Provost's Office

Jones 111
CMB #1001

253.879.3205
provost@pugetsound.edu

Academic Deans' Office

Jones 106
CMB #1020

253.879.3207
academicdeans@pugetsound.edu

About the Provost

Provost Kerkhoff


Drew Kerkhoff serves as the Provost at the University of Puget Sound, where he leverages his extensive background in academic leadership to enhance our institution's liberal arts education. Prior to joining Puget Sound, Kerkhoff was a faculty member teaching ecology and quantitative biology at Kenyon College for nearly two decades, where he held various leadership roles including associate provost. His tenure at Kenyon was marked by significant achievements, such as integrating computational and data science approaches into the biology curriculum, developing interdisciplinary programs in science and nature writing, and steering initiatives towards carbon neutrality by 2040.

Provost Kerkhoff's academic journey began with a B.A. in English from Rutgers University, followed by a transition into biology with a master's degree and Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico. His research, supported by the National Science Foundation, focuses on the ecology and evolution of plant biodiversity and the global carbon cycle, and has resulted in over 40 peer-reviewed publications. At Puget Sound, Provost Kerkhoff is dedicated to fostering an intellectually vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable campus community, deeply engaged with the diverse human histories and natural environments of the Pacific Northwest.

Drew Kerkhoff, Ph.D.
Provost
provost@pugetsound.edu

Janis Chen
Executive Assistant to the Provost
janischen@pugetsound.edu
Point of contact regarding: Provost’s scheduling, faculty contracts, Office of the Provost administrative support

 

 

Office of the Academic Deans


Gareth Barkin, Ph.D.
Dean of Operations
barkin@pugetsound.edu
Point of contact regarding: Curriculum, academic calendar and operations, course scheduling, summer term, University Bulletin, academic technology

Nick Kontogeorgopoulos, Ph.D.
Dean of Experiential Learning
konto@pugetsound.edu
Point of contact regarding:  Academic standards (academic honesty, grade disputes), university enrichment (student grants and research awards), experiential learning, civic engagement, study abroad

Julia Looper, Ph.D.
Dean of Graduate Affairs
jlooper@pugetsound.edu
Point of contact regarding: Graduate programs, Academic Commencement, Institutional Review Board (IRB)

Amy Spivey, Ph.D.
Dean of Faculty Affairs
aspivey@pugetsound.edu
Point of contact regarding: Academic budget, temporary full-time faculty hiring, academic equipment funds, faculty office assignments

 

Office Staff


Audrey Braaten
Data and Records Specialist
abraaten@pugetsound.edu
Point of contact regarding: Course change, new course, and department curriculum change proposals, course scheduling, IRB and Senate committee support

Malia Fusiara
Administrative Specialist
mfusiara@pugetsound.edu
Point of contact regarding: Academic Deans' scheduling, Daedalus, Regester, Midsummer Social, other academic affairs events

Kate Peterson
Office Manager
kpeterson@pugetsound.edu
Point of contact regarding: Enrichment, adjunct, summer, and guest contracts, student surveys 

Academic Affairs at Puget Sound

The academic program at the University of Puget Sound takes great pride in its excellent teaching, which is both challenging and accessible. We offer more than 50 areas of study, advance wide-ranging experiential learning opportunities, and collaboratively partner with Student Affairs to fully develop student learning across our residential campus.

We’re a leading institution for Fulbright awards for students, a highly ranked school in terms of graduate school placement, especially in the sciences, and our students have excellent placement rates in medical and law schools. We have several well-regarded graduate programs—in Education, Public Health, Occupational Therapy, and Physical Therapy—that deliver vital training for the region.

  • Puget Sound is ranked seventh nationally among small schools of top Peace Corps volunteer-producing colleges and universities in 2020. Over the past 10 years, Puget Sound has consistently been named a top school. Currently, 12 alumni are volunteering in countries around the world. Since the Peace Corps’ founding in 1961, more than 320 alumni from Puget Sound have served abroad as volunteers. Among national colleges with less than 5,000 undergraduate students, Puget Sound consistently ranks among the top five in the number of alumni serving in the Peace Corps.
  • The Race & Pedagogy Institute (RPI) and the RPI National Conference, held every four years to engage issues of race and to discuss the impact of race on education.  The conference attracts more than 2,000 local, regional, national, and international participants.
  • The Freedom Education Project Puget Sound (FEPPS) is the first Bachelor of Arts degree in a prison in Washington state.
  • The one-of-a-kind PacRim Program, which began in the early 1970s, develops intercultural competence and global citizenship in students through an immersive study abroad experience in several Asian countries, including pre-departure training and study, as well as optional post-trip research or internship opportunities.
  • Our students regularly receive highly-competitive post-graduate fellowships: Fulbright, Marshall, Boren, Watson—and 90% of students are employed, continuing their education, or engaged in public service six months after they graduate.

Our faculty are remarkable researchers, scholars, and artists, as our annual Celebration of Creative Inquiry attests. The Princeton Review notes that our faculty-student interaction is some of the best in the nation.  We are one of only 40 Colleges That Change Lives, and are described as “a bright spot on the map of American higher education. Students searching for thoughtful professors, a lively interdisciplinary vibe, friendly classmates, and a beautiful setting ought to add the university to their short list.”