Trees that would give shade to giants dot the ninety-seven-acre campus, and everywhere shades of green, vibrant and varied, are a gorgeous reminder of Puget Sounds spot in the Northwest. On a sunny day- and there are plenty of them, despite the meteorological stereotypes of Washington- Mount Rainer is visible from campus. Amid this natural beauty stand handsome buildings so classically collegiate that they might have been plucked from a New England college. The campus expresses the colleges soul, says President Ronald Thomas. (Pope, 2012, p. 293) The University of Puget Sound is a Private Liberal Arts institution tucked away in the North Western corner of the country in Tacoma, Washington. It is home to about 2,600 students and has a long and rich history within this vibrant region stemming from the Universitys founding in 1888. (About Us, You Ask? 2014) The University of Puget Sounds website provides a comprehensive timeline of events throughout the years of the schools history. Specifically we can understand the universitys inception through the highlighted points provided from this page. 1884 Bishop Charles H. Fowler, former president of Northwestern University, presides over the first Puget Sound Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Conference decides to create a university that will be a "praise in all the land."
3 University of Puget Sound 1887 Port Townsend unwilling to live up to terms of agreement for Methodist College. Committee of four ministers and three bishops created to find a new location.
1888 Puget Sound University incorporated in Tacoma and first board of trustees selected by the church. (1880s, 2014)
The university was founded within the customs of a Private Liberal Arts College and has committed to this institutional profile in their past. Uncovering the journey to the University of Puget Sound we know today is easily done by reading the webpage timeline as well. I chose to focus my understanding of the path the university took to officially adopting the Private Liberal Arts focus that prevails in the curriculum, starting with, whats in a name? The University of Puget Sound renamed itself as a university in January of 1960. This was done to, reflect the addition of graduate programs and increased enrollment. (1880s, 2014) The boom in the history of Higher Education as a whole during this time period impacted the University of Puget Sound, as it did many institutions across the United States. According to author Thomas Brock, as stated in his journal article, Young Adults and Higher Education: Barriers and Breakthroughs to Success, Demographic trends, combined with the social activism of the 1960s, also created pressure for change. As the baby boom generation reached maturity, young adults poured onto college campuses in record numbers. (Young Adults and Higher Education, 2010) According to the Puget Sound timeline, in 1973 the University had 2,910 full-time equivalent students enrolled 4 University of Puget Sound on the main campus and in 1975 the University, failed to reach budgeted enrollment goal for fourth year is a row. (1970s, 2014) In my opinion the events and historical realities that transpired in Higher Educations leading up to the 1980s, created the environment needed to persuade university officials to consider their goals for the future of the institution and the students it would focus on serving. The growing world of colleges and expanding numbers and types of Higher Education institutions lead to the University of Puget Sound making the choices necessary to define themselves within this growing world. In the 1970s, when other universities were embracing the idea of a multiversity, being all things to all people, the faculty and trustees here [University of Puget Sound] agreed that the college must return to its liberal arts roots. (Pope, 2012, p. 294) Following that choice the University began to take action in their approach to return to their roots. In 1986 the Board approved a plan to reduce enrollment to 2,660 students. (1980s, 2014) From this initial decision the universitys enrollment numbers fluctuated throughout the years, often reaching higher enrollment numbers. It wasnt until 1993 that the Carnegie Foundation reclassified Puget Sound as a liberal arts college. (1990s, 2014) This classification can serve as a point of reference in the history of Puget Sound. From here we can to see the University strategically moving and building toward the campus we see today. The key for us at Puget Sound at this moment in our history is not to invent a new story about ourselves, but to understand where our story has taken us and how it might further unfold. Ours cannot just be an account of institutional transformation; it must also be a story of distinction. This is our challenge: to tell that story and make it true by defining our character and the difference it makes. This is the thread that will lead us into the next chapter of a great story and will empower us to define the future and Puget Sounds place in history. (Puget Sound 5 University of Puget Sound Strategic Planning, 2014) This incorporation of history into the present allows Puget Sound to not only inspire pride for the University but inspire pride in the University throughout the years. All pride stemming from those who have had a hand in guiding the path the institution has taken.
