2021 Year in Review

Most of 2021 (and 2020) was spent in “remote operations” mode at UW Bothell. With only essential staff and faculty coming to campus regularly, those 20 months were unlike any other in the University’s more than 30 year history.

Through sheer determination — and with assists from technology — UW Bothell students, faculty and staff remained connected to one another, the broader UW community and partners throughout the region.

In September 2021, UW Bothell officially welcomed its second largest incoming class of students for autumn quarter. Thousands of current undergraduate and graduate students also finally returned to campus even as many others — including most second-year students — set foot on the Plaza for the very first time.

Faculty and staff spent the preceding months preparing for the return to campus life. In the last days before the start of the quarter, many offices and departments across campus decorated their spaces with banners, balloons and streamers to celebrate students and in-person learning.

In this year-end news review, we share these and other highlights from 2021, an unusual year in which research, teaching, learning and community building all continued despite the pandemic.

We encourage you to check out the stories below as well as these recent awards and honors of our students, faculty and staff.