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The latest news from the UW

July 1, 2020

University of Washington releases finalized Sustainability Action Plan

The Sustainability Action Plan includes five guiding principles and 10 measurable targets along with annual actions to reach those targets. Each year, the UW will evaluate the immediate actions needed over the next fiscal year to respond to changing realities and needs across our campuses.

June 30, 2020

UW EarthLab and The Nippon Foundation launch Ocean Nexus Center

The University of Washington and The Nippon Foundation today announced the launch of the Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Center, an interdisciplinary research group at the UW that studies changes, responses and solutions to societal issues that emerge in relationship with the oceans. The Center will bring uncompromised, critical voices to policy and public conversations to enable research and studies equaling $32.5 million spread over 10 years.

June 29, 2020

ArtSci Roundup: Drop-in meditation session, Jacob Lawrence Vimeo channel, and more

During this time of uncertainty and isolation, find solace in digital opportunities to connect, share, and engage. Each week, we will share upcoming events that bring the UW, and the greater community, together online.  Many of these online opportunities are streamed through Zoom. All UW faculty, staff, and students have access to Zoom Pro via UW-IT.  Drop-in Session: Mindfulness of Sounds July 6, 6:00 – 7:00 PM | Zoom This session, hosted by the Center for Child and Family Well-Being and led by…

June 25, 2020

Sleep improving for university students under stay-at-home orders

In a study published June 10 in Current Biology, a team from the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Washington reports that a group of students at CU Boulder generally got more sleep after widespread stay-at-home orders and social distancing guidelines were put into place in mid-March.

June 24, 2020

ArtSci Roundup: Drop-in Meditation Session, Meany Center Virtual Programming, and more

During this time of uncertainty and isolation, find solace in digital opportunities to connect, share, and engage. Each week, we will share upcoming events that bring the UW, and the greater community, together online.  Many of these online opportunities are streamed through Zoom. All UW faculty, staff, and students have access to Zoom Pro via UW-IT.  Drop-in Session: An Embodied Practice: Working with Our Intentions June 29, 6:00 – 7:00 PM | Zoom This session, hosted by the Center for Child and Family…

Puget Sound eelgrass beds create a ‘halo’ with fewer harmful algae, new method shows

Genetic clues show that eelgrass growing underwater along Puget Sound shorelines is associated with fewer of the single-celled algae that produce harmful toxins in shellfish. The evidence shows this effect extends 45 feet beyond the edge of the eelgrass bed.

Study asks Washington state residents to describe food security and access during pandemic, economic downturn

A new online survey for Washington state residents has launched to gather data on how the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic downturn have affected food access and economic security. The Washington State Food Security Survey, which went live June 18 and runs through July 31, is open to all Washington state residents aged 18 or over.

Videos: If you fish the Duwamish in Seattle, better eat the salmon — Comer el salmón, Ăn cá hồi, បរិភោគត្រីសាម៉ុង — and here’s how

It could take another generation before resident fish in the heavily polluted Lower Duwamish Waterway in Seattle will be safe to eat. Yet many fishers from a wide range of cultural backgrounds continue to fish the 5-mile stretch of river for fun, cultural connections and food even as cleanup of this designated Superfund site continues. The Duwamish was listed on the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Priority (or “Superfund”) List of sites that require cleanup in 2001. Since that time, federal,…

UW podcasts: EarthLab, Canadian Studies, Nancy Bell Evans Center, UW Bothell — and a book featured in Times Literary Supplement

A quick look at several UW-produced podcasts, from benevolent marketing to Arctic geopolitics — and a classics professor’s work being featured in a podcast produced by the Times Literary Supplement.

June 23, 2020

UW’s K-8 reading program saw record numbers during COVID-19

When schools closed because of the coronavirus, Real Dawgs Read, a UW program that asks kids to read 30 minutes a day over 30 separate days, was there to fill the gap. During a special session between March 25 and June 5, it experienced its highest level of participation — with 3,240 readers taking part.

