Telling the Story of Diversity at the University of Washington / Spring 2016
S PECI A L GU E ST E D IT O R I SSUE
Then &Now Alumni share their stories with current students
SPRING 2016
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
3 Guest Editor 4 Then & Now 12 Calendar 13 Lummi Nation 14 Race & Equity 15 Sharon Parker 16 Odegaard Award
The
VIEWPOINT Interview
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S WE REACH THE one-year mark of President Ana Mari Cauce’s launch of the UW Race & Equity Initiative, it is exciting to see all the great work that is taking place on campus. Ensuring that all students have access to a rich and meaningful Husky Experience is also at the forefront of these efforts. Given my lengthy career working with students in the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity, I am often asked to reflect on my own undergraduate experience. One of my regrets is not being able to conduct research or study abroad. So today, my passion is making
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On The Cover Same quad, different year. A 1982 campus photo by Joe Freeman gets updated with Joe Santiago’s, ’15, images of current students. Photo composite by Ken Shafer.
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F YO U H AV E E V E R visited Mary Gates Hall on the UW campus, you may have seen a poster right by the elevator in the lobby. It tells the story of “Blocked Out,” a small but mighty monument that sits along the walk between Mary Gates Hall and Suzzallo Library. A little over a decade ago, two brilliant student activists, Jaebadiah Gardner and Sumona Das Gupta moved heaven and earth to make this happen—a monument described in a September 2005 Columns article as “a pedestal. But this one is unoccupied, a granite block with bare foot-
V I E W P O I N T : : U Wa l u m . c o m / v i e w p o i n t
sure our students can take advantage of these opportunities. I also encourage students to seek out mentorship, an idea that is often understated. Mentors might be a faculty or staff member. Maybe even a peer. Alumni can also play a very important role here. They have walked in our students’ shoes. They have experienced some of the same challenges and because of that, have a great deal of wisdom to offer—like those featured in this special issue of Viewpoint. When I think about outstanding alumni mentors, our 2016 Charles E. Odegaard Award recipient comes to mind
as well. United States District Court Judge Richard A. Jones, ’75, has devoted much of his professional life to giving back in this capacity. I would also like to thank guest editor Bryan Monroe, ’87, for lending his journalistic expertise to this issue. We greatly value the ways in which our alumni engage with us and support our students, especially students of color. Alumni serve as role models, they serve as inspiration. This is why their knowledge and guidance can make such an enduring impact.
prints carved on top. The stone circle at its base appears to be shattered, as though the block has fallen on it. From the circle’s perimeter, the grass ripples over a series of concentric wave-like berms.” Fast forward a decade, and these brilliant students are now Jaebadiah Gardner, ’05, and Sumona Das Gupta, ’06, ’09—and are members of the MAP board. Jaebadiah is now vice president of MAP. Many of the names of the past are no longer part of MAP, but we have been blessed with the arrival of the best of the next generations on our Board—Ross Braine,
’09, ’15; Lovely Domingo, ’07; Donny Mateaki, ’06; Dominique Meeks, ’16; and Freddy Mora, ’14, ’16—those like Jaebadiah and Sumona who have already changed the course of the UW, and will continue to do so. At the 21st Annual Bridging the Gap Breakfast last October, Del Hazeley, ’13, tweeted about the event, “Excited to be a part of @UW_MAP’s coming of age at the #MAPBreakfast21.” MAP is moving boldly into the future with no turning back. See you at #MAPBreakfast22, on October 22!
