The face of diversity at the University of Washington
SPRING 2010
New faces, new ideas, new success The UW’s commitment to bringing in— and retaining—young faculty of color is paying dividends
4333 Brooklyn avenue N.E. box 359508 Seattle, WA 98195-9508 Phone: 206-543-0540 Fax: 206-685-0611 E-mail: vwpoints@u.washington.edu
VIEWPOINTS ON THE WEB: UWalum.com/viewpoints
VIEWPOINTS STAFF Publisher Paul Rucker EXECUTIVE EDITOR Sue Brockmann Editor Jon Marmor Graphic Designers Michele Locatelli, Jenica Wilkie Liaison to Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity Stephanie Y. Miller Staff Writers Courtney Acitelli, Derek Belt, Chantal Carrancho Photography Mary Levin, Karen Orders, Erin Lodi, Kerry Dahlen
VIEWPOINTS ADVISORY COMMITTEE Paul Rucker, ’95, ’02 Executive Director, UWAA, Chair Sue Brockmann, ’72 Director of Marketing, Communications and Revenue Development, UWAA Malik Davis, ’94 Associate Director of Constituent Relations, UWAA P h oto b y e r i n lo d i
ith new faculty of color like Ralina Joseph (above), the UW is working hard to connect to a more diverse student body. Stories, pages 6-9.
Colleen Fukui-Sketchley, ’94 President-Elect, UWAA Board of Trustees; Corporate Diversity Affairs Specialist, Nordstrom Juan C. Guerra Associate Dean, The Graduate School David Iyall Assistant Vice President for Advancement, Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity Sheila Edwards Lange, ’00, ’06 Vice President for Minority Affairs and Vice Provost for Diversity Tamara Leonard Associate Director, Center for Global Studies, Jackson School of International Studies
DEPARTMENTS 4 Points of View 10 360° View 12-13 FACES: Phyllis Byrdwell Herb Tsuchiya
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Stephanie Y. Miller Assistant Vice President, Community and Public Relations, Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity
4 Spotlight: Native 1 American Knowledge 15 A View from the UWAA 16 EOP Celebration
Eddie Pasatiempo, ’77 President, UWAA Board of Trustees
ON THE COVER: Luis Fraga, María Elena García, Ralina Joseph and Tony Lucero are among the UW's new faculty of color. Photos by Karen Orders and Erin Lodi.
Lois Price Spratlen, ’76 UW Ombudsman Emeritus and Ombudsman Emeritus for Sexual Harassment; Board Member, Multicultural Alumni Partnership
THE FACE OF DIVERSITY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON. FOUNDED 2004
snapshot Local Hero For the past 72 years, Tom Kobayashi, ’38, has been the personification of giving back. The 92-year-old Seattle resident has volunteered for more than seven decades with St. Vincent de Paul, making biweekly home visits to the poor and needy, as well as securing food, clothing, furniture, beds, rent and utility assistance for those in need. For his efforts, Bank of America recently awarded him the Puget Sound Neighborhood Excellence Initiative Award in the amount of $5,000, which he promptly donated to the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Kobayashi, who was born and raised in Seattle, graduated from Garfield High School before coming to the UW. He declares that he is “the proudest Bulldog and Husky ever!” Not to mention a real hero. —Chantal Carrancho To m K o b aya s h i wa s p h oto g r a p h e d b y K e r r y D a h l e n at t h e S t. M at t h e w s Pa r i s h i n N o r t h S e at t l e .
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he contributions of the Multicultural Alumni Partnership to diversity at the University of Washington relate more directly to students than to faculty. Our endowment and annual scholarships provide recognition of and support for outstanding students of color. Of course, we have also honored several faculty of color as distinguished alumni and outstanding community leaders. In addition, we have current and former faculty of color in leadership roles on our board and as advisers. We also recognize alumni and community members of color through our signature event, the Bridging the Gap Breakfast, which has celebrated diversity, alumni achievement and community leadership over the past 15 years. We appreciate the staff and professional help that we receive from the UW Alumni Association, the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity (OMAD) and other campus offices. In the case of OMAD, we also use ex-officio board positions (for MAP and and the Friends of EOP) as a way of representing and supporting cultural diversity. It is encouraging to us that President Emmert stated that faculty diversity is an integral part of a quality education at the UW. A diverse student population is likely to be more highly motivated, mentored and inspired in the pursuit of a wide range of educational programs and goals when they are taught by faculty from culturally diverse groups and backgrounds. Their presence and service as role models are likely to contribute to more diverse experiences, academic success, and opportunities for career development for students of color that might not otherwise occur.
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iversity is the Washington Way. More than just a slogan, the University of Washington truly takes this to heart and works hard to attract faculty, staff and students of color. We are extremely proud of the gains we have made, not only in terms of the diverse student population we have attracted, but faculty and staff as well. Recruiting faculty of color is a challenge. This group is small to begin with and we are competing with the top institutions across the country to bring the best of the best here to our campus. A tall task, maybe, but we are making it happen. The UW Diversity Research Institute (DRI) is an example of the many ways our university supports faculty of color on our campus. The DRI was developed to involve faculty of color on research projects with an emphasis on generating new, interdisciplinary knowledge about diversity, social justice and institutional transformation. Which faculty is doing the research and teaching is quite significant, especially for our diverse student population. We want students to be aware of and have a chance to engage with faculty who are involved with research pertaining to issues that impact their specific communities.
