Mónica GuzmánJournalist and Author
Richard LapchickHuman Rights Activist
Jacqueline BussieAuthor
Bryn NelsonJournalist and Microbiologist
Bob FergusonWA Attorney General
Austin JenkinsJournalist
Glory M. LiuResearch Professor
Tami CharlesAuthor
David TreuerAuthor
Kalen DeBoerUW Football Coach
Aubrey LoganJazz Singer
Aubrey LoganJazz Singer
March 21 - Karen Hille Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
Jazz singer and instrumentalist Aubrey Logan headlined the evening showcase at PLU’s Weathermon Jazz Festival. The award-winning musician was accompanied by the PLU Jazz Ensemble and jazz faculty members.
Elana Meyers TaylorOlympian
Elana Meyers TaylorOlympian
May 27 - Tacoma Dome
Olympian and world champion Elana Meyers Taylor delivered the 2023 PLU commencement address. Meyers Taylor shared reflections inspired by her historic career as the most decorated Black athlete in Winter Olympics history and a tireless advocate for issues she is passionate about.
Elana Meyers TaylorOlympian
Elana Meyers TaylorOlympian
May 27 - Tacoma Dome
Olympian and world champion Elana Meyers Taylor delivered the 2023 PLU commencement address. Meyers Taylor shared reflections inspired by her historic career as the most decorated Black athlete in Winter Olympics history and a tireless advocate for issues she is passionate about.
Ryan GlihaUnited States Diplomat
Ryan GlihaUnited States Diplomat
March 1 - Scandinavian Cultural Center
United States diplomat Ryan Gliha gave a keynote address titled “The Servant Diplomat: Reflections on a Career in Diplomacy” at the Wang Center for Global and Community Engaged Education’s sixth biennial Ambassador Chris Stevens Celebration of Service.
Minh LêAuthor
Minh LêAuthor
April 18 - Chris Knutzen Hall
Acclaimed author and early childhood policy consultant Minh Lê delivered the 12th annual Jolita Hylland Benson Education Lecture. His lecture, titled “Shelf Life: Finding Community (and Yourself) in the World of Books,” encouraged attendees to explore the role of imagination.
Rick StevesTravel Expert
Deanna ThompsonAuthor, Educator, Theologian
Deanna ThompsonAuthor, Educator, Theologian
October 5, 2022 - Chris Knutson Hall
Author, educator, and theologian Deanna Thompson gave a keynote lecture at the 11th Annual Lutheran Studies Conference titled “Living with Mortality: Illness, Trauma, Joy and Hope.” Thompson is the Director of the Lutheran Center for Faith, Values, and Community as well as the Martin E. Marty Regents Chair in Religion and the Academy at St. Olaf College.
Sequoia NagamatsuNational-Bestselling Author
Sequoia NagamatsuNational-Bestselling Author
July 22-August 1, 2022 - Campus
Sequoia Nagamatsu is the author of the national-bestselling and New York Times Editors’ Choice novel, How High We Go in the Dark. Nagamatsu was on campus for ten days as a faculty member of the Rainier Writing Workshop, PLU’s MFA in creative writing program.
Erin Entrada KellyNY Times Best-Selling Author
Erin Entrada KellyNY Times Best-Selling Author
April 20, 2022 - Chris Knutson Hall
New York Times best-selling author and Newbery Medal winner Erin Entrada Kelly delivered the 12th Annual Jolita Hylland Benson Education Lecture. Entrada Kelly shared a lecture titled “Three Compliments: Ways to Feel Seen as an Invisible Student.”
Mona DasWA State Senator
Justin SpelhaugMicrosoft Philanthropies
Justin SpelhaugMicrosoft Philanthropies
March 10, 2022 - Virtual
Microsoft Philanthropies Vice President and Global Head of Social Impact Justin Spelhaug reflected on technology’s role in positive social and economic change when he delivered the 16th Dale E. Benson Lecture in Business and Economic History at the 2022 Wang Center Symposium.
Julie FoudyWorld Cup Champion
Julie FoudyWorld Cup Champion
May 28, 2022 - Tacoma Dome
World Cup champion, Olympic gold medalist, author, advocate and ESPN broadcaster Julie Foudy delivered the PLU commencement address. Foudy shared reflections from her iconic career and encouraged graduates to “Embrace the adventure and go rock this world with both your joy and your impact!”
Jay ParanadaBroadway Performer
Rev. George TinkerAmerican Indian Scholar
Rev. George TinkerAmerican Indian Scholar
April 20, 2021, Virtual
American Indian scholar Rev. George “Tink” Tinker (wazhazhe, Osage Nation) delivered the annual David & Marilyn Knutson Lecture. Tinker gave an illuminating lecture titled “World Balance vs. Personal Salvation: An American Indian Postcolonial Perspective.”
Lummi NationHouse of Tears Carvers
Lummi NationHouse of Tears Carvers
April 29, 2021, On Campus
PLU was honored to host members of the Lummi Nation, and their newly carved and painted totem pole. A few days later, the Lummi tribal members embarked on a cross-country journey to gather hopes, prayers, and support for protecting sacred places and the natural world. They finished in late July when the totem pole was presented to Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland on the National Mall.
Amie BishopGlobal Health Leader
Amie BishopGlobal Health Leader
March 9, 2021, Virtual
Global health leader Amie Bishop was the keynote speaker at the biennial Ambassador Chris Stevens Celebration of Service. She delivered a timely lecture titled “Vulnerabilities Amplified: The Impact of COVID-19 on LGBTIQ+ Communities Globally.”