Gabriel Gallardo ’89, ’93, ’00 Interim Vice President for Minority Affairs & Vice Provost for Diversity
AN I L KAPaHI
In This Issue
DENNIS WIS E
points of view
Rev. Jason Boyd Multicultural Alumni Partnership President
Guest Editor Bryan Monroe FOUNDED 2004
in partnership with the UW Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity
4311 11th Ave. NE, Suite 220 Box 354989 Seattle, WA 98195-4989 Phone: 206-543-0540 Fax: 206-685-0611 Email: vwpoint@uw.edu Viewpoint on the Web: UWalum.com/viewpoint
viewpoint STA F F Paul Rucker P U B LIS HER
Jon Marmor EDIT OR
Hannelore Sudermann
NOT BAD FOR A KID FROM THE DAILY. When I was asked to become the guest editor for this issue of Viewpoint, I was both honored and confused. Me? The pesky kid from Clover Park High School in Lakewood who used to run around Red Square with a camera? The first AfricanAmerican editor-in-chief of The Daily who in 1987 would stay up past midnight with my team putting the student publication to bed? Sure, I’ve gone on to help lead the team at the Biloxi (Miss.) Sun Herald that won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize Gold Medal for Public Service for our coverage of Hurricane Katrina. And I was fortunate enough to land the first print interview with President-elect Barack Obama in 2008, as well as the last interview with pop king Michael Jackson before he died. I’ve been the editor-in-chief of Ebony and Jet magazines in Chicago, was the 16th President of the National Association of Black Journalists, and was the editor of CNN Politics digital in Washington, D.C. But there is no doubt none of that would have been possible if I wasn’t first a UW Husky. So, in this issue of Viewpoint, you’ll get a glimpse into the lives of a few extremely successful Husky alumni, and learn about their journeys from “Then” to “Now.” COURTESY B RYA N M ON ROE
Published by the UW Alumni Association
MA N A GING EDITOR
Ken Shafer A R T DIRECT OR
Erin Rowley LI A I S O N T O OFFICE OF MI N O RIT Y AFFAIRS & DIVERS ITY
Feature Story
Then &Now
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
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
Rhonda Smith, ’02 Associate Director for Major Gifts Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity
You’ll learn about Mike Gilmore, ’87, ’12, one of the most talented illustrators, animators and artists to come out of room 144 in the Communications building. It was Mike who, on April 28, 1987, after UW student Benjamin Linder became the first American civilian killed by U.S.backed Nicaraguan Contras, created what became one of the very first informational graphics on his Macintosh Plus computer (Remember the black and white one with the tiny 9-inch screen and MacDraw?). He is now one of the leading visual minds behind many of Microsoft’s best user interfaces. And to think, we used to play poker at The Daily. You’ll be inspired by Karen Lee, ’94, JD, the former head of the UW Alumni Association who went from being a West Point graduate (but we won’t hold that against her) and officer in the Army to commissioner of the Washington State Employment Security Department, and then to become the CEO of one of Seattle’s top manufacturing companies, Pioneer Human Services. But decades back, she, like I, used to do battle with the resolute UW parking enforcement officers. They would usually win. Or Rod Mar, ’86, who went from being in the Husky Marching Band to landing what is easily the sweetest gig in modern photojournalism—team photographer for the Seattle Seahawks. And no, he can’t hook you up with a press pass. And you’ll get to see how current UW students like Ashley Walls, Joe Santiago, Reem Sabha and Benjamin Pennant get to interact with these distinguished alumni, discovering their secrets and how the UW formed the foundation for their successes today. Please enjoy their stories and share yours at washington.edu/alumni/viewpoint-magazine. I’m sure you’ll inspire that next generation, too. t—Bryan Monroe, BA, ’87, is an award-winning journalist, commentator and educator. He is currently the Verizon Chair and professor at Temple University. He can be reached at bryan.monroe@temple.edu. the story of diversity at the UW
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Then & Now
Feature Story No. 1
Marleen Martinez Sundgaard, ’06 Systems Engineer, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
INTERVIEWED BY
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Benjamin Pennant a senior majoring in aeronautical and astronautical engineering
arleen Sundgaard grew up in Warden,
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joe santiago
Marleen, what does your current job entail? I am formally a flight systems test engineer for GRACE, or the Gravity Recovery Climate Experiment, which measures precisely the gravity of Earth in order to determine its changing mass (due to ice caps melting). This is done with a network of two satellites using lasers and radio frequency and is a joint venture between NASA & the German space agency, the DLR. I am also part of the NASA Engineering Safety Center, or NESC, which is virtually an oversight group in which experts from myriad tech areas make sure new projects do not have holes and are all cohesive. Did you feel ready leaving the University? In short, yes. I had multiple offers, and accepted Lockheed because my best friend moved to San Francisco, where the job was. I also wanted a spacebased project. Having been on four internships, I was just excited to finally make money. What do you wish you knew when you were a student? You will never use engineering the way you do in class, no equations, and almost no math. But it could be good that I didn’t know that because I might not have studied as hard. I do use circuits and some other concepts so although I don’t necessarily employ certain equations, I understand more. If you weren’t a systems engineer at NASA, what would you be doing now? My backup jobs: astronaut or tugboat captain. Female tugboat captains get paid bank. I have a framed rejection letter from astronaut corps as a reminder that it is not over yet, to keep trying. Tell me something that you did at the UW that your family wouldn’t believe. I jumped into Drumheller Fountain.
