, left) pose with students in the Leadership Without Borders Room at the Kelly Ethnic Cultural Center.

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on-campus where they can work and feel they belong. The space also offers other services including leadership workshops, referrals to on campus services they may not know about and a textbook lending library that allows students to check out class books that they couldn’t otherwise afford. These resources are coupled with others provided by OMA&D—such as scholarships, emergency aid, staff trained on undocumented student issues, assistance applying to the UW, referrals to inexpensive housing, campus support groups and a community committed to the success of undocumented students. The reason for the room is simple, Herrera says. “We felt pretty strongly that access [to a college education] without support is really not an opportunity.” Washington State Legislature’s 2014 passage of the REAL Hope Act allows such students to qualify for State Need Grants. It also helps that UW Interim President Ana Mari Cauce and other administrators wrote an April 2015 letter affirming their support for the right of undocumented youth to seek education at the state’s public universities. While there are no exact figures for the numbers of such students at the UW, Magdalena Fonseca, Associate Director and co-founder of the space, estimates it’s likely around 150 (and includes Latino, Southeast Asian, Pacific Islander and Ukrainian students), but expects such visible public support should help make the UW a more attractive institution. The increased acceptance doesn’t mean the room isn’t still necessary, Ortega says. “We always have to ask ourselves who are we not serving, whose voice are we not hearing,” he says. “I just think that will be another contribution that this center will provide to the University over time.”

AN IL KAPAHI

NO BORDERS

MAT T H A G EN

THE CITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE Patricia Lally Leads Seattle’s Equity Efforts By Hannelore Sudermann As head of Seattle’s Office of Civil Rights, Patricia Lally, ’98, enforces the city’s civil rights laws, advises Mayor Ed Murray, and oversees a staff of 30. She also leads the citywide Race and Social Justice Initiative. “How can we ensure that your zip code doesn’t determine your quality of life?” asks Lally. Whether the focus is schools, safety, or resources, “we’re constantly trying to provide assistance to our communities and constantly trying to imagine ways to communicate what equity is and how to achieve it.” The former deputy U.S. Attorney also helps departments across the city review their work with racial equity in mind. “We ask them what is the goal of their project? What are the consequences?” she says. “If the project is detrimental to a certain group, how do we mitigate that?” Lally grew up in Los Angeles, the daughter of Mexican-American parents who didn’t have the resources to attend college themselves. She majored in accounting because she needed an immediate income to support her family. The accounting office she launched in rural Thurston County grew into a lively business with four employees and 350 clients. Still, Lally wasn’t satisfied. At 40, Lally started her first year of law school at UW, while continuing her accounting work on weekends and holidays. She won

a fellowship at Perkins Coie for diverse law students. The fellowship and subsequent job provided years of experience, but little time in court. Seeking more, she applied to the U.S. Attorney’s office, and worked there as a prosecutor for 11 years. All the while, Lally kept her ties with the UW, helping recruit and mentor law students of color. She also joined the state’s Minority and Justice Commission, and was president of the Washington Bar Association’s scholarship foundation. In 2013, Lally took two months to walk the Camino de Santiago in Spain. “Beware of any sabbatical,” she says, laughing. As she traveled the pilgrimage route, she pondered how she could better serve her community and realized she was ready to change careers again. Back in Seattle, she reconnected with Murray, a state senator running for mayor. “His platform really matched my idea of service,” she says. When his transition team called, she jumped at the chance to steward the city’s Race and Social Justice Initiative. Now she guides the city’s efforts around social justice and race. “Sometimes people ask why ‘racial equity’ and not other kinds. It’s because the data shows the inequity around race is the most profound and pervasive.” Areas like LGBT, disability, and age truly matter, she says. “But we’re using race to build the skill set to tackle all inequities.”

the story of diversity at the UW

in the news

LAGRANT COMMUNICATIONS, a multicultural marketing and communications firm established by Kim Hunter, ’82, celebrated its 25th anniversary on Sept. 1. U.S. News & World Report named Shirley Malcom, ’69, to its STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) Leadership Hall of Fame.

