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News and features

Slovenian Prime Minister visits campus

Prime Minister Miro Cerar of the Republic of Slovenia met with University of Washington President Ana Mari Cauce at the University of Washington on December 4, 2015 to express interest in sustained collaboration between the UW and academic institutions in Slovenia.

Vice Provost for Global Affairs Jeffrey Riedinger and UW President Ana Mari Cauce in discussion with Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia Dr. Miro Cerar
Vice Provost for Global Affairs Jeffrey Riedinger and UW President Ana Mari Cauce in discussion with Prime Minister of the Republic of Slovenia Dr. Miro Cerar Photo: Piotr Horoszowski

The Slovene Prime Minister was accompanied by His Excellency Ambassador Božo Cerar, Slovene Ambassador to the U.S., Slovene Deputy Prime Minister Boris Koprivnikar, and other Slovene government officials. UW Vice Provost for Global Affairs Jeffrey Riedinger, Vice Provost for Digital Initiatives and Dean of Libraries Betsy Wilson, Divisional Dean for Humanities Michael Shapiro, Professor and Chair of Slavic Languages Katarzyna Dziwirek, Professor of Law Louis Wolcher, and Professor of Slavic Languages Michael Biggins also participated in the discussion.

Prime Minister Cerar praised the long-term impacts of the UW-University of Ljubljana Faculty Exchange, which has been in existence since 1979. He and President Cauce also discussed an initiative already underway at the UW to create an academic program in interdisciplinary Slovene studies, which would serve students at the UW and around the U.S. via distance learning.

UW graduate students working in Slovene studies, UW post-doctoral researchers from Slovenia, and two UW undergraduates recruited from Slovenia to compete as part of the UW men’s rowing team greeted the Slovene delegation at Gerberding Hall.

See photos documenting the visit courtesy of Piotr Horoszowski

This was the first visit by a Slovene prime minister to the UW and took place as part of a larger Slovene trade delegation tour of five major U.S. IT hubs. Former Slovene Ambassador to the U.S. Samo Žbogar visited UW twice during his tenure, delivering a talk during a 2007 visit to a hundred students at the Jackson School of International Studies.

– Michael Biggins

UW researchers use cell phone metadata to estimate poverty in developing countries

In developing or war-ravaged countries where government censuses are few and far between, gathering data for public services or policymaking can be difficult, dangerous or near-impossible. Now, researchers with the University of Washington Information School and Computer Science and Engineering Department have devised a way to estimate the distribution of wealth and poverty in an area by studying metadata from calls and texts made on cell phones.

Read more from UW Today…

Skoll Foundation leader will speak on campus about global social entrepreneurship

Getting Beyond Better: A conversation with Sally Osberg, President & CEO of the Skoll Foundation

On Thursday, December 10, 2015 the Foster School of Business’s Global Business Center will be hosting Sally Osberg, President & CEO of the Skoll Foundation, for a conversation about social entrepreneurship and her new book “Getting Beyond Better: How Social Entrepreneurship Works” co-authored with Roger L. Martin. The conversation, and questions & answer session, will be monitored by the Foster School’s Dr. Emer Dooley and will be followed by a reception where Sally Osberg will be selling and signing her new book.

This free event is open to all students, faculty, staff and community members. Please register at: bit.ly/SallyOsberg

Event details
Date: Thursday, December 10, 2015
Time: 6-8pm (discussion 6-7pm, reception and book signing 7-8pm)
Location: Anthony’s Forum, 3rd Floor of Dempsey Hall, University of Washington

Nov. 24: Paris roundtable with UW faculty

Join UW faculty on Tuesday, Nov. 24 for a roundtable discussion on “Paris II: Making Sense of the World” in Thomson Hall 101 at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

More details from the Jackson School of International Studies… 

Panelists for this event include:

Daniel Chirot, Herbert J. Ellison Professor of Russian and Eurasian Studies

Kathie Friedman, Associate Professor, Jackson School of International Studies

Ray Jonas, Colonel Donald W. Wiethuechter, USA Ret., Endowed Faculty Fellow in History

Reşat Kasaba, Stanley D. Golub Chair of International Studies; and Director, Jackson School of International Studies

Anand Yang, moderator; Chair, Department of History; and Tamaki Professor, International Studies

Presented by The Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies, the Department of History, the Center for Global Studies, the Center for West European Studies, the European Union Center of Excellence, and the Middle East Center. The Middle East Center’s sponsorship of this event does not imply that the Center endorses its content.

 

From a Pac-12 announcement to a tea ceremony, dancers make most of time in Shanghai

Four UW dancers and Harry the Husky took part in the UW’s events in China, courtesy of the Pac-12 Conference. Here in the second post about the group’s experiences, Annie Millspaugh and Julia Tran discuss the announcement of the Pac-12’s partnership with China’s Letv, as well as a traditional tea ceremony.

Huskies, Longhorns make college basketball history

When the Huskies and Longhorns tipped off, it was just like any other college basketball game. The stands were filled with cheering alumni decked out in their school colors. UW Cheer & Dance and Harry the Husky rallied fans. There were even contests during timeouts, a “kiss cam” and a halftime show.

But a closer look at the bilingual signage, and hearing announcements in Mandarin and English, made it clear this was like no other college basketball game.