Meg MedinaAuthor
Rep. Marilyn StricklandU.S. Rep
Rep. Marilyn StricklandU.S. Rep
April 6, 2021, On Campus
U.S. Rep. Marilyn Strickland met with PLU President Allan Belton and other university leaders, toured the School of Nursing’s new Clinical Learning and Simulation Center, and even made time to try a “Donut Boat” in the Anderson University Center. Stickland previously visited PLU on numerous occasions during her two terms as mayor of Tacoma, but this visit was her first since being elected to Congress.
Crystal Aikin '97Recording artist
Denny HeckCongressman
Sven BeckertAuthor and Harvard University history professor
Sven BeckertAuthor and Harvard University history professor
October 9, 2019
Bestselling author and Harvard University history professor Sven Beckert delivered the 15th Annual Dale E. Benson Lecture in Business and Economic History. His lecture was titled “Empire of Cotton: The Global Origins of Modern Capitalism.”
Alice RipleyTony Award-winning actress and musician
Alice RipleyTony Award-winning actress and musician
February 14-15, 2020
Tony Award-winning actress and musician Alice Ripley visited PLU as part The School of Arts and Communication’s “Focus on Broadway” series. Ripley shared selections from her songbook and was interviewed on stage by actor and producer Louis Hobson ‘00.
Sarah KleinAttorney
Sarah KleinAttorney
Feb 26, 2020
Attorney and advocate Sarah Klein was invited to campus by the Department of Kinesiology to share her powerful story as one the first known survivors of former Michigan State and USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar’s sexual abuse—and her subsequent career in law and advocacy.
Kwame Anthony AppiahNYU Professor of Philosophy and Law
Kwame Anthony AppiahNYU Professor of Philosophy and Law
March 5-6, 2020
Researchers, activists and writers from all over the world, including NYU Professor of Philosophy and Law Kwame Anthony Appiah, virtually and physically attended the 9th Biennial Wang Center Symposium to present and lead discussions on the topic of “Disarming Polarization: Navigating Conflict and Difference.”
Jason ReynoldsAwarding-winning novelist and poet
William Foege ‘57Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree
William Foege ‘57Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree
February 20, 2020
Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree William Foege ‘57 was the Rachel Carson Science, Technology & Society lecturer. His presentation, titled “Why to Avoid a Life Plan,” focused on the future implications of mankind’s current actions. Foege is a renowned epidemiologist best known for developing the global strategy that led to the eradication of smallpox in the late 1970s.
We Stand with Our Muslim NeighborsTime of Prayer, Silence, Sharing and Connecting
We Stand with Our Muslim NeighborsTime of Prayer, Silence, Sharing and Connecting
MARCH 18, 2019
Following the violence against our Muslim neighbors in New Zealand, the Muslim Student Association, Campus Ministry and the Interfaith Working Group invited the community for a time of prayer, silence, sharing and connecting in Red Square.
Ijeoma OluoAuthor
The People’s Gathering Conversations About Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
The People’s Gathering Conversations About Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
APRIL 2, 2019
The People’s Gathering offered a personal and professional development learning experience designed to prompt frank and difficult conversations around diversity, equity and inclusion. Featured speakers included Melanie Denise Cunningham, Campus Ministry’s director of multicultural outreach and engagement; Kathy Obear, founder of The Center for Transformation and Change and author of “…But I’m Not Racist!”; and Maria Chávez-Pringle, associate professor and chair of the Political Science Department.
Mae NgaiProfessor of Asian American Studies and History at Columbia University
Mae NgaiProfessor of Asian American Studies and History at Columbia University
MARCH 11, 2019
Mae Ngai, professor of Asian American studies and history at Columbia University, examined the idea of America as a land of hope and refuge for the persecuted and oppressed in the Walter C. Schnackenberg Memorial Lecture.
Witness UgandaDocumentary-Musical
Witness UgandaDocumentary-Musical
MARCH 6, 2019
Selections from “Witness Uganda,” a documentary-musical written and composed by former Peace Corps volunteer Matt Gould, and actor and co-founder of the UgandaProject, Griffin Matthews, explored the challenges and pitfalls of doing humanitarian work. The performance was sponsored by the Wang Center, in collaboration with the PLU Peace Corps Prep certificate program.
James McLurkin Senior Hardware Engineer
James McLurkin Senior Hardware Engineer
March 5, 2019
James McLurkin, senior hardware engineer at Google and an expert on swarm robotics, was the Rachel Carson Science, Technology and Society lecturer. He illustrated his topic,“The Future of Robotics is Swarms: Why a Thousand Robots are Better than One,” with a live multi-robot demonstration.
Richard SparksThe Choir of the West
Jazz Under the StarsSummer Concert Series
Jazz Under the StarsSummer Concert Series
July-Aug. 2018
Jazz Under the Stars, a popular summer concert series held annually at PLU, wrapped up its 20th season this summer. Learn more
Special Olympics2018 Athletes
Patty MurraySen., D-Washington
Patty MurraySen., D-Washington
May 30, 2018
Nearly a year after PLU secured $1.4 million in federal funding to treat health care shortages in Washington state, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, visited campus to see just what those dollars support. Learn more
Freeman Hrabowski IIIPresident of University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Freeman Hrabowski IIIPresident of University of Maryland, Baltimore County
June 2018
Freeman Hrabowski III — president of University of Maryland, Baltimore County — served as the keynote speaker at Commencement 2018 ceremony. Learn more
Andrew AydinAuthor, "March"
Andrew AydinAuthor, "March"
May 2018
In May, PLU hosted Pierce County READS with author Andrew Aydin and illustrator Nate Powell. They discussed the civil rights movement, how the trilogy, “March,” came about and why they chose a graphic novel format. Pierce County READS
Vincent HerringAlto Saxophonist
Vincent HerringAlto Saxophonist
May 11, 2018
PLU hosted a collaborative concert on May 11 featuring the PLU University Jazz Ensemble, the Stadium High School Jazz Band and titan alto saxophonist Vincent Herring. Herring’s appearance was made possible thanks to the Dick (’50) and Helen (’49) Weathermon Joyful Noise Endowment for the jazz studies. Learn more
Noah PurcellWashington State Solicitor General
Noah PurcellWashington State Solicitor General
May 2, 2018
The Department of Political Science hosted Washington State Solicitor General Noah Purcell on May 2. Purchell spoke at PLU after giving oral arguments to the Supreme Court of the United States on the Muslim travel ban.
