PLU’s Parkland Literacy Center supports local k-12 students, receives new grant
For the past four years Pacific Lutheran University student workers and volunteers have made the Parkland Literacy Center a beacon of community and learning support. Operated by PLU and located in the Anderson University Center, the center provides free one-on-one and small group tutoring for…
Beyond pedagogy: from Tacoma to Namibia, a partnership reframing teacher development practices
In Kwangali and Oshindonga, widely spoken languages in Namibia, “Uukumwe” means “togetherness.” For six teachers in Washington and seven teachers from Namibia, the word personifies the relationship-building that lies at the heart of education. “It was a vision that was bubbling in my mind because…
PLU Department of Anthropology completes repatriation of materials to the Nisqually Tribe
Leaders from the Nisqually Indian Tribe visited Pacific Lutheran University earlier this month to take possession of materials from a PLU anthropology excavation done around Woodard Bay, Washington in the 1990s. This repatriation process was led by Associate Professor of Anthropology Bradford Andrews and Faculty…
Aaron Bell ’04: A Philosopher in Finance
PLU graduate Aaron Bell ’04 learned early on that life is full of pathways — and that it was his responsibility to pursue his interests with passion to find his purpose. He grew up in Wisconsin where he was a standout student — an Eagle…
Emily Peterson ’14 : Global policy, politics and partnerships
Like many students, Emily Peterson ’14 began her time at PLU unsure of what, exactly, she wanted to do. “I wanted to work for the United Nations,” she says. “Although at the time, I didn’t know what it was, to be honest, when I was…
Dayton Campbell-Harris ’16: Fighting for voters’ rights
Originally, Dayton Campbell-Harris ’16 planned for a career as a high school history teacher and high school football coach — he played football for PLU when Scott Westering was an inspirational coach. But during his junior year at PLU, a social work class moved Campbell-…
Therapeutic Leadership: David Ward discusses his approach to leading PLU’s College of Health Professions
David Ward is a practicing therapist who says the origins of his vocation go all the way back to his childhood home. “I grew up in a family where I benefited from strong family ties, and I saw the impact of imperfect but strong relationships,”…
Ellie Dieringer explores impact of the Holocaust in South America
Close to 50,000 Jewish refugees fled to Argentina during the rise of Nazism and World War II. In fact, between 1933 and 1945, Argentina received more Jewish refugees per capita than any other country in the world, except Palestine. But to. most – outside of…
Military To Medicine: Air Force, Navy veterans become nurses after second chances at college
Stephanie Millett ’22 was in her early 20s when she walked into a U.S. Navy recruiting office after dropping out of the University of Oregon in 2010. The decision to enlist, she says, was “a bit of a last resort” to get her family and…
PLU community members help welcome Hōkūle‘a to Tacoma
A group of PLU students, staff and alumni joined the Puyallup Tribe, members of the South Sound’s Hawaiian/Polynesian community, and other locals at a gathering welcoming the Hōkūle‘a to Tacoma yesterday. A 62-foot-long traditional voyaging canoe operated by crew from the Polynesian Voyaging Society in…
PLU students and faculty collaborate on summer chemistry research
Dive deeper into PLU’s summer undergraduate research program! Students Rebecca Smith ’24 and Aidan Hopson ’24 spent ten weeks collaborating with chemistry professor Andrea Munro to study colloidal nanocrystals, particles so small they are nearly invisible. #LutesEmbraceComplexity To learn more about chemistry projects, classes and…