August
2004 • The monthly newsletter for UWT faculty and staff
IAS
professor joins Olympic television team
If
you tune in to the Bravo network to catch up on the Olympics this
month, you
may be watching a program with a strong UWT connection.
That's
because IAS Assistant Professor Bill Kunz and a recent UWT graduate
are working behind-the-scenes as part of NBC's Olympic team.
Kunz, a 20-year veteran of Olympic telecasts, will be producer
of a major daytime show on Bravo, part of the NBC family. He'll
work in the International Broadcast Center with hosts and venue
producers, making decisions on when and where the broadcast cuts
from one venue to another.
NBC
tapped Kunz for this Olympics based on his success producing similar
shows in the past for Turner Sports and ABC.
Kunz
convinced NBC to hire one of his students, Jen Reed, as a runner
for the show. Reed, a communications student who graduated in
June, applied for the position after Kunz announced the opening
in his classes last year. As a runner, she will earn valuable
experience in every aspect of broadcast media and will support
the entire show, Kunz said.
A
former senior producer for Turner Sports, Kunz worked on Olympics
telecasts with ABC's Wide World of Sports for about a decade.
With Turner, he was senior producer of the 1998 Goodwill Games
and oversaw the entire production of the 2000 and 2001 Goodwill
Games. Athens is his fifth Olympics; he also worked in Los Angeles
in 1984, Seoul, Korea in 1988, Atlanta in 1996 and Nagano, Japan
in 1998.
Kunz
is a three-time National Sports Emmy Award winner and 16-time
nominee, including individual nominations for writing. He teaches
communications.
Coverage
of the Olympics begins at 8 p.m. Friday with the opening ceremony.
Kunz' show will be broadcast on the Bravo cable network beginning
Saturday.
Japanese Language School coming down by early September
Oral
history project will commemorate JLS history
A
contract for demolition of what remains of the historic Japanese
Language School building in the 1700 block of Tacoma Avenue South
has been awarded to Unimark Construction Group of Seattle.
Under
terms of the contract, which allows work to begin the week of
Aug. 9, demolition must be completed within 30 days.
Acting
on its commitment to preserve and celebrate the heritage of the
building, UW Tacoma is planning to commemorate the school. As
part of this commemoration, two UWT professors are working on
an oral history project about the school that will be showcased
Oct. 15 with more than 30 other UW projects at the public kickoff
of UWT's capital campaign (see Administrative
Snapshot for more information).
>
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MORE
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| Taking a stand: Members of the Service Employees International Union Local 925 wave picket signs on Pacific in front of UWT at lunchtime Thursday. The union, which includes UWT classified staff, was demonstrating in favor of affordable health care and competitive wages. |
Carlton
building sold to Robersons
The
city of Tacoma sold the Carlton Center office building to local
developer Fred Roberson and his wife, Anne, in late July.
The
building, located just north of the UWT campus at 15th and Broadway,
was sold for $3.1 million cash.
Originally, the Robersons were going to pay a lesser amount for
the Carlton Center and arrange to donate it to the University
as part of their estate. UWT would have paid the final portion
of the sale price upon taking possession of the building. But
the details of the deal changed in the negotiation process, and
the Robersons purchased the building without the involvement of
UWT.
The
Robersons already own the Harmon building on Pacific Avenue.
“We
are pleased that the Robersons will own another building in the
vicinity of the campus,” said Carol Van Natta, Assistant
Chancellor for Advancement. “The Robersons have always been
tremendously supportive of UW Tacoma and its students.”
The
Robersons’ approach to readapting historic buildings is
consistent with UWT's vision for building a vibrant urban neighborhood.
UW Tacoma's practice of readapting historic buildings is widely
credited with fueling revitalization of the museum-education district.
“Fred
Roberson was a pioneer, one of the early private investors who
helped make the transformation of this part of downtown possible,”
Van Natta said. “The sale of the Carlton helps ensure that
the momentum will continue.”
The
purchase-and-sale agreement requires the city to provide the new
owners with 75 parking permits in the vicinity of the building
at $40 per month.
Advertising helps boost enrollment inquiries
A
UWT newspaper ad designed to clarify news about closed admissions
on the Seattle campus has generated dozens of inquiries from prospective
students.
The
ad, which stated that UWT still has spaces open and featured a
photo of admissions adviser Mandy Meinhardt, has prompted a number
of calls from people who want to know more. The ad ran in The
News Tribune, the Olympian and The Sun (in Bremerton).
“People
have been calling and asking, ‘Can I speak to Mandy?’”
said Dan García, executive director of the Office of Enrollment
Services and Student Affairs. “I think it’s really
generated some interest.”
An
Aug. 1 News Tribune article (“Universities Still Have Room”)
covered ads and other publicity by UWT and Central Washington
University designed to encourage disappointed UW Seattle applicants
to seek admission elsewhere. College officials were quoted as
saying enrollment at other Washington colleges and universities,
including UWT, may increase because of UW’s decision not
to accept new transfer students until at least next Spring.
The
September Project: 9-11 anniversary inspires international library
event
The
UWT library will participate in the September Project, an international
event intended to encourage people across the country and around
to world to come together at public places to discuss democracy,
citizenship and patriotism.
UW
Libraries, including the UW Tacoma library, will host exhibits
and activities from mid-September through October. UWT reference
librarian Justin Wadland is coordinating three UWT displays, one
on libraries under attack (in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as
in the United States), one on political cartoons drawn in response
to 9-11; and one on the Northwest Detention Center, a facility
located in Tacoma and managed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement,
the investigative bureau of the Department of Homeland Security.
>Learn
more about the September Project
Administrative
Snapshot: A look at issues and projects at UWT
If
you are working on something you think should be included here,
please contact Inside Track at uwtnews@u.washington.edu.
Choose
an issue/project:
Faculty
and staff notes
UWT
librarian to lead professional association
Carole Svensson has been elected vice president/president-elect
of the Association of Librarians of the University of Washington
for the 2004-2005 academic year. Svensson is head of Web Services
at the UW Tacoma library. Visit
the organization's Web site for more information.
