Professor Katherine Beckett was recently named the recipient of the 2013 University of Washington Public Service Award. The award, first initiated in 1980, recognizes “faculty and staff efforts to improve the quality of people’s lives locally, nationally, or internationally.”
Judith Howard, the Divisional Dean of Social Sciences, and Professor Lorna Rhodes of Anthropology submitted the nomination for Beckett. In their nomination letter, they cited the various acts of public service that Beckett has accomplished: she worked with attorneys at Seattle’s Racial Disparity Project to conduct research on Seattle’s drug market and drug arrests, and “advocated on issues disproportionately affecting Seattle’s communities of color;” she co-authored a book with Professor Steve Herbert on social control through spatial exclusion or banishment; and she was recently appointed to the City of Seattle Human Rights Commission.
On top of these projects, she also participated in a number of others pertaining to public service, and continuously displays what Howard and Rhodes call a “willingness to put herself on the line, out in the community, as an informed and compelling advocate for the poor and disadvantaged of our city and state.” Throughout all of these efforts, she also continued to teach her classes with enthusiasm at the UW and participate with her fellow Professors Angelina Godoy and Carolyn Pinedo-Turnovsky in a collaborative project with OneAmerica and the UW Center for Human Rights.
She is the first faculty member of LSJ to be awarded with this honor since its inception.
Beckett will be presented with the award at the University’s annual Recognition Ceremony in June. She will also receive $5000 for her outstanding public service. Congratulations, Professor Katherine Beckett!
This article was composed by Kristine Kim.