Trisha N. Davis
Happy New Year!
UW Athletics is in the national news with two big stories. In December, the movie “The Boys in the Boat” was released based on the great book by D. J. Brown. It describes the story of eight depression-era, working-class UW students (some of whom could barely afford food) who trained, struggled, and persevered to win the gold medal at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin in rowing in the men’s eight. In the words of UW Men’s Rowing head coach Michael Callahan, “Trust, teamwork and perseverance – [their coaches]… taught those values then, and we teach them today.” Incredibly during the height of the depression, the Seattle community raised over $100,000 in today’s dollars to send the team on their journey. Their story highlights the power of working together, the power of community support, and the importance of our remarkable public institution for higher education.
Fast forward to another group of outstanding UW athletes, who at the end of last year put aside their individual careers and banded together at UW with the goal of attaining the highest achievement in college football, The National Championship. Every interview I have read from these athletes includes the importance of the personal bonds of respect and trust among them, and the support they have received from the community. They had an amazing season even though the ending was not what any of us hoped for.
There is no Olympic Sport in Biochemistry or National Championship of Biochemists. There is no single day when it is decided that we have either won or lost. Instead, it is a long journey that started in 1950 with the beginning of the department and will continue long into the future. A journey where each day we follow our core values to work on our mission to discover and disseminate new knowledge, to educate a diverse group of students, and to participate in and contribute to our community. As an example, we all came together as a team during the pandemic to continue the department’s mission and literally help the world understand and fight COVID.
In December, I completed my 12th year as chair. As you might know, I plan to retire in six months. As I reflect on my time as chair, I too am most struck by the importance of working together, the importance of our community, of our colleagues within our department and across campus, our alumni, and friends. This team of players was instrumental for the ongoing success of our department. When I applied to be chair, I had an underlying goal to develop an inclusive community. Now I realize just how important that was and likely always will be. Plus, trust, teamwork, and perseverance– values for a boat of 8 and for the chair of a department of 378.
I have led the department on this journey for the last twelve years and will let others be the judge. As for me, I consider myself remarkably lucky to have chaired a department of such great people, so willing to work together, so interested in pursuing excellence, and so willing to jump in and help, and so lucky to have worked with a community so willing to support us. Really! I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all of you and all you do and have done.
It has been a wild and splendid ride, so why, you might ask, am I going to retire? I feel in my heart that it is time for someone else to take a turn at guiding the future of the department. Time for someone else to develop a vision, with you, and most importantly to continue to build an inclusive community. Fresh leadership, fresh goals, and a department that continues to thrive, this is my vision for you. For myself, I am still working out my own plans for retirement (although it will include plenty of travel), but I will be wishing you all the best.
