PLU Lectures, Presentations & Workshops
Learning doesn’t end when you graduate! PLU alumni continue their quest for knowledge, engagement, and critical thinking as they explore new ideas, challenge their beliefs, and listen to new perspectives from diverse groups. We are excited to offer lectures, conferences, and workshops that are open to the community. See upcoming opportunities and past lectures below.
The Calling to Coach!
Join PLU Head Football Coach Brant McAdams as he discusses the calling to serve as a coach, the challenges he faces in coaching today, and what his hopes are for the PLU students he mentors. Brant is the tenth head football coach in the history of the university. This event is part of the Vocational Vistas series in collaboration with the Wild Hope Center for Vocation.
Date: Thursday, September 17, 2026
Time: 4 p.m. (Pacific Time)
This presentation is virtual
Thor Heyerdahl Annual Lecture
PLU’s Dr. Don Ryan, who worked with Thor Heyerdahl directly and is now preparing to archive his historical information at the Kon-Tiki museum in Oslo, is arranging the program. Don’t miss this opportunity to delve into the incredible history behind Heyerdahl’s expeditions and the museum that keeps his legacy alive. No registration is required.
Date: Tuesday, October 6, 2026
Time: 7 p.m.
Place: Scandinavian Cultural Center, Anderson University Center
This is an in-person event at PLU.
Climate Psychology and Spiritual Resilience
PLU religion professor Suzanne Crawford O’Brien and climate psychologist Leslie Davenport discuss their new books on climate anxiety, resilience, working for a just and sustainable world.
Date: Wednesday, October 14, 2026
Time: 6 – 7:30 p.m.
Location: Scandinavian Cultural Center, Anderson University Center
This is an in-person event at PLU.
The Bishop and the Traveler
Wild Hope welcomes Mr. Rick Steves and Bishop Shelley Wee ’88 as they discuss the growing threats of fascism and Christian nationalism in American life. This is an in-person event though the event will be live-streamed. Seating is limited. This event is part of the Vocational Vistas series in collaboration with the Wild Hope Center for Vocation.
Date: Sunday, October 18, 2026
Time: 7 p.m. (Pacific Time)
Location: Karen Hille Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
You Belong in Libraries
Jolita Hylland Benson Education Lecture
Keynote Speaker, Mychal Threets, encourages people to rediscover their love of books and libraries while reminding us that we’re never alone in facing life’s challenges.
Date: Tuesday, October 27, 2026
Time: 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Location: Chris Knutzen Hall, Anderson University Center
This is an in-person event at PLU.
More Than Dust: Reclaiming LGBTQ+ Voices of the Holocaust
18th Annual Powell-Heller Conference for Holocaust Education
This conference focuses on LGBTQ+ experiences of the Holocaust. We are honored to welcome historian Anna Hájková as our Raphael Lemkin speaker. Her book, People Without History Are Dust: Queer Desire in the Holocaust, serves as the foundation for this year’s programming. As Dr. Hájková argues, “thinking about the marginalized can help us to develop a less judgmental, more inclusive past” – a project we aim to collectively engage in during our time together.
Date: November 4-6, 2026
Location: Anderson University Center
Reading the Bible within the Community of Creation
The Twenty-First Annual David and Marilyn Knutson Lecture
What changes when we read the Bible as part of a larger community that includes the earth and our more-than-human kin? This lecture explores what difference an Indigenous perspective that embraces creational kinship brings to interpreting Christian Scripture. Speaker: Dr. T. Christopher Hoklotubbe (Bexley Seabury Seminary)
Date: Tuesday, November 10, 2026
Time: 7 p.m. (Pacific Time)
Step in to a world of wonder
Women have made foundational contributions to physics, from discovering radioactivity and nuclear fission to pioneering work in quantum mechanics and astrophysics. Join Dr. Katrina Hay, the first woman to serve as the PLU Physics Department chair, as she discusses the vocation to teach physics: its wonder, challenges, and relevance in today’s world. This event is part of the Vocational Vistas series in collaboration with the Wild Hope Center for Vocation.
Date: Tuesday, November 17, 2026
Time: 4 p.m. (Pacific Time)
This presentation is virtual
Weary of digital and physical noise?
Health professionals and social scientists warn that urban and suburban living produce an increasing harmful though often “silent” toll on human health and wellbeing. In this busiest season of the year, join Dr. Samuel Torvend as he discusses an ancient yet contemporary antidote to the noise and cognitive fatigue of modern life. This event is part of the Vocational Vistas series in collaboration with the Wild Hope Center for Vocation.
Date: Thursday, December 3, 2026
Time: 4 p.m. (Pacific Time)
This presentation is virtual
Lutheran Studies Lecture
Date: Tuesday April 13, 2027
George Washington and Slavery in American Memory
Dancing with Uncertainty: Buddhist Pathways to Climate Resilience
Wednesday, April 22, 2026
Who Has the Watch? A Military Ethicist's Journey at the US Naval War College and Beyond
Thursday, April 16, 2026
Latin America and the Holocaust
November 5-7, 2025
The Healing Arts: A Virtuous Science in Christian History
October 29, 2025
Health is fragile, especially amid social and environmental troubles. What might religious history offer today as positive models and tools to improve medicine, public health, and healthcare? Dr. Holman suggests that community health and human flourishing are possible only when healers are grounded in thoughtful, informed, and creative understandings of religious history as a healing art.
The Gift of Wilderness: Hammarskjöld on Hiking
Thursday, October 23, 2025
Professor Don Johnson offers illuminating insights on the calling to hike as embodied in the life of Dag Hammarskjöld, Swedish diplomat and General Secretary of the United Nations.
Einstein's Blackboard: Struggles with Communication in the History of Innovation
Featuring Michael J. Halvorson, Pacific Lutheran University
October 13, 2025
How do individuals and organizations share breakthrough ideas with the public? Why is this process crucial for the funding and acceptance of new scientific discoveries, public health initiatives, and commercial products? Professor Halvorson will explore how innovation is framed as a public discourse and why famous innovators sometimes struggle to promote pathbreaking discoveries. This lecture will be Dr. Halvorson’s final university address as Benson Family Chair.
Faith and Religion in the Military: Soul Care and Interfaith Relations
The military is a critical site for interfaith and spiritual care, within hospitals and in the field. Learn more about the challenges, questions and insights that come with Faith and Spirituality in the Military and Medical Care and the ways military chaplains serve people from all backgrounds and build bridges across differences in challenging contexts.
Workshops
Continuing Education at Pacific Lutheran University offers a variety of professional development courses and programs to meet the needs of business professionals and life-long learners. Discounts for the workshops below are available for PLU alumni, students and current employees. Contact Continuing Education at CE@plu.edu prior to registering for the discount code.
School Nursing workshops at PLU
The Center for Continued Nursing Learning (CCNL) provides excellent continuing education and professional development for nurses and other interested health care professionals. We offer multiple programs that provide the opportunity to gain contact hours and clock hours.