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We at MAP look forward to continuing our work in partnership with the various offices and leaders who have the mandate and financial means to further the aims of UW’s faculty diversity.
With sincere appreciation, Thaddeus H. Spratlen MAP President, 2009-2010
You can support the Multicultural Alumni Partnership Endowed Scholarship by going to www.washington. edu/alumni/meet/groups/map.html
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Our campus-wide Affinity Groups provide another service to our diverse faculty and staff population. Initially started by the Leadership, Community and Values Initiative and now managed by Office of Minority of Affairs and Diversity, these groups are a way for faculty and staff to build community and foster connections with their fellow colleagues from similar backgrounds. When looking at creating and maintaining the mission of diversity at UW, having more diverse faculty and staff here on campus also attracts a more diverse student population. It all comes full circle. Students are more likely to engage and identify with faculty and staff members they can relate to in those terms. Having diverse faculty on campus is also essential to providing our entire student population with the best possible education. The core value of the University of Washington is diversity and everyone within our campus community plays a very important role in that mission.
SHEILA EDWARDS LANGE, PH.D., ’00, ‘06 Vice President for Minority Affairs Vice Provost for Diversity You can support the Samuel E. Kelly Endowed Scholarship by going to: http://uwfoundation.org/diversity
ONCE AROUND CAMPUS
HARRELL APPOINTED TO BOARD OF REGENTS Joanne Harrell, ’76, ’79, chief of staff for the Original Equipment Manufacturing division at Microsoft, has been appointed to the University of Washington Board of Regents. Harrell, who holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and an M.B.A. in marketing from the Foster School of Business, has been a trustee at the UW’s Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs. “Joanne brings an extensive history of service to the position,” says Gov. Chris Gregoire, ’71, who made the appointment. “Not only is her experience impressive, her willingness to give back to her community is admirable.” Harrell has extensive experience in the hightech and nonprofit sectors. Before joining Microsoft, she was senior vice president at InfoSpace in Bellevue, and vice president and CEO at US West Communications. She was also past president and CEO at United Way of King County. Honored by Telephony Magazine and Ebony Magazine for her business achievements, Harrell was recently inducted into the UW School of Communication Hall of Fame.
ECC temporary offices
Ethnic Cultural Center
ECC TO RELOCATE TO CONDON HALL DURING CONSTRUCTION The Ethnic Cultural Center will move out of its home on Brooklyn Avenue Northeast this summer and into temporary offices in Condon Hall as construction gets under way to rebuild the center. The current ECC building will be torn down this summer to make way for a 25,000-square-foot, three-story building that is scheduled to open in fall 2011. The new ECC facility will feature a large multi-purpose room that can accommodate 250 people, six additional meeting spaces, more offices for student organizations, a performance studio, an outside deck, a student project workroom, a large kitchen, family bathrooms and much more. The ECC will continue to provide meeting space, offices and services for students and affiliated organizations, as well as its regular programming in its temporary home in Condon Hall. For more information about the ECC Construction Project, go to http://depts. washington.edu/ecc/construction
JACKSON SCHOOL CREATES GLOBAL ASIA INSTITUTE The University of Washington unveiled the Global Asia Institute this past fall, thanks to a state Senate bill sponsored by State Sen. Paull Shin, ’69, ’80, D-Edmonds. The institute—housed in the Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies—merges three existing centers in the Jackson School that focus on East Asia, Southeast Asia and South Asia. Its mission is to promote the understanding of Asia and its interactions with Washington and the world through programs and targeted community collaborations. “The center can provide a place to focus on important international policy issues, such as trade policy and foreign relations,” Shin says. Many of Washington’s exports go to Asian markets. The institute will prepare students for export jobs, thus broadening the state’s economic opportunities. The institute is being funded by federal money and private donations. Anand Yang, director of the Jackson School, will head the institute, along with East Asian Studies Professor Donald Hellman and Chinese Studies Professor David Bachman. 5
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DIVERSITY. IT’S THE WASHINGTON WAY.
Paving the way for faculty oF color UW is making progress on a big goal: attracting and retaining faculty from underrepresented communities By Jon Marmor
Ralina Joseph helped create a support group for faculty of color. Photo by Erin Lodi.
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When Ralina Joseph was recruited to join the faculty of the Department of Communication at the University of Washington in 2005, she was thrilled. She was about to receive her Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego, and landing her first job at a major public research university was heady stuff. Being a junior faculty member is daunting enough, with classes to teach, students to mentor, research to conduct and scholarly writing that needs to be published to earn tenure. But as the first race-and-media specialist in her department, and as a new faculty member of color, Joseph had even more to deal with—developing courses that included topics of diversity, teaching all of the communications classes about race, gender and sexuality, and acting as the main resource for the department’s students of color. “It was quite a challenge because I was the first faculty member of color to teach issues of difference,” she recalls. “I didn’t realize how much mentoring I would be responsible for.” Fortunately, the University’s Faculty Fellows Program was there to help. This program helps orient new faculty to the UW and enlists senior faculty members with distinguished records to pass along effective teaching methods and techniques for balancing the demands of successful teaching and research.
