The face of diversity at the University of Washington
Focus on:
EASTERN WASHINGTON
GEAR UP:
giving students a way up BREAKING THE MOLD:
MINORITY YOUTH IN DENTISTRY
ALTERNATIVE SPRING BREAK: Expanding minds, opening eyes
MAP bridging the Gap Breakfast
The 360 View:
A roundup of people & news
SPOTLIGHT UW’S GO-MAP Program
FALL 2007
snapshot
A symbol King County can be proud of In 1986, a bipartisan effort kicked off to change the namesake for King County, which was originally named in 1852 after Vice President William Rufus de Vane King, a slave-owning advocate for the Fugitive Slave Act. After the county was officially renamed in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., King County Councilman Larry Gossett, ’71, (above), introduced legislation to change the county logo—dropping the gold crown in favor of an original graphic of Dr. King. The new logo was unveiled to great fanfare in March. “For future generations,” Gossett says, “we will have a daily visual reminder of Dr. King—a reminder of who he was, what he stood for and what we want the county we live in to strive to achieve.” Photographed June 20, 2007 in Larry Gossett’s office in downtown Seattle by Mary Levin.
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in this issue
Message from the UWAA........................................................................................................................ 3 Points of View......................................................................................................................................... 4 Once Around Campus............................................................................................................................. 5 David Kopay Endowment to support Q Center......................................................................................... 5 President Emmert meets tribal leaders...................................................................................................... 5 Lange named VP for minority affairs & diversity........................................................................................ 5 COVER THEME: Eastern Washington GEAR UP gives students a way up......................................................................................................... 6-7 Breaking the Mold: Dental camps for students......................................................................................... 8 Alternative Spring Break: A real eye-opener............................................................................................. 9 The 360 View: Diversity from Every Angle......................................................................................... 10-11 In Memory............................................................................................................................................. 11 Faces: Diane Narasaki............................................................................................................................. 12 Faces: Norm Proctor............................................................................................................................... 13 Spotlight: GO-MAP diversity fellowships................................................................................................. 14 Cover photo: Loueta Johnson, director of the UW’s Yakima Valley GEAR UP program, stands with Nayely Mendoza, a UW civil engineering student who came to the UW through GEAR UP—and hopes to volunteer in future GEAR UP programs. Photo by Karen Orders. Corrections / Clarifications In the Spring 2007 issue of Viewpoints, we published the wrong name in identifying one of the subjects of Alfredo Arreguin’s paintings that will be on exhibit in the Smithsonian Institution. The correct name is Emiliano Zapata. Viewpoints regrets the error.
VIEWPOINTS
THE FACE OF DIVERSITY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOUNDED 2004 1415 N.E. 45th Street Seattle, WA 98105 Phone: 206-543-0540 Fax: 206-685-0611 E-mail: vwpoints@u.washington.edu VIEWPOINTS ON THE WEB: UWalum.com/viewpoints
VIEWPOINTS STAFF PUBLISHER: Chuck Blumenfeld, ’66, ’69 Associate PUBLISHER: Sue Brockmann, ’72 EDITOR: JON MARMOR, ’94 graphic DESIGNERs: Michele Locatelli, Amie Ross EDITORIAL INTERNS: Gwen Davis, Amy Huang LIAISON TO OFFICE OF MINORITY AFFAIRS: ROSA RAMON STAFF WRITERS: COURTNEY ACITELLI, ERIC MCHENRY, Jeannette Tarcha PHOTOGRAPHY: MARY LEVIN, KAREN ORDERS, KATHY SAUBER
Vol. 3, No. 2, September 2007. Viewpoints is published in the fall and spring quarters. It is a publication of the University of Washington Alumni Association and the University of Washington. Opinions expressed are those of the contributors or editors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the University or the UW Alumni Association.
t is my honor to recognize the third anniversary of Viewpoints as I begin my term as president of the University of Washington Alumni Association for 2007-08. This publication has gone a long way toward reconnecting diverse communities with the University. And my goal in the coming year is to broaden our outreach and build even more connections with alumni of color and those from underrepresented communities. This University made a difference in my life. I earned two degrees here and met my wife while I was in law school. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the UW. That’s why I have been a longtime UWAA volunteer. This issue of Viewpoints illustrates the University’s amazing work building relationships with communities in Eastern Washington. Our stories on the UW’s GEAR UP program in the Yakima Valley (pages 6-7), summer dental camp partnership with Eastern Washington University (page 8) and Alternative Spring Break (page 9) are sure to impress you—and show that the University is striving to serve students from all over our state. You have my pledge that the UWAA will do all it can to connect with alumni from underrepresented populations. Relationship building is our job at the UWAA. Norm Proctor, ‘74, ‘77 UWAA President, 2007-08 VIEWPOINTS ADVISORY COMMITTEE PAUL RUCKER, ’95, ’02, Director of Alumni Relations, UWAA, Chair JERRY BALDASTY, ’72, ’78, Chair, UW Dept. of Communication SUE BROCKMANN, ’72, Director of Marketing, Communications and Revenue Development, UWAA COLLEEN FUKUI-SKETCHLEY, ’94, Diversity Affairs Specialist, Nordstrom ROGER L. GRANT, Board member, Multicultural Alumni Partnership Sheila Edwards Lange, Vice President of Minority Affairs & Diversity TAMARA LEONARD, Jackson School of International Studies SUZANNE ORTEGA, Vice Provost & Dean, The Graduate School NORM PROCTOR, ’74, ’77, UWAA President Rosa Ramon, Director of Communications, Office of Minority Affairs & Diversity LOIS PRICE SPRATLEN, ’76, UW Ombudsman JUDY YU, Director of Communications, Shoreline Community College GEORGE ZENO, Executive Director, Scholarships and Student Programs
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ince its formation in 1995, the Multicultural Alumni Partnership has promoted diversity within the UWAA and the UW community. We are now partnering with the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity to look at ways we can collaborate and expand our areas of reach to include more geographic diversity. In Eastern Washington particularly, there are many ways for our multicultural alumni to keep their UW spirit alive. These may involve assisting with recruitment and retention of students, helping to plan special events to recognize past, present and future Huskies, and mentoring aspiring graduates who are beginning new careers. Last month, MAP supported a reception in Yakima hosted by the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity to highlight all that the UW has to offer. During this event for students, alumni and their families, scholars from the area were recognized and new and returning alumni were shown what they can do to support specialinterest group efforts on behalf of the University. Several other institutions, including WSU and UCLA, have strong and active ethnic affinity alumni groups. MAP encourages the emergence of similar groups at the UW, and hopes to function as the umbrella that connects these to one another and to our University community. MAP congratulates our friend and board member, Dr. Sheila Edwards Lange, on becoming the new permanent Vice Provost for Diversity and Vice President for Minority Affairs. We also congratulate MAP adviser and founding member Dr. Millie Russell on her retirement from a distinguished career at the UW. And special kudos go to MAP board member Dr. Lois Price Spratlen, who was recently honored at a ceremony on campus for her leadership as Chair of the King County Board of Ethics.
