Summer 2005 |
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Praise for the College's Top Students Faculty aren’t prone to gushing about their students. They rarely use words like “brilliant” “remarkable” and “extraordinary” to describe an undergraduate’s work. But ask them about the College of Arts and Sciences’ Dean’s Medalists for 2005 and such superlatives come fast and furious.
The Dean’s Medal is presented to four undergraduates each year, one from each of the College’s four divisions: arts, humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. The students are selected on the basis of grade point average, difficulty of their courses, and faculty recommendations. That’s where those superlatives come in. In his recommendation for Jared Silva, Dean’s Medalist in the Natural Sciences, chemistry professor D. Michael Heinekey describes him as “a young man of extraordinary gifts and unlimited potential.” Silva worked in Heinekey’s research laboratory for two years, with "accomplishments in research [that] place him at the level of a strong second- or third- year graduate student,” says Heinekey. Silva, with degrees in biochemistry and chemistry, also served as a mentor at the Chemistry Study Center, an undergraduate teaching assistant, and a contributing writer for the UW student newspaper, The Daily. A Goldwater and Churchill Scholar, he heads for Cambridge University in the fall and will continue his studies at MIT. Kathleen Belew, Dean’s Medalist in the Humanities, probably crossed paths with Silva at The Daily, where she worked in various capacities beginning in 2001. A Comparative History of Ideas (CHID) major, Belew mentored other undergraduates as a peer facilitator, collaborated in the creation and teaching of an undergraduate colloquium, and led community outreach efforts. “Kathleen is driven by an ethical seriousness and concern that can be tangibly sensed in everything she does,” says John Toews, director of CHID. Kari Tupper, Belew’s undergraduate thesis advisor, adds that Belew’s thesis “is the most ambitious undergraduate thesis I have ever supervised, and indeed it exceeds any master’s theses I have overseen.” Belew has received Jacob Javits and Bonderman Fellowships and will continue her studies at Yale University. Anne Saliceti-Collins, Dean’s Medalist in the Arts, earned degrees in art history and comparative literature. Fluent in French and Italian—the native languages of Corsica, where she was raised—she taught French at L’Alliance Française de Seattle to support herself as an undergraduate. Now a UW graduate student studying Chinese art, she recently completed a highly competitive internship at the Seattle Asian Art Museum. “Anne is an engaged and engaging student,” says art history professor Cynthea Bogel, noting that professors throughout the department have “commented that her papers were consistently the best in their seminars.” Colleen Melody, Dean’s Medalist in the Social Sciences, earned degrees in both Spanish and Law, Societies, and Justice (LSJ). “She took all of the most challenging courses, never giving a thought to the demands at stake or possible implications for her grades,” says Michael McCann, director of LSJ. Melody still managed a 3.95 grade-point average, while volunteering for non-profits— including an immigrant worker rights group—throughout her years at the UW and working 25-30 hours a week to pay for school. She plans to pursue a career in immigration law. McCann’s final words about Melody aptly describe all of the College’s medalists. Melody, he says, is “an extraordinary young person who represents the very best of our student body.”
Communicating
with Their Feet The department holds an annual event, the Laura Crowell Fund Run, with participants seeking pledges of support from faculty, family, friends, and local businesses. This year the run netted $4,700—its largest total to date. The proceeds will be added to the Laura Crowell Fund. Named for a much-admired professor (now deceased), the fund supports graduate student travel to professional conferences, which are critical to career development. The event also benefits undergraduates. Four serve as interns, gaining valuable experience as they handle all event-related tasks including marketing, timeline, budget, posters, T-shirt design, and sponsorships.
“The undergraduates design the event and get internship credit for their work,” says Jerry Baldasty, chair of the department. “It teaches them how to think about event planning and all that goes into it—so it is a very applied communication internship. There are logistics and organization, of course, but also careful attention to how to craft our message.” The internship appealed to Cristina Brendicke, a senior majoring in communication, because “I really like the idea of taking on a project from start to finish,” she explains. “We were in charge of doing everything. The only thing that was selected for us was the date.” Brendicke and the other interns—Dylan King, Dana Love, and Stephany Rochan — saw the event as an opportunity to build a sense of community. They created a team competition for the graduate students, with the winning team (as well as individuals raising the most funds) receiving a prize basket of goodies donated by local businesses. The interns, with guidance from the department’s outreach coordinator, Victoria Sprang, and graduate student liaison April Peterson, had all details finalized by the day of the event. But there was one variable they could not control: the weather. The rain was relentless on the eve of the event, continuing through the morning. But the weather cleared as more than 40 participants, mostly graduate students and faculty, began the run. They were rewarded for their efforts with a hearty lunch— donated, of course. Among the participants was Baldasty. “I walked,” he admits. “My knees are not good enough to run. But of course I was there—and I sponsored some of the graduate students. This event is about raising money, but is much more than that. It is also about creating a community of people.”
In what is becoming a tradition for the Department of Mathematics, a team of undergraduates coached by Professor Jim Morrow has once again taken top honors in a highly competitive global math competition.
This is the fifth such win for Morrow’s teams in four years in the annual Mathematical Contest in Modeling, sponsored by the Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications. Of 828 teams competing, the UW team was one of just 13 judged as “Outstanding Winners.” The UW students also received an award from the Institute for Operations Research and Industrial and Applied Mathematics, given to the best of the winning groups. The students—Braxton Osting, Christina Polwarth, and Ryan Bressler—had 96 hours to choose one of two problems posted on the web, devise a solution, write it up, and submit it. The problem they chose involved modeling flooding downstream if the earthen dam that forms Lake Murray in central South Carolina fails during a catastrophic earthquake. Why choose that problem? “Part of it, I think, was so we could refer to it as ‘the damn problem,’” quips Bressler, adding that the problem seemed more challenging, which appealed to the team. Those interested in reading the team’s winning solution can find it on Morrow’s website.