Faculty Recruiter Chadwick Allen, a specialist in Native American and global Indigenous studies, joined the UW as associate vice provost for faculty advancement in August. In this role, Allen works with the Office of the Provost and the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity to develop strategies and resources that facilitate the recruitment and retention of an inclusive faculty. Most recently, he was a professor of English and associate dean for faculty and research at The Ohio State University’s College of Arts & Sciences. Allen’s work at OSU also included stints as coordinator for the interdisciplinary program in American Indian Studies and director of the Diversity and Identity Studies Collective. He is the recipient of two Fulbright fellowships to Aotearoa, New Zealand, where he studied Maori literature and culture at Auckland University. Dr. Allen also has a strong interest in frontier studies and the popular Western and has written extensively on the Lone Ranger and Tonto.

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Access Advocate Patricia Loera started her new role as associate vice president for college access in the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity in early September. Loera, ’93, has been a national advocate for educational opportunity and college readiness throughout her 22-year career. Since 2004, she has served as a senior program officer for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s College Ready program, where she helped manage strategies for schools, districts and community-based organizations committed to improving college pathways for low-income and underrepresented minority students. Her work also included leading efforts to develop innovative college readiness programs in states across the country including Texas, Georgia and Colorado. Prior to her tenure with the Gates Foundation, Patricia was the legislative director for the National Association for Bilingual Education. She also advocated for federal policies to improve educational opportunities for Latino students as the legislative staff attorney with the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

Malcom is the head of education and human resources programs at the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

T HE OHI O STATE UN IVE RSI TY

Ross Braine, ’09, ’15, was honored as one of the 2015 Distinguished Staff Award recipients at the University of Washington’s 45th annual Awards of Excellence Ceremony in June. Braine is director of —Intellectual House and the UW Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity’s tribal liaison.

Roxanne Christian, ’07, ’11, was promoted to Director of Strategic Engagement with UW Academic and Student Affairs. Christian previously served as the Associate Director of Advancement for the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity. Four women with UW ties were honored as “Rising Stars” by the Northwest Asian Weekly Foundation in May: Marisa Herrera (Kelly Ethnic Cultural Center executive director),

Diana Lindner, (pediatric residency and fellowship at Children’s Hospital), C. June Strickland (alumna and nursing faculty member) and Tracy Hilliard (alumna and nursing faculty member). Juan Felipe Herrera, visiting professor of ethnic studies at the University of Washington, was named the 21st United States Poet Laureate. Herrera is the first Latino honored since the U.S. Consultant in Poetry program began in 1937 (the title changed to Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry in 1986). The University of Washington has the highest percentage of women (22.4) in tenure-track faculty positions among the nation’s top 50 engineering schools. Nationally, the percentage is 14.5. The UW is now developing an online toolkit— called LEAD-it-Yourself!—that other universities can use to design and host their own department-focused workshops to advance STEM faculty diversity. Attorney Harold G. Booker, ’55, was presented the Key to the City by the mayor of Federal Way. Booker was the first African American to earn an advanced degree (MS) in Organic Chemistry at the UW. Since retirement from Boeing (20 years as a research chemist, and 20 years as an contracts attorney), Booker has provided pro bono legal services for referrals from the King County Bar Association and from community organizations and friends. V. Rafael Stone, a member (partner) and chair of the Investment Management practice at Foster Pepper, was recently selected to become a member of The National

Black Lawyers—Top 100, an invitation-only professional honorary association including the Top 100 Black Lawyers from each state.