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eatured in this issue is Jenniffer Gonzales, a Latina, firstgeneration college student from the Yakima Valley. She represents hundreds of students from Eastern Washington who are contributing to the diversity and the vitality of the University of Washington. The Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity (OMA/D) is strongly committed to educational opportunity for students like Jenniffer, who may be low-income, underrepresented, or first-generation college students. Our pre-college programs in Eastern Washington provide resources that support the pipeline to higher education. OMA/D’s pre-college programs work in close partnership with families, local school districts and community organizations. These collaborations are clearly making a difference. Last year, 83.4 percent of new freshmen from the Yakima Valley had graduated from high schools served by UW OMA/D’s federally funded pre-college program, GEAR UP, a community-based partnership program. The University of Washington is committed to a strong presence in Eastern Washington. For example, the Office of UW-Community Partnerships Yakima Valley Program serves as a local liaison to connect and facilitate university and community collaborations. We are also active in creating opportunities to re-engage alumni living in Eastern Washington communities. At OMA/D, community connections are a priority in our recruitment and outreach as well as retention efforts. We are convinced that teaming up with communities like those in Eastern Washington will result in many more success stories like Jenniffer’s.
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Justin Simmons, ’93 MAP President, 2006-2008
Support the MAP Endowed Scholarship Fund You can donate to the MAP Endowed Scholarship Fund by going to www.washington.edu/alumni/clubs/map.html
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Sheila Edwards Lange, Ph.D., ’00, ’06 Vice President for Minority Affairs and Vice Provost for Diversity
Campaign UW: Creating Futures, Make a Gift to Diversity Online giving http://uwfoundation.org/diversity Or contact: Greg Lewis, Director of Development for Diversity, 206-685-3013, lewisg@u.washington.edu, Or mail checks to University of Washington, Attention: Greg Lewis, Box 352845, Seattle, WA 98195
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Kopay Endowment to support the Q Center David Kopay, ’64, a former All-American running back at the University of Washington who was the first openly gay American professional team athlete, has announced his commitment to establish the David Kopay Endowment to benefit the Q Center. Kopay was inspired to make his $1 million gift after learning about Leoule Goshu, a young gay student who had been living in shelters while attending the UW (see spring 2007 Viewpoints cover story). The Q Center serves the UW’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community and provides resources to faculty, staff, and students through education, advocacy, visibility and skill development. Kopay hopes his gift will encourage others to make similar contributions so the next generation of UW students will be kind, compassionate, open and fair to one another. David Kopay, ‘64. Photo by Bob Peterson.
MAKING HISTORY An historic meeting held April 13 between President Mark Emmert (center) and Washington tribal chairs focused on setting a vision for partnership between the tribal communities and the University’s programs in education, research, and service. The group of tribal chairs included many UW alumni. Photo by Mary Levin
Lange named vice president for minority affairs & diversity Sheila Edwards Lange, ’00, ’06, has been appointed vice president for minority affairs and vice provost for diversity after serving in the position on an interim basis for the past year. “Dr. Lange has been a vital and active proponent for diversity for many years,” said UW President Mark A. Emmert, ’75. “She recognizes that diversity is a strength for institutions of higher education and that it is not the province of any one office but everyone’s responsibility.” Lange’s UW tenure began in 1998, when she served as a research assistant to the President’s Advisory Committee on Women. In 2001, she was named associate director of the Center for Workforce Development in the College Vice President Sheila Edwards Lange of Engineering. There, she worked with talks with Executive Vice Provost Ana women and underrepresented minority Marie Cauce. Photo by Mary Levin. students in science, engineering and mathematics. In 2005, Lange received the University’s Diversity Award for Community Building. She then was serving as special assistant to the vice president of minority affairs when she was appointed interim vice president after the departure of Rusty Barceló. viewpoints
Focus on: eastern washington
GEAR UP
Giving students a way up
Loueta Johnson (right), director of the Two Valleys One Vision GEAR UP program at the UW, speaks to students about their experience at the GEAR UP Student Leadership Camp.
Story by Eric McHenry | Photos by Karen Orders
In the Toppenish School District on the Yakama Indian Reservation in Eastern Washington, 75 percent of the students are Hispanic, 18 percent are Native American, and 90 percent are eligible for free or reduced-fee lunches. For generations, dropout rates have been high and hopes have been low. But that’s beginning to change. Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) scores and graduation rates are rising in the Yakima Valley, and in some high-poverty districts, the percentage of students going on to college has more than tripled in the past few years. Chief among this turnaround is a series of partnerships between the UW and Yakima Valley institutions. And chief among those partnerships is UW Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity GEAR
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UP Partnership Programs (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs), a federally funded initiative to boost the number of minority and low-income students going to college. The idea is to raise both grades and expectations through tutoring and mentoring, college visits and career modeling. “There’s a lot more of us who are going to college and continuing in education, and I know
that it’s because of GEAR UP,” says Jenniffer Gonzalez, a Toppenish High School graduate who’s now a UW sophomore. “The GEAR UP coordinator at my school was really active in getting us on-campus visitations,” she says. “Throughout high school, I think he took us four or five times to the UW—and here I am. “I was always college-bound, but I know that coming from Toppenish, a lot of kids aren’t, because their parents never went to school. They don’t have that confidence that they can go, and GEAR UP instills it in them.” Ask successful people of color how they got where they are, Loueta Johnson says, and you’ll get the same answer over and over. “Almost to a person, they will tell you that there was someone who believed in them,” she says. Johnson would
Focus on: eastern washington
Seventh-grade GEAR UP students listen to a speaker at the GEAR UP Students Leadership Conference.
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Yakima and Skagit valleys, as well as the community of Goldendale. It is the largest rural GEAR UP partnership in the nation. “In many ways, we’re looking at our GEAR UP program establishing itself as one of the true national models,” says Enrique Morales, senior associate vice president for minority affairs and diversity at the UW. “Not only do we deal with poverty, disparate educational backgrounds of parents, underfunded schools, but we also deal with cultures and languages that aren’t always embraced or in the planning for how higher education works.” The hard work of Johnson and her colleagues has not gone underappreciated in the schools. Steve Myers, superintendent of the Toppenish
10 are invited to repeat their performances for a panel of judges from the community. “I haven’t missed one yet,” Myers says. “There are some eighth-graders who almost sound like they’re mature adults, talking about going into nursing, going into engineering, opening up their own business. You dream, as an administrator, about your students being successful. This program is just like a booster shot for that.” Eric McHenry is a Viewpoints staff writer.
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“There’s a lot more of us who are going to college and continuing in education, and I know that it’s because of GEAR UP.”
know. As director of the UW’s Yakima Valley GEAR UP program, she regularly administers surveys on which that very question is asked. With GEAR UP, she says, the goal is to see that students receive that crucial support not just from individuals but from the entire community. “It’s truly a culture change,” she says. “Every person in the community starts to think of every student as college-bound.” Through GEAR UP, the UW provides services to schools, tailored to the needs of each—academic assessment, class planning, career and college preparation, advising, tutoring, campus field trips, information workshops for parents, and professional development for teachers. The first UW GEAR UP grant, awarded by the U.S. Department of Education in 1999, supported a partnership between the University and seven school districts, as well as the Yakama Nation Tribal School, Yakima Valley Community College and three community-based partners. It was renewed in 2005, and a second grant for an additional cohort was added last year. The current iteration of UW GEAR UP, “Two Valleys—One Vision,” serves 14 school districts in the
School District, nominated Johnson for the 2007 Washington Association of School Administrators Community Service Award, which she received. “She is as passionate about our children being successful as we are,” Myers says. A crown jewel of GEAR UP’s efforts in Toppenish, he says, is the annual career showcase for eighth-graders. Every student chooses a profession, does extensive research on it, and gives a presentation to teachers and fellow students. The top
Dr. Kathleen Ross, Heritage University president, welcomes seventh-grade students to Heritage University and GEAR UP Leadership Conference. The students are from Sunnyside, Mabton, Grandview, Granger and Goldendale.
Holt to oversee UW partnerships in Yakima Valley Former Columbia Basin College administrator Evangelina Galvan-Holt, ’89, ’96, has been named director of UW-Community Partnerships in the Yakima Valley. Galvan-Holt will work to enhance community partnerships, develop academic programs and coordinate the UW’s presence in the Yakima Valley. She joins the UW after serving six years as the vice president for Diversity and Grants Administration at Columbia Basin College in Pasco. While she was there, the college’s Hispanic student enrollment tripled. A well-respected member of the Hispanic community, the Tri-Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce named her “Tri-Cities Educator of the Year” in May 2007. Galvan-Holt holds a master’s degree in public administration and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the UW.
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Focus on: eastern washington
Dr. Doug Jackson (above) created summer dental camps for students of color throughout the state of Washington.