manuello paganelli
Washington. She came from an immigrant farmworker family, so at 13 years old, she was working in sugar beet and potato fields (when she was not in school). Later in life, she learned the illness she had been struggling with was Tourette syndrome. She said this challenge is the reason she studied so hard. Marleen’s experience at the UW was pretty unlike mine: She started as a freshman, I, as a junior; she had time for lots of extracurriculars, I only participate in Kayak Club … on occasion; she had several internships, I had none. Nonetheless, I think both of us feel adequately prepared to embark on whatever type of work we want to do. I would love to do as she has, being a flight test engineer for some space vehicles, in particular, writing scripts and software for the systems testing. The whole interview was impactful! I had a lot of fun doing it, and am grateful for the opportunity. I only regret that my notes cannot fully capture her story.—Benjamin Pennant
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Husky alum
MARLEEN MARTINEZ SUNDGAARD
h BENJAMIN PENNANT is a senior majoring in aeronautical and astronautical engineering. Originally from Connecticut, he was one of the youngest children in a large family. Watching his parents struggle in an economic downturn, even going into foreclosure, he learned early
that hard work and a clear plan were central to achieving his goals. For financial reasons he had to delay his education after high school. Moving to Washington, he landed a job as an expediter at the Canlis Restaurant, enrolled in community college and started working his way into
engineering at the UW. His affinity for mathematics and space pushed him to become an aerospace engineer. He plans to work in the restaurant industry until he can match up with a job in the aerospace industry. He’s also focused on a graduate certificate program in software development.
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Then & Now
Feature Story No. 2
Rod Mar, ’86 Photographer, Seattle Seahawks
INTERVIEWED BY
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Joe Santiago, ’15 a recent graduate, Interdisciplanary Visual Arts
od has had a long career as a photographer.
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joe santiago
Rod, tell me about your student experience. I have such great memories of my time at the UW because I was in the Husky Marching Band. I was doing that and then I was photographing games. I tutored student athletes. I went to two Rose Bowls and an Orange Bowl in the ’80s. Being in the marching band, you came in as a freshman to a campus of 30,000 people and you were in a group already. School hadn’t even started and you had 144 friends. What at the UW put you on the track for where you are now? Building a network, but also being open to possibilities. I never closed myself off from anything. “Come shoot a basketball game,” or, you know, “come explore sports photography.” I thought, “Sure.” “Hey, take an internship even though it’s in writing when you’re trying to be a photographer.” “Sure. It could be a great experience.” I also learned to be open when someone was willing to mentor me. And developing that relationship and accepting that, wow, this guy really wants to help me. He thinks I can be good. What one thing do you wish you had done while at the UW? Looking back, I wish I had taken business classes or even pursued a business major. I’m self-employed now; it’s like I run my own company. I wish I had better business knowledge. But that said, I think the English degree got me to where I am. It gave me a really well-rounded education. Tell me about some of those connections or influences. I have a number of great friends that I worked with at The Daily. And then I played on an intramural softball team called the Widowmakers. The guys on this team are so successful. Jim Caple’s a senior writer at ESPN. Chip Lydum is an associate athletic director at the UW. Luke Esser was a former state senator and former head of the Washington state Republican Party. Dan Little is the CIO of Nordstrom. And Sally Clark [UW director of regional and community relations], who I worked with at The Daily, was a city councilperson forever. I mean, they all have, like, insane careers. If you weren’t a photographer, what would you be doing now? If I ended up teaching high school, I would’ve loved it.
R OB ERT HAN ASHIR O
As I am now using photography as a source of income, I was really excited to get to meet him. We talked a lot about how photography wasn’t necessarily his first career choice, but that he was open to all possibilities. At first he was thinking of becoming a teacher and actually got his master’s certificate. But after graduation, he got into journalism, first working for a fan-type sports publication, then The Seattle Times, and then running his own photography business. I was really surprised to find that we also had the Husky Marching Band in common.—Joe Santiago
h Husky alum
ROD MAR
h JOE SANTIAGO is the beneficiary of his father’s love of photography, and had access to his photo gear throughout college. When he came to the UW, he was definitely interested in exploring his creative side. One course assignment was to take a camera and play with
color and composition. The camera stuck with him. He found he enjoys capturing moments and memories for posterity. Now he’s trying to decide whether to pursue a career in photography.
