Dr. Anne Alexander
UW Vice Provost of Strategic Planning and Initiatives
Professor
Because of her teachers, Vice Provost Anne Alexander can see the big picture at UW
and put herself in our students’ shoes to find ways to improve their experience on
campus.
Her current path can be traced back to preparation for a school science fair. For
her project, Anne sought to do something other than your typical project on biology
or chemistry. She was interested in human behavior, but was unaware of the social
sciences. Her science teacher, Ed Hasseloff, handed her a book on the subject and
opened her eyes to an entire new field of possibilities.
Her project made it all the way to the international science fair and this wonderful
experience set Anne on a path to become an economist and eventually to UW where she
teaches and researches and serves as Vice Provost.
Another influential teacher in Anne’s life was her music teacher. Mrs Hanson made
a huge impact on Anne’s confidence when she told her that she had a beautiful singing
voice and encouraged her to join choir. While performing, Anne gained the courage
to push forward, even when your voice cracks. This experience in music class helps
Anne speak to important people and large audiences in her role at UW.
Anne’s teachers helped her envision possibilities and to this day, where others see
barriers, Anne sees opportunities to learn and grow!
“Mr. Hasseloff didn’t say too bad, do hard science or else. He said, you know what
this sounds like? This sounds like this other thing over here that I don’t teach,
but it is interesting and here are some resources.”
