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illustration of a honeypot with a keyhole on the front, surrounded by stylized computer circuits and honeycomb shapes

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.

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

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.

Give Day is May 25th

Join us in supporting all the ways Western students dream, strive and achieve

Young people are essential to our climate future

WWU IN THE NEWS: Teena Gabrielson

Teena Gabrielson sits on the concrete steps of Bruce Nauman's Stadium Piece

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

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.

New climate change minor open to all students

Facing climate change will be the job of people in many fields.

A bench in Boulevard Park, normally on the shore, is surrounded by water.

‘Teaching Exclusion’ lecture explores antisemitism and racism in education

Western hosts the U.S. Holocaust Museum's Joseph and Rebecca Meyerhoff Annual Lecture

Adam Knowles, Margaret Jacobs and Hollie Mackie sit on stage smiling at and listening to an unseen member of the audience.

Minds of Title IX

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

Team Building on the Skagit

Tag along with AS Outdoor Center trip leaders for a late-winter paddle on the Skagit River.

four students wearing helmets, personal flotation devices and waterproof gear paddle an inflatable raft through rapids on the Skagit River

Border Policy Research Institute begins new cross-border research projects

The partnerships mean more opportunities for undergrads

President's Message: The Power of Research for Students and the Planet

Undergrads working on research alongside world-class faculty mentors is one of Western’s top selling points.

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

Alumni Conversations: Stronger Together

Introducing the Foundation for Western Washington University and Alumni

light filters through pink cherry blossoms next to the Comm Lawn

WWU research going to market with a sustainable cosmetics company

Wax from marine algae may replace petroleum and animal products in cosmetics

Greg O'Neil stands behind Chris Reddy, who's sitting at a lab bench

Journalism’s Brian J. Bowe heading to the West Bank on a Fulbright

Bowe will work with partners at Palestinian universities on journalism curriculum design, academic research and writing.

Smoothing the path to college admissions

Know a high school student who could follow you to WWU?

Viking Union as seen from Garden Street.

WWU scientist, mentor Marco Hatch awarded Pew Fellowship

Hatch's work combines mainstream science and ancestral knowledge

Marco Hatch stands on the rocky tidepools on the shoreline

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

Dark skies are for the birds—and humans

Western changed campus lighting to save birds and energy.

aerial view of Western's campus at night.

Advice on keeping digital data secure and private

Erik Fretheim, director of Western’s Cyber Security Program, offers a few tips for the rest of us to keep our data out of the wrong hands

A man smiles for the camera in front of a tree turning colors for fall

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

Patricia Ann Lanning - 1963

Obituary

Patricia Ann Lanning, 81, a retired primary grade teacher and active community volunteer, on Feb. 1, 2023, in Hoquiam.

Steve Valandra - 1980

Class Note

Steve Valandra, B.A., journalism, retired in 2021 after 40 years of work, first as a reporter and editor at the Friday Harbor Journal, Bellingham Herald and the Salem Statesman‐Journal, then as a communications professional for several state agencies. He served as director of communications at the departments of General Administration and Enterprise Services and finished his career as deputy commissioner of Public Affairs for the Office of the Insurance Commissioner. Steve now splits his time between homes in Olympia and Porto, Portugal.

Cathy Lamet - 1985