Professor Emeritus Dick Morrill Honored at Upcoming UW Awards of Excellence Ceremony

Please join us in congratulating Professor Emeritus Dick Morrill, who will be receiving the 2014 UW-UWRA Distinguished Retiree Excellence in Community Service Award at this year's UW Awards of Excellence Ceremony. He was nominated for the award by Michael Brown, JW Harrington, Larry Knopp, and Lucy Jarosz. This award honors a UW retiree for exemplifying the University's values with special distinction through excellence in service to the community. As a pioneer in the field of mathematically-based spatial analysis, he has performed important uncompensated service for the US Census Bureau both nationally and locally since 1964.   Specifically, he has worked on task forces defining metropolitan and urban areas nationally and  on task forces that have drawn the actual census boundaries for the Seattle metropolitan area (PSRC) for the 1970,1980, 1990, 2000 and 2010 censuses.   In essence, he has defined and/or drawn census geographies for five different decennial censuses at both the national and local levels for nearly 50 years, thereby affecting everyone in the US and in the Seattle Metro area. More recently, Professor Morrill created the map that was the foundation for the recently adopted Charter Amendment 19, which calls for the election of Seattle City Council members by district.  This plan was endorsed by voters in a 2 to 1 margin in the November 2013 elections.   In a related vein, his continuing efforts to address gerrymandering and other electoral abuses are visible in his service work with, and public presentations organized by, community organizations such Seattle League of Women Voters.  In 2013, for example, he appeared on a panel organized by a former Seattle City Council member on the topic of redistricting that also included a former Washington Secretary of State and the President of the Washington League of Women Voters.  His passion for sharing electoral analysis, and for exposing abuses such as gerrymandering, is evident in his contributions to the 2008 and 2012 Atlases of U.S. Elections. He also co-authored a book titled Seattle Geographies, with current UW geography Professor Michael Brown, published by the University of Washington Press and timed for release in conjunction with national meetings of the Association of American Geographers held in Seattle in 2010.  Professor Morrill was also a member of the local arrangements committee for that conference as well as assisting with the organization of preconference activities at the UW Tacoma campus. Related to this, we note with great enthusiasm that Dr. Morrill was THE analyst who recommended, on assignment from then Associate Vice Provost (and future UWT Chancellor) Debra Friedman, that the Tacoma campus be located where it is. The Awards Ceremony is open to the public, and will be held on June 12 from 3:30-4:30 in the Meany Hall Auditorium. We would love to see you there, celebrating Dick's wonderful achievements! You can find the full announcement for the ceremony below:  

Please join me in celebrating the outstanding achievements of our faculty, staff, students and alumni at the 44th Annual Awards of Excellence.

Thursday, June 12, 2014 Meany Hall Auditorium 3:30 p.m. Awards Ceremony 4:30 p.m. Reception Reservations are not required.

The Awards of Excellence honor members of the UW community who exemplify the University’s values with special distinction. The first ceremony was held in 1970, but the origins of these awards date back to 1938 when the first Alumnus Summa Laude Dignatus Award was presented. Over the years, other awards have been added to pay tribute to individuals from across our UW community who have demonstrated exceptional talents, dedication and service. To read more about these awards and their history, visit the Honors & Awards site.

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2014 UW Awards of Excellence Recipients Distinguished Staff Award is given to staff members who contribute to the mission of their unit and the University, respond creatively to challenges, maintain the highest standards in their work, establish productive working relationships and promote a respectful and supportive workplace.

• Leo Campa, Dietary Unit Clerk, Food and Nutrition Services
• Bahelebi Medhane, Custodian, Building Services, Health Sciences
• Kojay D. Pan, Administrator, Civil and Environmental Engineering
• LeAnne Jones Wiles, Associate Director, First Year Programs
• Bryan Cunitz, Barbrina L. Dunmire, Marla Paun, Frank L. Starr III and Yak-Nam Wang, Rolling Stones Team, Center for Industrial and Medical Ultrasound, Applied Physics Laboratory

David B. Thorud Leadership Award is given to one UW faculty member and one staff member, each of whom has demonstrated exceptional abilities to lead, serve, inspire and collaborate with broad impact.