Lid KingGenocide Studies Lecture
Lid KingGenocide Studies Lecture
May 2, 2018
Lid King, Ph.D., gave the inaugural Natalie Mayer Holocaust and Genocide Studies Lecture on how hate speech has spread across the internet and what can be done to develop a counter narrative. Learn more
Malick Folk Performing CompanyIndigenous Arts and Culture
Roger FernandesNative American Artist
Roger FernandesNative American Artist
Apr. 17, 2018
Native American artist, storyteller and educator Roger Fernandes shared the wisdom and stories of the First People for the 2018 Earth Day Lecture. He demonstrated the knowledge and philosophies of this land’s indigenous people who create a harmonious and sustainable way of life.
Kirk RobbinsSTEM Teaching
Wang Symposium
Wang Symposium
Mar. 8, 2018
Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who has been at the forefront of national debates on immigration, opened the eighth biennial Wang Center Symposium on migration March 8. The Holy Land Munib Younan, retired bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan, spoke about the church's vocation in a world on the move. Fredy González, assistant professor of Latin American history at the University of Colorado – Boulder, uplifted the importance of migrant voices and perspectives. Greg Hermsmeyer ’88, senior coordinator for international programs in the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at the U.S. Department of State, explored the link between human trafficking and migration.
Ēriks EšenvaldsChoir of the West
Fr. Charles R. Gallagher, S.J.Boston College
Fr. Charles R. Gallagher, S.J.Boston College
Apr. 3, 2018
Fr. Charles R. Gallagher, S.J., of the history department at Boston College spoke on April 3 about his explorations of a previously unknown set of intelligence relationships involving Nazi, British and Soviet spy networks in Boston during World War II.
Kaveh AkbarPoet
Alberto LedesmaAuthor
Alberto LedesmaAuthor
Mar. 19, 2018
Alberto Ledesma presented the keynote address at the third annual César Chávez and Dolores Huerta Latino Studies Lecture on March 19. Ledesma is the author of the graphic memoir-comic book, Diary of a Reluctant Dreamer: Undocumented Vignettes from a Pre-American Life. This graphic memoir is a compilation of cartoons and essays that illustrate, in an unconventional way, the experience of a longtime undocumented immigrant living in the United States.
Alana R. Simmons"Hate Won't Win"
Alana R. Simmons"Hate Won't Win"
Mar. 14, 2018
Alana R. Simmons gave the keynote for the second annual People’s Gathering on March 14. Simmons is the granddaughter of the Rev. Daniel Simmons — one of the nine members of the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina, who were killed in a terror attack on June 17, 2015. She heads the national nonprofit organization “Hate Won’t Win,” which promotes acts of forgiveness and gives voice to the message that love is stronger than hate.
Pamela RonaldUniversity of California, Davis
Pamela RonaldUniversity of California, Davis
Mar. 6, 2018
Pamela Ronald — a distinguished professor in the Department of Plant Pathology and the Genome Center at the University of California, Davis — presented the second annual Rachel Carson Lecture on March 6, expanding the case for genetically engineering food.
Minal HajratwalaAuthor
Minal HajratwalaAuthor
Mar. 6, 2018
Author Minal Hajratwala came to campus March 6 to present a lecture and reading from her award-winning epic Leaving India: My Family’s Journey from Five Villages to Five Continents, which was called “incomparable” by Alice Walker and “searingly honest” by The Washington Post.
Hilde RestadAssociate Professor of International Studies
Hilde RestadAssociate Professor of International Studies
Mar. 1, 2018
Hilde Restad — associate professor of international studies at Bjørknes University College in Oslo, Norway — visited campus March 1 to present about American exceptionalism understood as an identity, and its effect on history and U.S. foreign policy traditions.
Michelle M. Jacob, Ph.D.Professor of Indigenous Studies
Michelle M. Jacob, Ph.D.Professor of Indigenous Studies
Feb. 20, 2018
Michelle M. Jacob, Ph.D., is a professor of indigenous studies and director of the Sapsik’ʷałá (Teacher) Education Program at University of Oregon. On Feb. 20, she spoke about indigenous environmentalism as spiritual responsibility and the journey of activism and healing with Saint Kateri Tekakwitha — first Native American to be canonized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church.
Quinton Johnson, Ph.D.Nelson Mandela University
Victoria WoodardsSista Circle Retreat
Victoria WoodardsSista Circle Retreat
Feb. 17, 2018
Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards gave the keynote address for the inaugural Sista Circle Retreat on Feb. 17, a seminar that supports student learning around mentorship, activism in leadership, navigating politics as people of color, and self-preservation and care.
PLU's Production of "Fences"August Wilsons: Fences
Rajesh ParameswaranLecture and Book Reading
Rajesh ParameswaranLecture and Book Reading
Sept. 26, 2017
Rajesh Parameswaran kicked off the Visiting Writer Series with an open lecture and reading on Sept. 26, 2017. Parameswaran wrote the short story collection I Am Executioner: Love Stories, a Washington Post best book of the year.
