Nothing can stop the University of a Thousand Years, not even a minor injury to its scheduled lecturer, History Professor Emeritus Jon Bridgman. Although Bridgman had to withdraw, the UW Alumni Association and College of Arts and Sciences will present their five-part lecture series on UW history, “The University of a Thousand Years,” beginning Sept. 30, as originally planned.
Lecture organizers were still putting the list of speakers and topics together as Columns went to press in mid-August, but many distinguished UW experts have already agreed to speak.
Leading off the series on Thursday, Sept. 30, Public Affairs Dean Emeritus Brewster Denny, '45, will discuss the origins of the UW including the land donation from his family—and the Terry and Lander families—that made it possible. Also scheduled for the Sept. 30 lecture is an overview of early Seattle history by local historian and author Walt Crowley.
On Oct. 7, Architecture Professor Emeritus Norman Johnston, '42, will cover the evolution of the UW campus from logged-over forest into one of the most beautiful college campuses in the nation (see the Columns article “Centennial,” Sept. 1995). Johnston is the author of two books about the UW campus, The Fountain and the Mountain and The University of Washington Campus Guide.
Other confirmed speakers include President Mark Emmert, '75, who will be a part of a panel discussing the future of public universities.
Also scheduled are Political Science Professor Margaret Levi and Drama Professor Mark Jenkins, who will explore the political turmoil that has, at times, divided the UW community.
Levi is director of the UW Center for Comparative Historical Analysis of Organizations and States and author of the 1997 book Consent, Dissent, and Patriotism.
Jenkins is the head of the UW Professional Actor Training Program and the M.F.A. Directing Program. His play about the 1948 Canwell hearings into Communist activity by UW faculty and staff, All Powers Necessary and Convenient, was produced on the 50th anniversary of the hearings and later published by UW Press (see the Columns article “Seeing Red,” Dec. 1997).
Yet another lecture will cover the history of UW athletics and the future of public universities in the 21st century.
The lecture series will be held at 7 p.m. on five Thursdays—Sept. 30, Oct. 7, 14, 21 and 28—in Kane 130. Series tickets cost $50 for UWAA and A&S Deans Club members, $60 for non-members and $20 for students. Some individual tickets may be available at the door. Visit UWalum.com for the latest information on speakers and topics.
Also during the fall quarter, a special exhibit on the history of the UW will be on display at Suzzallo Library. “Defining Moments: A History of the UW” opens Sept. 29 in 102 Suzzallo, just off the main entrance. Included in this exhibit are rare UW memorabilia supplied by alumni and accounts of their student experiences while attending the University of Washington.
For more information, visit UWalum.com, or call the UW Alumni Association at 1-800-AUW-ALUM.