Luis Fraga wants to increase the UW's faculty of color. Photo by Karen Orders.
But a year into her time at the UW, Joseph wanted more. So she banded together with fellow assistant professors Janine Jones of educational psychology and Habiba Ibrahim of English to create a group called Women Investigating Race, Ethnicity, and Difference (WIRED). Members of this group are junior faculty, mostly women of color, and they come together to share personal experiences, give and get advice on writing, and build community with other faculty of color. WIRED is one of the ways that UW faculty of color band together to help themselves. While WIRED was the result of a grassroots effort, the UW has started faculty and staff affinity groups (see page 8), and formal, academically oriented organizations like the Washington Institute for the Study of Ethnicity, Race and Sexuality, Indigenous Wellness Research Institute and the Diversity Research Institute to involve faculty of color in research projects. The Simpson Center for the Humanities also provides a wide range of opportunities for faculty of color to be involved with multidisciplinary research on topics affecting underserved communities. But recruiting faculty of color and making them feel welcome at the UW sometimes requires a more personal approach, says Sheila Edwards
Lange, ’00, ’06, Vice President for Minority Affairs and Vice Provost for Diversity. She is often involved
“ At the University of Washington, there is a culture of opportunity and open-mindedness” in helping bring faculty from underrepresented communities to the UW. “I will meet with faculty candidates, especially African American women, to tell them what life is like in Seattle,” she says. “Last week, for example, I was having lunch with a woman we were recruiting. I was able to connect her to the local chapter of an African American sorority. I’ve also talked with candidates about child care that’s available in Seattle. “We try to take care of them as people and not just their professional side.” Having a diverse faculty is essential to a student’s education. Emile Pitre, ’69, Associate Vice President in the UW Office of Minority Affairs
and Diversity, was a UW student in the 1960s. He never had a teacher of color then. That served as part of his inspiration for his student activism to make the UW a more diverse place. “If students know there are professors they can identify with, it increases their chance of being successful,” he explains. “Students of color need to know there are teachers who have a shared understanding of where they came from and what they are dealing with.” Enrique “Rick” Bonus joined the UW in 2001 as its first tenure-track faculty member with a specific academic focus on Filipino American studies. He arrived during a “cluster hire” of several new faculty of color in the Department of American Ethnic Studies, which has by far the largest number of diverse faculty members at the UW. Coming from a much more diverse community in Southern California, he wasn’t sure what to expect at the UW. “It helped that I wasn’t the only faculty member of color to come in then,” he says from his office in Padelford Hall, where he teaches American and Pacific Islander studies. “But what really helped was how the students embraced me. I was very touched because I had an immediate community.” Bonus has worked to make sure other new faculty of color enjoy the same welcome in the Faculty Fellows program. As a workshop coordinator for Faculty Fellows, he has spent many hours connecting incoming faculty of color. “At the University of Washington, there is a culture of opportunity and open-mindedness,” he says. “You can always find a new door to open. You can make things happen. I don’t think that is the case everywhere.” And that’s where Luis Fraga comes in. Recruited from Stanford three years ago to become the UW’s associate vice provost of faculty advancement, he is at the forefront of expanding the numbers of the UW’s faculty of color and making sure they have the support and encouragement they need. That could take the form of providing funding for a small group such as WIRED or helping junior faculty on their quest to attain tenure. It’s working. From 1997-2007, the UW has doubled the number of faculty and staff of color. Currently, 18 percent of tenure-track faculty at the UW are people of color or from underrepresented communities. While he hopes to greatly increase that number, he is realistic. “I came in to work with decision-makers to develop ideas that provide support for the diverse faculty,” Fraga says. “It’s absolutely key that we attract and keep the best faculty. There is a lot of good will here. We need to harness that good will to develop strategic plans that lead to sustained progress.” 7
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EXPANDING WORLD VIEWS. IT’S THE WASHINGTON WAY.
