The James Robert Hanssen, the world-record-setting 29-foot rowboat that crossed the Atlantic twice (almost), ended its storied life at a boatyard in Port Townsend, Wash., on June 5, 2023. The cause was structural fatigue and homelessness. She was 17.

Walking away after the memorial celebration, a woman among the hundred-or-so present was overheard saying: “When I came this morning I said to myself, I am not going to cry at a boat funeral. I am not going to cry at a boat funeral. But I did!” Other people wept, too.

Benita Ki ’11 never figured on staying in Tacoma after graduating from Puget Sound. But the city’s spirit of community drew her in, compelling her to put down some roots, and that same spirit has driven her to become something of an accidental entrepreneur. Five years ago, with two business partners, she started Civic Roasters, a Tacoma-based coffee roastery with a strong interest in social justice.

Since Carol Petrich Kalapus ’51 turned 94 in May, she’s had to slow down a bit. For her, that means just a daily ride on her three-wheel bicycle along the Tacoma waterfront, regular swims in her pool, and kayaking in lakes instead of in the Puget Sound as she used to.

Puget Sound has been sending a newsletter to alumni since 1929, though back then it was typewritten and copied on a mimeograph machine. The masthead said, "Issued Quarterly (we hope)." The name Arches dates to fall 1973, making 2023 our 50th birthday. Early versions of Arches were newspaper-like; the full-color magazine debuted in 2000. Here’s a sampling of Arches covers from the past 50 years.

This summer, a small group of University of Puget Sound students spent a week backpacking across the Olympic Peninsula, challenging themselves physically and mentally—and learning about the ecosystems of the Pacific Northwest in the process.

The University of Puget Sound is proud to announce the upcoming Swope Lecture featuring Ann Holmes Redding, a distinguished speaker and scholar-practitioner. Join us Oct. 19, 2023, at 7:30 p.m. in Kilworth Memorial Chapel (or Zoom livestream) for this free, public event. She will present “What’s Jesus Got to Do With It?

University of Puget Sound President Isiaah Crawford is featured alongside other esteemed college and university presidents in the "President to President" thought series, distributed electronically throughout the 2023-24 academic year. The series explores the environmental priorities of 10 college presidents and their campus strategies for a sustainable future driven by change-making insights.

The University of Puget Sound welcomes the public to an enchanting evening with Ross Gay, an expert in appreciating life's small delights, the featured speaker of the Fall 2023 Susan Resneck Pierce Lecture in Public Affairs and the Arts. Everyone is welcome to attend and listen to the acclaimed essayist and poet on Monday, Oct. 9, at 7 p.m. in the Schneebeck Concert Hall.

University of Puget Sound announced today that it is creating a new academic department to house its environmental programs starting in Fall 2024. The Department of Environmental Studies & Sciences will allow students to explore the evolving issues of environmental studies through an interdisciplinary approach combining natural sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities.

Environmental Studies & Sciences will offer four academic options: