 |
Spring comes to campus.
Photo by Tricia Schug. |
The Freshmen are coming!
Your world is about to change.
Faculty and staff can prepare for the transition through an information-packed workshop March 30 - 31.
They're coming. And you best be prepared.
It's like planting a garden in your living room and waiting for the sprouts to pop up, except that for UW Tacoma, one day soon, we'll suddenly have about 160 full-grown (more-or-less) 18-year-olds on campus for their first-ever college experience.
That's right. The average age of our freshmen class is expected to be 18.1. College will be a totally new experience for most of them. And that's new for us: our students have always been seasoned by another institution before arriving. Freshmen will have unique needs, expectations and desires from those of the older students we have been serving the last 15 years.
Serious help is on the way to help faculty and staff prepare. So make the time, March 30-31, for a series of presentations and workshops, featuring a wide range of experts, including some members of UW Seattle and UW Tacoma's faculty and staff. You can learn about things like the biopsychosocial development of 18- and 19-year-olds, generational trends and diversity in advising and co-curricular activities, diversity in the classroom and curriculum, integration of first-year students with transfer students, campus relationships and mental health concerns, communication with parents, co-curricular learning opportunities for first-year students, advising first-year students and more.
Jean Henschied, a nationally recognized expert on classroom and campus development of first-year student programs, will be on hand to discuss what to expect in implementing and supporting general education curriculum and how to take an integrative view of the four-year curriculum.
Staff and faculty are asked to sign up for one or two workshops planned for March 30, from 2-4 p.m. Register by sending an e-mail to Shanna Kinzel at skinzel@u.washington.edu by 5 p.m. on March 23.
For a more detailed schedule of lectures and workshops, go to www.tacoma.washington.edu/uwtfuture/building.cfm.
Piecing together history: quilts track Underground Railroad to today
Follow the bear's path to the crossroads and take along plenty of food. This may not mean much to us today, but at one time directions like these, stitched into colorful quilt patterns, guided slaves through the Underground Railroad to freedom in the north.
 |
Marcia Monroe, UWT Library, stands with a portrait of Faith Ringgold before a table heaped with the many quilts on display this month at the library. The portrait was painted by the son of Dana Clark, Media Services.
Photo by Tricia Schug.
|
A replica of an Underground Railroad quilt is on display at the UW Tacoma Library, now through March 31. On loan from Stephen T. Wilson, faculty at UW Seattle, the quilt provides a vivid example of patterns called "wagon wheel," "bear's paw," "monkey wrench," and more.
This quilt is one of many on display in an exhibit called "Quilts: Storytellers, History Keepers," coordinated by Marcia Monroe, library technician lead. Ms. Freddie Smith, African American artist and quilter from Tacoma, loaned several of her quilts for the exhibit, and UWT faculty and staff also contributed their own creations. All together, the exhibit provides a rich and colorful example of the many ways quilting was used historically and how it is used today. The library exhibit also includes the stories behind each creation. One quilt, for example is a family heirloom from a Swedish grandmother, while another includes the inter-weaving of fabric received from friends.
Exhibitors from UW Tacoma are:
• Karen Landenburger, associate professor, Nursing;
• Nita McKinley, assistant professor, IAS, and daughter Francie Nevill; • Kjersti Johnson, UW graduate student and UWT reference staff;
• Gwen Lewis, library technician lead;
• Dana Clark, supervisor, Media Services, and mother Marjorie and son Jason painted portrait of Faith Ringgold.
What began as research for an exhibit on Harriet Tubman, led Monroe in a different direction, to references about quilt codes and a book detailing this code called Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad , based on the oral history of Ozella McDaniel, a descendant of slaves.
"It's interesting to me how this talent was used to guide the slaves north," says Monroe. "Quilting touched so many lives, and it's something that continues today. There are so many ways to use quilts - to tell your family history, to give a gift to someone who's sick, as a way to pass on family traditions, or just to relax."
Because of the number of quilts offered for display, the library is rotating quilts on a weekly basis. Stop by and check out all three cases of quilts. The library is open Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Fridays, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and weekends, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Caption: This quilt shows the many symbols that were likely used to direct slaves through the Underground Railroad to freedom in the north. On display until March 31, this quilt was lent to the library by UW Seattle faculty Stephen Wilson.
Photo by Tricia Schug.
Legislature approves $4 million for UW Tacoma expansion
UW Tacoma will continue to expand over the next year, thanks to the legislature and a highly supportive community. The state's final Capital Budget includes $4 million for site acquisition that will allow UW Tacoma to purchase a property that might otherwise have been sold to a developer intent on establishing condos. That would make the property difficult to acquire in the future. Another property is expected to be available within the next year.
"The legislature wanted to limit the amount of capital funds spent during the supplemental session, so a $4 million allocation is significant," says Mike Wark, director of Public Relations and Communications. "The community really rallied to make the case for this funding and that kind of support helps our local legislators get these kinds of things done."
