May 1, 5:00 – 6:30 PM |Online

Free |

May 1, 6:30 PM | May Day: Women and Equality, Kane Hall & Recorded

Suggested Ticket Price $5 | More info and Registration

May 2, 7:00 – 9:30 PM & May 4, 7:00 – 8:30 PM | Kane Hall

For this year’s Samuel and Althea Stroum Lectures in Jewish Studies, Anthony Mordechai Tzvi Russell, a classically trained and internationally acclaimed vocalist, composer and arranger specializing in music in the Yiddish language, will perform with accompanist Dmitri Gaskin. Through oration and art music, they will take us on a melodic journey through a variety of elements come together to shape Russell’s unique genre of Jewish musicality.

Free |

May 2 & May 4��| Glenn Hughes Penthouse Theatre and Online

This lecture series and colloquium advance crucial conversations on world language and literature study on the 91̽��Seattle campus through an interdisciplinary, multi-departmental speaker series focused on issues of race, identity, colonialism, and migration within a broad European context. These trans- or postnational, transcultural, and multilingual approaches to national literatures offer effective frameworks for undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty to grasp the intersectional complexity of power configurations in literary and visual cultures.

Free |

May 3 – May 7 | Glenn Hughes Penthouse Theatre

The Producing Artist Laboratory is a recent development in the 91̽��School of Drama’s production structure. Student-artists require many outlets to practice their craft from their first year to graduation. The Producing Artists Lab is an opportunity to share some of these exciting exploratory or developmental projects with the public. Audience members may see a wider range in the levels of production and often more vigorous artistic risk-taking in these Lab productions.

In the Blood was directed by graduate directing students Kate Drummond and Nick O’Leary. In this modern-day riff on The Scarlet Letter, a homeless mother of five lives with her kids on the tough streets of the inner city. Her eldest child is teaching her how to read and write, but the letter “A” is, so far, the only letter she knows. Her five kids are played by adult actors who double as five other people in her life. While Hester’s kids fill her life with joy—lovingly comical moments amid the harsh world of poverty—the adults with whom she comes into contact only hold her back.

Content Warning: The play contains mature subject matter and themes, including explicit language, violence, and sexual content.

$10 – $20 Tickets |

May 4, 7:30 PM | Meany Hall

Violist and composer Melia Watras presents a celebration of the viola with an evening of world premieres composed by 91̽��faculty, students, and alumni. The program includes 91̽��faculty composer Joël- François Durand’s Geister weider… pour alto solo (written for Watras), a collaborative composition by Watras and her former student Madeline Warner, and four pieces commissioned by Watras especially for this event, by 91̽��students and alums Sandesh Nagaraj, Jonathan Rodriguez, Breana Tavaglione, and Wei Yang. Watras in joined onstage by vocalist Carrie Henneman Shaw and violinist Michael Jinsoo Lim.

$10 – $20 Tickets |

May 5 – May 6 | Intellectual House

This symposium brings people together to share knowledge on topics such as traditional foods, plants and medicines; environmental and food justice; food sovereignty/security; health and wellness; and treaty rights. This event serves to foster dialogue and build collaborative networks as Native people strive to sustain cultural food practices and preserve healthy relationships with the land, water, and all living things.

This year’s theme is “Health, Healing & Resilience”.

Free for 91̽��Students |

May 6, 7:30 PM | Meany Hall

From visionary theater and opera director Peter Sellars comes his most personal work to date, a staging of Orlando di Lasso’s Lagrime di San Pietro (The Tears of Saint Peter). This profoundly moving Renaissance masterpiece depicts the grief and remorse of the Apostle Peter after he disavows knowledge of Jesus Christ on the day of his arrest and crucifixion. Sung by 21 a cappella singers of the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Lagrime is refracted through Mr. Sellars signature contemporary lens, suggesting a powerful allegory about facing our past head-on in order to forge a more fulfilling future.