Nancy Chang, ’02, ’07, was appointed Executive Director of Reel Grrls, an organization devoted to empowering young women from diverse communities to express themselves through media production skills. Chang earned a BFA and a MPA from the UW. UW biology professor Keiko Torii won the Saruhashi Award, an award given annually to women who have made remarkable achievements in the natural sciences. Torii has been on the UW biology faculty since 1996 and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and a member of the Washington state Academy of Sciences. Two UW faculty members have been appointed to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs Science Advisory Board. Sociology professor Robert Crutchfield was named chair of the board’s justice system transparency and accountability subcommittee, and Alexes Harris, an associate professor of sociology, was named a new board member. The 25-member board, which advises the Office of Justice Programs on research, statistics and grant programs, is made up of leading scholars and experts in sociology, criminology, statistics, and criminal and juvenile justice.

THE VIEWPOINT INTERVIEW:

Terryl Ross, ’03, Director of Diversity, UW Bothell

A BLUEPRINT FOR BOTHELL 2.0 B Y R O B E R T D A NI E L R U BI N

t its Bothell campus, the University of Washington has a bold champion for social inclusivity. Dr. Terryl Ross just celebrated his first anniversary as the campus Director of Diversity. Under his leadership, UW Bothell is carrying out innovative programs aimed at promoting dialogue among diverse populations. Ross’ training in diversity began early in life. Growing up with a father in the military and then serving in military intelligence himself taught Ross to be “comfortable around difference.” As a Ph.D. student at the UW Seattle campus, he founded Mosaic, an organization that supported and empowered students from various ethnic groups. Ross’ work as a student activist sparked his lifelong commitment to building bridges between people of all backgrounds and persuasions. Today, that commitment drives his writing, documentary making and student mentoring. This past April, Ross launched UW Bothell’s first Diversity Week and Conference. This summer, he led a contingent of Bothell students taking part in the second annual Free State Global Leadership Summit in Bloemfontein, South Africa. The summit’s workshops in racial reconciliation and restorative justice forever changed him and his students. After spending time with peers from four continents, the UW attendees realized how much opportunity they enjoy as Americans, and how well positioned they are to help change the world. Ross calls his program “Bothell 2.0.” Its goal is to teach students to weave “threads of commonality”—to enable them to recognize the humanity of those who differ from themselves. Amid a society wracked by dissension, Ross helps students see beyond their own particular worldviews. “It doesn’t matter what I think” or “what you think,” he tells them. “What matters is how I’m going to work with someone who thinks opposite of how I think.” Ross’ efforts have found fertile ground at UW Bothell. “We have tremendous opportunity here,” he asserts. The school’s small and diverse student body is especially equipped to think and act in innovative ways. Indeed, it is poised, Ross believes, to spark an unprecedented level of multicultural awareness. Ross intends for Bothell to become “a destination of choice for people that are committed to social justice.” He will accept nothing less.

PHOTO BY RON WURZER the story of diversity at the UW

RH ON DA SM ITH

[From left] GO-MAP Program Officer Vanessa Alvarez, Director Cynthia Morales and Outreach & Recruitment Officer Anthony Salazar

GO-MAP Turns 45

or nearly half a century, the Graduate Opportunities and Minority Achievement Program (GO-MAP) has successfully administered to underrepresented students across all disciplines of graduate-level study at UW. A division of the graduate school, GO-MAP collaborates with students, faculty and administrators to foster diversity in all graduate programs. Through outreach, recruitment, and student success initiatives including financial support, student advising and professional development, GO-MAP has overseen the tripling of graduate school enrollment of students of color in the last 20 years alone. Credit the small but dedicated staff at GO-MAP, who in turn attribute this growth as much to the close-knit community they cultivate. The team coordinates frequent networking opportunities through social events and lectures addressing real-time experiences of underrepresented students. The GO-MAP staff have all experienced the challenges that a predominantly white institution presents to underrepresented students.