Randal Pinkett"Competing in the Modern Era" Lecture
Maj. Margaret Witt"Find Your Mission" Lecture
Maj. Margaret Witt"Find Your Mission" Lecture
Nov. 9, 2017
Nursing alumna Maj. Margaret Witt ’86 shared her personal story fighting the former “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in her lecture titled “Find Your Mission” on Nov. 9, 2017. Witt also read excerpts from her book Tell: Love, Defiance, and the Military Trial at the Tipping Point for Gay Rights. Full lecture
National Lutheran ChoirWest Coast Tour at PLU
Ilana Kennedy LectureHolocaust Lecture
Ilana Kennedy LectureHolocaust Lecture
Nov. 3, 2017
Ilana Cone Kennedy from the Seattle-based Holocaust Center for Humanity visited a history class taught by Lisa Marcus, professor of English. Cone Kennedy brought several heart-wrenching reproductions for the Holocaust artifacts workshop.
Harstad Family ReunionA PLU Family
Philip NordquistPLU Historian
Brad TildenAlaska Airlines' CEO
Brad TildenAlaska Airlines' CEO
Oct. 17, 2017
Alaska Airlines' CEO Brad Tilden '83 presented the Benson Lecture in Business and Economic History to a packed house Oct. 17, 2017. Brad joined a group of faculty panelists – including Bridgette O’Brien (Religion), Sergia Hay (Philosophy), Mark Mulder (School of Business), Norris Peterson (Economics) and Michael Halvorson (History) – to talk about Alaska Airlines success, model, impact and policies.
Samuel TorvendProfessor of Religion
Samuel TorvendProfessor of Religion
Apr. 19, 2017
Samuel Torvend, professor of religion, completed his term as university chair in Lutheran studies in summer 2017. He presented his farewell lecture as chair on April 19 (he will continue to teach in the Department of Religion). The lecture focused on Robert Oelbermann and the rarely researched topic of Nazi persecution of gay men from 1933 to 1945.
Therapy Dogs InternationalFurry Friends
Therapy Dogs InternationalFurry Friends
May 18, 2017
Some furry friends stopped by campus to relieve some stress and give students a break from studying for finals in May. Volunteers with Therapy Dogs International (TDI) and the PLU Counseling Center brought the dogs and goats (yes, you read that right) to Red Square.
Amanda McCartyEnvironmental Scientist
Amanda McCartyEnvironmental Scientist
Apr. 18, 2017
Amanda McCarty ’04 is an environmental scientist and policymaker with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). She presented the Earth Day lecture titled “Connecting Science and Policy: One Lute’s Journey from Biologist to Climate Negotiator.”
Suzanne MooreIlluminator
Suzanne MooreIlluminator
Sept. 15, 2016
Suzanne Moore is a Vashon Island-based book artist who was one of just two American illuminators to work on The Saint John’s Bible. She came to campus to launch PLU’s year with the Heritage Edition of the Bible on Sept. 15 in the Scandinavian Cultural Center.
Jess X. ChenPoet
Jess X. ChenPoet
Nov. 7, 2016
Jess X. Chen’s poetry and performance exposed Lutes to narratives of migration, environmental justice, queer liberation and healing from trauma, all from a queer eco-feminist lens. * Photo by Kat Waterman [grve_button button_text="Learn more" button_color="black" button_size="small" button_link="url:http%3A%2F%2Fwww.plu.edu%2Fdcenter%2Fjessxchen||target:%20_blank|"]
Charlotte GordonAssociate professor in the School of Arts and Sciences at Ednicott College
Charlotte GordonAssociate professor in the School of Arts and Sciences at Ednicott College
Mar. 22, 2017
In Her Mother’s Footsteps: The Lives of Mary Shelley and Her Mother Mary Wollstonecraft The Department of History invited Charlotte Gordon, associate professor in the School of Arts and Sciences at Ednicott College in Beverly, Massachusetts, to give the 43rd Walter C. Schnackenberg Memorial Lecture.
Ēriks EšenvaldsComposer
Ēriks EšenvaldsComposer
Mar. 4, 2017
U.S. premiere of the Nordic Light Symphony Latvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds traveled to the arctic regions with a videographer to film the Aurora Borealis. Along the way, he met with 23 native storytellers and recorded more than 40 different myths and songs about the Northern Lights. This media was compiled into a narrative with videos of the lights and recordings of nature sounds. The U.S. premiere of this large, multimedia work featured PLU’s Choral Union, Choir of the West and the University Symphony Orchestra.