Free |

Have an event that you would like to see featured in the ArtSci Roundup? Connect with Lauren Zondag (zondagld@uw.edu).

The share of Washingtonians living below the federal poverty threshold declined from 11.0 to 10.3 percent between 2017 and 2018, according to new Census data released Thursday.�� Washington was one of 14 states in which poverty rates fell between 2017 and 2018.

Washington’s poverty rate is lower than the poverty rate in most states.�� Eight states – Hawaii, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Maryland, Minnesota, Colorado, Utah and Massachusetts – have lower rates. Across the nation, only Connecticut saw an increase in poverty rates.

Poverty rates for Seattle and King County (11.0% and 9.3% respectively) remain statistically unchanged since 2017.

“The persistence of poverty amid Seattle’s growing affluence is striking,” said , director of the at the 91̽�� and an associate professor of social work. “While many people benefit from our strong local economy, we should keep in mind that 1 in 9 Seattle residents lives below the poverty line.”

Poverty varies by household size.�� A single person under age 65 is considered poor if their total income falls below $13,064. A family with two adults and two children is poor with income below $25,465. Poverty also varies around the region, with Renton and Redmond having smaller percentages of residents under the poverty line (7.5% and 5.5%, respectively), and Kent (15.5%) and Federal Way (15.8%) having higher poverty rates.

Following the recent trend, households in Washington saw statistically significant increases in income between 2017 and 2018.�� State median household income rose 4.4% to $74,073 in 2018. ��At $93,481, median income was even higher in Seattle, a year-on-year gain of 7.7%.�� The number of high-income households – those with income above $200,000 per year – rose sharply in Seattle, with 20.9% more households in that category than in 2017.�� King County posted similar gains, with median income rising 5.9% to $95,009 in 2018 and a 13.8% increase in the number of households with earnings above $200,000.

Nationwide, income inequality increased between 2017 and 2018.�� In Washington state and in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metropolitan area, income inequality has increased since 2010 but did not change significantly between 2017 and 2018.

For more information, contact Romich at romich@uw.edu.

The share of Washingtonians living below the federal poverty threshold declined slightly from 11.3 percent to 11 percent between 2016 and 2017, according to new Census released Thursday. While this change was not statistically significant, the 2017 poverty rate remains below the post-recession high of 14.1 percent in 2013.

Washington was one of 28 states and the District of Columbia where poverty rates remained statistically unchanged from the prior year. During that period, poverty rates declined in 20 states and increased in two states (Delaware and West Virginia).

There was a small but statistically significant decline in the poverty rate in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metropolitan area, from 9.6 percent in 2016 to 9 percent in 2017, but the 2017 rates remained statistically unchanged in King County and Seattle (9.3 percent and 11.1 percent, respectively).

“I would have liked to see a real decline in poverty given the income gains reported,” said , director of the at the 91̽�� and an associate professor of social work. “The slow progress and local stagnation on poverty stands in contrast to how well middle and higher-earning households are doing.”

Households in Washington saw statistically significant increases in income between 2016 and 2017, following a steady trend for the last several years. State median household income rose 3.8 percent to $70,979 in 2017. At $86,822, median income was even higher in Seattle, an inflation-adjusted increase of more than $13,000 since 2013. King County posted similar gains, rising from $75,416 in 2013 to $89,675 in 2017. The proportion of high earners grew as well: Between 2012 and 2017, the share of households in King County with annual incomes of $200,000 has increased from 8.7 percent to 15.7 percent.

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For more information, contact Romich at 206-616-6121 or romich@uw.edu or Melissa Martinson at melmart@uw.edu.

The share of Washingtonians living in poverty dropped from 12.2 percent to 11.3 percent between 2015 and 2016, according to new Census data released Thursday. ��This is the third straight year that poverty has decreased since the post-recession high of 14.1 percent in 2013.

Washington was one of 24 states with statistically significant declines in their poverty rates during that period. Poverty increased in Vermont and remained statistically unchanged in the other states and in the District of Columbia.

