This fall, five steel-and-weaving sculptures hang in the Kittredge Art Gallery, part of a summer research project that represents an artistic shift for their creator.

Roy Kersten-Hellikson ’27 has spent the summer welding, polishing, and weaving as part of a research project focused on developing his artistry. The result is a series of five steel frames, ranging from two to five feet tall, with basket weaving stretched between them. They mirror each other in size and hang horizontally in a line, allowing visitors to walk between them.

Here at the University of Puget Sound, students take their fresh insights and ideas far beyond the classroom, turning passion projects into reality through the Office of Experiential Learning’s Summer Research program. Working closely with a faculty advisor, they spend the summer exploring questions in their field and developing their own research projects. Along the way, they get the time and resources to deepen their expertise, whether that’s studio art, chemistry, or whatever they’re most passionate about.

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.

The University of Puget Sound’s chapter of the Mortar Board National College Honor Society has been awarded the 2026 Silver Torch Award. This honor recognizes chapters that excel in scholarship, leadership, and service, while also meeting all national standards and deadlines. The chapter’s advisor, Mathematics and Computer Science Instructor Alison Paradise ’82, has also been recognized with the Excellence in Advising Award for her outstanding dedication and leadership in revitalizing the chapter. 

When most people look out at the ocean, they see a vast, nearly empty expanse of water. Associate Professor of Biology Oscar Sosa sees something more dynamic and mysterious. To him, the ocean is “a soup of microbes and organic molecules doing all kinds of things together and independently.” This year, Sosa and five former University of Puget Sound students co-authored a paper in Nature Microbiology alongside collaborators at the University of Washington and Whitman College outlining a newly discovered metabolic pathway used by marine organisms.

Archie Kerr ’27 is a rising senior and the incoming president of the Associated Students of the University of Puget Sound (ASUPS). Originally from Bend, Oregon, Kerr previously served as vice president and as director of clubs and student interests. Kerr’s dynamic interest in law, politics, theory, and education informs his nuanced approach to the challenges of ASUPS leadership. Minnie Jellinek ’27 sat down with Kerr to talk about Puget Sound’s decision-making processes, renovations, student perception, and everything in between. 

Established in 1944, the University of Puget Sound’s School of Occupational Therapy is one of the oldest OT programs in the region and is continually ranked as one of the top programs in the Pacific Northwest. One distinctive feature of the program is its on-site teaching clinic. The clinic includes a simulated apartment, activity spaces, and a 4,000-square-foot outdoor mobility park.

In the early morning hours of a warm summer day, the tide in Puget Sound recedes, revealing glistening tide pools filled with an array of sea creatures. There, University of Puget Sound students Vincent Wills ’27 and Bea Moldow ’28 find themselves knee-deep in mud, placing PVC quadrats through the eelgrass beds and counting stalks by hand. They measure each stalk, record its length, and note the density of the plants around them, working methodically before the tide returns to reclaim the shore. It feels a world away from the lecture halls of Tacoma.

Logger Athletics had a banner year in the 2025–26 season, with several teams and individuals reaching the conference and national championships, including women’s volleyball, women’s soccer, men’s cross country, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s track and field, and women’s crew.

The University of Puget Sound recently hosted the Washington State Special Olympics Spring Games, bringing soccer, swimming, and track athletes to campus alongside the vital FUNfitness health screening program. Backed by thousands of volunteers, including Puget Sound students, this marks the second year the university has hosted the games — a partnership that Liz Corwin, FUNfitness clinical director and Puget Sound assistant professor, said has transformed the experience for both Puget Sound students.