The University of Washington Tacoma: A History of Growth and Community Transformation

Introduction

The University of Washington Tacoma (UW Tacoma or UWT) stands as a testament to community vision and urban revitalization. One of the three campuses of the University of Washington, alongside Seattle and Bothell, UW Tacoma has carved out a unique identity as an urban-serving university deeply intertwined with the city of Tacoma and the South Puget Sound region. From its humble beginnings in repurposed warehouses to its current vibrant campus, UW Tacoma's history is one of transformation - for the university itself, for the surrounding neighborhood, and for the lives of its students.

Early Years and Founding

Following the establishment of The Evergreen State College in Olympia in 1967, interest in additional higher education opportunities in the South Sound continued to grow. In 1986, the Higher Education Coordination Board suggested branch campuses for both the University of Washington and Washington State University. Tacoma and Bothell were chosen as new UW campus sites.

The University of Washington Tacoma campus began classes on October 1, 1990, in downtown Tacoma's historic Perkins Building. The 8-story structure was chosen in part for its capacity; during UW Tacoma's early years and construction of the permanent campus further south, enrollments comprised a maximum of approximately 401 juniors and seniors.

Community Support and Vision

The establishment of UW Tacoma was not without its challenges. In 1990, when the UW recommended placing its new Tacoma campus across the street from the old railroad station on Pacific Avenue, some politicians and editorialists considered it a mistake. The area was described as "gloomy and run down," with mostly abandoned buildings and a "low-end warehouse district."

However, a handful of business leaders persevered, hoping their vision of a transformed Tacoma would become reality. Former state House Speaker and Tacoma Mayor Brian Ebersole, businessman and UW Regent Herb Simon, Columbia Bank founder and CEO William W. Philip, and many others played crucial roles in advocating for and securing the establishment of the campus.

The "Pierce County Mafia"

In the 1980s and 1990s, a group of South Sound legislators held power positions in Olympia. They, along with then-Gov. Booth Gardner, who hailed from Tacoma, were able to push through legislation needed to create the first UW branch campuses. Their relentless support for that other other issues that benefited the South Sound earned them the nickname “Pierce County Mafia.” State political leaders involved included Brian Ebersole, Wayne Ehlers, Ted Bottiger, Dan Grimm, George Walk, Ruth Fisher, Art Wang and Marc Gaspard.

The Permanent Campus and Urban Revitalization

The current campus celebrated its long-awaited opening on May 29, 1997. Since the opening of the first building, several others have been renovated. Part of the campus library formerly served as the Snoqualmie Falls Power Company's transformer house. Building names such as Mattress Factory and West Coast Grocery recall the structures' earlier uses. The 46-acre campus is located on a hillside at the southern edge of downtown Tacoma, overlooking the Port of Tacoma and Mount Rainier. Set in the historic Union Station District, UW Tacoma renovated century-old, brick buildings that were built by businesses that depended on the railroad in the late 1880s and early 1900s.

The establishment of UW Tacoma is credited as a catalyst for Pacific Avenue’s economic revival that included the Museum of Glass, Tacoma Art Museum, the Washington State History Museum, Link light rail, boutique storefronts, restaurants and the Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center. Starbucks, Jimmy John’s and a University Book Store have moved in. Local eateries such as Hello, Cupcake and Granolas Frozen Yogurt and More share the block with university classrooms. It didn’t happen overnight. But after the university opted to renovate the once derelict warehouses that lined Pacific Avenue, private business followed. Between 1990 and 2003, roughly $1.5 billion in public and private money was invested downtown.

Adaptive Reuse and Architectural Vision

Much of the credit for the campus's unique architectural character can go to the late, award-winning architect Charles Moore, who also designed the new Chemistry Building on the Seattle campus. A century ago, these buildings were part of Tacoma’s rise on the bluffs above Commencement Bay. Butchart calls the architecture “muscular” with touches of Classical and Romanesque influences. The most striking building is the 1902 Snoqualmie Falls Power Station, which is now the library’s reading room. “It is the jewel of the campus,” Butchart declares. With its Classical Greek influences, its soaring two-story space and rows of arched windows, the old power station has the feel of an academic building. Inside there is a mix of Classical and high tech.