SHINING The UW is bringing in faculty of color who are leaders in their fields
By Jon Marmor
STARS
Faculty and Staff Affinity Groups Faculty and staff interested in building community and fostering connections with other faculty and staff at the University of Washington are invited to become involved with one of the faculty and staff affinity groups. They are: Asian and Pacific Islander American Faculty & Staff Association Black Faculty & Staff Association Faculty & Staff with Disabilities GLBTQ Faculty & Staff Organization
Leah Backhus
Christopher Parker
Everyone knows the University of Washington for its excellence in medicine, engineering, social work and mathematics, just to name a few. But did you know that faculty of color at the UW are national leaders in a variety of fields? It’s true. From immigration policy and reform to history, the UW’s faculty from underrepresented communities are some of the most admired and sought-after scholars and researchers in the United States. Take the field of African American history, for instance. The UW history department includes Quintard Taylor, the Scott and Dorothy Bullitt Professor of American History, a renowned author and scholar who specializes in African American history in the West. He is also the creator of BlackPast.org, the most extensive online resource of African American and global African history available. Then there’s Associate History Professor Stephanie Smallwood, who received the prestigious 2009 Frederick Douglass Book Prize for her book, Saltwater Slavery: A Middle Passage from African to American Diaspora. “Their expertise is positioning the UW as a national leader in African American history,” notes Luis Fraga, the University’s associate vice provost for faculty advancement and the UW’s point man on recruiting faculty of color. “That is a terrific achievement.” Despite the state’s bleak financial situation, the UW has done an impressive job of bringing in 8
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Stephanie Smallwood
faculty of color who are budding stars in their fields. Here are a few examples: Leah Backhus, assistant professor of cardiothoracic surgery. Recruited from UCLA, she is one of a very few female African American lung transplant surgeons in the nation. Anthropology Lecturer Jason de Leon is doing research no one else in the world is doing—to study things left behind when undocumented immigrants cross from Mexico into the U.S. in search of a better life. He takes students from the UW and other universities from all over the U.S. to the Arizona-Mexico border for field work that will give better understanding into the culture of illegal immigration. Roberto Gonzales, assistant professor of social work. His research focuses on undocumented highschool and college students in the U.S. whose families are living the American dream—only to have their legal status undermine their success. Ralina Joseph, assistant professor of communication. An expert in multiracialism, she explores contemporary representations of race, gender, and sexuality in the United States. Christopher Parker, assistant professor of political science. A veteran who spent 10 years in the Navy, he had had his groundbreaking book, Fighting for Democracy: Black Veterans and the Struggle Against White Supremacy in the Postwar South, published last year. Jon Marmor is editor of Viewpoints
Latino/a Faculty & Staff Association Native Faculty & Staff Association For information on these groups, go to www.washington.edu/diversity/affinity. html and click on the group you want to know more about. Or you can contact the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity at cpromad@u.washington.edu or 206-685-0518. The affinity groups are staffed by the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity.
EXCELLENCE. IT’S THE WASHINGTON WAY.
The Latin
Husband-wife team explore indigenous issues
American Experience
By Jon Marmor A Latin American student sat quietly, while all around him, an intense classroom discussion raged on about violence in Latin America. After class one day, his teacher, María Elena García, assistant professor in the Comparative History of Ideas program who was teaching “Struggle, Voice, Justice: The Cultural Politics of Violence in Latin America,” asked him why he wasn’t speaking up. “I always thought that I should listen,” he explained. “I didn’t know my experience mattered.” García disavowed him of that view pretty quickly. “I told him his experience, his life matters, and that he can make a difference in the world. We need him to speak up.” Difficult conversations about such topics as Latin American indigenous politics, gendered violence and the treatment and suffering of animals are taking place regularly in classes taught by García and her husband, José Antonio “Tony” Lucero, assistant professor of Latin American and Caribbean Studies in the Jackson School of International Studies. Both joined the UW in 2008, and their work is breaking new ground—with their students, as well as within the academic community. Born in Lima, Peru, García, author of the book Making Indigenous Citizens (Stanford University Press), has expertise in indigenous politics and multicultural activism in Peru. She engages students in thought-provoking classes that address the effects of industrial agriculture and other industries on human and non-human lives. She is also the director of the Clowes Center for the Study of Conflict and Dialogue. Lucero, meanwhile, conducts research on the politics of indigenous representation and social movements in the Andes, the subject of his book, Struggles of Voice (University of Pittsburgh Press). He also serves as the faculty adviser of the Latino American Studies Student Association. An El Paso native, Lucero is working with colleagues from other institutions to build a summer institute with students from UW and other universities to examine the border experience—including the challenges of politics boundaries (such as crossing from Mexico into the United States), the violence that occurs in border zones, especially against women, and the perspective of “internal borders,” where the borders between indigenous sovereign nation and the U.S. are often forgotten. “What we want to teach,” Lucero explains, “is that everyone has different but common experiences.” Jon Marmor is editor of Viewpoints
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360° View: DIVERSITY FROM EVERY ANGLE MILESTONES
Building hope through architecture
2010 marks the 40th anniversary of the creation of the Friends of the EOP program Board of Trustees.
Eleanor Valentin, ’75, was nominated to the rank of rear admiral in the U.S. Navy this past fall. She also became the first female Medical Services Corps officer to obtain the rank of flag officer in the U.S. Navy, and became the first female to serve as Navy Medical Services Corps director. Charles Z. Smith, ’55, former justice on the Washington State Supreme Court, was honored by the Washington State Historical Society for advancing public understanding of the cultural diversity of the peoples of Washington State. Nate Miles, ’82, has been elected to the UW Foundation Board. Miles is corporate director of state government affairs for the northwestern United States for Eli Lilly and Co., one of the nation’s largest pharmaceutical companies.
Honored at the recent Top Contributors to the Asian Community dinner were Martha Choe, ’76, chief administrative officer of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Lloyd Hara, ’62, ’64, the new King County Assessor.
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p h oto co u r t e s y t h e O f f i c e o f t h e S e c r e ta r y o f t h e S tat e , wa s h i n g to n
Louis Fiset, affiliate associate professor of dentistry, published his second book on the Nikkei experience in World War II. Camp Harmony: Seattle’s Japanese Americans and the Puyallup Assembly Center in World War II, was published by the UW Press.
