The University of Washington Tacoma has named a campus auditorium and an endowed scholarship in honor of Chancellor Vicky Carwein, who leaves the UW Tacoma campus April 15.
The Vicky L. Carwein Auditorium (formerly Keystone Auditorium) and the Vicky L. Carwein Endowed Scholarship were announced at a farewell event for Carwein at the Washington State History Museum in late February. The decision to name the auditorium was kept secret from Carwein until the announcement.
We are very pleased to be able to invest our first UWT auditorium with the Carwein name and all of that names associated significance for the University of Washington, Tacoma, and the South Sound, said Bill Richardson, director of UW Tacomas Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences program.
Richardson announced the name change, which is effective immediately, at the event.
Carwein, UW Tacoma’s first chancellor, has led the campus since 1995, beginning five years after it was founded. She is leaving in April to become the first woman to serve as president of Westfield State College in Massachusetts, which was founded in 1838.
When she arrived, UW Tacoma was housed in leased space, had 732 students in four academic programs. Today, UWT serves more than 2,100 students with seven academic programs, including an Institute of Technology, a named business school, and many more options for study, including executive and continuing education, than existed when Carwein arrived.
The 170-seat Carwein Auditorium is located in the Keystone Building, which opened in 2002 as part of Phase 2A of campus construction. Carwein was among the first to speak in the new auditorium and has presided over a number of events there. It is the only auditorium on campus.
The Carwein Endowed Scholarship was established this winter and quickly grew as donations were made. At the farewell event in February, former UW Tacoma Advisory Board member Bill Philip revealed that in just a few weeks, the UW Tacoma Office of Advancement has raised nearly $50,000 for the scholarship, the minimum necessary for an endowment.
Donations for the scholarship are still being accepted. For more information or to make a donation, contact the Office of Advancement at 253/ 692-5753.