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Then & Now
Feature Story No. 3
Karen Lee, ’94, JD CEO of Pioneer Human Services
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INTERVIEWED BY Ashley Walls a senior majoring in journalism
ne element of Karen’s story that particularly
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joe santiago
Karen, what would you say has been a highlight of your experience? Attending the UW Law School [after graduating from West Point and serving in the military], I can remember just wanting to live in the Northwest, wanting to come home and be near my family. When I decided to go to graduate school at UW that really propelled my life forward. Was there anything that you wish you had done here? I definitely wish I had gotten my MBA, and one of my goals is to go back and do that. I do think that I got a full university student experience. I wish I had gotten to know some of my classmates better. Was there anything you wish you hadn’t done? I had a lot of parking tickets! I love interacting with our clients at PHS. They all think that we’re perfect because we haven’t been to prison, but we always tell them that we all make mistakes in life. I often talk about my tickets. I don’t know why, but I refused to buy a parking pass. When I graduated, I bet I had $100 in parking tickets. And I didn’t pay them right away. It comes up later like when you go to buy a house and these parking fines from UW are still there. Did you do anything at UW that your family wouldn’t believe? Other than parking illegally everyday for two years? I had class at Condon Hall and then at the business school with only an 8-minute gap—and my backpack weighed probably 30 pounds. I remember tearing out of Condon Hall and running because you couldn’t be late. I was in the best shape of my life. What is one of your memories from UW? My favorite memory was when that bill passed that gave funding for health insurance for TAs and RAs. I can’t remember quite how we did it, but I believe it became a budget line item that the University had, and now it’s built into the main University budget. Where do you think you would have ended up if not at Pioneer? I hope I would be at a nonprofit. I really love nonprofit leadership, particularly social enterprise. That’s exactly what I studied. The focus was on how you can affect the lives of the less fortunate through the legal system and through offering services and employment opportunities. UW was tremendous in helping me do the things I wanted to do right here in Washington.
MATT HAGEN
resonated with me was her family’s military background and her time spent in the Army. Both her father and mine served in the Vietnam War, and having a family member with similar experiences definitely creates a unique bond. It makes the world feel a bit smaller! It was wonderful to be able to speak with someone so passionate about giving back to the community [she heads a Seattle-based company that helps people with job training, placement, intervention, treatment, housing and reentry services]. Karen’s points about the importance of the relationships you make while at the University could not be truer.—Ashley Walls
h Husky alum
KAREN LEE
h ASHLEY WALLS, who graduates this spring, is studying journalism with a minor in Gender, Women’s and Sexuality studies. She has interned at The Seattle Times and King 5 Television and aspires to be a community relations director for a professional sports team. In this
capacity, she would help teams and nonprofit organizations come together for partnerships and projects, and help athletes manage their own charities and foundations that are focused on giving back to the community.
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Then & Now
Feature Story No. 4
Mike Gilmore, ’87, ’12 Senior User Experience Designer, Microsoft
INTERVIEWED BY
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Reem Sabha a junior majoring in economics
side from The Daily and a wanderlust, Mike
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joe santiago
Mike, tell me about your experience at the UW. I wasn’t a very disciplined student. I just wasn’t very serious about it. I even left school for a couple of years to get my act together. The general studies major allowed me to focus on film, and I landed an internship at a documentary studio in Seattle, made a lot of films and was exposed to people in the industry. The Daily was one of the best things that happened to me outside of the classroom. I met friends there that I still know. I would stop by The Daily after class and get an assignment to make a drawing for the next day’s issue. I learned so much about thinking fast and conceptualizing and meeting a deadline. I probably learned more about things that I use every day as a professional designer through that experience. And I paid my rent that way. What do you wish you knew as a student? I wish I knew that you don’t have to plan everything out. Life is a marathon, not a sprint. Careers can be a marathon. Being young is a good time to try different things. If you weren’t in your current career, what would you be doing now? If I didn’t have to worry about making a living, I would love to be doing experimental animated film—just for fun and to share with others. When I retire, that’s what I hope to be able to do. What did you wish you had done at the UW? There’s always a part of me that wishes I had pursued a standard communications/design degree. For a long time, I didn’t feel my general studies degree was legitimate. I felt a void. That’s one of the things that motivated me to go back to school and complete a graduate degree [in Human Centered Design and Engineering]. I wish I had gone out and enjoyed more of the live music in Seattle, like Soundgarden, Green River and The Melvins in their early years.