Poverty edged down in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metropolitan area as well, dropping from 10.2 percent to 9.6 percent between 2015 and 2016. The poverty rate for children remains higher than the general rate.�� Statewide, 13.7 percent of Washington children live in households under the poverty threshold, which is $24,339 for a family of four.�� In the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area, the child poverty rate is 11.9 percent.

“It is good news that the poverty rate has dropped for a third year in a row in Washington state. However, we should keep in mind that one in nine children in the Seattle metro area still lives in poverty, despite our region’s growing wealth,” said , director of the at the 91̽�� and an associate professor of social work.

Washington was one of 30 states that saw statistically significant increases in income:�� State median household income rose 4.6 percent to $67,106.�� Median household income in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metropolitan area also rose 4.4 percent to $78,612.�� Seattle remains the major metropolitan area with the fourth highest income, after San Francisco, Washington D.C., and Boston.

In the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area, an estimated 13,700 more households had income over $200,000 in 2016 than in 2015.�� These highest-income households comprise 14.1 percent of all households in the area.

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For more information, contact Romich at romich@uw.edu.

But there is heightened interest in the new administration’s priorities, and whether services to the poor will be among them.

That lack of certainty — and a need to share information — prompted the and the to host a panel discussion with local agency representatives at 5 p.m. May 9 at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute, 104 17th Ave. S., Seattle.

The event is free and open to the public.

“It’s about sharing information and understanding impact,” said , an associate professor in the School of Social Work and director of the West Coast Poverty Center. “To do our work effectively, we need to understand the changes in the policy environment and consider how the lives of our constituents may change.”

On the panel are Social Work faculty members and , along with Gordon McHenry, Jr., president and chief executive officer of ; Nicole Keenan, executive director of the ; Andrew Lofton, executive director of the ; and Aiko Schaefer, a leader of (formerly Communities of Color for Climate Justice).

The work of these groups, combined with the research and involvement of the UW, Romich said, thread together all of the issues faced by Seattle’s poor: having a good job and a place to live; help with food and transportation; clean air to breathe; and safe places for children to play.

All of those needs could be impacted by federal policy changes or budgetary decisions. While little is known now, Romich said, facilitating a discussion is helpful. And opening it up to the public brings forward issues that might otherwise surface only in professional networks.

“How we treat the poor is a bellwether for how we treat all of society,” Romich said. “If you’re concerned about how the world is shifting, this is an opportunity to hear from knowledgeable folks and explore the topic.”

Space for the event is limited, so registration is required. Sign up .

Washington was one of 23 states with statistically significant declines in their poverty rates during that period. The remaining 27 states and the District of Columbia saw no change in their poverty rates.

“It is good news that the poverty rate has dropped for a second year in a row in Washington state. However, the share of Washingtonians living in deep poverty remained steady at nearly 6 percent (5.8 percent). That is nearly 406,000 Washingtonians with incomes less than 50 percent of the relevant poverty thresholds,” said , director of the at the 91̽�� and an associate professor of social work.

The poverty rate in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metropolitan area dropped from 11.3 to 10.2 percent between 2014 and 2015. But the percentage of people living in deep poverty in the area remained statistically unchanged at 5.2 percent.

Poverty rates vary widely across the state of Washington. For example, Snohomish County had a poverty rate of 9.2 percent, while 16.1 percent of Grant County residents and 18.8 percent of Yakima County residents were estimated to be poor. As a whole, the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metropolitan area had a lower poverty rate (10.2 percent) than the state, but some cities within the metropolitan area, such as Everett (15.0 percent) and Tacoma (16.2 percent), face higher poverty rates.

. The estimated median annual household income in Washington for 2015 was $64,129, up 4.4 percent from $61,426 in 2014. Median income in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area increased from $71,329 in 2014 to $75,331 in 2015, a change of 5.6 percent.

