Alumni Spotlight: Gary Ausman
What was your most memorable class?
No brainer there. I remember the Economics 200 class taught by the legendary Henry Buechel where on the first day he literally wiped out a quarter of his class with his opening lecture; all tests graded on a ridiculous scale. How about them apples? By the end of the quarter, only about half of the class was still there and I received a “gentleman C” (as it was known back in the 1960’s) and this was, without question, the most appreciated C grade I ever received!
Who is your hero?
My intellectual hero has always been Thomas Jefferson followed somewhat closely by Thomas Sowell. Something about the amazing intellect of some people has always intrigued me. Don’t laugh, but my current hero is a gentleman by the name of Lincoln Johnson for having the wisdom to work with some wonderful staff, students, and administration and initiate the Office of Student Veteran Life at the University of Washington.
What is your favorite memory of the HUB?
Standing shoulder to shoulder with the HUB Manager, John Bickford, and backing down a huge crowd of demonstrators who were trying to disrupt a speech by Senator Henry Jackson in the HUB ballroom, and we got them to settle down and let Henry Jackson complete his speech. Challenged my adrenaline as never before or since! Somehow you just don’t forget those significant emotional moments and the iconic people I have had the pleasure to work with over the years at the University of Washington.
Favorite karaoke song?
First, a few brewskies are always in order as a warm up and I remember well the time I was in San Antonio, TX, at Nasty Nellie’s bar with a group of Coast Guard Officers and the place was packed with university alumni from all over the country. The guy who played the piano knew the Husky Fight Song since the Huskies had played a couple of times in the Sun Bowl so when he found that I was a graduate of the UDUB, he invited me to join him singing our fight song as the last group sing of the evening. Husky Fight Song all the way!
What is your favorite Husky football tradition?
A little known fact about me is that in my senior year when I was on the BOC and Executive VP of the IFC, I called the card stunts at all the home football games. There was one game where the Huskies scored a long touchdown just seconds before the half ended and the cards flew in every directions and the looks on the faces of the cheerleaders, the Sundodgers (men’s spirit group that put the stunts together), and others on the field was one of pure anxiety! Somehow the card stunts went on and the howls of glee from across the field at every stunt was absolutely hilarious! But we did it and it might have been the most entertaining card stunt program ever at the stadium. It is a shame that the tradition died, but it really was entertaining.
