Teacher, Veteran, Mentor: Willie Stewart ’69

Willie Stewart, who earned a Masters in Education from PLU in 1969, became the first black principal in Tacoma School District history when he was appointed principal of East Tacoma’s Lincoln High School in 1970. After decades of leading Lincoln, in 1999 Stewart was elected to the Tacoma School Board where he would serve through 2005. Earlier this year, Stewart was honored by the Tacoma School District as it renamed the Reengagement Center the Willie Stewart Academy in recognition of his decades of service.

Stewart is one of 11 notable alumni currently featured in a billboard campaign that asks “what can you do with a PLU degree?” Others featured in the campaign include Android co-founder Nick Sears ’87, ’95,  Alaska Airlines CEO Brad Tilden ’83 and Metropolitan Opera superstar Angela Meade ’01. Read all about the campaign and browse all 11 billboard designs in the latest online issue of ResoLUTE.