Two of the three faculty members in the theatre arts department at Puget Sound are Loggers through-and-though, having been students who majored in theatre arts who then left to earn graduate degrees, work in the industry, and return to Tacoma to teach new generations on a wonderfully familiar stage.

In 1964, freshman Louis Smith ’69 was one of two Black students living on Puget Sound’s campus, and one of just four Black students in the entire student body. He remembered those years as a time of great hope and despair. While the Civil Rights Movement was discussed regularly in his family home as he grew up, he didn’t hear students talking about it in the hallways, lunch tables, or classrooms when he arrived on campus. It felt silent.

Kevoni Neely ’25, outgoing president of the Associated Students of the University of Puget Sound (ASUPS), wrapped up her final semester after serving as a key student leader on campus and delivered the undergraduate student address at University of Puget Sound’s 133rd Commencement Ceremony in May.

More than 700 alumni came back to campus in June for Summer Reunion Weekend. In addition to attending the Logger Barbeque and Reunion Dinner, they took tours of Tacoma, played pickleball, connected with students, learned at Alumni College sessions, and more. The Arches team asked President Isiaah Crawford to discuss why he looks forward to this event every year. Here’s what he had to say:

Greater, We Ascend is a podcast from the University of Puget Sound about Loggers reaching to the heights. Subscribe today.

When Jena Burkhart DPT’24 stepped into her first class for her doctorate in physical therapy at the University of Puget Sound, she was on leave from active duty in the U.S. Army. While deployed to Afghanistan just eight months before, she had written down a New Year’s resolution: go to school for physical therapy. 

In August 2021, that goal became a reality, though the transition wasn’t easy. Not long after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Burkhart found herself adjusting to a new pace of life and a different kind of classroom. 

Greater, We Ascend is a podcast from the University of Puget Sound about Loggers reaching to the heights. Subscribe today.

Several Logger faculty and alumni will be featured at the upcoming Art Party Festival in Darrington, Washington. The outdoor festival includes 24 hours of art installations, dance, music, workshops, theatre, readings, and interactive experiences. The festival is co-produced by Professor and Chair of Theatre Arts Jess K Smith ’05 and includes work by Assistant Professor of Art & Art History Dr. Mare Hirsch, and Jordan Moeller ’15. Participants are invited to take in the many forms of art, camp on site, join in a festival-wide meal, and dance the night away.