Puget Sound Professor Receives $598,500 Grant to Boost College Education in Prisons

The University of Puget Sound campus sits in front of Mt Rainer.

TACOMA, Wash. — The University of Puget Sound is pleased to announce that Tanya Erzen, associate professor of religion, spirituality, and society and director of crime, law, and justice studies, has been awarded a grant of $598,500 from Ascendium Education Group. This funding will support the university's Technical Assistance for Teaching and Learning Initiative, aimed at enhancing education within college classrooms in prison.

U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer to Deliver Spring Susan Resneck Pierce Lecture in Public Affairs and the Arts

Derek Kilmer stands in front of an American flag smiling.

The University of Puget Sound is proud to welcome U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer as the featured speaker of the Spring 2024 Susan Resneck Pierce Lecture in Public Affairs and the Arts. 

Kilmer, known for his dedication to advancing the regional economy, prioritizing higher education accessibility for all, and advocating for our armed forces and veterans, will share insights on his bill, the Building Civic Bridges Act, during the lecture on Wednesday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. in the Schneebeck Concert Hall. 

University of Puget Sound Awarded $1.3 Million from The Mellon Foundation

A student looked through bars at a jailhouse.

Tacoma, Wash. - The University of Puget Sound has been awarded $1.3 million from The Mellon Foundation to fund its groundbreaking project, "Reimagining Justice and Carceral Systems through the Humanities." This transformative initiative will employ humanities approaches to shed light on the experiences of those most affected by criminal and legal systems and expand our crime, law, and justice studies program.

Flow Symposium Explores Intersections Between Art, Ecology, and Climate Change

A book with blue pages is opened next to a mortar and pestle of blue powder.

Artists, professors, and students from various universities will gather at the University of Puget Sound November 3–4, 2023, for a two-day symposium, Flow: Art and Ecology in the Time of Global Warming. This event, supported by a Northwest Five Mellon Engage Grant, aims to explore the connections between art, ecology, and place-based knowledge in the context of climate change while fostering community engagement and collaboration. 

'How We Got Here'

An activist raises awareness of missing and murdered Indigenous women.

Over the summer, 30 people—some from campus, many from the local community—spent a series of Saturday mornings in Howarth Hall hearing about a weighty subject: the history of Native Americans in the U.S. 

President Crawford Featured in "President to President" Thought Series

President Isiaah Crawford smiles at the camera as he stands in front of the campus arches.

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.

An Evening With Acclaimed Poet and Essayist Ross Gay

Ross Gay faces the camera with his chin resting in the palm of his left hand.

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 Partners with Sound Transit to Unveil T-Line Extension

Signs are displayed on a fence with Sound Transit and the University of Puget Sound logos visible.

The Sound Transit T-Line Hilltop extension was launched on September 16, with the University of Puget Sound in attendance to mark the occasion. The project, which took years to complete, includes one relocated station, the Old City Hall, and six new stations: St. Joseph, Hilltop District, 6th Avenue, Tacoma General, Stadium District, and South 4th. Puget Sound proudly sponsors the Stadium District platform, and is thrilled about the connectivity, accessibility, and sustainable future that the T-Line brings to Tacoma.