The GamersIndie-Film Sensation
The GamersIndie-Film Sensation
Nov. 5-19, 2016
Original members of the cast and crew from the indie-film sensation “The Gamers” returned to campus to film a pilot for a TV series of the same name, an offshoot of the movie that began at PLU 15 years ago. [grve_button button_text="Learn more" button_color="black" button_size="small" button_link="url:http%3A%2F%2Fwww.plu.edu%2Fmarcom%2Fnews%2F2016%2F10%2F26%2Fgamers-filming||target:%20_blank|"]
Fiery Jade — Cai YanWorld Premier Opera
Fiery Jade — Cai YanWorld Premier Opera
Nov. 17-19, 2016
In the opera titled “Fiery Jade — Cai Yan,” the ancient story of Chinese poet Cai Yan proved an excellent example of diverse perspectives and student-faculty collaboration. The music for Fiery Jade was composed by Greg Youtz, PLU professor of music and composer, and the script — known as a libretto — was written by poet Zhang Er of The Evergreen State College. [grve_button button_text="Learn more" button_color="black" button_size="small" button_link="url:http%3A%2F%2Fwww.plu.edu%2Fmusic%2Fnews%2F2016%2F10%2F18%2Fpacific-lutheran-university-premieres-new-original-opera-fiery-jade-cai-yan%2F||target:%20_blank|"]
Vicci MartinezAcclaimed Songwriter
Jeff CoffinGrammy-winning jazz saxophonist
LuteVoteElection Themed Events
LuteVoteElection Themed Events
Sept. 14 - Nov. 8, 2016
PLU's fall docket of more than 15 election-themed events included Q&A discussions with Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson, state Rep. David Sawyer (29th District) and U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer. Additionally, Lutes held debates and forums on education, third-party voting, Islamophobia and Hispanophobia, and gender. [grve_button button_text="Learn more" button_color="black" button_size="small" button_link="url:http%3A%2F%2Fwww.plu.edu%2Fasplu%2Flutevote||target:%20_blank|"]
Stephen MihmAssociate Professor of History
Stephen MihmAssociate Professor of History
Oct. 11, 2016
Stephen Mihm, associate professor of history from the University of Georgia, presented the Benson lecture entitled “The Futures Business: Standards, Grades and the Making of the Modern World.” Professor Mihm discussed how systems of standards, largely invisible to the public, have imposed an astonishing measure of uniformity on the raw materials (a barrel of oil, a bushel of wheat, or a bale of cotton) that move through the global marketplace. [grve_button button_text="Learn more" button_color="black" button_size="small" button_link="url:http%3A%2F%2Fwww.plu.edu%2Fbusiness-economic-history-program%2Fannual-lecture||target:%20_blank|"]
Brian BannonCEO of the Chicago Public Library
Brian BannonCEO of the Chicago Public Library
Oct. 13, 2016
Brian Bannon ’97 was this year’s Meant to Live keynote speaker during Homecoming and Family Weekend. Bannon has served as commissioner and chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Library system since 2012. He has nearly 20 years of experience developing and implementing innovative educational programs and leading large-scale operations that provide digital skills training, community-based learning and educational advancement for children, families and adults. [grve_button button_text="Learn more" button_color="black" button_size="small" button_link="url:http%3A%2F%2Fwww.plu.edu%2Fmarcom%2Fnews%2F2016%2F10%2F06%2Fmeanttolive-lecture||target:%20_blank|"]
Sigbjørn SkådenAward-Winning Sámi Poet
Sigbjørn SkådenAward-Winning Sámi Poet
Oct. 4, 2016
Sigbjørn Skåden, an award-winning Sámi poet and novelist from Norway, delivered this year’s Bjug Harstad Memorial Lecture at PLU’s Scandinavian Cultural Center. Skåden has written in both his native North Sámi, one of the languages of the Indigenous Sámi people, and in Norwegian. He discussed his works’ thematization of relationships to the landscape and autobiographical fiction. [grve_button button_text="Learn More" button_color="black" button_size="small" button_link="url:http%3A%2F%2Fwww.plu.edu%2Fscan%2Fharstad-memorial-lecture||target:%20_blank|"]
Powell-Heller Conference for Holocaust EducationWomen and the Holocaust
Powell-Heller Conference for Holocaust EducationWomen and the Holocaust
Oct. 17-19, 2016
The Powell-Heller Conference for Holocaust Education explored a woman's perspective of the Holocaust through music, expert panelists and guided dialogue with peers. It was not until the 1980s that historians began asking, "Where are the women?" Conference scholars presented their latest research on Women and the Holocaust. [grve_button button_text="Learn more" button_color="black" button_size="small" button_link="url:http%3A%2F%2Fwww.plu.edu%2Fholocaustconference||target:%20_blank|"]
Jennifer HarveyPh.D. and Professor of Religion
Jennifer HarveyPh.D. and Professor of Religion
Oct. 26, 2016
Jennifer Harvey, Ph.D. and professor of religion at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, presented her lecture titled “From Ferguson to Charleston: Religious Faith, Righteous Feminists, and Holy Fire.” It addressed the challenges to be faced and frameworks needed to create robust multi-racial solidarity for justice. [grve_button button_text="Learn more" button_color="black" button_size="small" button_link="url:http%3A%2F%2Fwww.plu.edu%2Freligion%2Fjennifer-harvey||target:%20_blank|"]
Randal PinkettExpert on race and equity
Randal PinkettExpert on race and equity
Feb. 24, 2017
The People’s Gathering: A Revolution of Consciousness Randal Pinkett, Ph.D., spoke as part of the full-day conference on skills and strategies to facilitate difficult conversations around race and equity in workplace and educational settings.
Brian BannonDistinguished lute
Brian BannonDistinguished lute
May 25, 2017
Distinguished Lute Brian Bannon ’97 was the keynote speaker at Commencement 2017 on May 25. Since 2012, the distinguished Lute has served as commissioner and chief executive officer of the Chicago Public Library, one of the largest public library systems in the world — with 77 branches, two regional hubs and an annual budget of $130 million. His tenure includes building an executive team that has dramatically changed the library’s organizational direction and put human-centered design at the forefront of operations. The changes have improved access to high-quality learning opportunities for Chicago residents and an entrepreneurial culture, sparking replication nationwide.
Jim AndersonPhilip S. Weld Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry at Harvard University
Jim AndersonPhilip S. Weld Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry at Harvard University
Mar. 8, 2017
The Rachel Carson Science, Technology and Society Annual Lecture Supported by a generous endowment from George L. and Helen B. Long, the Rachel Carson Science, Technology and Society Annual Lecture was designed to bring leading experts in the fields of science and technology to campus to address the PLU community. For the inaugural lecture, Jim Anderson, Ph.D., Philip S. Weld Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry at Harvard University, spoke on “The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change.”
Judy Sweet and Sharon TaylorSports leaders
Judy Sweet and Sharon TaylorSports leaders
Feb. 27, 2017
Legacy Makers: Historical Narratives on Gender and Sport The Department of Kinesiology hosted a panel, moderated by Colleen Hacker, Ph.D., with Judy Sweet and Sharon Taylor that explored the lived experiences of two women who have reached top leadership positions in sports. Their stories spoke to the depth and range of challenges female leaders face and provided a backdrop on which to consider the important work on gender equity that is yet to be realized.
