Alumna Ellen Ferguson ’72 will deliver the keynote address for the 134th Commencement Ceremony at the University of Puget Sound and will receive an honorary degree alongside community leader and Trustee Emeritus William T. Weyerhaeuser
Ellen Ferguson ’72
Ellen Ferguson is a museum professional, community servant, and philanthropist. Attending Puget Sound during the height of the Vietnam War ignited a passion for social justice and lifelong commitment to activism. She earned a double major in political science and history from Puget Sound and went on to pursue a master’s degree in museum studies at the University of Washington. Ferguson began working at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle in 1975 as a graduate student, which would turn into a lifelong passion for education, preservation, and community building.
For 50 years, Ferguson has served the Burke Museum in various staff and volunteer roles, including as Director of Community Relations and co-chair of the Campaign for the New Burke. Ferguson is also a philanthropist, serving as trustee of the Hugh and Jane Ferguson Foundation, which she co-founded with her parents in 1987 and which donates over $1 million annually to nonprofits dedicated to environmental conservation and the preservation of the Pacific Northwest’s rich cultural heritage. Ferguson also serves on the board of the American Alliance of Museums and as board co-chair of the Wing Luke Museum of the Asian American Experience. In 2025, she was honored with the Gates Volunteer Service award for her service to the Burke Museum, the University of Washington, and the greater Seattle community.
A third-generation Washingtonian, Ferguson is a longtime supporter of Puget Sound. She is a strong believer in providing educational opportunities for students from marginalized backgrounds through the Ellen Ferguson Scholarship for students of color and as a founding donor for the university’s LGBT Leadership Fund. In 2023, Ferguson made a landmark, $2 million gift to support the creation of the Puget Sound Memory Project, which aims to examine the ways the university has been intertwined with the region’s complicated history in order to address past harms, inspire conversation, and prepare students to lead with courage and integrity as they graduate from Puget Sound and move into the next chapters of their lives.
Ferguson will deliver this year’s Commencement address and receive the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters in recognition of her passion for lifelong learning, preservation, and social justice.
Trustee Emeritus William T. Weyerhaeuser
Dr. William “Bill” Weyerhaeuser earned his undergraduate degree from Stanford University and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Fuller Theological Seminary. He operated a private practice in Tacoma from 1975 to 1998 before becoming a director of Columbia Bank. He went on to serve as chairman of Columbia Bank for nearly 20 years. For more than 40 years between 1978 and 2024, Dr. Weyerhaeuser served on the Board of Trustees at the University of Puget Sound, including serving as the chair of the board from 1993 to 2003. During his unparalleled and extraordinary service as a trustee, he provided steady leadership and wise guidance to four presidents of the university.
Dr. Weyerhaeuser has been instrumental in the success of many public-private partnerships throughout Tacoma and the Pacific Northwest. He has volunteered on many boards, including at LeMay-America’s Car Museum, the Tacoma Art Museum, the Greater Tacoma Community Foundation, and the Seattle Opera, and many others.
The William T. and Gail T. Weyerhaeuser Center for Health Science, made possible by the philanthropy of the Weyerhaeusers, opened in 2011, reflecting their dedication to behavioral health in particular and the health sciences more broadly. For 15 years, Weyerhaeuser Hall has provided the Puget Sound campus with a cutting-edge facility for the study of occupational and physical therapy, exercise science, psychology, and neuroscience. In addition to classroom and lab space, Weyerhaeuser Hall houses OT and PT clinics where students gain valuable experience benefitting hundreds of community members through free and low-cost care. Additionally, the William T. Weyerhaeuser Scholarship has been helping students pursue a Puget Sound education for nearly 20 years.
For his volunteerism, philanthropy, and visionary leadership, Dr. Weyerhaeuser was honored by the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. In 2018, he received the Puget Sound Business Journal Lifetime Achievement Director of the Year Award and in 2020, he received a lifetime achievement award from University of Washington Tacoma.
In recognition of his dedication to Puget Sound and the Tacoma community, Dr. Weyerhaeuser will receive the honorary degree Doctor of Humane Letters.
“We are honored to recognize the vision and service of Ellen Ferguson and Bill Weyerhaeuer, who have dedicated so much of themselves for the benefit of Puget Sound and the wider community,” said President Isiaah Crawford. “Through their achievements in their respective professions alongside their tireless commitment to community service and access to education, they have left a lasting mark on the Puget Sound region for generations to come. Together, they exemplify those same qualities we seek to instill in our graduates — leadership, inclusivity, and a lifelong love of learning.”
Puget Sound will hold its 134th Commencement Ceremony on Sunday, May 10, at 2 p.m. in Baker Stadium at the university’s campus in Tacoma. For more information about this year’s ceremony, visit pugetsound.edu/commencement.