As part of its philosophy of adaptive reuse, the UW rebuilt an awning that once protected warehouse workers as they unloaded boxcars. Now the awning will protect students as they go between classes. City officials are overjoyed with the project. “It will not be displacing or destroying the past. It will be respectful of it,” Michael Sullivan, Tacoma’s cultural resources manager, told the press when the project began.

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Academic Growth and Community Engagement

Following several years of transfer-only undergraduate admissions, UW Tacoma admitted its first freshman class of just under 200 students in Autumn of 2006. UW Tacoma expects to continue to increase enrollment and add additional buildings. In March 2011, the campus opened the renovated Russell T. Joy Building, the last of the formerly blighted warehouse buildings along the campus' Pacific Avenue boundary. Tacoma School of the Arts (SOTA) students use UWT classroom space for their humanities classes.

UW Tacoma offers 60 undergraduate majors and 15 graduate programs. The University Y Student Center is a collaboration between the UW Tacoma and the YMCA of Pierce and Kitsap Counties. The Y is a 73,000 square foot facility that includes recreational and fitness spaces, an NCAA regulation gymnasium, cardio and weight training equipment, indoor track, and locker rooms.

Research and Innovation

Since its inception, UWT has grown its research arm that now touts some of the world’s leaders in their respective fields. Consider the Institute of Technology. It’s helping create a cybersecurity cluster in the South Sound that sends technology graduates to businesses such as Boeing, Microsoft and Amazon. The UWT has stepped up its outreach to former military service members with national security clearances or training in protecting information networks. Or consider the school’s Center for Urban Waters, which opened in 2010. Joel Baker, the center’s science director, is internationally known in his field and has drawn research grants to the center. The outside money is spent on scientists, based in Tacoma, who are working on ways to clean up water and prevent future pollution - two scenarios critical for the health of Puget Sound.

A Diverse Student Body

From students right out of high school to working single moms and military veterans making the transition out of uniform, UWT’s student body is a mirror of the South Sound community. Here’s a glimpse of the student body by the numbers:

94 percent of students hail from Washington state.
81 percent are full-time students.
More than 50 percent of full-time students work at a paying job more than 15 hours a week.
70 percent of students receive financial aid.
12 percent of students receive financial aid using military GI Bill benefits.
68 percent of freshmen are the first in their families to work toward a college degree.

Community Partnerships

Community involvement is the backbone of UWT, from the way the school works with local K-12 public schools to create a college-going culture to the way it connects graduates with local employers. Tacoma has historically struggled with complex social problems, a high dropout rate and a low percentage of students moving on to higher education. Pathways to Promise was created to address these issues. The program targets students from kindergarten to 12th grade to make higher education an attainable goal.

Read also: Legacy of Fordham University

UWT also partners with area community colleges and their transfer students, and has created a relationship with Joint Base Lewis-McChord to help transitioning service members move into the civilian workforce. Students enrolled in schools such as UWT’s Institute of Technology, Milgard School of Business and its education and urban studies program benefit from UWT’s partnerships with local businesses that provide internships and job opportunities. The school also partners with regional nonprofits including the Boys & Girls Club of South Puget Sound, Tacoma Children’s Museum and the YMCA, which recently built a student center downtown.

Key Figures in UW Tacoma's History

Several individuals have played instrumental roles in the establishment and growth of UW Tacoma:

Dawn Lucien: As president of the group that helped establish the branch campus, Lucien was a key player in revitalizing downtown Tacoma and preserving its history for more than 30 years.
William W. Philip: Philip spearheaded a $1 million fundraising effort to bring the school to downtown Tacoma and orchestrated a plan to quietly buy options on downtown property before speculation drove up prices.
Herb Simon: Simon lobbied the Legislature to appropriate the money needed to create the school’s Institute of Technology and worked with Bill Philip to raise nearly $4 million to invest in the institute.
Debra Friedman: As the fifth chancellor in school history, Friedman established UWT’s brand as an urban-serving university and established partnerships with area schools to create a college-going culture.