Although income inequality increased for the nation as a whole, there was no change in a measure of income inequality in Washington, or in 40 other states and the District of Columbia. Inequality in Washington state as measured by the Gini Index was .456 in 2015. The Gini Index is a summary measure of income inequality ranging from 0 when income is distributed equally across all households to 1 when one household holds all the income.

For more information, contact Romich at 206-372-7034 or romich@uw.edu.

In 2013, 14.1 percent of Washington residents (967,282 people) were living in poverty, up from 13.5 percent (915,278 people) in 2012. Two other states, New Jersey and New Mexico, also saw significant increases in their poverty rates and number of poor residents during this period.

“This increase in the poverty rate alongside higher income inequality shows that the economic recovery has not reached many low-income Washingtonians,” said , director of the at the 91̽�� and an associate professor of social work.

New Jersey and Washington were the only two states where both poverty and inequality – how inequitably income is distributed – increased.

North Dakota saw the number of poor people, but not its poverty rate, increase, while four states – Colorado, New Hampshire, Texas and Wyoming – saw their poverty rates and/or numbers decrease. In the remaining 42 states and the District of Columbia, poverty rates and the number of people in poverty were unchanged from 2012.

“The poverty rate is an indicator of how well the most vulnerable do in our economy. The overall national picture suggests that economic growth is failing to reach everyone,” Romich said.

Poverty rates vary widely across the state of Washington. For example, Kitsap and Island counties had a poverty rate of 11.3 percent, while 20.8 percent of Yakima County residents were estimated to be poor. As a whole, the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metropolitan area had a lower poverty rate (12.6 percent) than the state, but some cities within the metropolitan area, such as Everett and Tacoma, face higher poverty rates.

The estimated was $58,405, unchanged from the last two years. For comparison, in the nation as a whole, median household income rose in 14 states and remained unchanged in 36 states and the District of Columbia. Median income in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue area was $67,479, giving the Seattle area the sixth-highest median income among the nation’s 25 largest metropolitan areas.

Income increased for middle- and upper-income Washingtonians, with the largest gains going to households in the top 5 percent of the income distribution. Income for the bottom 40 percent of households was statistically unchanged. As a result, income inequality in Washington state increased between 2012 and 2013. Income inequality increased significantly nationwide and in 14 other states.

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For more information, contact Romich at romich@uw.edu or 206-372-7034.

After falling for two straight years, median annual household income also held steady at $51,100 for 2012. Although the median annual income did not fall in 2012, it remains 8.3 percent below median income in 2007.

“Although the rate did not increase for 2012, poverty rates remain well above pre-recession levels,” said Jennifer Romich, director of the at the 91̽�� and an associate professor of social work. “Before the last recession, the poverty rate was around 12 percent. It seems clear that the economic recovery has not yet reached the poor.”

The poverty threshold varies by age and family size. A family of two working-age adults and two children was considered poor if its annual income fell below $23,492. More than 46 million Americans were counted as poor in 2012. More than 40 percent of those (20.4 million Americans), had incomes below half of the relevant poverty threshold. An additional 14.7 million people were near-poor, with incomes between 100 and 125 percent of the relevant poverty threshold.

As has been the case for the past several decades, poverty is greatest among children (21.8 percent), compared with seniors (9.1 percent) and working-age adults (13.7 percent). Other subgroups that face relatively high poverty rates include blacks, people of Hispanic origin, non-citizens and individuals with disabilities.

The data released today give a preliminary view of regional variations in poverty. Poverty rates remained steady in the Northeast, Midwest and South. In the Western region there was a small but statistically significant decline in the poverty rate between 2011 and 2012 (down 0.7 percentage points to 15.1 percent).

The Census Bureau will release state-level estimates and estimates for large cities and counties on Thursday, followed by a report later in the fall that will include a more complete picture of income, expenses and the cost of living.

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For more information, contact Marieka Klawitter at 206-616-1673 or marieka@uw.edu or Bob Plotnick at 206-685-2055 or plotnick@uw.edu.