Higher Ed

The MacArthur Foundation names 25 people who, together, could probably get us out of this mess.

One man's one-man team

Posted Sun, Aug 31, 11 a.m.

By Mike Henderson

Biding time until coach Tyrone Willingham is gone, cranky University of Washington football fans at least get to watch an NFL quarterback prospect excel. Jake Locker does so in spite of those around him.

A better environment for a UW College of the Environment

Posted Tue, Jul 22, 11 a.m.

By Brian Boyle

Don't make a megalith, advises a prominent expert in forestry. Instead, think of a virtual environment with porous walls and many disciplines. The result could put the University of Washington in the lead for solving the world's environmental problems.

A design-savvy city defined

Posted Fri, Jul 11, 5 a.m.

A report lays out a road map, backed by polling that revealed surprising attitudes of Seattleites and Portlanders about their hometown architecture.

Teach both sides of the flat Earth!

Posted Mon, Jul 7, midnight

It's really quite simple: A lot of knowledge is a dangerous thing.

When animals attack, and also when they don't

Posted Mon, Jun 30, 5 p.m.

It's the time of year when animal-human encounters are on the rise. Bears are picnicking on hikers, moose are invading trailer parks, and muskrats are blamed for destroying entire towns. You could be next.

Harvard finally gets its act together on gender studies

Posted Sat, Jun 28, 11 p.m.

It had offered a mere 76 courses. Now with addition of "Gender and Sexuality in Ancient Greece" and 29 others, the curriculum is at last worthy.

UW's new College of the Environment could bring in the green

Posted Thu, Jun 26, 5 a.m.

By David Brewster

The vision is to make the University of Washington and the region a major player in the post-carbon economy. Big stuff. Whether President Mark Emmert can make it happen is an open question, however.

Shepherding in Bruce Shepard, new Western Washington University prez

Posted Fri, Jun 13, midnight

By Floyd McKay

With last-minute approval of a faculty-union contract, outgoing president Karen Morse leaves the new guy with a crisis resolved. Shepard, of Wisconsin, takes office in September.

ELF members gained nothing by the UW arson, and so much was lost

Posted Fri, May 30, 6 p.m.

By Valerie Easton

A former staff member of the University of Washington's Center for Urban Horticulture wonders why, seven years later, the crime makes no more sense than it did the morning Merrill Hall went up in flames.

A bold plan to turn UW into a Stanford died a quiet death

Posted Tue, May 20, 5 a.m.

By David Brewster

State universities have clumsy and stingy masters in state capitols. Is it time for divorce court? Here's the story of how some people advising the University of Washington looked at such a scheme.

Educated abroad, they are France's new foreign legion

Posted Tue, May 6, 2 p.m.

By Cynthia Rose

Seattle's French Underground: Today's graduates are more likely to have studied abroad, and they're more open to leaving France for career opportunities – glamorous and humble. Many of them are settling in metro Puget Sound. Part 3

Washington's million-dollar university president

Posted Fri, May 2, 9 a.m.

By Ted Van Dyk

As Mark Emmert joins two local corporate boards, boosting his yearly income well into seven figures, it's worth asking if he's really earned it. He's a prominent public face for the institution, but he's no scholar and doesn't actually run the university.

Evolution of a think tank

Posted Tue, Apr 29, 5 a.m.

By Ross Anderson

A journalist comes of age with Bruce Chapman, watching him launch Seattle's Discovery Institute and the intelligent design movement.

When government swings the wrecking ball

Posted Mon, Mar 31, 5 a.m.

Plans for Seattle Center, the University of Washington and the Capitol Campus in Olympia suggest that public agencies, like private developers, are willing to flatten historic buildings if they get in the way. What kind of historic preservation message is that?

High Tex: A new generation covers the campaign its own way

Posted Sun, Mar 9, 9 p.m.

By David Domke

Sixteen journalism students from the University of Washington descended on Texas during the presidential campaign to see what they could do with few resources and little clout. In hindsight, one might ask, what could they not?

The Lazy B's blue funk descends

Posted Sat, Mar 8, 4 a.m.

By Pete Jackson

In the Jet County, they're expending a lot of energy bemoaning Boeing's failure to win a big Air Force contract. There's not much locals can do about that. But a university, that's another matter.

Time to call the legal dream team

Posted Mon, Mar 3, midnight

Flip Side: He forgot to study for the final exam. Sure, it's just a bad dream, but shouldn't someone pay for his emotional distress?

An historic hot house

Posted Fri, Feb 29, 5 a.m.