Student life at the University of Puget Sound today is shaped by what the institution currently looks like and the experiences of the student body. Starting with the financial level of experience for the students you must begin by looking at the tuition bill. According to the Universitys webpage we can look to see the Cost of Attendance in a broken-down format. Cost of Attendance (201415) Tuition: $43,200 Room and Board: $11,180 (Appendix A) Fees: $228 Total: $54,608 (About Us, You Ask? 2014)
What is important to realize is that with a hefty tuition price tag there is often a larger assistance package granted through financial aid. This is also the case for many Private Liberal Arts Colleges that are similar to the University of Puget Sound. Assistance from Puget Sound looks something like, More than 90 percent of students receive need-based financial aid or merit scholarships Puget Sound provides merit scholarships that range from $5,000 up to the full cost of tuition, room, and board. With an endowment standing around $250 million dollars, the University has been able to provide security and support for students, faculty and staff comfortably. With the investments in the history and future together you can find active alumni and successful donors looking to give back and assist in the development of the University while 6 University of Puget Sound doing their part to help better the experience for the students there today. (About Us, You Ask? 2014) Were kind of quirky here. Students also describe themselves as happy, respectful of others, social, and having interests in academics but also in life outside the classroom. (Pope, 2012, p. 297) My personal reflection on this semester of learning about the Private Liberal Arts College has lead me to make connection between the importance of a community identity and the role it plays within the small home like campus environments of these institutions. At the University of Puget Sound there is a tradition of the UPS Hatchet and the story itself speaks to the quirky nature of the student body and the curious characteristics they portray. The Hatchet was first unearthed by students in 1908 as they were tearing down a barn at the 6th and Sprague campus. The students decided to carve their year of graduation on the old carpenter's hatchet and the tradition became one in which each class would carve in their year when the hatchet was "passed" from the seniors to the juniors on Senior Recognition Day. (1990s, 2014) Since the tradition began it has turned into a competition among the classes to see who could possess the hatchet the longest. Eventually the tradition of "hatchet running" became so dangerous it was finally outlawed in 1965. The hatchet has since disappeared many times, once for over 15 years. In 1998, the hatchet's return was negotiated through an intermediary and the University placed it on permanent display in the Wheelock Student Center. The current President Ron Thomas (Appendix B), who took on this role at the University in 2003, had an encounter with the self-proclaimed hatchet men who anonymously returned the hatchet in 2008. President Thomas wrote an entertaining article titled, The hatchet men, detailing the mysterious return of the hatchet to the campus. The introduction reads, This year marks the 100th 7 University of Puget Sound anniversary of the tradition of The Hatchet, and, just in time for the centennial, the venerable icon of campus high jinks is back where it belongs. How The Hatchet was last stolen and how it came home again is a twisting tale of intrigueas usual. (Defining Moments, 2005) Campus is not just a place that embraces the quirky side of students, it is also a place of caring and respect for students from the top down beginning with the administration. An important fact I learned while reading more about President Thomas is the care he still takes to communicate with students at their level. President Thomas has open office hours between eight and ten every Monday morning, and once a month him and his wife host a fireside dinner for students. An e-mail goes out to the whole student body with an invitation; the first ten students to respond are in. (Pope, 2012, p. 297) It is this care taken by the university leaders and officials, faculty and staff that consistently makes a difference within the lives of students at the University of Puget Sound. The campus does also host a generous range of options for students to spend time dedicating themselves to hobbies they wish to pursue. The campus boasts over 100+ wide ranging organizations and clubs including Greek- letter organizations. Engaging the active student body on all levels of interest ranging from personal, to academic to extra- curricular, the 90% graduation rate within 4 years from their students institutes an understanding that something is being done right in terms of student life at the Puget Sound. Student life at the University of Puget Sound takes shape in more than just the Universitys quirky student personalities and engaging campus environment. From the day the University of Puget Sound was established by the citizens of Tacoma in 1888 (the year the city was incorporated) the University of Puget Sound and the greater Tacoma community have been more than neighbors, they have been partners (Community Engagement, 2014). The whole 8 University of Puget Sound institution, including its programs in support of both the academic side of development and through the Division of Student Affairs, encompasses an underlying focus of the bigger community picture. Understanding the University of Puget Sound means understanding the community they are a part of. Its not often that universities make such targeted efforts to incorporate their surrounding environments into their education and student life. This unique approach by the university inspired me to better understand the issues the area of Puget Sound is currently dealing with to in turn take a unique viewpoint on the discussion of the challenges the institution is currently facing. Puget Sound is called home by about 4.4 million people, accounting for about 67% of Washington States entire population. (Saving the Sound) So indeed a large majority of the challenges being faced in the area are environmental in nature. Understanding this you must first develop a better picture of the marine life of the area. Puget Sound is the second largest estuary in the United States. Only Chesapeake Bay is larger. The Puget Sound estuary is an arm of the Pacific Ocean that extends inland where it meets 19 different river basins. The Sound experiences tidal flows and there is a changing mixture of fresh and salt waters... Unlike Chesapeake Bay, Puget Sound includes vast stretches of deep, open waters, shallow bays and inlets, and muddy to sandy to rocky sediments underneath.