The UW presented Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree at a special ceremony last fall.
P h oto co u r t e s y o f D e pa r t m e n t of defense
The University of Washington earned an honorable mention as one of the Best Universities for Asian American Pacific Islander activism from the Asian Pacific Americans for Progress Network and the Angry Asian Man blog.
Guido Seoanes-Perla was just 11 years old when a Narco-terrorist bombing three blocks away from his home in the coastal Caribbean city of Barranquilla, Colombia, knocked his world upside down. He couldn’t even bear to look at buildings after that. “Then architects started showing up,” he recalls. “They rebuilt everything. They were like angels. They gave us hope. They helped heal the wound.” That horrific experience not only inspired Seoanes-Perla to pursue becoming an architect—he received his B.A. in architecture studies from the University of Washington in 2006—he has become a nationally recognized community activist. In June, the 31-yearold Seoanes-Perla will receive a national award from the American Institute of Architects for Diversity Best Practice 2010 for his work with the AIA Seattle Diversity Roundtable. “Our goal is to simply help build neglected communities regardless of color, race, religion, economic background or gender,” Seoanes-Perla says. The Seattle Diversity Roundtable has cleaned up an overgrown, trash-strewn, graffiti-covered South Park staircase (right), handed out scholarships, spoken to elementary, high school, community college and UW students and strived to tell students from underrepresented communities that they are needed in architecture. —Jon Marmor
“ I appeal to your energy, your optimism, your sense of justice, and innate hope.”
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— B a n K i - M o o n , speaking at an Oct. 26 special convocation
IN MEMORY Ernest I.J. Aguilar, who helped create one of the nation’s only endowed scholarships for master’s of business administration students of Latin American heritage at the UW, died March 15. He was a charter member of the Washington State Commission on Hispanic Affairs, and founding chairman of the board for the Farm Workers’ Clinic in Yakima Valley. He was honored by the state Legislature and he received the Ohtli Medal, Mexico’s highest civilian honor. He was 90. Glover W. Barnes, who was one of the first African Americans to serve on the faculty of the UW School of Medicine, died Dec. 20. He spent 40 years as a professor and lecturer of urology, microbiology and immunology at the UW. He spent much of his career helping promote diversity and opportunities for people of color. He was 86. Isao Hoshiwara, ’56, ’57, an ophthalmologist who spent 30 years working for the Public Health and Indian Health Services, died Oct. 30. His medi-
PEOPLE IN THE NEWS Pat Tanumihardja, ’95, had her book, The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook: Home Cooking from Asian American Kitchens, published this past fall by Sasquatch Books. Tanumihardja interviewed, cooked with and connected with grandmothers, mothers and aunties who contributed recipes for 130 dishes. Annie Young-Scrivner, ’91, was named Starbucks’ global chief marketing officer. She oversaw marketing for Quaker Foods and Snacks and was past chair and region president of Pepsi-Co Foods for greater China. Collin Tong, ’73, received the National Adult Day Services Association’s 2009 Katryna Gould Award for his efforts to build awareness and rally support for adult day services as a viable community-based long-term care option. Jenny Durkan, ’85, a Seattle defense attorney, was unanimously confirmed as the new U.S. Attorney for Western Washington. She is the second woman and likely the first openly gay appointed federal prosecutor in the nation.
P h oto b y K e r r y D a h l e n
cal research on infectious eye diseases took him to Native American Indian reservations, where he worked on a cure for trachoma. He was 80. Arthur A. Jacobovitz, the longtime executive director of the Hillel Foundation at the UW, died Nov. 3. Known on campus as “Rabbi J,” he directed the Hillel program for 30 years and founded the Washington state rabbinic group. He was 78. Lynn Barbara Johnson, ’54, who served as a board member for the UW Multicultural Alumni Partnership, died Jan. 16. She and her husband Fred hosted foreign students for decades through the UW’s Foundation for International Understanding Through Students program. She was 76.
Georgia S. McDade, ’87, published her first book of poetry, Outside the Cave, in October. She also has several poems and a short story in the African-American Writers’ Alliance anthology, Threads.
Nancy Meltzer, ’84, who devoted her life to helping senior citizens caring for their disabled adult children, died Sept. 30. She worked at The Arc of King County, an organization that advocates for people with developmental disablitilies and their families. Harold “Hal” Reasby, ’73, the first AfricanAmerican superintendent of the Edmonds and Monroe school districts, died Nov. 30. He spent 22 years in the Seattle School District and was involved in developing the district’s desegregation plan. He later led the Edmonds and Monroe school districts before retiring in 1993. He was 78.
