Boeing honored with Distinguished Service Award

The recipient of the University of Washington College of Education's 2014 Distinguished Service Award is the Boeing Company. The award honors an individual or organization whose extraordinary contributions have advanced the College of Education’s central mission: To make equitable and excellent education a daily reality for every child in every community. Boeing was presented with the award at the College's commencement ceremony on June 16.

Boeing is the world's largest aerospace company and a leading manufacturer of commercial jetliners and defense, space and security systems. Their dedication to aerospace is matched by their commitment to global corporate citizenship and education. The College of Education is proud to be a partner in this commitment.

Boeing has partnered with the College of Education on several projects, including implementation of the U-ACT program (the College’s accelerated teaching program) and INSPIRE (the College’s new effort for providing job-embedded professional development to continuing teachers and leaders). In addition, the Boeing Professorship of Teacher Education is currently held by Dr. Kenneth Zeichner. These collaborations have sparked system-wide changes and will continue to make a lasting impact within schools and communities throughout the region.

Todd Zarfos, vice president for engineering functions and the Washington State Design Center as well as the senior chief engineer of airplane systems within Boeing Commercial Airplanes, accepted the award on behalf of Boeing. Zarfos is a UW alumnus and serves as the executive focal for the UW/Boeing relationship.

Learn more about Boeing's global corporate citizenship online.