UW’s Doug Jackson Blazes a Trail for Minority Youth in the World of Dentistry
Breaking the Mold Story By Jeannette Tarcha | Photos courtesy Washington dental service foundation
In recent years, it wasn’t uncommon for UW Dentistry Professor Douglass Jackson to rise early on a Saturday morning, pack his vehicle with dozens of boxes, and make the long trek from Seattle to Spokane or Yakima for a road trip with the potential to change lives. The boxes did not contain food, medicine or life-saving first aid supplies. Rather, they were filled with dental supplies for the UW’s highly acclaimed dental camp—a program that provides adolescents from communities that have traditionally been underserved by dentistry with an opportunity to learn first hand about what it’s like to be a dentist. “It’s my professional and social responsibility to give back,” says Jackson, UW associate dean for educational partnerships & diversity. “There is
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a part inside of me that says I have to give back because someone did that for me.” It’s that compassion, drive and determination— along with the financial support of the Washington Dental Service Foundation—which allowed Jackson to blaze a trail for minority and disadvantaged adolescents with the creation of dental camp five years ago. Dental camps expose students to careers in the dental profession, encourage them to prepare for a future in health services and provide them with role models. Many of the dental camp volunteer mentors are minorities or have backgrounds that are similar to the students. “The coolest thing for me is to see these mentors relating to these students,” Jackson says.
Since 2002, more than 700 Washingtonian teens have participated in the free UW dental camps. Jackson no longer has to make the cross-state treks to Spokane or Yakima, thanks to a partnership developed with Eastern Washington University and the Washington Dental Service Foundation earlier this year. “Doug got us started with his trips to Spokane and whetted our appetite,” says Dr. Art DiMarco, professor in the EWU Department of Dental Hygiene. DiMarco coordinates EWU’s Dental Camp along with Rebecca Stolberg, a fellow EWU Dental Hygiene associate professor and registered dental hygienist. EWU drew dozens of kids to its first two dental camps in Spokane this year and received rave reviews. “It’s really wonderful to see the kids getting excited about dentistry,” DiMarco says. “The first clinic went very well and the volunteers all said they plan to come back.” A typical day at dental camp looks much like a day at the office in the life of a dentist. The students dress in lab coats, masks and gloves, and literally try their hand at typical dental procedures ranging from taking dental impressions to filling in a chipped front tooth on a dental model to applying a sealant onto a fake molar. Dr. Jim Sledge, an EWU Dental Camp mentor and fellow dental camp founding dentist, is thrilled with the evolution of the program and the collaboration between UW and EWU. “The folks at EWU really stepped up and said let’s do this,” Sledge says. “It was a really neat experience to see these kids who have never thought about a career in the dental industry… you could see the wheels turning and the kids thinking, ‘maybe I could do this.’” Jeannette Tarcha is a Viewpoints staff writer. She is a communication and media relations specialist for the UWAA.
Focus on: eastern washington rooms to help school children with literacy and science education. The UW student volunteers also use this opportunity to tell the youngsters what it’s like to go to college—with the hopes that they will plant a seed of desire for higher education in these children.
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First-year fellow volunteer De Leon concurs. “I think the experience reminds college students about the world outside of lectures and exams,” she explains. “You get to play recess again, and live in an area so different from Seattle.” Unlike other universities that have similar service learning programs, the UW Alternative Spring Break is free and open to students from any discipline. For more information on the Alternative
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The more these kids see that there’s more out there than they think...the more they may open their minds to the idea of going to college.
UW sophomore Bobby Chien (above) worked with students at Forks Elementary School in Forks. Photo courtesy UW Pipeline Project.
Alternative Spring Break Expands minds, opens eyes By Jeannette tarcha While other University of Washington students were off to the tanning booth to prepare for a spring break at a warm location south of the border, Piya Banerjee and Stephanie De Leon reviewed lesson plans, packed school supplies and designed team-building exercises. It was hardly the stuff typical spring break dreams are made of. But Banerjee and De Leon are not like most college students. They were among 54 UW undergraduates who donated their time and talent to participate in the UW Pipeline Program’s Alternative Spring Break. Now in its 10th year, Alternative Spring Break, which is generously supported by Enterprise RentA-Car, sends student volunteers to rural communities and tribal reservations throughout Washington to work in elementary- and middle-school class-
“The more these kids see that there’s more out there than they think,” Banerjee says, “the more they may open their minds to the idea of going to college.” UW student volunteers undergo two intensive training sessions in preparation for their week in the classroom. The students are split into 10 teams of five and are assigned to work with predetermined grade levels within each of the selected schools. According to Christine Stickler, director of the UW Pipeline Project, the experience has been as powerful and eye-opening for the young students as it has been for the UW student volunteers. “Students from the rural and tribal schools delight in meeting new friends from the UW who bring stories and life experiences to share from Seattle and many points of the world beyond,” Stickler says. “And the UW students gain a new lens for looking at their world by experiencing the rich cultural background and diversity of the communities in which they stay.” Banerjee has participated in the Alternative Spring Break program for the past three years. Like most of her volunteer peers, she gets as much out of the program as the kids. “I love … to get away for the week from the hustle and bustle of school, work with kids, be creative, (and) experience a rural part of the state that I hadn’t seen before,” she says.
Spring Break, visit www.washington.edu/uwired/ pipeline/alt-spring-break.html. Adults interested in volunteering to help in the classroom or making a financial contribution to offset the cost of this program can do so by contacting Stickler at castick@u.washington.edu. Jeannette Tarcha is a Viewpoints staff writer. Viewpoints Intern Gwen Davis contributed to this story.
