Ackerley Academic Center keeps Husky athletes thriving in the classroom
It’s 8 a.m., an eager line of student-athletes waits outside the Ackerley Academic Center. As soon as the doors open they bound inside, walking past a wall festooned with purple Dawg tags, like the bronze, silver and gold ones that top students earn for GPAs of 3.25 and higher.
Throughout the day, dozens more will stream in. Some make a beeline for the study lab with a row of computers and a wall decorated with Academic All-Star plaques on one side, cushy study booth “dens” on the other. Some head to a tutoring session or chill in a lounge, check email or chat up teammates after practice.
Faith Morrison, a junior on the gymnastics team, has a checklist posted in a learning specialist’s office that helps her stay on top of her many assignments. She loves this place. It helps her focus and make the most of her precious time.
“Being so close to where we practice, I can fit in studying in between the hustle and bustle of school and gymnastics. When I’m on a roll, it’s great to stay here and get things done,” says Faith, an English major who’s on track to graduate a year early this spring.
The Ackerley Academic Center, named in honor of the Ginger and Barry Ackerley family whose generous support made it possible, debuted in 2005 on the second floor of the Conibear Shellhouse — a physical representation of Husky Athletics’ deep commitment to students’ academic success. Late last summer, after outgrowing that space, it moved uphill from the waterfront to a building that used to house a sports medicine clinic.
The center’s new home has 10 tutoring rooms (the original had just three), each equipped with a computer, large table, whiteboard and touch-screen smart TVs that make it easy for students to edit documents and collaborate on projects.
Now more centrally located to practice facilities, the Ackerley Center sits next door to Alaska Airlines Arena and the Office of Student-Athlete Academic Services, where students can meet with advisors or mental health specialists.
The Ackerley family, who owned the Seattle SuperSonics NBA basketball team for many years, blessed the move with enthusiasm. They’re thrilled that students are making such great use of the facility.
“The UW has done such an exceptional job of making our center so accessible and so popular with students,” says Kim Ackerley Cleworth, president and executive director of the Ginger & Barry Ackerley Foundation.
“Not a lot of student-athletes advance to the professional level,” she adds. “It is extremely important that they get an excellent education so they’ll have options outside their athleticism.”
Now more than ever, the Ackerley Center affirms a core value that Husky Athletics and our student-athletes share: their success in the classroom is paramount.
“We’ve always said, ‘We want you to get great grades and a world-class education at the UW,” says Associate Athletic Director for Student Development Kim Durand. “Now we can say, ‘Here are the fantastic facilities and academic support to make sure you can do that.” About 50 tutors work at the Center, leading some 450 sessions per week.
Four learning specialists on staff meet regularly with students-athletes all over the academic spectrum — some struggling with learning disabilities, others eager to inch their GPAs closer to 4.0.
“The Ackerley Center has been a real key resource for us,” says Lisa Bruce, a learning specialist. “The students have exceeded our expectations the way they’ve gravitated toward it. It’s full and lively, yet a very studious environment.”
Your support + stellar student-athletes = amazing academic achievement
As a Tyee Club donor, you fuel our student-athletes’ success day in and day out in so many ways — in their sports, in the classroom and in life. Here are just a few examples:
Top Dawgs
- Husky student-athletes with the highest GPAs earn Dawg Tags celebrating their academic achievement: bronze for GPAs of 3.25 to 3.49, silver for 3.50 to 3.74 and gold for 3.75 to 4.0. Here’s our winter quarter Dawg Tag tally: 78 Gold, 125 Silver, and 107 Bronze
- 17 teams earned a 3.0 or better — two quarters in a row and an all-time high that includes more than two-thirds of our student-athletes 151 student-athletes made the Dean’s List, up from 125 in the fall
- Beach Volleyball earned the highest team GPA (3.39), followed by Women’s Cross Country (3.35), Men’s Golf (3.19) and Men’s Soccer (3.17)
Most improved
- Women’s Beach Volleyball and Men’s Golf increased their team GPAs more than any others from fall to winter quarter.
- 5 student-athletes earned a perfect 4.0 GPA