FROM THE ASIAN GRANDMOTHERS COOKBOOK By Pat Tanumihardja (right) Vietnamese Chicken Curry (Ca Ri Ga)
This mild adaptation of an Indian curry has a Vietnamese twist added—sweet potatoes. If possible, allow the curry to sit overnight so that the chicken really absorbs the flavors from the spice-rich gravy. Time: 2 1/2 hours (30 minutes active) Makes: 4 to 6 servings as part of a multicourse family-style meal A painting by Alfredo Arreguin, ’67, ’69, tablespoon “The1Return to vegetable Aztlan,”oilhas been installed 1 large yellow onion, chopped (1 1/2 cups) in one of the Smithsonian National 2 tablespoons Vietnamese or Madras curry Portrait Gallery’s permanent collections. powder The work depicts salt historical Mexican labor 2 1/4 teaspoons activists, referring to both the8 serving mythical 3- to 4-pound chicken, cut into homeland Aztec people andparts the pieces;oforthe 3 pounds bone-in chicken of realm your choice (drumsticks, breasts, etc.) cultural of greater Mexico. 20-ounce can (2 1⁄3 cups) coconut milk 1 cup water, plus more as needed 2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes and/or russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat until it becomes runny and starts to shimmer. Add the onion and stir and cook until slightly softened, about 2 minutes. Add the curry powder and ¼ teaspoon salt and stir until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add the chicken and brown for 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Don’t worry about completely cooking the chicken at this point, you just want to sear the meat so that it retains its juices and doesn’t fall apart during cooking. Add the coconut milk and water followed by the potatoes. Make sure the chicken pieces and potatoes are completely submerged in the liquid. If necessary, add more water. Raise the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover. Simmer for at least 1 hour, preferably 2. When the dish is done, the chicken will be fall-apart tender and the gravy will be thick from the starch of the potatoes. Add the remaining salt. Serve hot with freshly steamed rice or French bread. http://theasiangrandmotherscookbook. wordpress.com/
Joan Davidson Smith, ’50, who was born on the Blackfoot Indian Reservation in Idaho and went on to become one of the first three women to graduate from the UW School of Medicine, died Oct. 6. A psychiatrist, she spoke Crow and later in life worked for the Lummi and Muckleshoot peoples. She was 82. 11
faces: Phyllis Byrdwell
HEAR FOR YOURSELF Want to hear a bit of Phyllis Byrdwell’s gospel for yourself? You can pay a visit to Mount Zion Baptist Church in Seattle for one of its services or you can see her in action directing the UW’s gospel choir at the end of each quarter.
UW Gospel Choir Spring Concert: June 7, 7:30 p.m., University Presbyterian Church, 4540 15th Avenue N.E., Seattle. Visiting campus? Stroll by Meany 268 on a Monday evening.
Phyllis Birdwell jumped at the chance to teach gospel at the UW. Photos by Karen Orders.
SUCCESS IS THE GOSPEL SHE TEACHES BY Courtney Acitelli
When asked if she is primarily a teacher or a musician, Phyllis Byrdwell pauses for a good long while. The University of Washington instructor, Lakeside School music teacher, and Minister of Music at Mount Zion Baptist Church eventually admits she does not see a separation between the two. “They are just so intertwined,” she says. Seven days a week, Byrdwell, ’82, ’88, ’95, can be found teaching music to middle- and highschool kids, training UW students to sing gospel, working with the Mount Zion choir, or arranging the church’s music selections for its weekly services. Before rattling off her schedule, Byrdwell warns, “I’m about to exhaust you.” But she seems inexhaustible. A classically trained musician with more than 40 years at Mount Zion and 26 years at Lakeside, one wouldn’t expect that she was looking for another gig. However, when the UW approached her 10 12
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years ago to teach gospel—prompted by a grant from Paul Allen to encourage the teaching of genres that were out of the realm of traditional European music—Byrdwell accepted. She was eager to teach the genre of gospel to college students. “I teach the class objectively,” she says of her non-religious approach with the UW’s gospel choir. “But [the students] have to deliver the music as if they believe it. No one should be able to tell that you don’t believe it. I know there are believers in the class, but that’s not what the objective actually is.” She says each student must learn not only to sing the words but to move and to clap as well. “And you have to look like you know what you’re doing by the end of the 10 weeks,” she says with a laugh. Byrdwell’s experience at the University began when, as a college student, she transferred here from Seattle Central Community College, where
she had taken an “invigorating” sociology class with Dr. Rosetta Hunter. “After taking that class,” she says, “I knew I wanted to continue in college.” Encouraged by Barbara Lundquist, a UW music professor and author of books on multiethnic and multicultural music education, Byrdwell transferred to the UW, where she eventually graduated with three degrees: bachelor’s degrees in applied music and music education, and a master’s degree in music. “Completing my education was always my father’s wish for me,” she says. Her wish for her students? “I want to have them look at music that they may or may not have looked at in any depth,” she says. “This is my job as a teacher.” Courtney Acitelli is a Viewpoints staff writer.
faces: Herb Tsuchiya
Former pharmacist Herb Tsuchiya has turned volunteerism into his new full-time role. Photo by Kerry Dahlen.
