The University of Washington Tacoma Distinguished Research Award was initiated in 2004. Given annually, the purpose of this award is to recognize a faculty member who has achieved a record of notable scholarship or creative activity, who has generated new knowledge or creativity that impacts their intellectual discipline, and who has contributed to the intellectual climate of the UW Tacoma campus and its communities. All University of Washington Tacoma faculty members are eligible.
2018 Recipient
Dr. Eric Madfis, Associate Professor, Social Work and Criminal Justice
As a researcher and scholar,Associate Professor Eric Madfis (Social Work & Criminal Justice) has been exceptionally productive in conducting high quality research focused on violence. His 2014 book The Risk of School Rampage is referenced frequently and has affected policy debates in the field, including opening up discussion regarding over-reaction to the fear of school violence. Dr. Madfis’ numerous articles and book chapters reveal an interdisciplinary scholarly mind built on strong theoretical and empirical foundations. The policy implications of his work were recognized by an invitation to brief the U.S. Congress on school violence and safety, and his research is frequently cited in the news media. Dr. Madfis engages globally and with local nonprofits to use insights from his research to prevent school violence.
Additional 2018 Nominees
- Dr. Asao Inoue, Professor, School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences
- Dr. Sushil Oswal, Associate Professor, School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences
- Dr. Dan Shugar, Assistant Professor, School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences
Past recipients
- 2017 - Marian Harris, Professor, Social Work & Criminal Justice
- 2016 - Carolyn West, Associate Professor, School of Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences
- Video: Writing the Books You Want to Read
- 2015 - Peter Horak, Professor, School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences
- Video: The World of Mathematics
- 2014 - Yonn Dierwechter, Associate Professor, Urban Studies
- Presentation: Rain without thunder: City-regions and the global search for a sustainable order
- 2013 - Mike Allen, Interdiscipliary Arts and Sciences
- Presentation: I've Got Friends in Low Places: The Intellectual Life of an Anti-Intellectual
- 2012 - Divya McMillin, Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences
- Presentation: Producing Place: Media and Soft Power
- 2011 - Rich Furman, Social Work
- The professor and the blank page: Writing, rituals and our relationship to the written word
- 2010 - Michael Honey, Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences
- Presentation: All Labor Has Dignity
- 2009 - Claudia Gorbman, Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences
- Presentation: Listening to Movies
- 2008 - Joe Sharkey, Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences
- Presentation: Don't Think; Look! Language Does Things it Can't Do
- 2007 - Anthony D'Costa, Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences
- Presentation: WYSIWYG/D: Doing Research at UWT
- 2006 - Marcy Stein, Education
- 2005 - John Banks, Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences
- 2004 - Charles Emlet, Social Work
- Presentation: Aging and HIV/AIDS: Lessons Learned... Moving Forward