September 27, 2007
Run for his money; Crutchfield looks for partners in half marathon
Sociology Professor Bob Crutchfield is looking for 99 friends to join him when he runs the Seattle Half Marathon on Nov. 25, and it’s all to benefit graduate students. Or, as he puts it, “I’m sacrificing my knees for the cause.”
Crutchfield, who spent a year and a half as an associate dean in The Graduate School, was inspired by former Regent Dan Evans’ participation in last year’s half marathon — in his case as a walker. Evans raised more than $100,000 for Husky Promise scholarships for undergraduates, an amount that triggered a 50 percent match from the UW’s Students First Fund. Crutchfield hopes to do the same for graduate students.
“Bob made a report on the importance of graduate education at the spring Foundation Board meeting,” said Erika Kreger, director of development for The Graduate School. “Afterward he talked to Connie Kravas (vice president for development and alumni relations) and Dan (Evans), saying ‘What if I did what you did, only for grad students?’
“When he told me about that conversation, I asked him, ‘Are you serious? Would you really do that for us?’ He said he would.”
Kreger enthusiastically took up the idea, planning a fund similar to Husky Promise that would provide need-based scholarships for graduate students. But $100,000 is the minimum amount that must be raised in order to draw funds from the Students First matching pool.
“Bob is a great guy and really beloved around the UW, but he’s not known in the outside world the way Dan is,” Kreger said. “So Renee Fricke, our director of annual giving, came up with this idea to get 100 people involved.”
Because graduate students collaborate closely with faculty members, a running (or walking) team including both seemed like a natural for the project. Kreger has been working with a number of student and faculty organizations to sign people up.
Although some may assume that graduate students are already funded through their departments, Crutchfield said this isn’t true in all cases.
“A lot of departments use teaching assistantships, research assistantships and fellowships to support their grad students,” he said. “But there are other disciplines where for a number of reasons there isn’t as much research money, they don’t have as much development money of their own, where grad students are scratching, trying to make it. Those students are applying for financial aid just like undergraduates. This will be a pool of resources that The Graduate School will have to support students.”
Kreger said the fund will be administered by The Graduate School and will be open to graduate students in all departments — anyone who has a financial need.
Despite his jokes about his knees, Crutchfield is well prepared for the half marathon. He ran track and cross-country in high school and college, and except for a short gap in early graduate school, he’s been running ever since. He’s run four marathons and five to 10 half marathons, but he says it’s been a while since his last marathon. He’s increased his running distance recently to get ready. To him, the preparation is worth it.
“Graduate students are so central to our scholarly work, our teaching and everything we do,” Crutchfield said. “What I’m doing is a demonstration of support for them.”
People interested in running or walking the half marathon in support of graduate students should contact Erika Kreger at 206-685-0662 or kreger@u.washington.edu. Those interested in contributing money to the cause should go to http://uwfoundation.org/giving_opps/ and click on “Graduate Student Fellowships.”
