University of Puget Sound faculty were recently honored for their work and contribution for the 2023–24 academic year during an awards dinner. The annual awards dinner recognized exceptional contributions to teaching, research, and service, showcasing the university’s commitment to academic excellence. The award winners include:

TACOMA, Wash. - The University of Puget Sound has been honored once again for its academic excellence, securing a spot among the Best National Liberal Arts Colleges by U.S. News & World Report. The university claimed the #95 spot in a highly competitive category among universities nationwide. Puget Sound was also recognized as a “Best Value School” moving up three spots to #81.

University of Puget Sound is pleased to announce a gift of $1.15 million from Trustee Sumner P. Erdman ’87. The gift will support Logger Athletics, the Puget Sound Fund, and experiential learning.

Grayson Shearer ’25 grew up backpacking near his hometown of Denver, and by the time he arrived for his first year at Puget Sound, there wasn’t much he hadn’t experienced on a trail. So when Shearer heard from a friend last spring about the university’s Pacific Trail Program, it wasn’t so much the challenge that appealed to him as it was the company.

One of the fondest memories that George Tomlin ’82 had in supervising the pediatric clinic in the University of Puget Sound’s School of Occupational Therapy took place after OT students started working with a 7-year-old boy who was blind.

John Weaver ’98, creative director for the Seattle Seahawks, was on a phone call one day when he learned that he’d been working with another Puget Sound alum for years without even knowing it. Weaver was searching for new stadium announcers, and reached out to a former football coach at his alma mater for suggestions. The coach asked him if he knew Nasser Kyobe ’13, executive producer at the Seahawks radio network. Turned out Weaver and Kyobe graduated 15 years apart, and both had played football for the Loggers.

When Rebecca Wellington’s sister died in 2017, Wellington began to write as a way of processing her grief. Both sisters had been adopted, and Wellington had now lost the one person who understood what that meant. The initial writings morphed into an extensively researched history of adoption in the United States, and earlier this year, the University of Oklahoma Press published Wellington’s memoir, Who is a Worthy Mother? An Intimate History of Adoption.

Tiana Wood-Sims ’24 chose the clear nail polish flecked with gold glitter. That little bit of bling might be a small pleasure for someone outside the razor-wire fences of the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Gig Harbor, but inside, it was momentous. With the facility’s ban against nail polish lifted for one day, the 10 women picked from an array of bottles spread out on the table of the prison classroom. Wood-Sims had chosen gold for this celebration—it matched her perfect 4.0 college GPA.

The ALL IN Campus Democracy Challenge (ALL IN) recognized the University of Puget Sound for its nonpartisan democratic engagement efforts that fostered high levels of student voter engagement in the 2022 midterm elections. Puget Sound was awarded the 2022 Washington Campus Voting Challenge Gold Seal for having the highest registration rate among four-year institutions, reflecting its commitment to ensuring that nonpartisan democratic engagement is a defining feature of campus life.

Changes are coming to Universtiy of Puget Sound’s Dining & Event Services (DES) designed to enhance the dining experience and value for students and the campus community. From expanded menu options to innovative technology, these changes are a result of student feedback and a commitment to providing top-notch dining services.