joe santiago
and I share an appreciation for art. He did a lot of drawings for The Daily and pursued animation at the UW, and then went to Japan where he worked for a magazine about Japan and culture. In high school, I took a lot of art classes to balance out my AP courses. Having that different side to my academic experience really gave me a perspective about what knowledge is and how to think creatively. Mike’s advice to be open to all the possibilities out there is very useful. I shouldn’t worry if my plans change because college is the time to experiment and learn. It’s reassuring to know that highly-successful people often never would have thought they would end up where they did. I also thought that Mike’s ability to blend his personal interest in animation into his career is awesome (for lack of a better word). —Reem Sabha
h Husky alum
MIKE GILMORE
h REEM SABHA, an honors student, may be slightly more focused as an undergrad, but like Gilmore, she is trying out a variety of experiences, including traveling abroad and contributing to The Daily. She recently wrote an opinion piece for the student newspaper on the reac-
tion to the terrorist attacks in Paris last November. Like Gilmore, Reem is pursuing her eclectic interests which include collecting postcards, macroeconomics, and 20th century history. She hopes one day to travel to every country on her very long bucket list.Â
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event
calendar
Understanding and Legitimizing How Indigenous Children Learn Wed. April 20, 2016 | 7:30 p.m. | Kane Hall 130, UW Campus Stephanie Fryberg, UW professor, and Barbara Rogoff of UC Santa Cruz The way we learn is shaped by our culture. For indigenous children, there is often a mismatch between their culture and the classroom. In two lectures, Fryberg and Rogoff examine indigenous children’s approaches to learning and how educators can create a more supportive academic environment. This evening is part of the Connecting the Dots Between Research and the Community series, where a UW Psychology professor partners with a visiting colleague to tell the story of how their research is addressing some of society’s biggest challenges. An Allen L. Edwards Psychology Lecture.
From Migrant Work to Community Activism: The Impact of a Public Health Education Wed. April 27, 2016 | 7:30 p.m. | Kane Hall 120, UW Campus Rogelio Riojas, ’73, ’75, MHA ’77, UW Regent President and CEO of Sea Mar Community Health Centers The first in his family to finish high school and earn a college degree, Rogelio Riojas has spent nearly four decades working to ensure the well-being of communities around the region. Riojas will share his inspiring story and discuss his work fighting for the rights of the poor and underserved. A School of Public Health Distinguished Alumni Lecture.
I’m Coming Out: Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in the U.S. Wed. May 18, 2016 | 7:30 p.m. | Kane Hall, UW Campus Marieka M. Klawitter Professor of Public Policy and Governance, Evans School of Public Policy and Governance Klawitter explores the triumphs and setbacks in the struggle for LGBTQ equality, and how attitudes, acceptance and the law have impacted life for families and the workplace in the decades following the Stonewall riots of 1969.
GO-MAP’s Spring Soirée Thur. May 26, 2016 | 6:30 p.m. | The Landing at Northcut RSVP to gomap@uw.edu
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Presidential Visit to the Lummi Nation
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L ummi Nation
The Lummi are members of the Coast Salish ethnolinguistic group. The third largest tribe in Washington, the Lummi Nation serves over 5,000 members. The tribe manages nearly 13,000 acres of tidelands in Whatcom County.
