Planned gift will establish Western’s first endowed deanship, fund research and scholarships

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Planned gift will establish Western's first endowed deanship, fund research and scholarships

August 10, 2026

Mary Gallagher

University Communications

Western Washington University has received an extraordinary $10.5 million gift commitment from Peter ('58) and Judith Hallson that will create the university's first endowed deanship and expand support for students, faculty and research.

The gift includes an $8 million endowment establishing the Peter & Judith Hallson Endowed Deanship in the College of Science & Engineering, creating the first permanently endowed dean position in Western's history.

Endowed leadership positions provide lasting support for strategic priorities, faculty excellence, student success, and innovation.

"We are truly grateful to Peter and Judith Hallson for this remarkable generosity, a gift that creates the first endowed deanship at Western," said WWU President Sabah Randhawa. "This investment will strengthen the capacity of our College of Science and Engineering to educate future generations of students and advance research and innovation. Thank you, Peter and Judith, for believing in the mission of Western and in the excellence of our faculty and talent of our students."

Once fully funded, the Peter and Judith Hallson Endowed Deanship will provide significant, flexible support that the dean can deploy as they see fit for a wide range of needs and opportunities. Examples could include bolstering high-impact student research and professional development opportunities, enabling exciting faculty-led pilot projects related to teaching, research, or community partnerships, developing student support programs and other strategic or timely initiatives at the dean's discretion.

The Hallsons' gift also establishes or supports the:

• Hallson Endowed Research Fund in Biology.
• Hallson Endowed Fund for Excellence in the College of the Environment.
• Hallson Endowed Scholarship for Blaine High School graduates.
• A contribution to an endowed professorship supporting the Salish Sea Institute.

The Hallsons are longtime donors to Western, and they have generously given hundreds of thousands of dollars to WWU over several decades.

Peter Hallson grew up in Blaine, where he learned from his mother the importance of kindness and giving to others in the community.

"Charity-wise I was given a lot and helped a lot and probably would not have been successful without the support of lots of people," he said. "In fact, several professors became like parents to me."

He earned his degree from Western in 1958. Following his service in the U.S. Marine Corps, Peter Hallson went on to a distinguished career in the water treatment industry, retiring as division president of Nalco Water, an Ecolab company.

He then returned to Western hoping to use his experience to help the university. After meeting with Arlan Norman, dean of what was then called the College of Science & Technology, Peter Hallson joined the college's advisory board. He has also spent more than a decade on the College of Science and Engineering's Advancement Board, working alongside several CSE deans, gaining an insider's view of the college and its needs and building trust with college leadership.

"I made important friendships, and people would let me know when they needed something and I would help," Peter Hallson said. "The important thing to me is that people are being helped."

Peter Hallson has been recognized with Western's Lifetime Achievement Award and the College of Science and Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award. Judith Hallson is a non-degreed alumna of Western's College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

The estate gift will provide enduring support for Western's students, faculty, and academic leadership for generations to come.