By Shannon Messenger

Their backgrounds have fueled the belief that graduate students of color truly benefit from having this type of supportive environment on campus. Approaching its 50th anniversary under the directorship of Cynthia Morales, GO-MAP has an ambitious funding goal to meet by 2020. GO-MAP has granted approximately $1.5 million in graduate school funding to underrepresented grad students consistently for the past several years. Competing with higher-funded graduate schools in a national pool of candidates, however, necessitates broader financial incentives. Over the next five years the program hopes to grow fellowship awards and other funding resources to $5 million. GO-MAP’S proven record of collaborating with private funding sources, as well as UW graduate programs to secure matching commitments, suggest their goal is achievable. But it may be GO-MAP’S community-building experience that moves the needle. “We is greater than me,” says Morales, undaunted by the challenge ahead. “Community-building and outreach is what we do and is key to what will get us there.”

✂ If you are interested in learning more about planned giving, or would like to make a gift to support GO-MAP programs, please tear and mail back this insert, or contact Rhonda Smith at rsmith@uw.edu or 206-616-2492.

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FOUNDED 2004 Published by the UW Alumni Association in partnership with the UW Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity

viewpoint STA F F Paul Rucker

From the UWAA President I am proud of the University of Washington’s long-term commitment to promoting equality and serving students and alumni from underrepresented communities. I am inspired by the University and Interim President Cauce so directly addressing the hard work that still needs to be done (uw. edu/raceequity). It is crucial that we discuss issues of inequality and face them head on. I am very pleased that the UW Alumni Association is helping to present the lecture series Equity & Difference: Keeping the Conversation Going, which will explore the systematic and personal struggles faced by too many. I look forward to continuing to foster further engagement on this critical subject.

EM ILE PITRE

4333 Brooklyn Avenue N.E. Box 359508 Seattle, WA 98195-9508 Phone: 206-543-0540 Fax: 206-685-0611 Email: vwpoint@ uw.edu Viewpoint on the Web UWalum.com/viewpoint

Thanks for Everything, Dr. Sheila

P UB LIS HER

Jon Marmor EDIT OR

Paul Fontana A SS OCIATE EDIT OR WEB EDIT OR

Ken Shafer ART DIRECT OR

Erin Rowley LI A IS ON TO OFFICE OF M INORIT Y AFFAIRS & DIVERS ITY

A NIL KA PA H I

viewpoint ADVISORY COMMITTEE Paul Rucker, ’95, ’02 Associate Vice President Alumni and Constituent Relations, Chair

Gabriel Gallardo, ’89, ’93, ’00 Interim Vice President for Minority Affairs Interim Vice Provost for Diversity

Jeff Rochon, ’99 UWAA President, 2015-2016

Tamara Leonard Associate Director Center for Global Studies Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies

Jason Boyd President, Multicultural Alumni Partnership

Erin Rowley Director for Communications Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity

Eleanor J. Lee, ’00, ’05 Communications Specialist UW Graduate School

Stephen H. Sumida, ’82 Professor, American Ethnic Studies Past President, Multicultural Alumni Partnership

After nine years of leading the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity, Sheila Edwards Lange, ’00, ’06, is taking on a new challenge as interim president of Seattle Central College. Under Lange, who was named Vice President for Minority Affairs and Vice Provost for Diversity in 2007, OMA&D made great strides in a number of areas, including receiving funding for the Pacific Northwest Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation; overseeing the renovation of the Ethnic Cultural Center and renaming it in honor of the late Dr. Samuel E. Kelly, ’71; overseeing the passage of a diversity course requirement for all undergraduates; and the building of a Native American longhouse-style facility, the Intellectual House, which opened earlier this year. At the end of her time here, the UW ranks fifth in the number of bachelor’s degrees awarded to minority students, third in master’s degrees and sixth in doctorate degrees according to national rankings of four-year flagship state universities. “Serving as Vice President and Vice Provost for Minority Affairs and Diversity has been the most rewarding experience of my career,” she said. “However, this new role provides an unprecedented opportunity for me to advance professionally and pursue my passion for student access and success.” Before joining the UW, Lange worked for Seattle Colleges at the district office in education and planning and at North Seattle College. “The Seattle College District is uniquely positioned to influence the economic and social well-being for thousands of families in our region. I am honored to be part of the leadership team that builds upon the tradition of excellence at Seattle Central.”

