The Princeton Review has included the University of Puget Sound in its Best Value Colleges for 2027 list, recognizing it as one of the best colleges in the nation for students looking for a quality education along with excellent career services at an affordable price.
The University of Puget Sound celebrated another year of inspiring philanthropy, with nearly 3,600 donors giving $22.1 million in fiscal year 2025–26. The Puget Sound community came together to support the university and advance its mission of providing a transformative liberal arts education that offers students experiential learning opportunities, expands access to education, and inspires a lifelong love of learning.
The University of Puget Sound is pleased to announce it has welcomed its largest incoming class since 2019. This fall, 470 first-time-in-college (FTIC) students arrived at Puget Sound, a 24% increase over last year’s first-year class. The university also recorded its highest fall-to-fall retention rate in a decade, with the Fall 2025 FTIC cohort returning at 89.5%. These two achievements, in concert, bring Puget Sound's total degree-seeking enrollment to 1,995 students. This marks a 5% increase in enrollment in one year, and is the strongest enrollment has been since 2022.
Mallory Fitzpatrick’s work examines a spooky crossroads: supernatural horror and ancient literature. She was drawn to Greek myths as a child, later studying them in their original languages. “It blew the door wide open to ancient literature, history, and storytelling,” she says.
The University of Puget Sound announced an $8.5 million gift from the Trimble family and The Trimble Foundation to support faculty and academic programming in Asian and China Studies. By deepening its historic ties to the Pacific Rim and investing in faculty excellence, the university is positioning itself as a national leader in Asian Studies and global engagement. This gift represents the largest single commitment in the university’s history focused on Asian Studies.
The University of Puget Sound is honored to announce that Mathew S. Nosanchuk, Lerner Family Associate Dean for Public Interest and Public Service Law at George Washington University, will deliver the upcoming Swope Endowed Lecture.
Nosanchuk will deliver the lecture at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 29, 2026, in Schneebeck Concert Hall. The Swope Endowed Lecture supports speakers, artists, and lecturers visiting Puget Sound to deepen engagement with issues related to faith, ethics, values, and religion in society.
In 2003, Susan Pierce stepped down from the Puget Sound presidency to care for her husband, Ken, who had had two strokes. “After Ken died [in 2006], I realized that I was happily seeing my daughter and the kids every day, and I was too young to stop working,” she says. “So I thought, I’ll stay in Boca and do a little consulting and a little writing.”
This summer, Dr. John Johnson joined the University of Puget Sound as interim vice president for institutional equity and diversity. A native of Philadelphia, Johnson earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Penn State, a master’s degree in educational psychology from Ball State University, and his Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz. This year marks his 30th year in higher education.
The University of Puget Sound is one of the nation’s premier institutions, according to The Princeton Review. The education services company featured Puget Sound in the 2027 edition of its annual guide, The Best 392 Colleges.
University of Puget Sound will welcome Kristen Handley as director for institutional research and assessment effective today, Aug. 20, 2026. Handley brings 15 years of higher education experience to Puget Sound, specializing in institutional effectiveness, accreditation support, strategic planning, external reporting, and data governance.