AT A GLANCE ALTERNATIVE SPRING BREAK
BY THE NUMBERS
Since it was created 10 years ago, the University of Washington’s Alternative Spring Break Program has sent 385 undergraduate students to work with more than 6,500 elementary school-age students in rural and underserved areas of Washington. During the Spring 2007 Alternative Spring Break, the program involved: • 1 week • 54 UW undergraduates • 10 Washington towns (mostly in E. Washington) • 921 elementary- and middle-school students, who wrote 348 poems and 552 stories • 5,375 miles • $40,000 (for student transportation, food, lodging and other expenses for the UW students) Source: Christine Stickler, Director, UW Pipeline Program
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360° View: DIVERSITY FROM EVERY ANGLE
Milestones
People in the News
The UW School of Law hired Norma Rodriguez, ’96, ’01, as its new director of recruitment and diversity. The daughter of farm workers, she most recently was assistant professor at California State University, Chico. The UW’s new Indigenous Wellness Research Institute opened in April to help American Indians and other indigenous people achieve health and wellness. The new institute will be headquartered in the School of Social Work but draw researchers from many other departments. A bill designating January 13 as Korean American Day was signed by Gov. Chris Gregoire, ’71. The bill was introduced by state Sen. Paull Shin, ’69, ’80, (D-Edmonds). The family of deceased NASA astronaut Michael P. Anderson, ’81, received part of a $26.6 million settlement from NASA, it was disclosed in April. Anderson was one of seven astronauts who died in 2003 when the space shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry. With the April hiring of Women’s Basketball Head Coach Tia Jackson 1 , the UW becomes the only major American university with African Americans in three of the highest profile coaching positions at an institute of higher education. The College of Arts and Sciences honored Bryan Monroe, ’87, 2 a former UW Daily editor who is now vice president and editorial director of Ebony/Jet and is president of the National Association of Black Journalists, and Marcus Tsutakawa, ’78, ’79, ’83, ’85, 3 director of the award-winning Garfield High School Orchestra, as two of its distinguished alumni for 2007. Lauro H. Flores, 4 professor and chair of the Department of American Ethnic Studies, received a 2007 Distinguished Teaching Award. Erasmo Gamboa, ’70, ’73, ’84, professor of American Ethnic Studies, was awarded the Outstanding Public Service Award for faculty or staff.
Phil Lane Jr., CEO of the United Indians of All Tribes Foundation, has joined the UW’s Minority Community Advisory Committee. He replaces longtime Shoreline Community College Professor Ken LaFountaine, who died last year. Emma Noyes, a UW junior who is a member of the Colville Confederated Tribes, was selected as a 2007 Udall Scholar. She has a double major in anthropology and public health with a focus on Native American and Indigenous issues. Former State Rep. Kip Tokuda, ’69, ’73, received a Community Voice Award from the International Examiner. Rita Zawaideh, ’75, owner of Caravan-Serai Tours in Seattle, received the 2007 Farhat J. Ziadeh Leader4 ship Award from the Seattle Arab community to recognize leadership and contributions to the community and cultural heritage. Zawaideh, 3 whose company specializes in travel to the Middle East and North Africa, is a founding member and chairperson of the Arab American Coalition Committee. The award was named in honor of UW professor emeritus Farhat J. Ziadeh.
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A long overdue honor Alice Augusta Ball, ’14, a pioneer in the fight against Hansen’s disease (leprosy), has been posthumously awarded the Regents’ Medal of Distinction by the University of Hawaii. Ball, who was born in Seattle in 1892, was the first woman to earn a bachelor’s degree in pharmacological science from the UW in 1914. She then moved to Hawaii and was the first woman and the first African American to earn a master’s degree in 1915 from the University of Hawaii when it was the College of Hawaii. While working with a Hawaiian researcher, Ball investigated the chemicals in chaulmoogra tree oil, believed to be an effective treatment for leprosy. She was the first chemist to isolate the chemically active agents from the oil, and the injectible treatments she devised became standard medical procedure for nearly two decades. Less than a year after her breakthrough, Ball fell ill and died at the age of 24 before she could publish her research. Thus, she didn’t get credit for her work until long after her death. In 2000, the University of Hawaii placed a memorial plaque honoring Ball at the base of a chaulmoogra tree on the university’s campus in Manoa. – Jon Marmor
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Kenyon S. Chan, 5 former interim president of Occidental College in Los Angeles, has been named chancellor at UW Bothell. Chan was a professor, dean, and vice president of academic affairs at Occidental before serving as interim president from 2005-06. During that time, he raised a record $21.1 million in external funds, restructured the student affairs division and student government and oversaw completion of a facilities master plan.
Michael Honey, 6 professor of African American, Ethnic and Labor Studies and American History, has been named the first recipient of the UW Tacoma’s new Fred T. and Dorothy G. Haley Endowed Professorship in the Humanities. Honey is a nationally recognized expert on labor history, civil rights and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His acclaimed 2007 book is “Going Down Jericho Road: The Memphis Strike, Martin Luther King’s Last Campaign.”
UW Bothell hosted its sixth annual Intercultural Night on May 12. Faculty, staff, students and the general public gathered to enjoy music and dance performances by UW Bothell international and immigrant students, enjoy a dinner buffet and participate in a silent art auction that funded the UW Bothell International and Immigrant Student Scholarship.
Sharon Parker 7 was named UW Tacoma’s new assistant chancellor for equity and diversity. She is responsible for institutional diversity initiatives and oversees the Diversity Task Force and Diversity Resources Center. Previously, she ran a consulting practice, assisting education and industry leaders in developing, managing and evaluating diversity initiatives.
in memory Michael Coe Michael Coe, ’69, who grew up on his family’s orchard and cattle ranch in Wapato and went on to become the financial mastermind behind the Gene Juarez Salons, died February 10. He was 63. Fred Dean Fred Dean, ’75, a former UW football player who was a well-known track coach in the Seattle area, died February 17. Dean, who worked for the Arthur Anderson accounting firm, the Seattle Mariners and a Renton software company, was active in the South Central Athletic Association for many years and coached track for youth between the ages of 5 and 18. He was 66.
