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.

At its spring business meeting in May 2023, the University of Puget Sound’s Board of Trustees elected trustee and non-trustee officers for the coming year, including formally electing Beth Picardo ’83, J.D.’86, to serve as chair effective July 1, 2023. The board’s previous chair, Robert Pohlad P’07, was elected as Immediate Past Chair and will continue to serve on the board in this capacity through June 30, 2024. The board also elected five new trustees and recognized four outgoing members who have completed nine years of service on the board.

Once every two years, a small group of Puget Sound students studying geology spend one to two weeks immersed in rigorous experiential learning on trips known as Georneys—pronounced “journeys” with a nod to the geological sciences. On these trips, students get to do hands-on science, learn from experts, and experience some of the most stunning geology on the planet. Since 2007, students have visited Ecuador, Hawai`i, Iceland, New Zealand, and Tanzania.

Since its founding in 1888, University of Puget Sound has played a pivotal role in the unfolding history of Tacoma and the Pacific Northwest. Today, the university announced it will launch the Legacies Project, an initiative to examine and reckon with its long and complex past, understand how those legacies continue to resonate in the present, and take steps to create a more welcoming and inclusive future.

Alumni from 11 graduating classes gathered at University of Puget Sound's campus in Tacoma's beautiful North End June 9–11, 2023 for Summer Reunion Weekend. The weekend's festivities included campus tours, a BBQ and happy hour, lectures from faculty, an open house hosted by Archives and Special Collections, special receptions for the Class of 1973 and the Class of 1998, alumni awards, a volunteer reception, and more. Check out highlights from Summer Reunion Weekend below and be sure to join us next year—all alumni are welcome!

Tell me about your effort to seed stand-up in Big Sky Country.
I was doing open mics here in Bozeman [as a grad student at Montana State University]. While in Tacoma and Seattle, I had gotten to see cool, unbelievably funny people. I was like, “It sucks that that’s not here in Montana.” My motivation was to bring those experiences here.