The UW School of Pharmacy has a new dean. Sidney D. Nelson, '68, became head of the school July 1, replacing retiring Dean Milo Gibaldi, who stepped down after 17 years as pharmacy's head--the longest tenure of any dean currently serving at the UW. Nelson, 49, is an internationally recognized scientist who focuses on drug toxicities. In addition to his B.S. in pharmacy from the UW, he holds a Ph.D. in medicinal chemistry from UC-San Francisco.
Executive Vice President Tallman Trask III left the UW Aug. 15 to become executive vice president at Duke University. Trask, 47, had been at the UW since 1986, overseeing personnel, physical plant, administrative computing, finances, public safety and other administrative functions. He has been credited with boosting both the performance of the UW's endowment and the $400 million construction program on campus.
Astronomy Professor Donald Brownlee and Physics Professor David Thouless were among 60 scientists nationwide to be elected to the National Academy of Sciences in April. Founded in 1863, the academy serves as the federal government's official adviser on science and technology and is one of the highest honors given a U.S. scientist or engineer. Brownlee is best known for his research into interplanetary dust. Thouless is renowned for this work in condensed-matter physics. With the election of Brownlee and Thouless, the UW now has 35 members in the academy, exceeding the total of academy members in all other Pacific Northwest colleges and universities.
Physics Emeritus Professor Ernest Henley and Art Professor Emeritus Jacob Lawrence were among 162 figures in education, government, business and the arts to be named in May to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Henley, who served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences from 1979 to 1987, helped establish the Institute for Nuclear Theory, which is based on the UW campus. Lawrence is a renowned painter and printmaker, particularly known for his depiction of black history and black life in America. His works are included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the first black artist to be recognized in that way.
Philosophy Professor Ronald Moore was named the winner of the Charles E. Odegaard Award at the annual Educational Opportunity Awards Banquet April 20. Moore, who head the Center for the Humanities, has been intricately involved in the EOP program since he came to the UW 18 years ago.
History Professor Richard White. Photo by Mary Levin.
History Professor Richard White, '72, '75, became the seventh person associated with the UW to receive a prestigious MacArthur "genius" grant, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation announced June 12. Over the next five years, White will receive $295,000 with "no strings attached." No one may apply for these awards. Instead, a secret panel of nominators looks across the nation for likely candidates in the arts, humanities, sciences and politics. The author of five books, White has challenged the traditional histories of the American West. One of his works, The Middle Ground, was a finalist for the 1992 Pulitzer Prize in history. White earned his master's and Ph.D. from the UW and holds his B.A. from UC-Santa Cruz. For more about White's work, see "History and Hindsight" in the March 1991 Columns.
Return to September 1995 Table of Contents.