EVENT CALENDAR October 8

October 15

October 30

January 20

UW vs. USC Football Game Viewing Party Hosted by the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity

GO-MAP’s Getting Connected

LEAP Benefit Gala & Dance: ‘Building DREAMs’

History Lecture Series Event Featuring Quintard Taylor—Seattle Stories: People, Politics and Place

Where: Tap House Grill, 1506 6th Ave, Seattle When: Doors open 5:30 p.m. / Kickoff 6 p.m. For more information or to RSVP, email cpromad@uw.edu

Where: UW Club When: 7 p.m. Don’t miss GO-MAP’s signature event! Alumni are especially welcome at this reception for graduate students of color. Join us for good food and great company. RSVP: gomap@uw.edu

Where: HUB Ballroom When: Reception 5:30 p.m. / Dinner 6:30 p.m. / Dance 8:30 p.m. Support the Latino/a Educational Achievement Project at this benefit featuring food, dancing and special guests Dr. Loco’s Rockin’ Jalepeño Band!

Where: Kane Hall 130, UW Seattle When: 7:30 p.m.

the story of diversity at the UW

Telling the Story of Diversity at the University of Washington

4333 Brooklyn Ave NE Campus Box 359508 Seattle, WA 98195

MAP

Bridging the Gap Breakfast Saturday, October 17, 8 a.m., HUB Ballroom

Join us on Homecoming Saturday as we honor two alumni and two community leaders, along with five scholarship recipients. Proceeds from the breakfast benefit student scholarships.

Tomio Moriguchi, ’61

Dr. Margaret Burnley-Spearmon, ’99

Sen. John R. McCoy

n DR. SAMUEL E. KELLY AWARD

n DISTINGUISHED COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARDS

Tomio Moriguchi, ’61, has led Uwajimaya, Inc.—founded by his Japanese immigrant parents in 1928—for over four decades. Among his numerous roles as a civic leader, he has assumed presidential duties for the Seattle chapter of the Japanese American Citizens’ League, the Japan America Society of Washington, and the Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority. He took a leading role in establishing Nikkei Concerns, a non-profit organization that serves Seattle’s Asian American senior citizens. Moriguchi was previously honored as the Nisei of the Bienium by the Japanese American Citizens’ League, and was cited by the Emperor of Japan.

Estela Ortega is the executive director of the thriving organization she helped found, El Centro de la Raza, the prominent civil rights, human services, educational, cultural and economic development organization housed in the restored school building atop Beacon Hill. She has built coalitions, engaged in political advocacy and strategic development, and was long recognized as one of El Centro’s most effective leaders before being named its executive director in 2009. She is leading the development of Plaza Roberto Maestas, a $45 million affordable housing project to be completed by the summer of 2016, situated next to the historic El Centro de la Raza building.

n DISTINGUISHED ALUMNA AWARD

UWalum.com/map

Estela Ortega

Dr. Margaret Burnley-Spearmon, ’99, has been relentless in her efforts to recruit, mentor, train, and support all students who desire a first-class educational opportunity at the UW. Currently the Associate Dean of Professional Development and Community Partnerships and a Senior Lecturer in the UW School of Social Work, she oversees admissions and student-services activities, partnerships between the school and communities, and the development of continuing education opportunities. Since 2007 she has been a director on the National Court Appointed Special Advocate Board, and was recently licensed as minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Sen. John R. McCoy served in the United States Air Force for 20 years, and later worked in the White House as a computer technician. After returning to his home state, he helped bring the Tulalip Tribe, of which he is a member, into the digital world, and was instrumental in the development of the Quil Ceda Village Business Park. In the Senate since 2013, he represents the 38th Legislative District and is the ranking member on the Environment, Energy, and Telecommunication Committee. His current priorities are farm worker housing, expanding broadband to rural areas across the state, protecting the environment, and increasing services to those with disabilities and mental illness. He is now the only self-identified American Indian in the State Senate.