John Arthur NunesPresident of Concordia College
John Arthur NunesPresident of Concordia College
Sept. 29, 2016
John Arthur Nunes, Ph.D., was the keynote speaker at the Lutheran Studies Conference, “Free at last? Lutheran Perspectives on Racial Justice.” Nunes is president of Concordia College in New York City, a school of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. Prior to his appointment at Concordia, he served as the Jochum Chair in Christianity and Public Life at Valparaiso University. Before his appointment at Valparaiso, Nunes was the president and CEO of Lutheran World Relief where he led an international staff working in 17 countries. As a Lutheran pastor, he has served inner city parishes in Detroit and Dallas. His doctoral work at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago focused on post-colonial identity.
Ragnar Kvam Jr.Distinguished Norwegian Sailor
Ragnar Kvam Jr.Distinguished Norwegian Sailor
Oct. 5, 2016
Distinguished Norwegian sailor, journalist and writer Ragnar Kvam Jr. presented “The Life of Thor Heyerdahl: Writing the Biography of a Norwegian Icon” in the Scandinavian Cultural Center at PLU. [grve_button button_text="Learn more" button_color="black" button_size="small" button_link="url:http%3A%2F%2Fwww.plu.edu%2Fscancenter%2Fthor-heyerdahl-lecture-beyond-the-horizon||target:%20_blank|"]
Steinar BrynDialogue Expert
Steinar BrynDialogue Expert
Nov. 18, 2016
Steinar Bryn, dialogue expert and repeat Nobel Peace Prize nominee, held a conversation during International Education Week about healing divisions in a post-election context. As head of the Nansen Dialogue Network, Bryn has worked extensively to engage post-war communities (the Balkans, the Caucasus and Ukraine) in inter-ethnic dialogue and peacebuilding. [grve_button button_text="Learn more" button_color="black" button_size="small" button_link="url:http%3A%2F%2Fwww.plu.edu%2Fwang-center%2Finternational-ed-week||target:%20_blank|"]
Robert P. EricksenKurt Mayer Chair in Holocaust Studies Emeritus
Robert P. EricksenKurt Mayer Chair in Holocaust Studies Emeritus
Apr. 4, 2017
Lemkin Lecture and Essay Contest Robert P. Ericksen, Ph.D., Kurt Mayer Chair in Holocaust Studies Emeritus, was the featured speaker. He presented a lecture titled “On Luther, Jews and Lutherans in Nazi Germany.” Ericksen joined the PLU History Department in 1999. In 2007, he helped found PLU’s endowed Holocaust Studies Program, including the Kurt Mayer Chair and the annual Powell-Heller Conference for Holocaust Education. He also helped establish the Holocaust and Genocide Studies Program in 2013, which now offers a minor.
Laura LieberRabbi
Laura LieberRabbi
Mar. 23, 2017
The Garden of Earthly Delights: The Song of Songs in the Early Synagogue While most modern scholars read the biblical Song of Songs as a collection of secular love poems, in antiquity, both the rabbis and the Church Fathers understood it to be an encoded account of God’s love for God’s chosen people. In the first annual Jewish Studies Lecture, Rabbi Laura Lieber spoke on how the Song of Songs was taught and understood in the synagogues of the Galilee in the fourth-sixth centuries B.C.
Shandong Provincial Education DepartmentRepresentatives
Shandong Provincial Education DepartmentRepresentatives
June 27, 2017
Pacific Lutheran University welcomed representatives from the Shandong Provincial Education Department and Shandong Foreign Trade Vocational College in China on June 27. Acting President Allan Belton and senior leadership met with the Shandong delegation to sign a letter of mutual understanding on continuing education programs, faculty exchange, student exchange and articulation agreements.
Shamil IdrissCEO of Search for Common Ground
Shamil IdrissCEO of Search for Common Ground
Mar. 1, 2017
Conflict is Inevitable, Violence is Not Shamil Idriss, president and CEO of Search for Common Ground and former deputy director of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, was the keynote speaker for the third biennial Ambassador Chris Stevens Memorial Lecture.
Dian MillionAssociate professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Washington
Dian MillionAssociate professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Washington
Feb. 23, 2017
Genocide and Ecocide: Race and Specie in our Time Dian Million, associate professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Washington, explained that genocide, the apex of crimes against humanity, cannot only focus on humans. Ecocide accompanied the genocide of American Indians and Indigenous people worldwide, where the death of Indian bodies and cultures accompanied the killing and obliteration of our relations and our places.
Abbot TryphonAbbot of All-Merciful Saviour Monastery on Vashon Island
Michelle LongPLU Regent and Unit Manager at Chevron Energy Technology Group
Michelle LongPLU Regent and Unit Manager at Chevron Energy Technology Group
Apr. 5, 2016
PLU Regent Michelle Long ’85 addresses the challenges of finding purpose in life. Long says that experiences leading to vocational discernment sometimes cause the feeling of being stretched in challenging, and possibly uncomfortable, ways. In contrast, experiences that tend not to be helpful in vocational discernment often lead to a feeling of being injured or in pain. Michelle will share stories from her experience that give insight into knowing when you’re “uncomfortable” and when you’re “in pain.”
Sylvia Martinez and Gary S. StagerInnovators in Education
Sylvia Martinez and Gary S. StagerInnovators in Education
Apr. 12, 2016
Guest speakers Sylvia Martinez and Gary S. Stager, Ph.D., address the use of modern tools and technology in education with Pacific Lutheran University’s staff and students in the Regency Room at the Anderson University Center on April 12. The seventh annual Jolita Hylland Benson Education Lecture showcased the technological use of 3-D printing, physical computing and computer science that drives transformations in the learning environment.
