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- Title:
- Bill Philip interview
- Interviewee:
- Philip, William
- Interviewer:
- Wadland, Justin
- Date Created:
- 2019-12-11
- Role:
- Advisory board member
- Department:
- University of Washington Tacoma Advisory Board; Executive Council for A Greater Tacoma
- Subjects:
- South Puget Sound Higher Education Council higher education place-bound students nontraditional students urban development Bill Gerberding Executive Council for A Greater Tacoma Advisory Board Bill Gerberding Richard L. McCormick Sam Smith Vicky Carwein Washington State Legislature George Russell George Weyerhaeuser William Philip
- Biography:
- William "Bill" Philip (b. 1926) is a civic leader and philanthropist in Tacoma, Washington. He was the chairman and CEO of the former Puget Sound Bank and one of the founders and CEO of Columbia Bank. He is a founding supporter of UW Tacoma: In the 1980s, he advocated for a UW "branch campus" in Tacoma and persuaded decision makers to locate it downtown. After the campus opened, he continued to raise funds and voice support for public, corporate, and philanthropic investment in UW Tacoma. He was a member of the Executive Council for A Greater Tacoma, along with George Weyerhaeuser, George Russell, and others. He served for two terms as the chair of the UW Tacoma Advisory Board. He was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from University of Washington in 2017.
- Description:
- In this interview, Bill Philip begins by sharing his personal background as a Tacoma native. He explains how the experience growing up in Tacoma and watching it suffer from urban decay compelled him to rally for investment in the city. He talks about how he leveraged his relationships with individuals such as George Weyerhaeuser—with whom he attended Lowell Elementary School—and former Seattle mayor Paul Schell to renew real estate in the city. He recalls his involvement in the powerful Executive Council for A Greater Tacoma with Gary Reed, Frank Shrontz, Erivan Haub, Goerge Russell, and others. He relates how, with the pressure and interest in branch campuses from Washington State University, the Executive Council raised funds and persuaded former University of Washington president Bill Gerberding to place a "branch campus" in downtown Tacoma. Later in the interview, he recalls former chancellor Vicky Carwein recruiting him to chair the UW Tacoma Advisory Board. Other individuals mentioned include former UW president Richard McCormick, governor Booth Gardner, Tacoma businessman Herb Simon, and others.
- Location:
- United States--Washington (State)--Tacoma
- Type:
- Sound; Text; StillImage
- Format:
- cpd
- Preferred Citation:
- University of Washington Libraries, University of Washington Tacoma Library, UWTOH201904