June
2004 • The monthly newsletter for UWT faculty and staff
Commencement honors UWT’s largest graduating class
 |
| Amy
Campbell, a bachelor of science in nursing recipient, waits
to take her seat at the 2004 Commencement ceremony Friday,
June 11 at the Tacoma Dome. |
Eight
hundred and fifty students, the largest graduating class ever,
were honored at the 14th annual commencement ceremony at 10 a.m.
Friday in the Tacoma Dome.
UWT
granted its first bachelor of arts degrees in social welfare to
24 students at the ceremony. Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial
cartoonist David Horsey delivered the commencement address.
At
the ceremony, Chancellor Steven Olswang observed a moment of silence
for the late President Ronald Reagan in recognition of the National
Day of Mourning.
UWT
now has nearly 5,800 alumni. The 850 degrees granted this year
went to a diverse array of graduates who include parents, career
changers and active duty military personnel. Graduates range in
age from 21 to 64.
Read more about 2004 graduates:
Julie Warden-Gregory: Student Speaker
Christopher Bjornstad: President’s Medalist
Levi Larson: One day, two ceremonies
Dr. Lon Annest: From surgeon to MBA
Laurie Hannan: Fulfilling a lifelong dream
Self-study research begins
UW Tacoma faculty, staff and friends now have a chance to advise state leaders about what kind of university UWT should become.
Under a new law enacted this spring, officials at UWT and the state’s other upper-division campuses must study their campuses and suggest clear direction for future development in a report to the Legislature this fall. A UWT committee is now seeking thoughts and suggestions from the campus community.
House
Bill 2707 mandates that leaders at UW Tacoma, UW Bothell, WSU
Vancouver and WSU Tri-Cities answer some
questions fundamental to their campus identities:
- Will
the campus become a four-year school or explore a modified two-plus-two
model?
- What level of funding should the campus receive from the state?
- How does faculty research integrate with teaching on the campus?
There are a few things that UW Tacoma will assume going into the study. Most importantly, UWT will continue to be part of the UW. Whether or not the campus begins offering freshman- and sophomore-level courses, making room for students transferring from community colleges will always be a major priority. In addition, faculty research is a critical component contributing to the quality of education and the economic development impact generated by the campus.
The work of the SHB 2707 study committee is now underway.
The
study group will meet with community, alumni and other groups
through the summer. In October, a draft report will be circulated
on campus and in the community for feedback before it is submitted
to Interim Chancellor Steven Olswang, who will submit the report
to the president and the UW Board of Regents. The Regents will
forward the reports on UW Tacoma and UW Bothell to the Higher
Education Coordinating Board on December 19, where all four reports
will be reviewed and forwarded to the Legislature January 15 with
recommendations.
If you are interested in providing feedback to the committee, visit the Self-Study Web site: www.tacoma.washington.edu/uwtfuture.
Social Welfare students earn national award for influencing public policy
Six
students from a UWT Social Welfare class have earned a national
award for their work on the Family Stabilization and Emergency
Hunger Act, which was approved by the Legislature and signed by
the governor in the last legislative session.
The students, along with Assistant Professor Janice Laakso, were given the top prize in the annual Influencing State Policy contest. The national Influencing State Policy group sponsors the contest for U.S. social work students and faculty, challenging them to try to make a difference at their state legislatures.
For
a project in Laakso’s Child and Family Policy class, the
students lobbied for House Bill 2769 and Senate Bill 6411 by urging
local lawmakers to vote for the bill and educating voters about
its benefits. The legislation reguires all public schools to provide
free and reduced-price breakfast and lunch programs, makes food
stamps available to convicted drug felons, increases the length
of time food stamps are available to hungry families and simplifies
reporting requirements for families using food stamps.
Five
of the students are juniors in the Social Welfare program. The
sixth is an Urban Studies student. With Laakso, they are invited
to accept the award at a ceremony Aug. 8 in Charleston, S.C.
A
Cinderella story at the UWT library
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|
UWT
graduate Terri Tortorici May made this large-format book
of illuminated Cinderella texts.
|
 |
| Miniature
shoes are on display in the library with quotations about shoes from philosophers and fashion critics, among others. |
Was
Cinderella's shoe glass or sable? Did some hapless printer mistake
the French word for sable, changing it inadvertently to the word
for glass? Learn about the charming literary dispute over whether
the slipper was made of "vair" (French for sable) or
"verre" (glass) at the library's current exhibit of
Cinderella-related materials.
The
UWT display coincides with the Museum of Glass exhibition, "Extra
Virgin: Work by Judith Schaechter," and a related performance
event (running through July 31) inspired by Schaechter's influences,
"The Cinderella Factor: A Reality Show."
Serin
Anderson, reference assistant, and Terri Tortorici May, a 2004
summa cum laude graduate in Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences,
put the display together. It features, just inside the library's
entrance, a case of miniature shoes on loan from My Mother's Closet,
in Freighthouse Square. The shoes, displayed on tiny satin cushions
crafted by May, are arranged in conjunction with thought-provoking
or poetic quotations about shoes. Read, for example, what the
German philosopher Hegel had to say about shoes and what "A
Dictionary of Symbols" includes in its entry, "Shoes."
Next,
turn to "Cinderella Snippets," a large-format book of
illuminated Cinderella texts, including Anne Sexton's poem, "Cinderella,"
("Cinderella and the prince/lived, they say, happily ever
after/...Regular Bobbsey Twins...").
"Cinderella
Snippets," also made by May, is composed like a scrapbook
on enormous, beautiful sheets of hand-made paper that incorporates
real rose petals. Initial letters in the book are hand illuminated,
consistent with the elegance of the Cinderella story. But never
fear. This is an academic display, not only an aesthetic one.
So there's a bibliography, too.
Next,
step deeper into the library, back toward the reference section.
There you'll find a book display from the library's collection
of literature for children and young adults. Cinderella, you'll
find, lives eternally in the literature of Middle East, Ireland,
France, Germany, Egypt, China, even the Wild West. And opposite
the book display are mounted illustrations from the books.
Are
there pumpkins? Yes, indeed--but no evidence of Disney. Several
glass pumpkins grace the book display.
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 & Staff Notes
In June, the City of Tacoma and Pierce Transit selected Iris Marx, human resources assistant and UWT’s employee transportation coordinator, as ETC of the Quarter for first quarter 2004. The selection is part of the Summit award program sponsored by Pierce County, Pierce Transit and seven cities. The award letter praised Marx for doing an outstanding job promoting the benefits of UWT’s commute options.
