Fairhaven College, Western Washington University

10/09/2026

We are saddened by the passing of our student and friend, David Becker. David came to Fairhaven a few years ago, taking classes and connecting with the community. Although David had lived significantly more of his life than most of our students he connected well with everyone he met, making friends and getting involved. You could often see David eating lunch with classmates in the dining hall or stopping to talk to a professor in the halls. He shared his unique perspective that came from a lifetime of adventures, and we are very sorry to say goodbye. Thank you David for enriching the Fairhaven community with your unique spirit!

World adventurer David Becker passed away September 11, 2026, after a short fight with pancreatic cancer. Born in Washington DC, David spent most of his chi ...

09/11/2026

Kind of chic to spend your summer with Fairhaven College in Ireland:

☘️ Making lifelong connections and unforgettable memories
🇮🇪 Becoming immersed in the Irish (Gaelic) language
🥾 Exploring breathtaking natural landscapes
🏰 Visiting castles and other ancient buildings
🎻 Experiencing traditional Irish music and learn Irish dancing
⛴️ Touring historic sites along the rugged Irish coastline
🏠 Staying with an Irish-speaking family
🪞 Reflecting on your own learning in true Fairhaven style

Every summer Fairhaven college takes a small group of students to experience Ireland’s fascinating political, cultural, and linguistic history firsthand. This summer’s trip has now wrapped up, but keep an eye out to sign up for Summer 2027! Scholarships are available.

06/17/2026

A big congratulations to all our Fairhaven grads! We are so proud of you! 🎉💜

06/10/2026

We are so proud of Lupe, a Fairhaven alum who was just featured in a WWU’s Window article and YouTube video.

Excerpts from the article:

Owned by Fairhaven College alumna Lupe Flores, Lupe’s Situ Tacos was recently named one of Esquire’s 33 best new restaurants in the United States.

Flores’s Mexican-Lebanese fusion taqueria is in a cozy, pink shop with bright turquoise signs that read “Free cheese for all dogs.”

Flores is a true creative who values community above all else, traits that seem to come naturally to many Fairhaven students and alumni.

While at Fairhaven, Flores said she learned so much about connection.

“The experience of building community at Fairhaven — it’s literally who I am,” Flores said. “I was treated like an equal by the faculty and students, and in our seminar discussions, everyone’s voice had equal power.”

The mentorship Flores received at Fairhaven led to lifelong friendships.

“Stan Tag is my favorite teacher of all time. He had nothing to do with my area of study, but I took four of his classes. He encouraged discussion and critical thinking in a way I had never experienced. He empowered all of us and our stories,” Flores said.

Flores’s self-designed degree at Fairhaven was called “Rhythmaculture,” a concentration Tag said he’s been telling others about for years.

“Often, Fairhaven students have overly long concentration titles, but Lupe created hers with one word: Rhythmaculture. She studied the intersections of rhythm and culture and traveled to West Africa to study drumming as part of her concentration,” said Tag.

Flores said she wants young people to know that it’s possible to a make the future that you want.

“Don’t put yourself in a box, and don’t be scared of your power. There’s no rule book,” Flores said. “Now more than ever, young people are figuring out that they can actually do what they’re interested in if they just go about it in a way that’s creative and unique. There’s room for all of us.”

06/08/2026

Six Fairhaven students awarded the Adventure Learning Grant, a $25,000 stipend to study abroad!

This year, six students from Western’s Fairhaven College of Interdisciplinary Studies were awarded the David T. Mason Adventure Learning Grant, a $25,000 stipend designed to enrich their education through travel abroad, with a focus on the intellectual risk, challenge, discomfort and adventure that come with that experience. 🧳🛤️🗺️✈️

This year’s recipients, who will travel all over the globe 🌎 working on a variety of projects are:

Syd Carver, “Practicing Alternatives to Extractivism,” Boliva and Peru.🇧🇴🇵🇪

Rowan Casselman, “Eco-ableism and Land Conservation,” Ecuador, Panama and Uruguay.🇪🇨🇵🇦🇺🇾

Theo Davis, “Learning Beyond the West: A Cross-Cultural Exploration of Alternative Education in East Asia,” Japan and South Korea.🇯🇵🇰🇷

Mae Eifert, “Listening Across Borders: Women’s Lived Experiences of Maternal Health,” Ecuador and Peru. 🇪🇨🇵🇪

Sky Grumbles, “Understanding and Building Community Resilience Through Food Sovereignty,” Columbia and Chile.🇨🇱🇨🇴

Georgia Marere, “Indigenous Culture and Sovereignty in Oceania: Preservation and Revitalization in Relation to French Colonialism,” French Polynesia, New Caledonia and Vanuatu.🇵🇫🇳🇨🇻🇺

Read more on Western’s news, news.wwu.edu 🗞️

06/04/2026

How does Dobbs v. Jackson impact Black and Latino women living in the United States?

Maya Geer (Political Science major and Law, Diversity, and Justice minor at Fairhaven) asked this question while taking an Intro to U.S. legal systems class with Professor Claudia Johnson. Professor Johnson recognized the complexity of this question and helped Maya develop an independent study project around it. This research was most recently published in Occam’s Razor, and is just the start of the great things we see in the future for Maya!

Read Maya’s outstanding paper in Occam’s Razor, out now. Copies available across campus while supplies last.

05/20/2026

It was a pleasure to attend a talk by Fairhaven student Frank Miedema on Blackfeet Water Rights to open the Fraser Lecture Series: Knowledge from the Blackfeet Confederacy this afternoon. His remarkable knowledge of tribal law and excellent storytelling made for an engaging and informative presentation. Check out the rest of the Fraser Lecture series at the House of Healing this week!

05/18/2026

Thank you to everyone who joined us last week for Scholars day! We had a blast and are so proud of all our student panelists and exhibition artists. You rocked it!

05/06/2026

Fairhaven student Alex Hines is featured in WWU News today for the launch of his app designed to address a major ADHD challenge: task initiation.

“ is a mood-based, context aware to-do list designed to help individuals with ADHD get things done more easily by overcoming difficulties with task initiation, which is one of their biggest challenges,” Hines said. “It’s designed to be an affordable solution that replicates one of the most successful ADHD management tools, a personal assistant. Even if it just reduces five minutes of friction a day by helping figure out what to do first, it can really help people feel more confident and move forward faster.”

04/24/2026

Hello Fairhaven community! Whether you’re an alum, current student, community member, professor, or prospective student, we’d love for you to join us on May 23rd for a mutual aid event in our very own Fairhaven Auditorium. From 2:30–5:00 PM, enjoy free food with vegan, gluten-free, and dairy-free options available. Browse the free resource corner, stocked with clothing, kitchenware, and other essentials. Bring a friend or family member, share stories, and take part in the open mic opportunity, get excited to learn from one another!
If you have any questions, feel free to reach out at [email protected].