(Saving the Sound). The important thing to note here is not just that Puget Sound is home to one of the nations largest estuaries, but rather what that means to the community and to a community specifically with a rapidly growing population. (Appendix C) As ecosystems, estuaries are under threat from human activities such as pollution and overfishing. They are also threatened by sewage, coastal settlement, land clearance and much more. Estuaries are affected by events far upstream, and concentrate materials such as pollutants and sediments. (Estuary, 2014) Puget Sound boasts one of the 9 University of Puget Sound largest concentrations of the population within the state of Washington. Taking into consideration the expansion of people requiring space and the development of the land within this area, you can start to piece together where the issues of this community are springing from. The Department of Ecology for the state of Washington has created a Saving the Sound campaign to help educate the population of city livers on how they too can join in and spread awareness within the community. This campaign has multiple aspects within it. The education of the public aspect focuses on topics like manure management, dog poop, yard care, septic maintenance, car maintenance, car washing and boat maintenance tips. (Saving Puget Sound) In relation to how the University of Puget Sound works to educate their community of college students you see an approach of intentionality with a keen eye for continued campus development and the ability to interconnect the classroom with the larger picture of real life context. The university's engagement with the community has been widely praised, including recognition from: Cross District Association of Tacoma, which named Puget Sound its Community Partner of the year in both 2007 and 2010 American Red Cross, which honored Puget Sound with its Good Neighbor Award in 2010 for our work on the Zinna Linnik project Pierce County AIDS Foundation, which recognized Puget Sound for its commitment to the community with the foundation's Community Service Award for 2008 Pierce County Department of Community Services and the Road Home Leadership Team, which recognized Puget Sound with its Systems Change Achievement award in 2008 for our contributions to ending homelessness in Pierce County United Way of Pierce County, which honored Puget Sound's highly successful Workplace Giving Campaigns in 2006 and 2007 According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, Puget Sound was also named to the President's National Honor Roll for Higher Education Community Service in 10 University of Puget Sound both 2006 and 2007. (Corporation for National) Although the University has been recognized nationally for its time, dedication and resources devoted to service within their surrounding community, the student body continues to respond by challenging the institution to do more. Recognizing that the University does an excellent job of focusing on community service and experiential learning both outside and inside the classroom allows us to recognize what this dedication to involvement brings to the campus as a whole. The idea of servant leadership can be assumed here. Servant leadership is a philosophy and set of practices that enriches the lives of individuals, builds better organizations and ultimately creates a more just and caring world. (What Is Servant Leadership) The phrase servant leadership was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in The Servant as Leader, an essay that he first published in 1970. In that essay, Greenleaf said, The servant-leader is servant first It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessionsThe leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature. (What Is Servant Leadership) This idealism is important to recognize because not only does it play into the current student body and student experience it also further defines the community identity. The influence can also be seen in the future goals student set for themselves and the future of Puget Sound. We can also connect the impact of this type of learning environment on the alumni and their actions post-graduation from the University of Puget Sound. These experiences influence students long after they graduate. The college has ranked in the top ten small colleges for producing Peace Corps volunteers since 2001, when the 11 University of Puget Sound Peace Corps began issuing its annual report. In 2011, Puget Sound tied for seventeenth among small schools for the number of graduates who joined Teach for America. (Pope, 2012, p. 298) It is within the curriculum that we see the melting pot of ideas begin to come together in a structured way that enriches the education and experience of the students. Our engagement work is aimed at connecting the university's academic assets and personal resources to the community in order to create and support a variety of projects and programs. The common purpose of these programs is to collaborate with stakeholders in enhancing the quality of life of our neighborhood, our great city of Tacoma, and the Puget Sound region as we enrich the educational experience of our learning community and advance the frontiers of knowledge. (Community Engagement, 2014) Advancing the frontier of knowledge stems heavily from the unique structure of programs of study. The refocusing to a liberal arts approach by the University