LUMM I CO MMUNI CATI ON S
By Erin Rowley
President Ana Mari Cauce
H E N U N I V E R S I T Y O F WA S H I N G T O N P R E S I D E N T
Ana Mari Cauce paid a special visit to the Lummi Nation near Bellingham, on Feb. 12, it marked the first UW presidential visit to a tribal nation in almost 20 years. Cauce, who was named to the permanent presidency in October, met with Lummi Nation Tribal Chairman Tim Ballew II and other tribal leaders. Some of the discussion focused on how the University can broaden the college pipeline for American Indian and Alaska Native students who live on reservations, especially those from the Lummi Nation. Chairman Ballew also led Cauce, along with UW staff and two students, on a tour through the reservation which included stops at the shellfish hatchery, the Lummi Nation Early Learning Center and Northwest Indian College. The visit was coordinated through UW Tribal Liaison Iisaaksiichaa Ross Braine. “We appreciate that the president made time to come up and also bring staff members to see some of the things that the government is doing here at the tribe, as well as some of the current partnerships that the UW has with Northwest Indian College,” Ballew said. About the President Among those partnerships is a collaboration between the UW, Northwest Indian Ana Mari Cauce is the first College, Western Washington University and the Center for Coastal Margin Observation and Prediction that launched an oceanographic observing buoy in BellingLatina and first woman to ham Bay. Students from all three institutions are working closely on the project. be named to the permanent The two UW Lummi students who accompanied Cauce and staff on the visit were position of president of the senior Sharayah Lane and sophomore Kaya Warrior. Both are student ambassadors University of Washington. for the Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity Multicultural Outreach and RecruitShe is a professor of psycholment Team and work with prospective American Indian and Alaska Native students. ogy and American ethnic “Since becoming a student ambassador at the UW, I’ve been a huge advocate for studies, and maintains an focusing on Native students on the reservation,” said Lane. “The odds are so much active research program more against them for getting to college. Their needs are very different and need a focusing on adolescent different focus, and a lot more work for sure.” development, with an emThe last UW president to visit a tribal nation was Richard McCormick who did so during a bus tour of the state during the late 1990’s. phasis on at-risk youth.
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Race &Equity By LEILANI LEWIS
One year has passed since University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce launched the UW Race & Equity Initiative to address race, equity and her desire to realize the university’s promise to be welcoming, inclusive and just. The initiative is a tri-campus effort aimed to bring social justice issues to the forefront and build upon the university’s commitment to diversity. The Initiative was established to focus on three main goals: enrich the personal experience of UW students, faculty and staff; address institutional bias; and engage with communities. Several activities have taken place around these goals since last April. A series of facilitated conversations has brought students together to engage in challenging dialogues about how race plays a role in their lives, as well as the lives of their peers. Moving forward, students will have the opportunity to serve as facilitators for these discussions. In addition, students (graduate and undergraduate) have been selected to join the Race & Equity Steering Committee where they will play an active role alongside UW leadership
in making strategic decisions under the Initiative. To address institutional bias, the Initiative is examining policies and practices related to diverse faculty and staff recruitment, hiring and retention. A staff hiring toolkit, a handbook of best practices for conducting faculty searches, and other guiding materials have already been developed and are being adopted by campus administration. Faculty-focused trainings like UW Tacoma’s Strengthening Educational Excellence with Diversity (SEED) is also an example of work being done to create more inclusive classrooms. Another aspect of the work focuses on engaging the community. The UW will initiate conversations with partners in King County, the City of Seattle and throughout the greater community in order to learn from history and best practices. The Initiative will continue collaborations across campuses and departments to create opportunities for student involvement, as well as faculty and staff support for undoing institutional bias. “As we look ahead, we recognize that there is more we must do to achieve the goals of the initiative,” says Ed Taylor, chair of the Initiative steering committee and vice provost and dean of Undergraduate Academic Affairs. “However, we are poised to advance this work alongside students, alumni, schools, colleges, centers, partners and everyone who engages with the UW community to bring about positive change on campus.”
At a UW race and equity conversation, students and administrators engage in dialogue about changes they would like to see on campus.