STILL GIVING AFTER ALL THESE YEARS Herb Tsuchiya’s dedication to community service knows no bounds at age 77
“ I just like to help people”
BY Courtney Acitelli
Herb Tsuchiya, ’58, is taking parenting classes at age 77. Actually, he is taking puppy-training classes, but the retired Seattle pharmacist says with a laugh, “These are actually parenting classes, disguised.” When he isn’t training Button, a two-monthold rat terrier he adopted from PAWS, Tsuchiya is volunteering with another non-profit organization, continuing a decades-long devotion to community service that saw him and his family honored with the 2009 Outstanding Philanthropic Family Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals. “This is what I do now,” Tsuchiya says of volunteering in his retirement. “I just like to help people.” Tsuchiya first decided that he wanted to help people as a student at Seattle’s Franklin High School in the early 1950s. He was attracted to the medical profession after undergoing several surgeries on his nose, and thought the University of Washington’s pharmacy program would be a good fit. It was then he realized his shy demeanor gave people the wrong impression.
“If you’re quiet and shy, teachers think you’re smart and studious. Not me. I always struggled for every grade I got,” he says. But one aspect of his education was a breeze. “In the large lecture classes, the professors would tell us L.K.F.s, which stood for 'little known facts,' about a topic or an author. I remembered all of them photographically. But for all the big stuff, I always had to refer to my notes.” After graduating from the UW School of Pharmacy, Tsuchiya went to work as a pharmacist and got active in the community in a big way. He co-founded the Asian Counseling and Referral Service’s annual Walk for Rice (now in its 20th year) and served on the Seattle Board of Park Commissioners, among many other projects. His career as a pharmacist—mainly serving immigrant populations in Southeast Seattle— earned him lots of recognition from the community, not to mention many awards, including the 2008 UW School of Pharmacy Distinguished Alumnus in Pharmacy Practice Award. He met his late wife, Bertha, ’48, when he hired her to work part-time at his pharmacy so he could devote
more of his time to volunteer endeavors. (Bertha, a prominent and beloved volunteer herself, died in 2004.) As one might imagine after years of dedication to his business and community organizations, Tsuchiya’s retirement has hardly been restful. In addition to myriad volunteer roles, he now acts in local theater productions, takes impromptu lessons on social networking from several of his 12 grandchildren and bakes cakes, which sell for hundreds of dollars. Hundreds of dollars? “I baked a Japanese kasutera cake from a secret family recipe for one of my daughters to auction off at a charity auction,” he says. “The cake went for $400 after a bidding war between three people. My daughter asked the other two who did not win if they would pay $400 if I baked two more cakes, and they said yes. So my cakes were worth $1,200,” he says, sounding surprised. But with Tsuchiya, somehow it’s no surprise that even his baking talents can contribute to a cause. Courtney Acitelli is a Viewpoints staff writer. 13
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spotlight: THE NATIVE AMERICAN STORY
SHOWCASING NATIVE KNOWLEDGE By Jon Marmor
Deana Dartt-Newton wants to make sure people—especially children—know the real story about Native Americans. A descendant of the Montecito Chumash, and member of the Coastal Band of the Chumash Nation of California, she is well situated to help make that goal a reality as the recently appointed curator of Native American Ethnology at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture at the University of Washington. Dartt-Newton, who is also an assistant professor of American Indian Studies, is tackling projects on local, national and international levels that she hopes will inform people that Native Americans aren’t extinct, and have a great deal to teach the dominant culture about living sustainably with the environment. At the Burke, which will undergo a major expansion and renovation, she is working to insure the museum incorporates American Indian perspectives not only in “history” but throughout all of the Burke’s exhibits, which include geology, biology and paleontology, in addition to archaeology and ethnology. Even more importantly, her goal is to create exhibits specifically geared so children can understand and learn from them. After all, she says, her research has shown that schools generally teach 14
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about Native Americans in the third and fourth grade, and state curriculum is often supplemented by museums. Her research (conducted in her native California) showed that museums provided very little information about American Indians, leaving children with the notion that they are “gone.”
“Native American people have sophisticated systems of knowledge about living sustainably” “As stewards of Native American materials, we have a responsibility to teach our visitors about past and present Native communities, to facilitate the goals of the Tribes and to make the materials of their ancestors accessible to them,” she says. On the national level, Dartt-Newton is representing the UW in a first-of-its-kind, National Science Foundation-funded project called Cosmic Serpent, which is bringing Native Americans together with western-trained museum leaders,
Deana Dartt-Newton is working to bridge western and Native ways for teaching environmental stewardship. Photo by Mary Levin.
educators and scientists to find ways to bridge western and Native ways of knowing in the museum setting for teaching environmental stewardship and sustainability. “Native American people have sophisticated systems of knowledge about living sustainably. We have been practicing it for generations,” she says. “But Native environmental knowledge has rarely been taken seriously by the West. It’s about time that the Native perspective be included in a national climate dialogue.” On a lighter but equally important note, Dartt-Newton is joining forces with the Seattle Art Museum to try to correct some of the impressions about the Quileute created by the “Twilight” books and movies—specifically, that the Quileute (who are featured in the stories) are werewolves. “The Quileute have strong ties to the wolf, as evidenced in their art and oral history,” says Dartt-Newton. “But the books and movies fail to describe Quileute life and culture. Our goal is to educate the public about who the Quileute people are and what kind of impacts the recent popularity has had on the small rural community in LaPush.” Jon Marmor is editor of Viewpoints.
Campus datebook
A VIEW FROM THE PRESIDENT
Calendar of Events
Photo courtesy Eddie Pasatiempo.