of Puget Sound provides for a vision of collaboration within academic fields. Its devotion to the liberal arts feels less like the assumed love between an old married couple and more like the passion of newlyweds: exciting and enchanting, hopeful and forward looking. (Pope, 2012, p. 294) Faculty enjoy the stimulating environment of creating change and advancement of the current state of their professional fields. For proof, look to the colleges curriculum, which is full of interdisciplinary programs, valuable for their emphasis on connecting ideas from different fields. (Pope, 2012, p. 294) Though the issues of faculty and staff security are present at many Private Liberal Arts Colleges across the nation currently, the faculty at Puget Sound find themselves in a more stable predicament. The average class size is about 18 students and the faculty to staff ratio is standing at 12:1. There are about 93% of the faculty that are full time and 12 University of Puget Sound those holding a doctorate or equivalent are 99% of tenure-line faculty. (About Us, You Ask? 2014) These facts alone help provide an environment for not only student success but also faculty success, which holds the key to the forward thinking attitude that fuels the campus. The faculty are eager to work with students and to serve as mentors and role models to their students. Many faculty members represent the epitome of a good professor and students rant about the quality of the teaching at Puget Sound. The faculty not only serve as teachers they do their fair share of research and development within their fields. The interdisciplinary nature of the curriculum and programs of study are inspired by the ideas of students and faculty often pushing the boundaries of knowledge together to expand the depth of understanding we hold in the present day of our fields of study. But the faculty here like to dream up new courses and expand offerings as their fields grow, change and overlap. (POPE, 2012, p. 294) Something like an exceptional student creating a Special Disciplinary Major (SIM) in combination of multiple academic interests is not unheard of at the University. This attitude toward growth and change does wonders for the creativity found in the classrooms all across campus. Alongside the unique collaborative approach to learning there is a core liberal arts education. Puget Sound provides a four-year core curriculum, as is traditional in the liberal arts, and the offer of more than 50 traditional and interdisciplinary programs to choose from are. Over 1,200 courses are offered annually and there is a restriction at Puget Sound that all students must wait to declare their major within their sophomore year. The delayed timing allows for more exploration and reflection many students need during this often daunting time in their lives as young adults. (About Us, You Ask? 2014) 13 University of Puget Sound The themes of experiential learning expand beyond the classroom and the Tacoma community for the students of Puget Sound. The learning expands out to the global community through the Universitys intentional and poignant investment in the study abroad experience. In 1963 the Study Abroad program began and funding for these programs quickly followed suit as well. (1880s, 2014) Although the University has multiple study abroad experiences for students to choose from today, The Pac Rim experience stands alone in comparison (Appendix D). In 1973 The Pac Rim experience assumed the reoccurring three year structure it still abides by today. (1880s, 2014) As a noted Study Abroad program of the University, The Pac Rim experience strips away a students assumptions and gives her powerful academic and personal experiences. She sees for herself the cultural, political, and economic influences of each place and expands her understanding of global affairs. (Pope, 2012 p. 296) A program that provides personal understanding to a student and knowledge they will need to have prior to departing as well as prefacing them for the knowledge they will likely gain throughout the experience, ultimately provides a more quality program for the students. This process also helps evade or reduce the likelihood of disaster tourism, a term I learned from the 10 Myths of Social Justice, presentation given by Vernon Wall at the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) Convention in late March. The term disaster tourism explains the issues faced by communities when students visiting from affluent environments visit communities abroad (or at home in the nation) without the proper level of self-awareness and personal contextual understanding. A common culprit of this phenomenon is both spring break trips and study abroad programs. 14 University of Puget Sound Quality assurance has been an underlying theme throughout this process of discovery of Puget Sound. This extends to the environmental realm, academic realm, professional realm and personal realm of the student experience at the University of Puget Sound. The quality of the experience aligns with the mission the University holds itself to. The mission of the university is to develop in its students capacities for critical analysis, aesthetic appreciation, sound judgment, and apt expression that will sustain a lifetime of intellectual curiosity, active inquiry, and reasoned independence. (Mission Statement, 2014) It is through this mission of the University that we see the accomplishments being made and the plans for the future being constructed to continually grow Puget Sound. In fall 2003, the university began the first phase of a 20-year master plan. This comprehensive plan will build on the university's strengths and make improvements that will enhance the value of the institution for all who participate in the life of the campus. (2023 Master Plan, 2014) Within this master plan set for 2023, the focus will be upon environmental construction as well as the strategic planning goals that have been identified. There are four objectives of the overall strategic plan for the university. They are as follows: INNOVATE: Enhance and distinguish the Puget Sound experience.