Robin DiAngeloCritical Race and Social Justice Educator
Sarah G. EpsteinArt Lecturer and Volunteer
Sarah G. EpsteinArt Lecturer and Volunteer
Apr. 8, 2016
Sarah G. Epstein visits Pacific Lutheran University April 8. Her family foundation owns the largest collection of Edvard Munch prints outside of the Munch Museum in Norway. She lent many pieces to the Tacoma Art Museum for a PLU-sponsored exhibition.
Stephanie Renee CoxOlympic Gold Medalist
Stephanie Renee CoxOlympic Gold Medalist
Mar. 8, 2016
Stephanie Renee Cox, retired professional soccer defender and Olympic gold medalist, speaks to students about comprehensive skills and techniques in the Olson Gymnasium at PLU on March 8. Cox spoke to students about ways to enhance sports performance through imagery, goal setting, self-confidence and team building.
Matsumoto KoichiProfessor of Chinese History
Stefan ParkmanConductor (and Tenor)
Stefan ParkmanConductor (and Tenor)
March 19, 2016
Swedish conductor Stefan Parkman leads rehearsal for St. Matthew Passion in the Mary Baker Russell Music Center at PLU on March 19. Rehearsal was conducted with PLU’s Evangelist Quartet, Choir of the West and Choral Union. (Photo: Robert R. Carrasco ’18/PLU)
Valerie SegrestNutrition Educator
Freedom Education Project Puget SoundWang Symposium Panel
Shane LopezPsychologist and Researcher
Vandana Shiva, Ph.D.Author, Activist, Pioneer
Vandana Shiva, Ph.D.Author, Activist, Pioneer
Feb. 26, 2016
Vandana Shiva, Ph.D. and founder of Navdanya, delivers the keynote speech titled "Seeds of Freedom, Gardens of Hope" to close the Wang Center Symposium "The Countenance of Hope" and open the Food Symposium "Food and the Environment" at PLU on Feb. 26.
Steinar Bryn, Ph.D.Noble Peace Prize Nominee
Simon CarringtonChoral Conductor
Simon CarringtonChoral Conductor
Nov. 11, 2015
In November, the Choir of the West performed under the direction of Simon Carrington, one of the world’s foremost choral conductors, at PLU and as the featured ensemble for the National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO) Conference, held in Portland.
Jesse FreestonVideo Journalist
Jesse FreestonVideo Journalist
Nov. 12, 2015
After screenings and film festivals and cinemas throughout the world, the acclaimed documentary ``Resistencia: The Fight for The Aguan Valley`` was screened at on Nov. 12 as part of the “Language and Literatures Film Festival Series.” Director Jesse Freeston, a video-journalist based in Montréal, Québec, lead a post-film discussion exploring the resistance to the 2009 Honduran coup d’état.
Dr. Janice E. Brunstrom-Hernandez '82St. Louis Children's Hospital
Dean SpadeSeattle University School of Law
Peter SerkoWriter-Performer
Shyan Selah and Paula BoggsSeattle Music Stars
iDebate RwandaRwanda's Top Young Debaters
iDebate RwandaRwanda's Top Young Debaters
Sep. 2015
As part of the group’s 2015 U.S. tour, “Voices from the Post-Genocide Generation,” four of Rwanda’s top young debaters spent two days at PLU in September, immersing themselves in campus life and presenting a moving, enlightening evening of personal storytelling and public debate.
Angela Meade '01 and J.A.C. RedfordMetropolitan Opera
Angela Meade '01 and J.A.C. RedfordMetropolitan Opera
Dec. 11, 2015
A special one-night-only 125th Anniversary Gala Christmas Concert on Dec. 11 featured the New York-based Metropolitan Opera soprano/ PLU alumna and the prolific Hollywood film composer, who premiered his three-movement work A Christmas Invitation, written especially for PLU’s world-renowned Choir of the West, University Chorale and University Symphony Orchestra.
Dr. Darren DochukUniversity of Notre Dame
Dr. Darren DochukUniversity of Notre Dame
Oct. 28, 2015
The Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of Notre Dame delivered the 10th Annual David and Marilyn Knutson Lecture on Oct. 28: "Crude Awakenings: The Faith, Politics and Crises of Oil in America’s Century."
Angela Meade '01Opera Star
Marissa Meyer '04Author
Lisa FruchtmanFilmmaker
Lisa FruchtmanFilmmaker
Oct. 28, 2014
Academy Award-winning filmmaker Lisa Fruchtman (The Right Stuff) took questions from a very engaged PLU crowd at an Oct. 28 screening of the documentary Sweet Dreams, which follows a group of women from both sides of Rwanda’s devastating genocide as they form the country’s first female drumming troupe and then introduce Rwanda to ice cream. The beyond-sold-out event was a campus- and community-wide collaboration led by PLU’s Office of Holocaust and Genocide Studies; Tacoma’s Ice Cream Social provided treats afterward. (Photo: John Froshauer/PLU)
Matt BakerGuinness World Record Holder
Matt BakerGuinness World Record Holder
Nov 8, 2014
The five-time Guinness World Record Holder, who’s appeared on Tosh.0, Last Comic Standing and America’s Got Talent, brought his one-of-a-kind comedy and variety show to PLU during Family Weekend Nov. 8 and entertained a roomful of prospective Lutes with juggling, magic and intense audience participation. (Photo: John Struzenberg ’16)
Opera Workshop
Opera Workshop
July 13 - 20, 2014
PLU’s Summer Opera Workshop, held July 13-20, brought together a veritable Who’s Who of creative professionals to help participants stage performances of Barber in Seville. In addition to hometown stars James L. Brown, Chair of Vocal Studies and Director of Opera at PLU, and PLU Opera Music Director Sheila Bristow, renowned guest faculty included voice instructors and critically acclaimed singers Barry Johnson (baritone) and Janeanne Houston (soprano; pictured); pianist Amy Boers; certified yoga instructor Lisa Clovis, an alumna of the Opera Workshop; and Vadne Domeika, Associate Artistic Director of Dance Theatre Northwest.