History Courses Offered

UW Tacoma's History Department offers a wide range of courses covering various historical periods and regions. These courses provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the past and its relevance to the present. Some of the courses offered include:

T HIST 102 Introduction to Global Studies
T HIST 111 The Ancient World
T HIST 112 The Medieval World
T HIST 151 World History II 1500 to Present
T HIST 200 American History I, 1607-1877
T HIST 201 American History II, 1877-present
T HIST 203 Modern Europe in Global History
T HIST 212 American Military History I
T HIST 220 African American History 1619-1865
T HIST 221 African-American History 1865-1945
T HIST 222 African-American History 1945-Present
T HIST 260 Empires and Imperialism in World History
T HIST 270 Premodern East Asia
T HIST 271 Modern East Asia
T HIST 280 German Cultural History
T HIST 290 A World History of Food
T HIST 315 Industrialization and Reform
T HIST 320 Asian American History
T HIST 322 American Labor Since the Civil War
T HIST 333 Early American Music, Art, Literature, and Theater
T HIST 336 Black, Labor, and Protest Music in Historical Perspective
T HIST 340 History of United States-American Indian Relations
T HIST 341 African-American History
T HIST 343 Vietnam and the 1960s
T HIST 349 Minorities and Higher Education in American History
T HIST 363 Making of Russia
T HIST 365 Europe in the Twentieth Century
T HIST 366 Europe in the Twenty-First Century
T HIST 372 Comparative Perspectives on East Asian and Latin American Development
T HIST 375 British Empire
T HIST 376 Global Diasporas, Borders, and Refugees in Visual Culture
T HIST 377 Art of the Americas
T HIST 378 American Architecture
T HIST 379 Modern Architecture
T HIST 380 History Methods Research and Writing Seminar
T HIST 385 Russian Civilization
T HIST 410 Early American Politics, Constitution, and Law
T HIST 411 History of Religion in America
T HIST 413 Civil Rights, Civil Liberties
T HIST 416 Life and Thought: Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and Angela Davis
T HIST 417 United States History 1945-Present
T HIST 420 African-American Religious History
T HIST 430 Introduction to Public History
T HIST 437 Doing Community History
T HIST 440 Black Labor in America
T HIST 441 Black Freedom Movement in Perspective
T HIST 442 History of African American Education
T HIST 444 The Pacific Northwest
T HIST 445 History of Tacoma
T HIST 452 Art, Culture, and History of the Eternal City
T HIST 456 North American Regions I&S
T HIST 457 Anti-Semitism and the Holocaust
T HIST 463 Premodern Japan
T HIST 464 Modern China
T HIST 465 Modern Japan
T HIST 466 Modern Korea
T HIST 470 The Material World: Art and Artifacts
T HIST 474 Imperial China
T HIST 475 Twentieth-Century Britain
T HIST 477 Reformation and Counter-Reformation Europe
T HIST 478 Europe in the Nineteenth Century
T HIST 479 Modern European Culture
T HIST 480 Eastern Europe in Transition, 1940-2000
T HIST 486 Contemporary Chinese Culture and Society
T HIST 487 Technology in the Modern World
T HIST 488 History of Urbanization and the Environment
T HIST 491 Advanced Topics in the Ancient and Medieval Mediterranean World

UW Tacoma is also the home of the Alpha Zeta Gamma chapter of Phi Alpha Theta (PAT), the National History Honor Society. The Phi Alpha Theta honor society induction ceremony is held Spring Quarter at UW Tacoma. Members wear crimson stoles with their academic regalia at commencement. All UW Tacoma students are welcome at PAT meetings and service projects. As Pierce County and the South Sound region continue to grow, History graduates are finding more opportunities in the fields of education, records management, museum curation, government service, heritage tourism, journalism, and other professions. History also provides an excellent foundation for graduate study in law, education, and many other areas. History students can benefit from internships at Fort Nisqually, the Washington State Historical Society, or the Job Carr Museum.

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