For its second Encore! Lecture, the University of Washington Bothell Office of Alumni Engagement welcomes Professor Emeritus Alan Wood to share his wisdom in a talk about history, his career and growth of the University.
Wood is a founding faculty member who taught and wrote about world history and Chinese history. He recalls how the Legislature approved the campus in 1989 and the 13 founding faculty members were hired. They set the original curriculum in 1990 at a weekend meeting. They all wrote down what they wanted to teach.
“And something remarkable happened. We created what I believe was one of the first truly interdisciplinary institutions of higher education ever in the state of Washington,” Wood said.
“We were responding to the world as it really is out there now, and we built the institution as a response to the needs of the community in general, and that has been a core of the campus from the very beginning,” he said.
Wood also served four years as associate dean for academic affairs. He says the changes he has seen over the years at UW Bothell have been amazing.
The Encore! Lecture is also an opportunity to celebrate Wood’s accomplishments as a scholar and in laying the groundwork for the University’s innovative and interdisciplinary teaching methods.
Wood’s lecture will explain how the Chinese yin yang philosophy can help us better understand how systems thinking, quantum physics and the humanities can come together to address global challenges.
The lecture on Thursday, Nov. 17, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. in the Discovery Hall auditorium and a post-event reception with food and drinks are free and open to the community, but those planning to attend are asked to RSVP.
The first Encore! Lecture in March featured Warren Buck, the first chancellor of University of Washington Bothell and nationally known physics professor.
