In 2009, a circle of eight oak trees will be planted on the University of Washington campus to celebrate the one-hundred year anniversary of the Department of Scandinavian Studies, and fifteen years of Baltic Studies at the UW. The eight trees, symbolizing the eight countries studied in the Scandinavian Department, will be planted around the oldest footpath on campus, between Parrington Hall and William H. Gates Hall.

You can support the Nordic-Baltic Centennial Oak Grove with your donation.

This event is part of a year-long celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Department, which also includes:

Alumni Weekend - Sept. 25-26, 2009

• Reunion Reception
  (Meet former classmates)

• Faculty Presentations
• Graduate Student Presentations
• Oak Tree Planting
• Gala Dinner

The Scan|Design Foundation sponsors UW graduate and advanced undergraduate students to study in Denmark, allowing students to earn UW credit for coursework taught in English at distinguished Danish educational institutions.

Fellows for Fall 2009 include Nic Vondrak (Copenhagen Business School), Mona Johnston (Royal Danish Academy, Natalie Gulsrud (University of Copenhagen: Life Sciences), Thomas Godshalk (University of Copenhagen: Nordic, German and Comparative Literatures), Kimberly Cannady (University of Copenhagen: Musicology) and Elliott Schmitt (Aalborg University: Sustainable Energy Planning and Management).

The Swedish Women’s Educational Association held their inaugural Summer Dinner with Auction at the Vasa Park Ball Room in Bellevue. Part of the evening’s program was to begin fundraising for an endowed SWEA Scholarship Fund for the Department.

On May 18, Valdis Zatlers, President of the Republic of Latvia, came to the University of Washington to express his support for the UW Latvian Studies program, “one of the best in the world.” President Zatlers visited Christine Ingebritsen’s Scandinavian Politics class to give a lecture about Latvia’s role in the European Union and NATO.

Continue reading "Latvian President Visits" »

Helsinki University has published a profile of Andrew Nestingen, Associate Professor of Finnish in the Department.

Laconic humor, melodrama and the language of silence: What happens when A Clockwork Orange meets Hamlet? An American researcher encourages people to acquaint themselves with Finland’s number one film director.

On March 11, the Washington State Senate unanimously passed Senate Resolution 8643 to “honor the Department of Scandinavian Studies on its 100th anniversary for continuing to preserve and cultivate the Scandinavian and Baltic cultures not only in the state of Washington, but the entire United States of America.”

The resolution, sponsored by Senators Ken Jacobsen, Mary Margaret Haugen, Jeanne Kohl-Welles, and Karen Fraser, was passed on the centennial anniversary of the initial legislative bill which established the Department in 1909. Since then, the Department has grown to include 12 full-time faculty, 80 undergraduate majors and 20 graduate students.

Top photo back row: Kirstine Kastbjerg, Mark Safstrom, Terje Leiren, Senator Ken Jacobsen, Lotta Gavel Adams, Ia Dubois, Donna Miksys, Rimas Miksys. Front row: Andris Rogainis, Rennesa Osterberg, Mia Spangenberg, Peter Leonard. Bottom photo: Senator Ken Jacobsen

The Seattle Swedish Cultural Center held their 2009 Auction with the nautical theme “A Voyage Aboard the Swedish-American Line.” Part of the evening’s program was to begin fundraising for a Scholarship Fund for the Department.