Patty Eng Patty Eng, a former UW graduate student who was among the first group of women in 1974 hired for the Electrical Trades Trainee program at Seattle City Light, died January 25. She spent more than 30 years at Seattle City Light, retiring in 2005 as a crew supervisor for the utility’s distribution center construction and maintenance division. She was 59.
Geoff Mathay Geoff Mathay, ’83, a longtime American Sign Language teacher at Seattle Central Community College, died February 1. He worked as a job-placement specialist at Gallaudet University, a liberal arts college for the deaf and hard of hearing in Washington, D.C., before joining Seattle Central‘s faculty in 1989. He was 51. Ira Oakes Ira Oakes, a former UW student who was one of the few African American real estate brokers in Seattle during the 1960s, died January 14. He was 71.
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Collin Williams Collin Williams, a Seattle educator and principal who won a 1997 Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Multicultural Alumni Partnership, died April 22. A native of Belize, Williams was a Seattle School District principal and administrator, and served as principal of the African American Academy in Seattle from 19932000. He was 73.
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faces: diane narasaki From humble beginnings, a drive to serve her community By Gwen Davis Diane Narasaki’s resume reads like the stuff civil rights legends and Hollywood movies are made of. From humble family beginnings growing up in a racist and segregated post-World War II America to pursuing a double major at the University of Washington to advocating for Asian and Pacific Islander rights as the executive director of the Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS), Narasaki has created a legacy that will live on in thousands of people whose lives she’s improved. “I do this work because few things are more rewarding than to work with my community for a better world, and to see the results from that work,” says Narasaki, ’77. Narasaki’s decision to dedicate her professional life advocating for social justice is rooted in her family history. Her grandparents immigrated to the United States from Japan but were barred from becoming citizens because of quotas on Japanese immigrants. During World War II, they were sent to internment camps. “I am grateful to my father, who left the camp and fought in World War II, as much to liberate his people from racism that held them in the camps as to liberate Europe from fascism,” she says. Today, Narasaki is following in her father’s footsteps—freeing people from racism and oppression—by working to give them a voice with her work at ACRS. Headquartered in Seattle’s International District, the Asian Counseling and Referral Service is a nationally recognized non-profit organization offering an array of human services and behavioral health programs to Asian-Pacific Americans in King County. It is the largest multi-service organization serving the different Asian-Pacific American communities in the Pacific Northwest. Among the services it offers are a food bank that helps feed nearly 5,000 low-income households, a Teen Peer Advocate Program, citizenship classes, English language classes, job training, 12 viewpoints
Diane Narasaki, ’77, (center), leads the way as the Asian Counseling and Referral Service holds its annual Walk for Rice, which raised $130,000 for the center’s food bank. Photo by Carina del Rosario.
seminars on how to deal with harassment, and housing vouchers to people struggling with mental illness and/or substance abuse. During the 12 years Narasaki has served as the executive director of ACRS, she co-founded the Asian Pacific Islander Coalition, which includes more than 100 groups; and co-chaired the 2004 Asian Pacific American Community Summit, which brought 5,000 Asian-Pacific Americans to learn about advocacy, voting and citizenship. The community has taken notice. Narasaki was recognized when the Municipal League of King County named the Asian Counseling and Referral Service its 2007 Organization of the Year. Last October, the organization broke ground on its new home, an 82,000-square-foot facility on Martin Luther King Jr. Way South in the Rainier Valley. The new building will feature original artwork from local Asian-Pacific American artists. “By doing so,” Narasaki says, “we wish to honor our community’s diverse experiences and immense talents.” Gwen Davis was a Viewpoints intern during the spring quarter of 2007. She is a UW sophomore majoring in communications.
AT A GLANCE
Asian Counseling and Referral Service by the numbers According to the Asian Counseling and Referral Service, Asians comprise 13.1 percent of the population in Seattle, 10.8 percent in King County and 5.5 percent statewide. The ACRS, based in Seattle’s International District, provides support services to Asian-Pacific American communities, including immigrants, refugees and American-born Asians in the Pacific Northwest. 21,000 clients served annually
30 languages and dialects served by staff
12 programs provided
175 members on staff
300 volunteers
82,000 square feet in the new ACRS facility that will be built in Seattle’s Rainier Valley Source: Asian Counseling and Referral Service Web site
faces: Norm Proctor
Steven C. Preston (left), administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, meets with UW Alumni Association President Norm Proctor, ’74, ’77, who heads up the SBA’s Pacific Northwest region. Photo courtesy SBA.
Helping small business is a big priority By Jon Marmor When the Gulf Coast was devastated by Hurricane Katrina, Norm Proctor, ’74, ’77, raced to the scene to provide emergency loans for rebuilding businesses, homes and rental units. He also arranged for thousands of Gulf Coast residents made homeless by Katrina to relocate to the Pacific Northwest. Likewise, when veterans returning from Iraq aren’t sure about their future, they can turn to Patriot Express—another U.S. Small Business Administration program run by Proctor—to open a small business. Proctor has a big influence on small business in the Pacific Northwest as the regional administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Region X (Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Alaska). Since being chosen by President George W. Bush in 2002 to become the regional advocate
and then in 2004 as regional administrator for SBA operations in the Pacific Northwest, Proctor has overseen the delivery of hundreds of millions of dollars and other business development tools to thousands of businesses. He also helps minority- and female-owned ventures attract some of the $297 billion in federal contracts available each year.