The University of Washington once had an operating nuclear reactor on campus. It's gone, but the modern building that housed it remains – a unique fusion of classic Northwest design and Cold War science. It's scheduled for demolition, but a grad student hopes to save it.

How William F. Buckley rescued me from lefty Bellingham

Posted Thu, Feb 28, midnight

By Scott St. Clair

Through the pages of National Review one spring morning at Western Washington University, he brought me out of the darkness of liberal mush and into the light of conservative freedom.

Other media

Sharp tuition hikes a likely strategy for state colleges In Gregoire's budget, the boosts are capped at 7% for public universities, but double that would be needed to close the funding gap. It's happened before.

NEWS TRIBUNE (TACOMA)

Why so few black college football coaches? One reason is that football coaches' top job is raising money and charming donors. Writes Richard Thompson Ford: "One might even say that, from the perspective of the university, winning is a means to the end of successful fund raising. A coach who can rake in the contributions might be a 'better fit' than a coach who wins more often but can't charm the alumni."

SLATE

Black football coaches, including Tyrone Willingham, find a tough job market While 50% of players are African American, there are only four black coaches in the top 119 college teams.

NEW YORK TIMES

Ex-Sen. Bob Kerrey gets no-confidence vote at New School He has been thought too moderate for the very liberal faculty, and he's cycled through 5 provosts in 7 years.

NEW YORK TIMES

Spending on higher ed: another phony stimulus? Arguing that rushing funds to colleges is a poor way to stimulate the economy.

REALCLEARPOLITICS

Blog posts

At UW, the search is off

Posted Tue, Dec 9, noon 2008

by Pete Jackson

The University of Washington has to suspend 23 faculty searches, coping with the budget crisis. It recalls the sayings of Chairman Dick.

Dam big science

Posted Thu, Nov 6, 12:36 p.m. 2008

by Michele Solis

Scientists take a pulse before Elwha dam removal.

Putting science back in the White House

Posted Tue, Oct 21, 11:29 a.m. 2008

by David Brewster

Two local luminaries join a forum proposing ways to turn around the Bush administration's neglect of the nation's technological competitiveness.

Taking student activism seriously

Posted Fri, Sep 19, 4 a.m. 2008

by Lisa Albers

Sierra, the magazine of the Sierra Club, named the top 10 schools in the U.S. for environmental stewardship, and two Washington schools made the grade: Evergreen State College, at No. 5, and the University of Washington at Seattle, which, at No. 9, barely beat Tufts University to make it into the top 10.

Sausage Links, Pac 10 edition

Posted Tue, Sep 2, 12:51 p.m. 2008

It's been a busy year for University of Oregon graduates Jill Hazelbaker and Tucker Bounds. Recently named the "Dynamic Duck duo" by The Oregonian, Bounds and Hazelbaker are two of the McCain campaign's top communications officers – the Republicans' first wave of defense against Democratic attacks. As reporter Jeff Mapes points out, it's not an easy job. ...

Sausage Links, 'Pledge Allegiance to the Top-Two Primary' edition

Posted Tue, Aug 19, 1:39 p.m. 2008

Today is the the "top-two" primary, and everyone expects the polls to be packed. But before casting your ballot, take a moment to remember our failed state primary formats of the past. As the editorial board at The Seattle Times writes: "Pause now for a moment of silence in remembrance of the state's defunct blanket primary, which served Washington's voters well for almost 70 years" – that is, until federal courts declared it was unconstitutional. After the blankie went bye-bye, Washington state tried the "Pick-a-party" primary, but voters didn't feel the vibe. Today, we've been blessed with the oft-litigated, much deliberated top-two primary, a format some people say is doomed to fail. But dammit, we might as well try it out. ...

Sausage Links, 'Everybody wants to rule the world' edition

Posted Wed, Aug 13, 2 p.m. 2008

Angie Vogt at Red County Washington has posted an exclusive one-on-one interview with Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi. However, don't expect attacks like those seen in Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire's interview with the Stranger last week – this one is fairly vanilla. From the start, Rossi channels the Obama-patented change mantra, saying "this election is not about me, it's not about Christine Gregoire; it's about changing the culture and direction of state government for a generation." It may be a sign Rossi is looking to court more independent voters like this. Or that he's sticking to the high road for now. His campaign, however, isn't so sure he'll be ahead after Tuesday's primary election. But they aren't worried. ...

Sausage Links, cougar-hunting edition

Posted Wed, Jul 16, 3:28 p.m. 2008