
Biomimicry 3.8 founder to speak at PLU’s annual Rachel Carson Lecture
Pacific Lutheran University is excited to welcome Dayna Baumeister, a professor at Arizona State University who holds a doctorate in organismic biology and ecology, to deliver the 2022 Rachel Carson Science, Technology and Society Lecture. Baumeister will present “(Re)Buiding a Thriving World–Mentored By Nature’s Genius”…

Longtime faculty member Karen McConnell named AVP and Chief Institutional Effectiveness Officer
Karen McConnell, Ph.D., has been named Associate Vice President and Chief Institutional Effectiveness Officer at Pacific Lutheran University. McConnell joined PLU in 1998 as a faculty member in Kinesiology and was appointed Dean of the School of Education & Kinesiology in the fall of 2018.…

Powell-Heller Conference to explore the timely theme of “Holocaust Distortion and Denial”
The 2021 Powell-Heller Conference for Holocaust Education will be held on Wednesday, Oct. 27 from 9 .a.m to 1 p.m. at Pacific Lutheran University. The conference will be available online and will offer limited in-person attendance. Registration is currently open . This year the conference…

PLU announces Fixed Tuition Guarantee, reducing financial risk to students and running counter to common higher ed practice
Pacific Lutheran University has just announced a Fixed Tuition Guarantee that will ensure tuition for the 2022–23 incoming class of first-year and transfer students will remain the same throughout their undergraduate years at the university. This guarantee disrupts the general practice of higher education institutions…

PLU climbs eight spots in 2022 U.S. News & World Report college rankings
Pacific Lutheran University climbed eight spots, from 22nd to 14th, on U.S. News & World Report’s annual college ranking of the best regional universities in the West. PLU was one of only three Pacific Northwest universities ranked in the top 15 of the highly competitive…

PLU Receives $11,000 Grant for Tacoma/South Puget Sound MESA Program
Pacific Lutheran University has been awarded another grant from School’s Out Washington and the Washington State Department of Commerce to be used toward the Tacoma/South Puget Sound MESA program. The $11,000 grant comes from the Washington Youth Development Nonprofit Relief Fund. The MESA program prioritizes…

PLU’s kinesiology team places third at 2021 national sports medicine knowledge bowl
Earlier this month, PLU’s Kinesiology Team—Emily Whittaker ’21, Alyssa Pociernicki ’22, and Brianna O’Malley ’21—finished third in the 2021 American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) National Knowledge Bowl. “This experience was one for the books. I used to compete on a knowledge bowl team in…

Wild Hope Center for Vocation awarded grant to establish new faculty/staff institute
Pacific Lutheran University’s Wild Hope Center for Vocation is pleased to announce it has been awarded a two-year, $49,612 NETVUE program development grant from the Council for Independent Colleges. Wild Hope was established in 2003, to support students and faculty as they explore life’s big…

PLU receives multiple accolades for its commitment to military students and families
Pacific Lutheran University has recently been recognized by several college guides for its dedication to military students and families. This recognition includes PLU being named one of the top colleges in Washington for veterans by Intellegent.com and one of College Census’s best universities for veterans…

PLU signs partnership MoU with Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center
Leaders from Pacific Lutheran University and Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement. Among the first of its kind between Yad Vashem and an American university, the agreement pledges that the two organizations will work collaboratively towards…

Broadway performer Jay Paranada ‘06 to speak at spring commencement ceremonies
Pacific Lutheran University alumnus and stage actor Jay Paranada ‘06 will deliver the commencement addresses at the virtual ceremonies for PLU’s classes of 2020 and 2021 on May 29. Paranada majored in sociology at PLU, and also studied at the University of York in England…

PLU announces plans for virtual spring commencement 2021
Pacific Lutheran University is making plans to hold two virtual commencement ceremonies in late May: one for the Class of 2021 and one for the Class of 2020. The Class of 2021 ceremony will be held on May 29 at 11:00 a.m., and the Class…