Namibia NinePLU-Produced Documentary
Namibia NinePLU-Produced Documentary
View Story & Video
Feb. 28, 2015
Six of the subjects of Namibia Nine, a PLU-produced documentary depicting the journey of nine Namibian students back in their homeland after graduating from Pacific Lutheran University, returned to campus for the packed film premiere on Feb. 28.View Story & Video
Lyanda Lynn HauptAuthor
The DeaconsMusicians
The DeaconsMusicians
Oct. 4, 2014
PLU’s own 1960s-era No. 1 rock ’n’ roll band returned to campus Oct. 4 for a truly rocking reunion as part of the 2014 Homecoming Fall Festival. Four of the five band members—bassist Michael Boyd ’68, saxophonist John Radke ’68, lead singer John Sandvig ’68 and drummer Jim Sola ’68—formed the band at PLU in 1964 (along with guitarist Dave “Duke” Luther, an import from Seattle’s Lutheran Bible Institute). (Photo: John Froshauer/PLU)
Margaret JacobsAward-Winning Historian
Margaret JacobsAward-Winning Historian
Feb. 25, 2015
The award-winning historian and Chancellor’s Professor of History at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln discussed her book, A Generation Removed: The Fostering and Adoption of Indigenous Children in the Postwar World, on Feb. 25 in PLU’s 41st Annual Walter C. Schnackenberg Memorial Lecture.
Stephanie BlytheInternational Opera Star
Crystal AikinGospel Music Star
Jerry WhiteNobel Peace Prize Co-Recipient
Jerry WhiteNobel Peace Prize Co-Recipient
Feb. 21, 2014
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Jerry White, co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, was one of the distinguished keynote speakers at the sixth annual Wang Center Symposium, Legacies of the Shoah: Understanding Genocide, War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity.
Joel HarringtonProfessor
Pierre SauvageHolocaust Survivor
Pierre SauvageHolocaust Survivor
March 12-14, 2014
Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Pierre Sauvage, a child survivor of the Holocaust, joined distinguished presenters Nelly Trocmé Hewett (at left), whose parents played a crucial role in saving 5,000 Jewish lives in Le Chambon-sur-Lignon; author and History Professor Christopher Browning; award-winning author and Professor Susannah Heschel; and others at the seventh annual Powell-Heller Conference for Holocaust Education.
Milton ChenEducation Expert
Milton ChenEducation Expert
April 17, 2014
For the annual Jolita Hylland Benson Education Lecture, Dr. Milton Chen, senior fellow and executive director emeritus at The George Lucas Educational Foundation, discussed how school systems are reinventing themselves; his talk was titled, "Education Nation: Six Leading Edges of Innovation in Our Schools.
The Rev. Dr. Monica ColemanTheologian/Activist
The Rev. Dr. Monica ColemanTheologian/Activist
Oct. 22, 2014
Womanist, theologian, scholar and activist Coleman, renowned for her commitment to connecting faith and social justice, spent the afternoon of Oct. 22 talking deep topics with students in Harstad Hall (before joining in this fun selfie; that’s Dr. Coleman to the right of the photographer) and then delivering the David & Marilyn Knutson Lecture ("You Can Have it All: Theorizing Transreligious Spirituality from the Field of Black Studies”) to a packed Karen Hille Phillips Center. (Photo: John Froschauer/PLU)
His Majesty King Harald Vof Norway
His Majesty King Harald Vof Norway
May 23, 2015
In honor of PLU’s 125th anniversary, His Majesty King Harald V of Norway was scheduled to visit campus on May 23 and speak at PLU’s Commencement ceremony, where he was to receive a Doctor of Laws jure dignitatis. (His visit didn’t coincide with the deadline for ResoLUTE, though, so please check our upcoming special 125th Anniversary edition in September for full coverage.)
Dr. Carolyn WestUniversity of Washington
Ela Stein WeissbergerHolocaust Survivor
Dr. Carolyn FinneyUC-Berkeley
Dr. Carolyn FinneyUC-Berkeley
Sept. 3, 2014
The assistant professor of Environmental Science, Policy & Management at the University of California-Berkeley and author of Black Faces, White Spaces was the guest speaker at PLU’s University Conference 2014 on Sept. 3. She spoke personally and eloquently on the intersections of diversity, justice and sustainability in a talk titled “Hard Times Require Furious Dancing: Environmental Change, Difference & Dreaming Into the Future.” (Photo: John Froschauer/PLU)
Rev. Elizabeth EatonELCA Presiding Bishop
Rev. Elizabeth EatonELCA Presiding Bishop
Nov 1, 2014
In a historic event presented by The Southwestern Washington Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and Pacific Lutheran University, ELCA Presiding Bishop the Rev. Elizabeth Eaton spoke at PLU on Nov. 1—her first public appearance in the region. Her talk was titled, “Who is Leading Us, and Where Are We Going?”
Cathrine SandnesNorwegian Journalist
Cathrine SandnesNorwegian Journalist
Nov. 17, 2014
Norwegian journalist and journal editor Cathrine Sandnes presented the 2014 Bjug Harstad Memorial Lecture on Nov. 17, addressing gender equality and the status of women in contemporary Norwegian society in her talk, “Why Norwegian Women Can Have it All.”
Norm DicksFormer U.S. Representative
Denny HeckCongressman
Christine GregoireFormer Governor
Christine GregoireFormer Governor
April 22, 2014
Former Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire presented the Earth Day lecture, focusing on her record of environmental stewardship.Read the story
www.plu.edu/news/2014/04/gregoire/
Dr. Dune IvesPaul Allen Family Foundation Co-Manager
Dr. Dune IvesPaul Allen Family Foundation Co-Manager