A Seattle native and two-time UW graduate (B.A. in business administration in 1974 and a law degree in 1977), Proctor is one of the federal government’s highest-ranking people of color outside of Washington, D.C. Proctor was something of a trailblazer early in his career, too. After graduating from the UW School of Law—nudging from Charles Z. Smith, ’55, the only African American to serve on the Washington state Supreme Court persuaded Proctor to apply—he was one of the first minorities to work as a law clerk and bailiff for a King County Superior Court judge. He went on to spend 23 years in senior management with PACCAR, Inc., a Bellevue-based multinational technology company, before joining the SBA. In addition to overseeing a regional office that leads the nation in Small Business Administration loans, Proctor has been a very active community volunteer, serving on the board of the Boy Scouts of America, Junior Achievement, YMCA and Childhaven, in addition to the UW Alumni Association Board of Trustees. This month, he begins a one-year term as the president of the UWAA. And he has set his sights high. “I really appreciate that the University values diversity,” he says. “One of my goals is to get more alumni involved with the University and the alumni association. We have so much to offer.” Proctor, who often speaks to UW business students, is passionate about helping students. “They are our future leaders and they have to prepare themselves to work in a global economy,” he says. “They’re going to hear every day that they can’t do this or that. They have to believe they can.” Jon Marmor is editor of Viewpoints.
SBA BY THE NUMBERS Norm Proctor, ’74, ’77, is the SBA’s administrator for Region X – Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Alaska. Here is the loan activity from 2002-07 for Region X: • Women-owned firms
$627,747,000
• Veteran-owned firms
$331,677,000 $959,115,000
• African-American owned firms
$43,451,000
• Asian-American owned firms
• Hispanic-American owned firms
$16,493,000
• Native-American owned firms
$41,898
Source: U.S. Small Business Administration Region X office in Seattle.
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spotlight GO-MAP Montoya says GO-MAP gave her a home away from home as well as financial support. “On many occasions, GO-MAP has been my backbone that has helped me stay afloat. GO-MAP has offered me emotional support necessary to deal with the
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One of GO-MAP’s priorities is to recruit and retain minority students who are pursuing graduate studies.
Graduate diversity fellowships pay big dividend By Julie Garner Latina women account for 20 percent of AIDS cases among adult and adolescent women, and 43 percent of these female patients contract the virus through sexual contact with an infected male. Heidi Montoya is a UW graduate student looking at heterosexual relationships among Latinos in order to help develop HIV prevention programs that are sensitive to the unique needs of Latino communities. Like many Diversity Fellows in the UW Graduate Opportunities & Minority Achievement Program (GO-MAP), Montoya’s cultural perspective enriches her scholarly work, which has the potential to benefit the academic community and society as a whole. Montoya, a doctoral candidate in psychology, is one of 39 GO-MAP Diversity Fellows for 2007. GO-MAP, a division of The UW Graduate School, has been providing Graduate Diversity Fellowships and other funding for students who have achieved academic success despite significant social, economic, or educational challenges. 14 viewpoints
In addition to the Graduate Diversity Fellowships, GO-MAP programming and funding support students of color and students from other underrepresented communities. Of the UW’s 10,539 graduate students, approximately 6.9 percent are underrepresented minorities. One of GO-MAP’s priorities is to recruit and retain underrepresented students who are pursuing graduate studies. “While the UW attracts top graduate students from underrepresented communities, we face tough competition from our peers in providing fellowship support,” says Juan Guerra, GO-MAP director and associate dean of The Graduate School. “Once students are here, providing professional and leadership development opportunities is key to their success here at the University as well as to their preparation for a successful future.” GO-MAP helps students connect to other students, faculty, and staff through programming such as new student orientations, faculty and student panels, campus-wide receptions, and public lectures.
academic pressures as well as the barriers racial and ethnic minorities face on a daily basis,” says the Colombia native. Additionally, GO-MAP helps students secure funding for their studies. GO-MAP Diversity Fellowships help individual UW departments with diversity recruitment efforts by providing $5,000 to $15,000 awards in addition to existing departmental offers to foster research and scholarship. To find out more or to give to GO-MAP and the Graduate Diversity Fellowships, visit http://grad. washington.edu/gomap/default.htm. Julie Garner is a Seattle-area free-lance writer and frequent contributor to Viewpoints.
AT A GLANCE GO-MAP by the numbers One of the main goals of the UW’s Graduate Opportunities & Minority Achievement Program is to provide financial support to graduate students from underrepresented communities. Here’s a look at the numbers:
400 Number of students who have received GO-MAP Diversity Fellowships over the past five years
$750,000 Amount of scholarships given to students annually by GO-MAP
60 Disciplines across The Graduate School whose students have received scholarships from GO-MAP
Source: Juan Guerra, Director, UW Graduate Opportunities & Minority Achievement Program
Photo by Mary Levin
The UW bade goodbye to one of its most beloved teachers, mentors and diversity advocates when hundreds of people gathered to honor Dr. Millie Russell, ’80, ’86, ’88, at her retirement party June 21 at the Meany Theater. Russell, an assistant to the vice president for minority affairs and a biology lecturer, spent her long UW career helping disadvantaged and minority youths complete undergraduate, graduate and professional programs so they can assume leadership positions to serve those who lack services. In her honor, the UW has established the Dr. Millie L. Russell Endowed Scholarship to recognize her career devoted to educational opportunity and social justice. The scholarship will benefit economically and educationally disadvantaged students in health sciences. To give to the scholarship fund, visit www.washington.edu/diversity/russell or contact Greg Lewis at lewisg@u.washington.edu or 206-685-8054.