75% of US workers can’t work exclusively from home, face greater risks during pandemic

About three-quarters of U.S. workers, or 108 million people, are in jobs that cannot be done from home during a pandemic, putting these workers at increased risk of exposure to disease. This majority of workers are also at higher risk for other job disruptions such as layoffs, furloughs or hours reductions, a University of Washington study shows. Such job disruptions can cause stress, anxiety and other mental health outcomes that could persist even as the United States reopens its economic…

June 18, 2020

University of Washington issues COVID-19 face covering policy

The University of Washington has issued a face covering policy for all university personnel, students, staff, contractors and visitors who are on campus amid the COVID-19 pandemic. As a reminder, only employees designated as critical can be working in-person and only at the direction of their supervisor.

ArtSci Roundup: Meany Center sets the stage, Henry Art Gallery’s Viewpoints closes soon, and more

During this time of uncertainty and isolation, find solace in digital opportunities to connect, share, and engage. Each week, we will share upcoming events that bring the UW, and the greater community, together online.  Many of these online opportunities are streamed through Zoom. All UW faculty, staff, and students have access to Zoom Pro via UW-IT.  Drop-in Session: Cultivating Gratitude in Challenging Time June 22, 6:00 – 7:00 PM | Zoom Noticing what we are grateful for and cultivating practices of gratitude…

June 17, 2020

UW book notes: Physician Morhaf Al Achkar publishes memoir ‘Being Authentic’; Lambda Literary award for UW Tacoma’s Emily Thuma

UW family physician Morhaf Al Achkar publishes memoir “Being Authentic,” and a Lambda Literary award goes to UW Tacoma’s Emily Thuma.

June 16, 2020

UW reinvents summer research, internships during COVID-19

The COVID-19 Clearinghouse at UW Law is just one of the ways that faculty and staff across the university have revamped summer research internships and worked with outside partners and employers to involve students in a remote working environment, even for jobs that would normally be out in the field.

June 11, 2020

UW Regents approve 2020-21 budget as University faces financial challenges from COVID-19

The University of Washington Board of Regents on Thursday approved the University’s 2020-21 budget, which seeks to continue prioritizing its academic mission while also responding to the financial pressures brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

ArtSci Roundup: Re/Frame with Henry Art Gallery, Mindfulness practices, and more

During this time of uncertainty and isolation, find solace in digital opportunities to connect, share, and engage. Each week, we will share upcoming events that bring the UW, and the greater community, together online.  Many of these online opportunities are streamed through Zoom. All UW faculty, staff, and students have access to Zoom Pro via UW-IT.  Re/frame: Order & Chaos Online June 18, 12:00 PM and 6:30 PM | Zoom Join Ann Poulson, the Henry’s Associate Curator of Collections, for an interactive…

UW removes standardized testing requirement for incoming students beyond fall 2021

The University of Washington has removed the requirement of standardized test scores, such as the SAT and ACT, for incoming students beyond the fall of 2021. The requirement had already been temporarily removed for the fall 2021 incoming class due to the lack of available testing sites in light of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Scientists close in on 12 billion-year-old signal from the end of the universe’s ‘dark age’

When the universe was in its infancy, it contained no stars at all. And an international team of scientists is closer than ever to detecting, measuring and studying a signal from this era that has been traveling through the cosmos ever since that starless era ended some 13 billion years ago.

June 10, 2020

Passing crucial, challenging introductory chemistry course gives biggest boost to underrepresented students

Researchers examined 15 years of records of student performance, education and demographics for chemistry courses at the University of Washington. They found that underrepresented students received lower grades in the general chemistry series compared to their peers and, if the grade was sufficiently low, were less likely to continue in the series and more likely to leave STEM. But if underrepresented students completed the first general chemistry course with at least the minimum grade needed to continue in the series, they were more likely than their peers to continue the general chemistry series and complete this major step toward a STEM degree.

June 5, 2020

ArtSci Roundup: School of Art + Art History + Design graduation exhibitions, [Here/Now] interview series, and more

During this time of uncertainty and isolation, find solace in digital opportunities to connect, share, and engage. Each week, we will share upcoming events that bring the UW, and the greater community, together online.