INSPIRE: Build an inspiring physical environment for learning.
ENGAGE: Forge lifelong relationships.
INVEST: Strengthen our financial position. (Puget Sound Strategic Planning, 2014) 15 University of Puget Sound Of the 2,600 students currently attending the University of Puget Sound the percentage breakdown by gender stands at 43% men and 57% women who are attending from 44 states, 16 countries and 76% are from outside Washington State. (Diversity Strategic Plan, 2014) The Universitys strategic planning does not just focus its efforts in one capacity, but rater multiple factors of planning for the future are considered and taken into account. Puget Sound aims for a diverse campus by considering their current institutional profile and creating a Diversity Strategic Plan as well. The current population hosts a student body of: African American 3% Asian/Pacific Islander 12% Caucasian 74% Hispanic/Latino 6% Native American 2% Other 3% International approximately 1% To become a more diverse campus the strategic planning committee laid the ground work by identifying the moves that will receive concentrated efforts and funding to move progressively toward the identified goals below. (Diversity Strategic Plan, 2014) Goal One We will increase the recruitment and retention of students, staff, and faculty from underrepresented minority groups. Goal Two We will create a campus environment that fully welcomes and supports social diversity. Goal Three 16 University of Puget Sound We will improve working and business relationships with race/ethnic and other diverse communities in the Puget Sound region. Goal Four We will be accountable for implementing the diversity strategic plan and working toward achieving diversity goals. (Diversity Strategic Plan, 2014) In 2013 the University of Puget Sound celebrated 125 years as a university. A deep rich history is not complete without the involvement of those who have made that history come alive. Alumni express deep gratitude for what the college did for them. An executive of Netflix and a 1992 alumnus expressed his feelings about his alma mater. Puget Sound taught me that really, its up to you to choose your path... It gives you opportunities and makes the consequences of failure low. It taught me to take chances and to be an outside-the-box thinkerThe people who are going to solve the problems of the world are the ones who see the problem differently from anyone else. Puget Sound helped me with that, and I look for people who can do that too. (Pope, 2012, p. 298) The phrase Once a logger, always a logger, resounds as more than just a saying and instead is taken to heart by all those who have lived there. One of our greatest sources of pride is the alumni of this university, who distinguish themselves at such a high level throughout the world and throughout the range of human experience. They embody the spirit of leadership and innovation we have identified above and form a remarkable group of individuals in their communities. (Defining Moments, 2005) The University provides its students an institution equip to inspire growth and learning about themselves and the environment they live in. Through their experiences these students come away from the University of Puget Sound ready to not only pursue their dreams, but to also create positive change in our world.
17 University of Puget Sound Resources A Sound Past (2014) Retrieved From: http://www.pugetsound.edu/about/history-traditions/
About Us, You Ask? (2014) Retrieved From: http://www.pugetsound.edu/about/
Brock, T. (2010). Young Adults and Higher Education: Barriers and Breakthroughs to Success, Transition to Adulthood, Vol 20, Issue 1, Retrieved from: http://futureofchildren.org/publications/journals/article/index.xml?journalid=72&articleid =523§ionid=3589
Community Engagement (2014) Retrieved From: http://www.pugetsound.edu/community/
Corporation for Nationals and Community Service (N.D) Retrieved From: http://www.nationalservice.gov/
Defining Moments: A Vision for the University of Puget Sound. (2005) Retrieved From: http://www.pugetsound.edu/about/history-traditions/defining-moments/
Diversity Strategic Plan. (2014) Retrieved From: http://www.pugetsound.edu/about/diversity-at-puget-sound/diversity- strategic-plan/ 18 University of Puget Sound Estuary (2014) Retrieved From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estuary