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Aperture of Empathy

Does looking into the eyes of an animal make us more likely to act to save its endangered habitat?

Hippopotamus underwater, surrounded by a school of fish

'She Was Beautiful, Loyal and Tough'

Marine Sciences graduate Amirah Casey’s impressive list of accomplishments includes embracing her late mother's story as part of her own.
Amirah Casey, in her cheer uniform, sites next to a gigantic trophy

A Viking Comes Full Circle

Jim Sterk returns to Western to lead Viking Athletics
Jim Sterk, wearing a suit and tie, stands smiling in front of the entrance at Carver

Jane Wong's 'furious, joyful memoir'

The New York Times, Publisher's Weekly and Kirkus Reviews love 'Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City.'
Jane Wong holds a bouquet of flowers.

A brighter financial future

Alum Paul Merriman shares a lifetime of financial knowledge with WWU students and the community
Paul Merriman smiles

A Man of Good Cheer

Marketing grad Ethan Huynh combined two passions and launched a career
Ethan Huynh in a cheerleading uniform on the basketball court

Storytelling honors for '19 Life-Changing Days in Ecuador'

a student sits on a plank swing and swings out on a mountainside, a view of Quito far below them.

All the Buzz

WWU grad student Annie Jolliff stalks bumble bees.
Annie Jolliff, examines a bee in a sample tube while standing on a meandering path lined with flowers in Hovander Homestead park.

Eye on the Water

The Institute for Watershed Studies provides long-term water quality data for Lake Whatcom.
a student on a boat in the middle of Lake Whatcom consults their notes while conducting water quality testing.

Keys, Phone, Lifesaver

How do you bring an overdose-stopping drug to the masses? Make it sleek, stylish and small enough to carry on a keychain.
a small, white plastic device, designed with curves and small enough to fit in a pocket or hang on a keychain

The Sanford-Hill Piano Series Celebrates 20 Years

'We have a great future ahead.'
Ford Hill stands and Sybil Sanford is seated at a piano bench on stage in the WWU Concert hall

1999: Death Cab on Campus

Before world fame, the indie rock band played the Fairhaven Auditorium
Western Front 1999 news clipping Death Cab for Cutie to play at Fairhaven with a photo of the band

Enlisting drones to study the world’s most remote glaciers

Alia Khan collects ice from the world's highest places
A student crouches down to adjust a piece of equipment on a drone parked on a snow bank on top of a mountain. Two other people are nearby with equipment and watch him work.

We asked, you answered

Highlights from the 2023 readership survey
Window magazine cover with the women's soccer team celebrating their national championship. The Mighty Women of Western. 50 years of Title 9

Message from the President: Universities like Western have the power to change lives

Sabah stands in front of Old Main with hands in pockets, wearing a suit and a reserved smile

A closer look at earthquake resilience at sea level

What happens when an earthquake hits a building already damaged by saltwater?
Rebekah Paci-Green

Libraries, two colleges have new deans

Deanna Kennedy smiles for the camera

WWU faculty join two new NSF-funded research centers

One is devoted to the study of earthquakes, and the other focused on bridging Indigenous and “Western” scientific knowledge.
Emily Roland and Colin Amos

Harnessing the power of scientific societies to build inclusion in the sciences

Robin Kodner

WEA partners with WWU to build a more inclusive teacher workforce

As many as 50 students are expected to receive funding this year
early fall view of campus with leaves starting to turn gold

Digging for Answers

This gorgeous peak in southern Alaska could be one of the nation’s most dangerous volcanoes. WWU geologists are looking for clues before disaster strikes.
puffy clouds skirt the top of a mountain peak on a blue sky day

A New Life for Ocean Plastics

WWU students and faculty are showing how plastic beach trash can be put to good use somewhere else.
a photo illustration of drawings of plastic ocean trash, like water bottles, buoys, buckets, etc., listed with their country of origin, on top of a photo of people cleaning up beach trash in Alaska

From the Amazon to the Galápagos

19 life-changing days in Ecuador with WWU’s Honors College
A Western professor and a student standing on a grassy hill overlooking Pichincha on a cloudy day

Sweetening the Pot

If you want to catch a crook, sometimes you have to think like one—just ask Western’s cybersecurity students.
illustration of a honeypot with a keyhole on the front, surrounded by stylized computer circuits and honeycomb shapes

‘Seeing these students succeed gives me hope’

Scholarship recipient Malku Cruz prepares to launch his supply chain career
Malku Cruz smiles on Old Main Lawn

Minds of Title IX

Hear from a few faculty at Western who are forging ahead in academic fields previously (or still) dominated by men
a grid of 12 polaroid portraits

Teeth Tell the Story

WWU’s Tesla Monson may have found the key to one of evolution’s great mysteries right under our noses.
Tesla Monson stands in a library with shelves filled with bone fragments, examining a long jawbone.

From the Archives: A World of Shells

Biology’s shell collection has come out of the lab
Vokesimurex elenensis, a white, spiny sea snail with a long spindle and cream-colored stripes

Ask the Clams

500-year-old quahog clams can tell us a few things about our changing oceans.
A woman sits on the deck of a ship, holding out an open clam.

Window to a Solar Future

An alum who helped develop a new solar window technology in a lab at Western returns to install the finished product at the Western Gallery
Two people, one on a ladder, work on the windows in front of the Western Gallery

Global Hitchhiker

How far could a guy get in 1960 with two feet, one thumb and 18 bucks?
a worn, torn backpack with INDIA N. DELHI U.S.A. SEATTLE printed on the front.

Cow Meets Girl

How my journalism internship tattooed dairy farming on my heart
Rowan leans over to get a photo at a cow's eye level on a dairy farm.

Basketball and Bravery

Basketball gave Gracie Phelps a place to start healing after childhood abuse, and the courage to seek justice.
Gracie Phelps mid-play on the basketball court. Dribbling a ball past an opponent with her arms up.

Mighty Women of Western

Decades before Title IX, women at WWU were laying the groundwork for equality in women’s athletics
Western's women's basketball team celebrates on the court in 1972-73

A Showplace for All

How classically trained musicians from WWU are building a vibrant, inclusive show venue in downtown Bellingham.
Navouny Divinne performs at the Blue Room

Class Notes

Mark Hughes - 1996

Class Note

Mark Hughes, B.A., economics, is director of marketing for Kitsap Mental Health Services and recently became a member of the Olympic College Board of Trustees. 

Brian Lind - 1984

Class Note

Brian Lind, B.A., journalism, recently became Supply Chain Manager - Americas for Corio Generation, part of Macquarie's Green Investment Group. Brian has been a procurement professional in the energy field since 2000 and ran his own consulting business focused on wind energy for several years. He completed his MBA in 2016 from Marylhurst University. 

J. Edgar Boyd - 1979

Class Note

The Rev.. J. Edgar Boyd, B.A., recently retired from the pastoral ministry; he most recently served First AME Church - Los Angeles, the oldest African American church in LA. While there, Rev. Boyd formed the South Los Angeles Community Development and Empowerment Corporation, which collaborates with other denominations to address social and economic issues in South Los Angeles. Previously, Rev. Boyd served as pastor of Bethel AME Church in San Francisco for 20 years, and led Bethel AME Church of Los Angeles from 1986-92. 

See all class notes