Viewpoints honored Viewpoints received an Award of Excellence in the 2007 APEX Awards for Publication Excellence national competition. The category was Most Improved Magazines and Journals. The Viewpoints entry consisted of its inaugural issue (Fall 2004) and the Fall 2006 issue. Awards were given out E HAV on the basis of graphic SE PEO PLE WH AT DO THE in common? design, editorial content and overall communications effectiveness and excellence. Nearly 5,000 entries were submitted in p oin t s 105 categories.
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September 21, 2007 4th Annual Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity Welcome Daze 3:30 - 9 p.m., HUB Lobby, UW Seattle For more information, call 206-685-0518
october 27, 2007
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13th Annual Multicultural Alumni Partnership (MAP) Bridging the Gap Breakfast 8 a.m., HUB Ballroom, UW Seattle For more information, e-mail rehcana@yahoo.com
UW Bothell’s 6th annual Intercultural Night brought lively entertainment and food from around the world to UWB’s North Creek Café. Photo by Marc Studer.
october 30, 2007 4th Annual International Women Leaders Dinner 5:30 p.m., HUB Ballroom, UW Seattle Banquet and fund-raiser that encourages education and dialogue about women’s leadership around the world. For more information, e-mail chowd@u.washington.edu or call David Chow at 206-616-7429
november 9–10, 2007 Gamelan Cudamani, Dance 8 p.m., Meany Hall for the Performing Arts Bali 25-member dance group performs the life, rituals, and celebrations of an Indonesian village
November 29, 2007 UW Minority Business of the Year Awards 5:30 p.m., Westin Hotel, Seattle Guest Speaker: Gov. Chris Gregoire For more information, e-mail Wil Tutol at wtutol@ u.washington.edu or call 206-616-1216
January 31, 2008 Katz Distinguished Lecture: Vicente Rafael 7 p.m., Kane Hall, Room 120, UW Seattle Speaker: UW History Professor Vicente Rafael, whose research and teaching include Southeast Asia, Comparative Colonialism and Comparative Nationalism. For more information, call 206-543-3920
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Honoring a diversity legend
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MAP Bridging the Gap Breakfast to honor five leaders in diversity Photos by Ellisha L. Ley, Owner of Mystic Photo Five individuals who have promoted diversity and social justice at the University of Washington and in the community will be honored at the 13th annual MAP Bridging the Gap Breakfast on Saturday, October 27, in the HUB on the UW Seattle campus. The UWAA Multicultural Alumni Partnership and the UW Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity are putting on the event, which raises money for scholarships for UW students from underrepresented minorities. This year’s breakfast is sponsored by Safeco Insurance, Macy’s, The Nielsen Company and Pfizer, Inc. Distinguished Alumnus Awards will be presented to: Ruthann Kurose, ’74, longtime member and chair of the Bellevue Community College Board of Trustees. She also serves on the Washington State Liquor Control Board, KCTS Public Television Advisory Board, the Seattle Art Museum Community Advisory Board, and the Wing Luke Museum Capital Campaign Committee. Kurose has worked on congressional legislative policy in Washington, D.C., and in
economic development policy for the cities of Seattle and Tacoma. Harold G. Booker, ’55, is a Seattle-area attorney who spearheaded efforts to eliminate the segregated housing patterns in Federal Way by organizing the Federal Way Committee for Human Rights and working with the Urban League’s Equal Opportunity Housing Program. He served almost 20 years as a commissioner on the King County Housing Authority and assisted UW international students combat local housing discrimination patterns. Rogelio Riojas, ’99, is executive director of Sea Mar Community Health Center, which provides comprehensive health and human services to lowincome, underserved and uninsured communities in Western Washington, with a specialization in services to Latinos. A Latino activist while a UW student in the 1960s and 1970s, he was an active member of the UW chapter of MEChA and Seattle’s Brown Berets. He has been involved in campaigns on campus in the community, and a successful effort to
bring a community health clinic to his hometown of Othello. The Dr. Samuel E. Kelly Award will be presented to Phil Lane Jr., CEO of the United Indians of All Tribes. A member of the Yankton Dakota and Chickasaw First Nations, he is an internationally recognized leader in human and community development. He spent 16 years as associate professor, founder and coordinator of the Four Worlds International Institute at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta. The 2007 Diversity Award for Community Building will be presented to Carolyn Chow, ’97, coordinator of recruitment and admissions for the UW School of Nursing. She has been a major force behind the school’s commitment to diversity in recruiting new students. She chairs the Collaborative Access Network on Diversity Outreach and has secured funding to help the school participate in minority nursing conferences.
13th Annual MAP Bridging the Gap Breakfast Date: Saturday, October 27, 2007 Time: 8 a.m. Where: HUB Ballroom, UW Seattle campus Tickets: $40 To register or for more information, visit UWalum.com or call the UWAA at 206-543-0540 Ruthann Kurose
Harold G. Booker
Rogelio Riojas
Phil Lane Jr.
Carolyn Chow
1415 N.E. 45th street, Seattle, WA 98105