e I spoke of the Conversation about the Future that was
soon to begin at the University of Washington. The conversation was meant as
an opportunity for all of us to think more deeply about our common endeavor
and to look together at where we should be headed. The overall context was
change: the changing nature of education, the platform for institutional change
we have been building at the UW, and especially the enormous changes taking
place in the society we serve.
As anticipated, this conversation lasted for much of the 19992000 academic
year and involved virtually every segment of the University community:
faculty, staff, students, administrators, alumni, Regents, and interested friends
from throughout the state. It included more than 85 organized events and
countless informal conversations. Groups ranging from the Professional Staff
Organization to the Board of Regents to the Presidents Advisory Committee
on Diversity to the Graduate and Professional Student Senate sponsored
lectures, panels, and discussions. The Faculty Senates series on liberal arts
education was especially probing and thought provoking.
Summaries of all these conversations now appear on the Web site
www.washington.edu/change/future/bulletin. For anyone interested in a snap-
shot of higher education in this state at the turn of the millennium, I believe
this site makes fascinating reading.
The conversation did not, and was not intended to, produce one broad, unied
vision of the future. Its value was rather to stimulate thought and imagina-
tionto show all of us the exciting culture of possibilities (in the words of
one faculty member) that can lead us forward.
But if we did not emerge from all this with a roadmap, we did uncover some
deep common themes. For me, three seem paramount. First, this is a place of
incredible ambition. Students, staff, and faculty all believe that the University
of Washington can and should be at the very top in all its endeavors: teaching
and learning, research, and contributions to society. Second, all these ambi-
tious people want very much to feel more connected to each other and to the
Message from the President
3
2
world beyond the campus. A greater sense of communityand a more diverse
communityis very high on the common agenda, and it is seen as a route not
merely to feeling better but also to working better. Finally, the need for more
resources was implicit in almost every comment. Ambition alone can take us a
certain distance, but not the whole way. To play the vital role we should play in
the welfare of the state and society, and to make the most of all the talents and
energies here, the UW will require a stronger nancial base than is currently
in sight.
All these themes, and others that appeared in the conversation, will influence
both our immediate and our longer-term plans. At the top of the list for the
200001 academic year: continuing to transform undergraduate education,
enhancing community and campus climate, redoubling our efforts for diver-
sity, and, in this biennial budget year, taking a hard look at the question of
resources.
Of all the rewards of the Conversation about the Future, perhaps the greatest
for me personally was hearing the voices of our students. Student Regent Chris
Knaus and I held meetings with hundreds of students in all the Universitys
schools and colleges. In addition, the Comparative History of Ideas program
offered a quarter-long course called Rethinking the University, which culmi-
nated in a student-written report and recommendations for change (also
available on the Web site). The thoughtfulness and ideas UW students brought
to these discussions conrmed my high opinion of our student body.
So in this annual report we present a sampling of student voices. Five stories
cannot portray anything like the full range of student experience on our three
campuses, but they do convey a flavor of what goes on here and the ways in
which the UW is moving into the future. From the evidence of these students,
that future will be bright.
R I C H A R D L . M c C O R M I C K
u n i v e r s i t y o f w a s h i n g t o n 2 0 0 0 a n n u a l r e p o r t 5
4
6
Misty Bentz
8
Oona Johnsen
10
Johnny Grady Jr.
12
Todd McDevitt
14
Christina Roberts
Student
Voices 7
6
Misty Bentz has an interesting schedule. On a given
morning you might nd her considering stage props for
third grade science classes where she teaches astronomy
fundamentalsthe phases of the moon, seasonal changes
and the names of the planets in our solar system. And
later that same day, you might nd her working at the
University of Washington with a research team whose
goal is to build a spacecraft powered by solar winds.
The disjunction isnt as great as it might seem at rst.
Teaching astronomy to kids is part of Project ASTRO,
sponsored in part by NASA and intended to draw young
people into a science education track. The spacecraft
research at the UW also is sponsored by NASA, and might
one day provide a tool todays grade school kids use to
investigate the planets theyre just now learning about.