The Executive Council for a Greater Tacoma, an organization of corporate and civic leaders, was very active in their support of the request. The Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce, City of Tacoma, County Council and many other community leaders also helped make the case.
"Our legislative delegation was tremendous this session and we very much appreciate their support," says Chancellor Patricia Spakes. "We are fortunate to have such strong support for our continued growth."
The supplemental session is designed to make adjustments to the two-year budget passed during the previous year's legislative session. The idea is that legislators use this additional money to address mostly urgent or emergent needs.
"We are celebrating our success this year, but we are already beginning to plan for next year, when we will be seeking funds to sustain our lower-division program and gain support for new construction as projections tell us we'll run out of space in 2008," says Spakes.
The HEC Board had requested 25 additional lower-division FTE for UW Tacoma for autumn 2006, but that was not funded. UW Tacoma also did not receive $750,000 requested to repair the roof and shore up the foundation of the Joy Building, which connects to the north wall of the West Coast Grocery Building.
"Overall, UW Tacoma did very well in this year's legislative session. We have much to be thankful for," says Wark.
2006 Distinguished Teaching Award goes to Cheryl Greengrove
Cheryl Greengrove's enthusiasm for science can spread faster than bacteria in a petri dish. With the right conditions and some nurturing, she makes science compelling and relevant even to the most non-scientific student.
It is this skill, among her many others, that earned her UW Tacoma's Distinguished Teaching Award for 2006. Chancellor Patricia Spakes announced the award on March 7.
"It just made my whole year, it really did," said Greengrove, associate professor and coordinator, Environmental Sciences Program. "It's the one award that means more to me than anything else...to be recognized for doing something you love and doing it well is great."
She said she was astounded to have been chosen. "There were so many great people nominated this year," she said. "Across campus as a whole we have some amazing teachers here. In fact, that's our strong suit at UWT."
Students who nominated Dr. Greengrove said her exceptional commitment to science and teaching has been instrumental to the success of the Environmental Sciences Program.
"The goals for the program are always to create opportunities and pathways to provide a solid science foundation for students at all levels, from those getting a B.S. in environmental science to non-majors," she said. "Not everyone will be a scientist. We (science teachers) want to make better-educated citizens."
For students who do follow a scientific path through UW Tacoma, Greengrove creates diverse learning opportunities and hands-on experience. In recent years, she has helped develop opportunities for students to perform marine field research aboard ships, and to present their findings at local meetings, UW undergraduate research symposia, Puget Sound research conferences and national ocean sciences meetings.
Her own work as a physical oceanographer has led her most recently to study harmful algal blooms in Puget Sound waters as part of a project with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This project helps students gain valuable research experience to prepare them for graduate school or future employment in environmental fields.
In addition to her science work, Cheryl is also involved in many UW Tacoma committees. She spent hundreds of hours providing leadership in the design of the UW Tacoma's new Science Building. And she currently chairs two faculty search committees and serves on three others.
"Life's too short to not do something you love," she said. "And how often to you get to build a university? It is never, ever dull around here."
Brandon Waltz' Around the World on exhibit at the UWT Gallery, through April 7
People and stories often neglected by mainstream media are the focus of Brandon Waltz' Around the World , on exhibit through April 7, in the UW Tacoma Gallery. Creating his own movie stills of fictitious films, Waltz incorporates his vision for an inclusive cinematography that values diversity of culture and story. Around the World is the first solo exhibition of this UW Tacoma graduate, who now lives in Boston. The Gallery is located at 1742 Pacific Ave., and is open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1-4 p.m., and Fridays from 1-5 p.m.
International Programs accepting scholarship applications
UW Tacoma International Programs is accepting applications for $500 scholarships from UWT students participating in one of the university's Summer 2006 study abroad programs. These programs are: England--Geology, Holland--Urban Field Experience, Mexico--Spanish, and Norway--Social Welfare. Deadline for scholarship applications is April 1. All study abroad programs are still accepting applications. Call Kim Davenport, Urban Studies, at (253) 692-4527 for more information, or go to www.tacoma.washington.edu/travel/.
Spot UW Tacoma billboards, win a couple of lattes
Keep an eye out around the South Sound for new billboards advertising UW Tacoma and UWT's Computing and Software Systems program. Eighteen of them are now posted throughout the area. The first person to call us at 692-4536 with three exact locations of these billboards wins a $5 Starbucks card and your photo in Inside Track . Can you name the person holding the diploma?
Billboards advertising UW Tacoma and the Institute of Technology.
Faculty
and Staff Notes
Maria Trujillo has been hired as a program assistant in IAS.
Administrative
Snapshot: A look at issues and projects at UWT
If
you are working on a project of interest to the UWT community,
tell us about it at uwtnews@u.washington.edu.
Choose
a topic:
|