Dante
from Two Perspectives Donna Yowell and Mary
O’Neil had “talked on and off over the years”
about “Dante, the greatest
poet of the Middle Ages, speaks across the centuries Yowell had taught Dante for years before co-teaching the course with O’Neil, associate professor in the Department of History. “I thought it would be interesting to teach Dante differently,” she says, “giving equal weight to history, which is not something I tend to do. The great exercise for me was letting go of some of the ways I usually teach the course to make room to enrich it in this new way.” Yowell and O’Neil readily admit that their approaches are quite different. “I’m always trying to simplify things,” says O’Neil. “And I’m always trying to complicate them,” adds Yowell, with a laugh. “Which is good,” says O’Neil. “Students need both broad interpretive themes and a sense of nuance.” What the two share is a fascination with Dante’s work. To bring his poetry to life for the 140 students in their lecture class, they frequently tapped into the timeless—and timely—themes in the work. “Dante provides a vivid commentary on the divisiveness and possibilities of politics, the agony of civil wars, the corruption of the Papacy, the failures of Empire, and hopes for a new world order,” says Yowell. “He insists on the separation of spiritual and political powers. It’s obviously a timely text.” While Yowell highlighted Comedy’s connection with current events, O’Neil emphasized its historical roots. “My goal was to pull us back into the past,” she says. O’Neil discussed the politics of Dante’s time and provided an historical perspective on the concept of hell and purgatory. “Dante’s is the first fully developed literary treatment of purgatory,” she says. “Students are often surprised that such basic ideas have a history and have changed over time. Seeing things historically is more difficult.” Given the complexity of Comedy, is it perhaps too ambitious a subject for freshmen in a 100-level course? “We tell them
at the beginning of the course, ‘The goal is not to feel comfortable
and confident reading this poem,’” admits Yowell. “700
years later, no one does. The poem requires you to interpret and
at the same time resists interpretation. That can be very daunting
for freshmen, but it is a challenging and provocative work that
invites students to question their own assumptions.”
This is not Howard’s first administrative job. She has twice served as the Sociology Department’s director of graduate programs—earning a 2001 UW Distinguished Graduate Mentor Award for her efforts—and has been a member of the College of Arts and Sciences’ College Council. She is currently chair of the Department of Women Studies. “Social Sciences is a really fine division with some phenomenal leadership and great recent hires,” says Howard. “There’s a lot of good energy. I look forward to closer relationships and collaborations across the division. I hope to be a facilitator who will match good opportunities with people who might be interested in them.” Howard begins her new job in September. Until then? Lots of lunches. “The summer will be a time to learn more about the departments in the division,” says Howard, “and I expect to be having lunch meetings with all of the chairs.”
Student
Art Enriches the Neighborhood--Permanently The Campus Parkway project (between University Way and 15th Avenue NE), celebrates community activism. Commissioned by the Seattle Department of Transportation and the University District Chamber of Commerce, the work includes steel benches, a podium, and tables—one upright, the other overturned — that bear quotes related to political protest. John F. Kennedy, WTO protestors, Confucius, and Mahatma Gandhi are among those quoted.
Impressed by the quality of the project, the University District Chamber of Commerce approached Professor John Young, who taught the design/build course, about another commission for his next class: three-dimensional artworks for light poles along University Way, to be installed in frames originally designed for hanging banners. “Each artwork is sponsored by a different business on the Ave,” says Young. “The student creating each work had to interview the ‘patron’ and create a work that was expressive of both the client and the student. And it could not be advertising.” The 21 students in the class created 31 artworks, ranging from humorous to thought provoking. An artwork sponsored by Wells Fargo Bank features a treasure chest with roots spreading from its base. One sponsored by University Book Store features a book with loose pages spiraling skyward. “Since these are ten feet up on a pole, with people passing by quickly, the boldest and simplest artworks have tended to be the most successful,” says Young. The latest commission, sited on campus, is also bold. But its message—and its inspiration—is considerably more complex. The impetus for the project
began as a response to a recently installed sculpture of 1960s Husky
football coach Jim Owens near Hec Ed Pavilion. Although Owens was
beloved by many, troubling questions remain about his treatment
of African American athletes during his years as coach. Distressed
by the surprise tribute to Owens, a group of students shared their
concerns with the UW administration. The students’ tenacity
eventually led to a $50,000 commission from the UW Office of Development
for a sculpture about diversity, created through Young’s public
Central to the sculpture is a seating area created with large and varied rocks, shaped to suggest an enormous ear. Across from the structure is a stone cube. “The students found an image of a Filipino native who was brought to campus during the 1909 Alaska-Pacific-Yukon Exposition and displayed on a block as a curiosity,” explains Young. “The students recreated the block to gently refer to that. And the ear is to hear the history of this block. It’s all about listening to different voices.” The artwork was created collaboratively by the 30 students in Young’s spring quarter class. Most were students of color, and half had little or no previous art background. “That was the big challenge—to get them to create public art without losing their fingers,” says Young. “But they had great ideas and were impassioned. That’s what is most important, and it comes through in the artwork.” [Summer 2005 - Table of Contents]
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