Its an exciting research program, Misty says. The
formal name is the Mini Magnetospheric Plasma Propul-
sion systemM2P2 for short. In the most simplistic
M
isty is part of a research team that
includes two other undergraduates,
Luke Winstrom and Ben Warrick, and
one graduate student, Tim Ziemba. All
of them are taking classes and working
toward degrees as well as participating
in this front-line research. In her
description of her contributions to the
program, Misty is being modest, and
spacecraft that could travel at about
400 kilometers a second. Thats fairly
rapid in terms of what were accus-
tomed to on earth. For example,
something moving at that speed could
cover the distance between Seattle
and Washington DC in about 10
seconds. An M2P2 craft launched in
the next few years could actually
D R . R O B E R T W I N G L E E
Professor, Geophysics Program
D R . J O H N S L O U G H
Research Professor, Aeronautics & Astronautics
Misty Bentz
U n d e r g r a d u a t e S t u d e n t , P h y s i c s & A s t r o n o m y
terms, the idea is that a large bubble with ionized plasma
walls held by a magnetic eld would act as a kind of sail
when acted on by the charged particles in solar winds.
The bubble would be quite largeabout 30 kilometers in
diameter. The solar winds travel at a signicant fraction
of the speed of light, and since theres no friction in the
vacuum of space, the spacecraft could travel at very high
speeds.
My involvement is a lot more down-to-earth. I build
circuit boards, clean the vacuum chamber, and calibrate
equipment. Still its exciting to have an opportunity to
learn from leaders in this research. Besides, my long-term
goal is to be an astronaut. Who knows, I might someday
fly in a spacecraft powered by solar winds.
s t u d e n t v o i c e s
under-represents her role. These
students are making important contri-
butions and providing fresh eyes and
enthusiasm. They add to the vitality of
the research program. As in most
complex efforts, theres always a
certain amount of grunt work to do.
And everybody pitches in. Its good for
the soul as well as the successful
completion of the work. But everyone
also participates in conducting experi-
ments. Two members of the team
already have had the opportunity to
travel to Huntsville, Alabama, for key
tests at the NASA Marshall Space
Flight Center facilities there. Our goal,
and NASAs, is to build a prototype
M2P2 and confirm the practicality of a
pass other space probes launched
years ago, giving scientists more data,
faster, about the outer reaches of our
solar system. 9
8
Ask Oona Johnsen about the rooftop gardens that her
landscape architecture class designed and built in Seattles
Green Lake neighborhood. Chances are shell talk as
much about people as about plants. People, she points
out, are what landscape architecture is all about.
The client for the rooftop garden project, Cancer Lifeline,
is an organization committed to people. And to life. The
Lifelines main facility, the Dorothy S. OBrien Center, is
open and welcoming to those with cancer, and to co-
workers, family, and friends.
Its a terric organization, Oona said. Serious in
purpose, but full of ideas and energy.
Each year UW seniors in landscape architecture tackle a
community project, often at a school or park. Real-world
experience shapes careers; in turn, student work shapes
neighborhoods.
UW students translated Cancer Lifelines requests for a
healing garden into three areas. The rst, the Celebration
Garden named for Jean Eliot Roberts, is a place for
T
his project was blessed from the very
beginning. We had wanted a healing
garden for a long time, but our budget
simply wouldnt allow us to build one.
A landscape architect suggested we
call the School of Landscape Architec-
ture. Luck was with us. Another
student project was cancelled soon
after we applied, and our request
B A R B A R A F R E D E R I C K
Executive Director, Cancer Lifeline
moved to the top. The 11 students in
the senior class project quickly formed
three design teams, one for each
garden area, and conducted a series of
interviews with the staff. The process
was rigorous. The UW advisors ex-
pected thoroughly professional results
and so did the students. Their dedica-
tion and energy were simply amazing.
when a group of peoplein this case,
students, advisors and our own staff
shared a passion for a difficult project
and, in completing it, gained mutual
affection and respect. The result is
absolutely priceless. Its impact came
home to me powerfully one day soon
after the work was completed. One of
our clients received some bad news
Oona Johnsen
U n d e r g r a d u a t e S t u d e n t , L a n d s c a p e A r c h i t e c t u r e
conviviality. Its completely open to the sun and sky and
populated with a