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Visit the website for Race & Equity at the UW to find initiative-related resources, milestones, current projects and upcoming events: uw.edu/raceequity
THE VIEWPOINT INTERVIEW:
Sharon Parker
CULTIVATING INCLUSIVITY IN TACOMA B Y R O B E R T DA NI E L R U BI N
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ROWING UP IN AN ETHNICALLY BLENDED FAMILY IN THE MULTICULTURAL
environs of Washington, D.C., Sharon Parker was always attentive to diversity. Then in college studying foreign languages including Slavic languages and Spanish, she acquired a “unique view into the architecture of the world,” she says, including how various peoples understand themselves and relate to the wider world. Cultivating fairness and inclusivity in this wider world became Parker’s passion. In 1981, it inspired her to help found the National Institute for Women of Color to build a network for women of different heritages and provide them a voice in making public policy. That passion remains a guiding force in her 35-year career. With her arrival at UW Tacoma in 2007, she took up the role of assistant chancellor for the Office of Equity and Diversity. Parker was drawn to the campus’s mission to “educate diverse learners.” She has since helped put in place courses and special programs designed to ensure that students, faculty and staff of all backgrounds and circumstances feel they belong on campus. She also oversees a resource center that offers workshops, programs and materials relating to age, class, disability, race, gender, sexual orientation and nationality. The campus’s wide cultural diversity demands that Parker’s office cultivate a commitment to diversity on campus as well as ensure an equitable environment for all the UW Tacoma community, not the least of which are the students. Creating equity lies not in giving certain groups “special breaks,” she says, but in seeing that each student gets the specific things she or he needs to succeed. The Student Success Mentoring Program pairs first-generation college students with established faculty and staff. The first in their families to attend college, these students can find the academic environment bewildering and overwhelming. The mentors help them transition to being at the University, guide them to learning and career planning resources, and help and encourage them to meet their goals. What pleases Parker most is how her office supports students and faculty in demonstrating their collective diversity. The programs include an annual Diversity Summit and a Symposium on Contemporary Native American Issues in Higher Education. Events include Muslim students hosting movies and speakers, and LGBTQ students taking part in a leadership conference. And two recently-hired American Indian and Alaska Native faculty helped create an American Indian Studies minor. While her major focus is diversity and equity on campus, Parker’s work and the programs of her office also reach into the Tacoma community. Parker celebrates UW Tacoma as “the diversity of the world, right here.” PHOTO BY ANIL KAPAHI the story of diversity at the UW
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Telling the Story of Diversity at the University of Washington
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COU RT ES Y RICH A RD A . JONES
CHARLES E. ODEGAARD AWARD RECIPIENTS
Richard A. Jones to receive Charles Odegaard Award By Erin Rowley THE HONORABLE RICHARD A. JONES, United States District Court Judge in Seattle and 1975 graduate of the UW School of Law, has been named the 2016 recipient of the University of Washington Charles E. Odegaard Award. The award will be presented at the 46th annual Celebration, Fête and Honors hosted by the UW Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity (OMA&D) and the Friends of the Educational Opportunity Program (FEOP) on Thursday, May 5. “Judge Jones’ work in the legal field, as well as his commitment to supporting and advancing the lives of youth of color in our community, is extraordinary,” said Gabriel Gallardo, UW interim vice president for minority affairs and vice provost for diversity. “He embodies the best of what it means to be a graduate of the University of Washington, and we look forward to celebrating his outstanding dedication to social justice, equity and educational opportunity.” Judge Jones has served in his current role since being appointed to the federal bench in 2007. Previously, he spent over
13 years as a King County Superior Court judge and 17 years as a practicing attorney with employment at the King County Prosecutor’s Office, Port of Seattle, the Seattle law firm of Bogle & Gates and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Highly regarded for his work, Judge Jones received Outstanding Judge Awards from the Washington State Bar Association, Washington State Trial Lawyers Association, Loren Miller Bar Association, Asian Bar Association of Washington State and King County Bar Association. He also served as a faculty member with the National Judicial College for 13 years. Judge Jones co-founded two Seattle-area law student programs, the Northwest Minority Job Fair and First Year Minority Clerkship Program. He has served on over 25 boards and committees including the National Center for Courts & Media and Washington State Bar Association Leadership Institute. He is on the national board of the YMCA and has served locally for over two decades as a board member with the YMCA of Greater Seattle. His efforts to give back to students in the community include participation in events with both the UW School of Law and OMA&D. Judge Jones received a bachelor’s degree in public affairs from Seattle University in 1972 prior to his law degree from the UW. He has also received a doctor of humane letters honorary degree from St. Martin’s University in 2008 and a doctor of laws honorary degree from Gonzaga University in 2010. Established in 1973, the Odegaard award honors individuals whose leadership in the community exemplifies the former UW president’s work on behalf of diversity. It is the only University and community-selected award, and is regarded as the highest achievement in diversity at the UW.
JOIN OMA&D ON MAY 5 FOR CELEBRATION 2016 WHERE: HUB Ballroom, UW Seattle campus TIME:
5 p.m. Reception | 6 p.m. Call to Dinner | 6:30 p.m. Program $125 REGISTER: washington.edu/omad/celebration CONTACT: Benjamin Williams / 206-685-9594 or biw2@uw.edu PRICE: