UW on a roll

The University of Washington is on a roll, stacking up prestigious national wins. No, we're not talking about basketball.

The acknowledgements for UW students, whether the National Ethics Bowl championship or celebrated scholarships to Yale or Cambridge, prove the university's best and brightest have got the chops to compete with anyone. Among those honored:

• Megan Matthews and Elizabeth Gray are among 38 scholars to receive Gates Cambridge Scholarships for graduate study at the University of Cambridge. Matthews was a writer for The Times editorial page's NEXT section.

• Jared Silvia received one of only 11 Churchill Scholarships, also for study at Cambridge.

• Loyce Mbewa is a Truman Scholar, awarded to distinguished students preparing for a public-service career.

• Lesley Everett, Jason Parker and Anna Schneider are Goldwater Scholars, who are outstanding students pursuing careers in mathematics, the natural sciences or engineering.

• Kathleen Belew is among 53 students in the nation to receive the Jacob K. Javits Fellowship to pursue graduate studies in Yale's American Studies Program.

• Kayanna Warren is a Morris Udall Scholar for students pursuing careers in environmental policy.

The only top-flight honor missing from this list of scholarships brought home by UW students this year is a Rhodes Scholarship.

Besides the team that won the ethics bowl, a team of math students was honored in the worldwide 2005 Math Modeling Contest. Edging out teams from MIT and Yale, the UW team received top honors in each of the past four years.

These students might not fill stadiums with people sporting purple, but their achievements are a testament to the educational excellence the University of Washington inspires in its students.

The university, however, needs some help to ensure that the quality of its programs continues and improves. In October, the UW Foundation launched the public portion of its $2 billion Creating Futures fund-raising campaign to shore up the university across its many colleges, departments, research programs and instructional missions.

The UW is an excellent investment. For information about the UW and the campaign, go to www.uwfoundation.org