Letter from the Chair
Dear Friends of UW Communication,
As is likely the case for many of us who work, learn, and teach at the University of Washington, Spring is my favorite time of year on this beautiful campus. The cherry blossoms have had their dazzling moment in the spotlight, and the campus is now lush and green with new growth. This spring, the Department of Communication was buzzing with activity as we prepared to honor our remarkable students at our annual Excellence and Scholarships awards ceremony and to celebrate our nearly 400 graduates in the Alaska Airlines Arena (Hec Ed.) These annual cycles–cherry blossoms, graduations–are welcome reminders that our work here in Communication, UW, and higher education more broadly, matters.
COMmunity Connections
Networking Notes
Our new Outreach & Events Manager, Gillian Cobb, has been hard at work getting to know the department, and finding ways to connect with you, our wonderful alumni community. Below you’ll find a few new ways to engage with the department, other alumni, and graduating students!
- Grow your UW COM Network on LinkedIn!
Whether you are a current student or an alum, updating your “Education” section on LinkedIn to fully reflect your Communication degree allows other alumni users to connect easily, and helps the official Department of Communication page to reflect our tens of thousands alumni. The Department wants to know what you are up to, and we want you to stay connected to the COMMunity! To learn how to update your LinkedIn page, visit our step-by-step guide, here.
- Volunteer to share your skills or knowledge with students!
Now more than ever, professional and career development opportunities are essential for UW Communication students to stand out in the job market as they begin their career journey. Alumni support is a key component of UW Communication’s Career Kickstart program. We invite you to volunteer your time and expertise through workplace tours, career panels, or professional development workshops. If you are interested in volunteering, please fill out the interest form located here. If you are looking for this form at a later date, you can always find it on our Get Involved page. Providing your information does not obligate you to volunteer.
- Share a congratulations message with our 2025 graduates!
We invite you, our wonderful alumni, to help us welcome the Class of 2025 to the UW Department of Communication alumni network. We invite you to share your encouragement, well wishes, and wisdom to the 2025 graduating class! Please fill out this form by July 8, 2025 with your short message of congratulations, encouragement, advice, or welcome to the alumni community! Your message may be included in our 2025 Year in Review video!
Stay connected with us! We have exciting things in store as we continue to build our alumni community, and we are so grateful for your continued support. As always, if you have questions on how to get involved or suggestions, please reach out to Gillian Cobb at ghcobb@uw.edu, or visit the UW Communication Alumni page here. This page is regularly updated with ways to get involved, our quarterly alumni newsletter, information about the Alumni Hall of Fame, and your Com Career stories.
The CCDE celebrates its 10th anniversary, bids farewell to founder
The Center for Communication, Difference, and Equity celebrated its tenth anniversary this spring, as it bids farewell to founding director, Professor Ralina Joseph. The CCDE is a thriving, innovative space where our community of students, faculty, staff, and alumni gather to promote greater equity through their scholarship, curriculum, and community events. Learn more here.
UW Communication News
Meet Professor Adrienne Russell at the intersection of tech, journalism, climate justice, and democracy
In this moment, when higher education, journalism, the climate, and democracy are facing unprecedented challenges, Professor Adrienne Russell’s work is a reminder that we can all take action in ways big and small. Meet Professor Adrienne Russell.
A cultivator of Possibility: Celebrating Professor LeiLani Nishime
This year’s Association of Asian American Studies’ (AAAS) Excellence in Mentoring Award goes to UW Communication Professor LeiLani Nishime! For Professor Nishime, this award means more than recognition—it’s the regard received from an organization that has been an intellectual home throughout her career. Meet Professor LeiLani Nishime.
Communication as a Public Good: Notes from the UW Center for Speech & Debate
From local classrooms to the state capitol, the UW Center for Speech & Debate empowers students to speak up and engage thoughtfully in public life. Teaching Professor Matt McGarrity recently represented the Center at a regional civics education workshop—one of many ways the Center continues to amplify communication as a public good. Read more here.
Empowering a purpose-driven career in Communication
If you are looking to launch or build your career, apply to the award-winning Communication Leadership Master’s Program with industry-leading expertise. Rolling admissions open now with final deadline August 1, 2025
NewsBites
- In June, The Center for Journalism, Media & Democracy (CJMD) hosted “Public Media Under Pressure: Why It Matters & What Can Be Done,” a timely conversation with local public media leaders about current challenges—including federal funding cuts—and pathways for sustaining public service journalism. Watch the full program on our YouTube channel.
- UW’s College of Arts and Sciences’ newsletter featured Associate Professor Mako Hill’s research on the challenges facing peer-produced websites such as Wikipedia.
- Dany Villarreal Martinez, a student in our Journalism and Public Interest Communication program, was chosen to be part of the 2025 Husky 100!
- Associate Professor Timeka Tounsel published an essay in The Conversation on Target’s move to end its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and how the subsequent boycott campaign fueled tensions between Black shoppers and Black-owned brands. Read the full essay in The Conversation and listen to an interview with Tounsel on KUOW’s Soundside program.
- The Center for Journalism, Media & Democracy (CJMD) published a case study of Olympia, Washington, examining the state of statehouse journalism. The report, Statehouse Journalism in Transition – Insights from Olympia, Washington, was a collaborative project from Professors Matt Powers and Patricia Moy, recent PhD graduate Meagan Doll, and PhD candidate Russell Hansen. The study has been featured in stories published in the Seattle Times and Nieman Lab. Powers was interviewed for Inside Olympia by host and UW Communication Hall of Fame member, Austin Jenkins. Access scholarly articles resulting from this research here and here.
- Associate Professor Katy Pearce was a panelist on Preparing Informed Citizens in an AI-Powered World, a webinar hosted by the UW Impact and the UW Center for an Informed Public. Panelists shared insights on how AI is reshaping civic engagement, education, and research. Pearce’s commentary on popular and educational uses of AI has also recently been featured in the New York Times, KUOW, and CNet, among other venues.
- The Center for Journalism, Media & Democracy co-hosted “Technology for the People,” a UW Salon with Society + Technology at UW, that arranged to showcase empathetic, community-focused engagement with technologies for justice and democracy. The panel brought together speakers across many disciplines, and featured UW Communication faculty members Carmen Gonzalez and Adrienne Russell.
- In partnership with High Country News, UW Communication recently hosted “The Social Shift: Content Creators, New Voices, and the Future of News,” a conversation moderated by Teaching Professor Andrea Otáñez, about how social media and content creators have reshaped news consumerism in America and the ensuing shift in media ecosystems. Watch the full program on our YouTube channel.