School of Business IMPACT Awards

PLU School of Business IMPACT Awards

PLU School of Business: A Tradition of Excellence and Innovation

During the years 1960-1992, dedicated professors Dwight J. Zulauf, Ph.D., C.P.A., and Gondar King, Ph.D. worked together with colleagues, industry leaders, alumni, and students to create and build the School of Business at PLU.  Zulauf and King also stood at the helm of leadership as the first two Deans (respectively) for the school.

During both tenures, Zulauf and King set the standard of meeting and exceeding the accreditation standards set by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International (AACSB International). AACSB accreditation is the gold standard for business schools and includes universities such as Harvard and Howard. The PLU School of Business was most recently reaccredited in 2022 with notations of innovation in the areas of experiential learning and industry engagement. Fewer than 5% of the business schools in the world achieve these accreditation standards.

The IMPACT Award program is generously funded by the King Zulauf Endowed Fund for Business established by Thomas O. Carlson (’65). Mr. Carlson felt strongly that University and community collaboration enriches the PLU experience, and encouraged industry connection opportunities such as the IMPACT Award event to facilitate student and speaker engagement.

Previous Speakers

Don Gaines

March 2, 2023 │ 7:00pm │ Scandinavian Cultural Center (reception to follow)

Don is a proud PLU MBA graduate who served as an executive leader in the utility industry. Working in finance, Mr. Gaines found meaning in the utility world, not only supporting a reliable infrastructure but via innovation in the area of corporate structure and mergers, in what today is known as Puget Sound Energy. If you have ever wondered how you might navigate your future career positions, following unique opportunities to end up in a place you never imagined but also couldn’t imagine a career being any more fulfilling, please come be inspired by the award winning work and experience of Don Gaines.

Monica Powers

May 2, 2023 │ 7:00pm │ Scandinavian Cultural Center (reception to follow)

Monica is a proud PLU alum who currently serves as an executive leader in the world of philanthropy. Called by a mission of making a difference in peoples’ lives by supporting important projects in healthcare, she loves the fact that she can use creativity and human connections to connect the needs in the community with potential supporters, offering authentic connections that deliver incredible opportunities and outcomes. In her present service as the Executive Director of the Good Samaritan Foundation and the South King Health Foundation at MultiCare Health Systems, Monica excels at connecting people through philanthropy by the power of our life stories. If you have ever wondered about the power of philanthropy, please come be inspired by the award winning work and experience of Monica Powers.