• Pamela Holsclaw Mitchell, Professor, Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Systems
• Edward Dwyer-O’Connor, Senior Manager, Downtown Programs, UW Medicine–Harborview Medical Center

Distinguished Librarian Award recognizes excellence in librarianship, especially as it benefits the academic community through teaching, research, learning and innovative approaches to practice.

• Janet G. Schnall, Information Management Librarian, Health Sciences Library

Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award is given to individuals who make outstanding efforts on behalf of the UW Alumni Association and the University.

• Jon Bridgman, Professor Emeritus, History

Distinguished Retiree Excellence in Community Service Award is given to honor a faculty member or staff retiree for the quality of the individual’s contributions, subsequent to retirement, in service to the community locally, regionally, nationally or internationally.

• Richard Morrill, Professor Emeritus, Geography

Distinguished Teaching Award is given to faculty who show a mastery of their subject matter, intellectual rigor and a passion for teaching.

• Donald Chinn, Associate Professor, Computer Science and Systems, UW Tacoma
• Lance A. Forshay, Senior Lecturer and Director, ASL Minor Studies Program, Linguistics
• Karen I. Fredriksen-Goldsen, Professor, Social Work
• Benjamin Gardner, Assistant Professor, Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, UW Bothell
• Moon-Ho Jung, Associate Professor, History
• Matt McGarrity, Senior Lecturer, Communication
• Elizabeth G. Porter, Assistant Professor, Law

Distinguished Teaching Award for Innovation with Technology is given to a current faculty member who has improved student learning and engagement by leveraging technology.

• Margaret O’Mara, Associate Professor, History

Excellence in Teaching Award is given to graduate teaching assistants who demonstrate outstanding skills in the classroom.

• Miles C. Coleman, Graduate Student, Communication
• Jennifer Lin LeMesurier, Graduate Student, English

Distinguished Contributions to Lifelong Learning Award is given to a faculty member who has taught for at least two years in non-degree programs sponsored by the UW and aimed at adults who are pursuing professional development, personal interest or career redirection.

• Kuen-Yuan Lin, Professor, Aeronautics and Astronautics

S. Sterling Munro Public Service Teaching Award is given to a faculty member who has demonstrated exemplary leadership in community-based instruction, including service learning, public service internships and community partnership projects.

• Thomas J. Halverson, Senior Lecturer, Education

University Faculty Lecture Award is given to a current or emeriti faculty member whose research, scholarship or art is widely recognized by his or her peers and whose achievements have had a substantial impact on their profession.

• Lillian C. McDermott, Professor, Physics

Marsha L. Landolt Distinguished Graduate Mentor Award is given to a faculty member who has made outstanding contributions to the education and guidance of graduate students.

• Gaetano Borriello, Professor, Computer Science and Engineering

Outstanding Public Service Award is given to a faculty or staff member to honor extensive local and/or national and international service.

• Angelina Snodgrass Godoy, Professor, Law, Societies, and Justice

Distinguished Alumni Veteran Award is given to a veteran graduate who has made a positive impact through community service and civic engagement.

• Charles Matthaei, ’43 

President’s Medal is awarded to two graduating seniors who have achieved the most distinguished academic records at the University—one to a student who has completed at least three-fourths of his or her degree requirements at the UW and one to a student who entered the University from a Washington community college.

• Emelia Hope Nitz-Ritter
• Melissa Caroline Johnson

Alumnus Summa Laude Dignatus is awarded to a former UW student whose lifetime achievements have earned him or her national or international prominence.

• Arthur D. Levinson, ’72, Chairman of the Board, Genentech, and Apple Inc.