Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Pacific Lutheran University
Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) is a private Lutheran university in Parkland, Washington. It was founded by Norwegian Lutheran immigrants in 1890. PLU is sponsored by the 580 congregations of Region I of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. PLU has approximately 2,700 students enrolled. As of 2023, the school employs approximately 238 full-time professors on the 156-acre (63 ha) woodland campus.
PLU’s academic programs into four colleges: the College of Health Professions; the College of Humanities, Interdisciplinary Studies, and Social Sciences; the College of Natural Sciences; and the College of Professional Studies.
The university was chartered by the State of Washington as the Pacific Lutheran Academy on December 11, 1890. In naming the university, the Norwegian immigrants who founded it recognized the role that a Lutheran educational institution on the Western frontier could play in the region. They wanted the institution to help immigrants adjust to their new land and find jobs, but they also wanted it to produce graduates who would serve church and community. Education—and educating for service—was a venerated part of the Scandinavian traditions from which these pioneers came.
Classes first began in 1894 with the student body consisting of 30 students. Tuition at the time cost $1 per week. Bjug Harstad was the school's first president. The entire university was housed in one building from 1894 to 1912. This building was formerly known as Old Main but has since been renamed Harstad Hall in honor of the school's founding president.
In 1898, the university's name was changed to Pacific Lutheran Academy and Business College. Attempting to eliminate the debt plaguing the school, Bjug Harstad left for Alaska to search for gold. He spent one and one half years there but was unable to discover any gold. In 1902, the PLA athletic club celebrated its first victory in men's basketball with a 15–12 win over the University of Washington. Five years later women would be allowed to play basketball.
In 1912, a second building, a gymnasium, was constructed on the university campus. It included a track, a stage, and a science laboratory in the basement. Two years later students built a tennis court in what is now Red Square. By 1914, PLA received full accreditation meaning students could transfer to universities and retain their credits.
Although founded as a university, the institution functioned primarily as an academy until 1918, when it suspended instruction for two years. It reopened as the two-year Pacific Lutheran College, after merging with Columbia Lutheran College, previously located in Everett. Further consolidations occurred when Spokane College merged with PLC in 1929. Four-year baccalaureate degrees were first offered in education in 1939 and in the liberal arts in 1942. The institution was reorganized as a university in 1960, reclaiming its original name.
In 1920, the school merged with Columbia College in Everett, Washington, and reopened as Pacific Lutheran College. The reopening of the school also saw the construction of a new building, the chapel. Classes were held in the chapel until 1967. The chapel was also the home of Trinity Lutheran Church until the congregation built its own church in 1937.
Hub AI
Pacific Lutheran University AI simulator
(@Pacific Lutheran University_simulator)
Pacific Lutheran University
Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) is a private Lutheran university in Parkland, Washington. It was founded by Norwegian Lutheran immigrants in 1890. PLU is sponsored by the 580 congregations of Region I of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. PLU has approximately 2,700 students enrolled. As of 2023, the school employs approximately 238 full-time professors on the 156-acre (63 ha) woodland campus.
PLU’s academic programs into four colleges: the College of Health Professions; the College of Humanities, Interdisciplinary Studies, and Social Sciences; the College of Natural Sciences; and the College of Professional Studies.
The university was chartered by the State of Washington as the Pacific Lutheran Academy on December 11, 1890. In naming the university, the Norwegian immigrants who founded it recognized the role that a Lutheran educational institution on the Western frontier could play in the region. They wanted the institution to help immigrants adjust to their new land and find jobs, but they also wanted it to produce graduates who would serve church and community. Education—and educating for service—was a venerated part of the Scandinavian traditions from which these pioneers came.
Classes first began in 1894 with the student body consisting of 30 students. Tuition at the time cost $1 per week. Bjug Harstad was the school's first president. The entire university was housed in one building from 1894 to 1912. This building was formerly known as Old Main but has since been renamed Harstad Hall in honor of the school's founding president.
In 1898, the university's name was changed to Pacific Lutheran Academy and Business College. Attempting to eliminate the debt plaguing the school, Bjug Harstad left for Alaska to search for gold. He spent one and one half years there but was unable to discover any gold. In 1902, the PLA athletic club celebrated its first victory in men's basketball with a 15–12 win over the University of Washington. Five years later women would be allowed to play basketball.
In 1912, a second building, a gymnasium, was constructed on the university campus. It included a track, a stage, and a science laboratory in the basement. Two years later students built a tennis court in what is now Red Square. By 1914, PLA received full accreditation meaning students could transfer to universities and retain their credits.
Although founded as a university, the institution functioned primarily as an academy until 1918, when it suspended instruction for two years. It reopened as the two-year Pacific Lutheran College, after merging with Columbia Lutheran College, previously located in Everett. Further consolidations occurred when Spokane College merged with PLC in 1929. Four-year baccalaureate degrees were first offered in education in 1939 and in the liberal arts in 1942. The institution was reorganized as a university in 1960, reclaiming its original name.
In 1920, the school merged with Columbia College in Everett, Washington, and reopened as Pacific Lutheran College. The reopening of the school also saw the construction of a new building, the chapel. Classes were held in the chapel until 1967. The chapel was also the home of Trinity Lutheran Church until the congregation built its own church in 1937.