UW Tacoma in the media

The International Society of Service Innovation Professionals (ISSIP), the non-profit organization advancing innovation to better serve people, business, and society, announced that Dr. Haluk Demirkan, has been elected to serve as Vice President for 2025, (and succeed to the role of ISSIP president in 2026).

Professor Katie Baird is quoted in this article on the changing demographics of East Pierce County and whether its elected leaders reflect those changes.

Washington State Supreme Court Chief Justice Steven Gonzalez spoke at UW Tacoma on what diversity in cultural perspectives can bring to classrooms and courtrooms alike.

Professor Jim Gawel (SIAS) discusses the challenges posed by an invasive snail species around Mt. St. Helens.

Assistant Teaching Professor Nara Almeida discusses the potential of pervious concrete as a road-building material to mitigate flooding damage.

School of Education Dean Rachel Endo has been recognized as one of 2024's "Women Worth Watching in Leadership." See page 130 in the issue for her profile.

Joel Baker, Science Director for the Center for Urban Waters, is quoted in an article the examines the testing and processing of the Tagro fertilizer produced by the City of Tacoma.

Associate Professor JaeRan Kim, whose research focuses on the experiences of adoptees, is featured in this deep dive into the fraught implications of the limited foster care pool for children of color, from exposure to racism at home to ‘growing up without reflections of their greatness and contributions to humanity.’

The U.S. has more mass shootings than anywhere else in the world, but there is something that can be done about it, says Dr. Eric Madfis, director of the Violence Prevention & Transformation Research Collaborative.

Associate Professor Rubén Casas depicts the continued delays in the Tacoma Town Center development adjacent to campus as an opportunity for a rethink about what downtown needs from a civic perspective.

Despite recent appointments of prominent Asian American academics to leadership roles, experts maintain more work is needed to achieve equity, especially to reflect the diversity within the Asian American community. Rachel Endo, Dean of the School of Education, is quoted.

Associate Professor David Coon and Associate Teaching Professor Jennifer Myers Baran question the results of a recent survey of people age 13-24, 40% who said they wanted "more asexual and aromantic ... relationships on screen."

In a conversation with reporter John Stearns, Milgard School of Business Dean Altaf Merchant describes the school's focus on entrepreneurship, financial wellness and the South Sound's business climate strengths.

Milgard Hall pays homage to the surrounding warehouse district in materials and form, uses mass timber elements and is a symbol of UW Tacoma's role in the South Sound community.

Pierce County's increasingly tech-focused economy is buttressed by the presence of UW Tacoma, it's computer science Ph.D., it's strength in AI research and teaching, and partnerships with regional incubators, JBLM, MultiCare, Aquagga and others.

Water from Wine, a new non-profit wine tasting room located in space leased from UW Tacoma, supports clean water projects. The shop is managed by alumna AnnaLee Zenkner, '03.

BNSF Railway sold 150 acres of vacant former rail yard land in South Tacoma to Bridge Industrial, which plans a 2.5-million sq. ft. warehouse development. Associate Professor Rubén Casas imagines a different outcome driven by community planning for a "green zone."

A project report on Milgard Hall describes the building's mass timber features, multi-disciplinary goals, and the "passion project" of the timber history display near the main entrance.

Assistant Teaching Professor Matt Tolentino is the founder of Namatad, a start-up using technology developed at UW Tacoma.

Two west coast fishing advocacy organizations filed suit against 13 tire makers for their discharge of 6PPD-q, a chemical derived from a tire preservative, into the environment. A UW Tacoma team led by Dr. Ed Kolodziej identified the chemical.

Associate Professor Rubén Casas describes impacts of Tacoma's sparser tree canopy compared to other Puget Sound cities, including urban heat island effects. An updated Tacoma tree ordinance is described.

Innovative systems in UW Tacoma's new Milgard Hall include custom-designed modular pods containing electrical, low-voltage, plumbing and mechanical systems such as lighting, fire detectors and sprinklers.

One of the 25 best restaurants in Seattle is The Chicken Supply, co-owned by Paolo Campbell, '10, B.A. Psychology.

Former student Arabelis Wally has received a prestigious fellowship at Johns Hopkins University that will support her graduate work. The Thomas Scholarship is awarded to "exceptional students from ... minority-serving institutions to pursue PhDs in STEM fields ... ."

The average tire contains more than 400 chemicals and compounds, including 6PPD, a tire preservative that transforms to 6PPD-quinone in the environment. Researchers at UW Tacoma and WSU Puyallup discovered 6PPD toxicity. The Center for Urban Waters' Ed Kolodziej is quoted.

Author Rubén Casas is an assistant professor in Culture, Arts & Communication and an adjunct assistant professor in the School of Urban Studies.

Gifts include $50,000 to UW Tacoma's Puget Sound Institute to support the Collaborative Leadership Project, an oral history of the so-called "fish wars."

Pathways to Promise is a UW Tacoma guaranteed admissions program with eleven school districts in the Puget Sound area, including Tacoma Public Schools.

Three NW tribes have petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency to ban 6PPD, a salmon-killing tire found in urban streams worldwide. Research by scientists at UW Tacoma is described.

Scientists have slowly been learning that rubber tires are a bigger source of pollution than vehicle tailpipes. UW Tacoma researchers discovered that a tire preservative, 6PPD, kills salmon in Puget Sound waters before they have a chance to spawn.

Emeritus professor and founding faculty member Rob Crawford writes about border-related propaganda and politicization of immigration.

Dr. JaeRan Kim, Social Work & Criminal Justice, is interviewed as part of an examination of transracial/transnational adoption in the U.S. A new play produced by Seattle's ACT Theatre is also mentioned.

UW Tacoma is one of several Washington colleges that are hoping to launch new in-prison degree programs funded by expanded access to Pell grants by those who are incarcerated. Dr. Chris Beasley is interviewed.

Chancellor Sheila Edwards Lange and Pierce College Chancellor Julie White engage in a Q&A on their experience with the Aspen Transfer Intensive, a national effort, including UW Tacoma and Pierce, "to accelerate transfer reform at scale."

Dr. Alison Cardinal, SIAS/CAC, is working on a project to achieve language equity in King County government services.

Joel Baker, professor and Port of Tacoma chair in environmental science, is quoted on the role of glitter as a component of microplastic pollution in the world's oceans.

New B.S. Electrical Engineering graduate David Pavenko won't be at the 2023 UW Tacoma commencement because he will be in Ukraine delivering humanitarian aid.