News and Updates

Naturalists, kayakers and other volunteers are needed to look for as many birds, plants, insects, mammals and fungi as possible during the 24-hour Bioblitz 2011 at the Washington Park Arboretum. The event starts at 3 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21, and ends at 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22. Volunteer by sending e-mail or calling 206-543-8801.

The UW is at the top of the Sierra Club’s annual ranking of the 20 greenest colleges in the U.S. According to UW Today, the UW was recognized for its sustainable operations and for earning LEED Gold (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for every building built since 2006. Above, UW students Rachel Malinen, Brady Ryan and Elizabeth Wheat tend to their cabbage crop on one of three campus farms.

You may have heard Seattle described as a city of neighborhoods but you may not know of the multitudinous ways all of them are linked to the University of Washington. To find out more, the Office of Regional and Community Relations invites you to visit their new web portal, UW in Seattle Neighborhoods. Simply enter your home address or click on a Seattle neighborhood map to see the impact of UW people and programs on the place you call home.

Look for lots of visitors on streets and byways starting this Saturday as the Huskies face the California Bears in Husky Stadium. Kickoff is at 12:30 pm but expect fans to begin gathering for pregame events up to two hours before.   On Sunday, September 25, the UW will welcome more than 5,000 entering students, family members and guests for the 28th annual Freshman Convocation in the Alaska Airlines Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion. Doors open at 9:30 am and the ceremony  will be followed at noon by the President’s Picnic on Rainier Vista lawn.  The new school year begins next week, on September 28.

As the University of Washington launches its sesquicentennial celebration this week with a compelling glance back at the school’s remarkable history and accomplishments, an editorial in the Seattle Times calls attention to the UW’s valued role as one of the region’s biggest economic engines.