As the November elections approach, the Civic Engagement Team at the University of Puget Sound is shifting into high gear. Operating out of the Experiential Learning Office, this student-led group has a history of state and national recognition and is dedicated to ensuring that every eligible student has the resources to actively engage in their communities.
TACOMA, WASH. — The University of Puget Sound has officially launched its comprehensive fundraising campaign, Greater, We Ascend, marking a significant milestone in its nearly 140-year history. The announcement was made during a dynamic evening event during Homecoming & Family Weekend, with a goal of raising $150 million.
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.
Four student awards — the Lillis, Matelich, Neukom, and Posse scholarships — provide full tuition (and in some cases, also room and board) for all four years to talented students who otherwise may not have the opportunity to realize the full breadth of their academic and leadership goals.
What follows in the next pages are first-person accounts of three esteemed alumni and one stand-out senior who say their life and career trajectories have been forever changed by their financial awards.
Sophia Haynes ’27 spent three weeks this summer researching one of these species: the striped plateau lizard. Living and working out of the Southwestern Research Station, located about 5,400 feet above sea level, Haynes studied how the cold-blooded lizard thermally regulates in the heat of the Arizona mountains, and more specifically, whether the lizards take refuge in trees when it’s hotter in order to regulate their temperature.
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.
The University of Puget Sound will host a year-long series of entrepreneurship events during the 2026–27 academic year. The programming is designed to appeal to students across disciplines, not just business majors, and includes both for-profit and nonprofit ventures.
Sophie Goble ’27, a double major in communication studies and sociology and anthropology (SOAN), spent her summer examining the growing digital phenomenon of “tradwives.” Her research analyzes how U.S.-based “momfluencers” and traditional wives use social media to communicate political and ideological beliefs, often without stating them directly.
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.