When I attended the University of Washington in the 1970s, only 7 percent of the student population was from underrepresented communities and I can recall having only one faculty member of color as a professor—Sociology Lecturer Al Black. (To this day, his teachings still resonate with me.) In our new global environment, it is more important than ever to have diversity in our lives. The more cultures we are exposed to, the better prepared we will be to solve problems with broad and holistic points of view instead of through a single lens. Thankfully, the diversity of the UW student body has grown substantially since the days when I hung out at the HUB in between classes. And the University has been doing a solid job of recruiting and retaining faculty of color. That’s absolutely vital because faculty of color serve as potential role models not only to students of color and underrepresented communities but to all students. They serve as mentors who share a similar and diverse set of backgrounds and perspectives. They instill pride in diverse communities and reinforce the importance and relevance of them and their culture. It wasn’t always that way. Today, 40 years after the University took its first formal steps to address issues of diversity, we have much to be proud of. We have come a long way. Our administration has leaders from diverse backgrounds. Our faculty is growing more diverse. And that will only lead to more success for our students—and our community.
April 22, 2010 Samuel E. Kelly Distinguished Faculty Lecture 5:30 p.m. Reception, 6:30 p.m. Lecture, Johnson Hall http://depts.washington.edu/omad/ SamKelly/
May 19, 2010 EOP Celebration 5:30 p.m. Reception, 6:30 p.m. Dinner; HUB Ballroom http://depts.washington.edu/omad/ celebration10.shtml
July, 2010 OMA&D Alumni Remix Time and location, TBD For other diversity events, visit www.washington.edu/ diversity/calendar.php
E.M. “Eddie” Pasatiempo, ’77 President, UW Alumni Association, 2009-2010
The link for success The spirit of collaboration that exists between staff members of the UW Alumni Association and the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity resulted in a highly successful tool supporting collaboration and networking among members of the UW community on a much larger scale. From left, Keoke Silvano, ’06, re-entry counselor in OMA&D, joined Malik Davis, ’94, UWAA associate director for constituent relations, and Don Gallagher, UWAA associate director for career services, to expand the LinkedIn group Silvano created two years ago. Today, the UW Alumni Group on LinkedIn has more than 12,000 members and is growing rapidly. If you want to connect with fellow Huskies in their local area and around the globe for career tips, opportunities and networking, you can join LinkedIn and the UW Alumni Group at http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=40422&trk=myg_ugrp_ovr P h oto b y MARY LE V IN
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4333 Brooklyn Avenue N.E. Box 359508 Seattle, WA 98195-9508
Photo courtesy Nelson Del Rio.
EOP CELEBRATION 2010 NELSON DEL RIO TO BE HONORED
Nelson Del Rio, ’84, a businessman and philanthropist who has worked to improve the lives of citizens from emerging communities in the U.S. and abroad, will receive the University of Washington’s Charles E. Odegaard Award at the 2010 EOP Celebration on May 19 in the HUB Ballroom. The event will be held from 5:30-8:30 p.m. The public is invited. The Odegaard Award, which was established in 1973, honors a member of the University community who continues to carry out the former UW president’s work on behalf of diversity at the UW and the citizens of the state of Washington. It is the only University- and community-selected award, and is regarded as the highest achievement in diversity at the UW. Del Rio came to the UW at the age of 19 with encouragement from the Office of Minority Affairs
OMA&D and Friends of EOP Celebration 2010 Date: May 19, 2010 Where: HUB Ballroom Time: 5:30 p.m. Reception, 6:30 p.m. Dinner Tickets: $80 Contact: Roxanne Christian at 206-221-0680 or rchristi@u.washington.edu
and Diversity, and scholarship support. And he made the most of his opportunities as a UW student. He graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in economics, then graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School. After a successful stint on Wall Street, he built a career in business and philanthropy. Since graduating from the UW, Del Rio has dedicated much of his time and resources to issues of social equity and justice. The UW has played a significant part in that effort. “I want to take the creativity I applied in business and apply it on a more global scale to make a real difference in the world,” Del Rio says. For example, he was involved in the development of the partnership between the Royal University of Phnom Penh and the UW School of Social Work to create Cambodia’s first social work school. He is also working to help the UW School of Social Work develop the first Master’s of Social Work Program in Israel’s West Bank through a partnership with Bethlehem University.
Moreover, Del Rio created a Global Citizen Scholarship at the UW to encourage EOP students to study and travel abroad. A two-term member of the UW Foundation Board, Del Rio is passionate about creating interdisciplinary efforts between various disciplines within the UW and entities outside the school. “These partnerships allow us to pursue our passions and make a difference for the UW,” says Del Rio, who lives in Southern California. “This is my home. It made me who I am.” Del Rio joins a long list of civic leaders who have received the prestigious Odegaard Award. Other winners include W. Ron Allen, ’83, chairman and executive director of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe; former Seattle Mayor Norm Rice, ’72, ’74; and State Rep. Phyllis Gutierrez-Kenney, ’79. Celebration 2010 is presented by the UW Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity, and the Friends of the Educational Opportunity Program. For more information or to register, go to http://depts. washington.edu/omad/celebration10.shtml