Swedish film and stage stars Max von Sydow and Bibi Andersson visit PLU at the beginning of the year-long Scandinavia Today Celebration.

On 17 November, King Carl XVI Gustav and Queen Silvia of Sweden visit the campus, also as part of Scandinavia Today. The king is given a President's Medal, and the queen a glass sculpture made from Mount St. Helens ash.

Richard Sparks becomes the new Choir of the West director.

KPLU begins its NPR and jazz format. After 2 wattage increases, the station now operates at 100,000 watts (10,000 times the original power) and boasts that same number of listeners. It is the most powerful non-commercial radio station in the northwest.

On 26 June, a monument is erected in Valle, Setesdal, Norway, to honor the Rev. Bjug Harstad, founder of PLU.

The monument reads:
"Bjug A. Harstad, 1848-1933
Emigrated 1861
Founder of Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, Washington, USA, 1890.
The Word alone, the Faith alone, the Mercy alone.
Erected 26 June 1983 by Pacific Lutheran University and Valle County."
(translation from Norwegian
by Christer Uthus)

Royalty again graces the campus on 26 October as Norway's Princess Astrid visits.

East Campus is dedicated. It is used for classrooms, then later for community outreach and social work through the Family and Children's Center.

Irish poet Richard Murphy joins the PLU faculty as the first Distinguished Writer-in-Residence.

The first Nordic Night, a gala fundraiser for PLU's proposed Scandinavian Cultural Center, is held on 22 June at the newly-opened Sheraton Hotel. Many dress in traditional Scandinavian costume for the occasion.

A gift of Scott Names' family, the Names Physical Fitness Center is built onto the north side of Memorial Gymnasium.