PLU College of Liberal Studies

05/28/2026

Have you asked yourself if you should get a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing?
You have?
That's great!
This short video, featuring our Director of the Master of Fine Arts program, Rick Barot, will give you some excellent reasons why pursuing that degree at PLU is a fantastic idea.
https://youtu.be/hU4It6CerqY?si=U18yOfcpfrCT9wor

And for more information about the program, please visit: https://www.plu.edu/mfa/

Professor Rick Barot, a teacher and a poet, has one minute to descr...

05/26/2026

We are so proud of all of our graduates!
If you would like to watch the 2026 College of Liberal Studies Commencement Ceremony, please visit: https://www.youtube.com/live/MTX-S096TEo?si=wcu5qGbc30EdQtaM
(to view just the ceremony, skip ahead to 56:18 - but please enjoy the many views of our grads and programs that proceed the livestream!)

05/24/2026

05/12/2026

Our capstone sessions are in full swing, beginning this week!

As a part of their academic majors, Pacific Lutheran University seniors complete a significant project, paper, or internship – a “capstone” to their academic careers – that is presented to an open forum.

The College of Liberal Studies invites all students, faculty, and the public to visit our Capstone webpages for a view at some of this year’s presentations.

https://www.plu.edu/liberal-studies/capstones-2026/

05/04/2026

We are very excited to bring both film and filmmaker to you!
Please visit the link in post to register for this free, in-person event.

Please join us for the 2026 Natalie Mayer Lecture in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, as we present " My Underground Mother", a film by Marisa Fox.

Tuesday, May 5th - 6:30 pm - Xavier Hall, Room 201.

“You think you know your mother until you don’t,” says filmmaker Marisa Fox. Tamar was a New York doctor’s wife who claimed she fled her native Poland on the cusp of World War II and was never a Holocaust “victim.” Twenty years after her death, Fox, a journalist and mother, learns Tamar had a secret identity and chases down leads that span the globe, uncovering a story of N**i trafficking and a defiant band of sisters in a women’s forced labor camp. Dogged research, extraordinary archival imagery and staggeringly candid interviews reveal a portrait of a woman who dared to be the hero of her own story, transforming herself from N**i slave to freedom fighter, from refugee to spy and saboteur, ultimately reinventing herself as a matriarch in America. A real-life story of a daughter coming to terms with a woman who went to extraordinary lengths not to be defined by trauma.”
To learn more, and to register for this remarkable event, please visit:
https://www.plu.edu/hgst/natalie-mayer-endowed-lecture-series/

05/04/2026

Final Day For Submissions!

Putting out the call for 2026 Kurt Mayer Summer Scholars submissions.

The Kurt Mayer Summer Scholars program offers generous financial support for PLU students who complete substantive research projects in Holocaust Studies. Up to 2 fellowships of up to $2500 will be awarded this summer for research, reading, and writing, which must lead to the creations of a major paper on a Holocaust topic.

To learn more about the scholarship requirements and for the submission link, please visit:
https://www.plu.edu/holocaustconference/kurt-mayer-scholarship/

04/30/2026

Please share!

Putting out the call for 2026 Kurt Mayer Summer Scholars submissions.

The Kurt Mayer Summer Scholars program offers generous financial support for PLU students who complete substantive research projects in Holocaust Studies. Up to 2 fellowships of up to $2500 will be awarded this summer for research, reading, and writing, which must lead to the creations of a major paper on a Holocaust topic.

To learn more about the scholarship requirements and for the submission link, please visit:
https://www.plu.edu/holocaustconference/kurt-mayer-scholarship/

04/30/2026

Tuesday, May 5th!
6:30 pm
Nordquist Lecture Hall, Room 201 - Xavier Hall

“You think you know your mother until you don’t,” says filmmaker Marisa Fox. Tamar was a New York doctor’s wife who claimed she fled her native Poland on the cusp of World War II and was never a Holocaust “victim.” Twenty years after her death, Fox, a journalist and mother, learns Tamar had a secret identity and chases down leads that span the globe, uncovering a story of N**i trafficking and a defiant band of sisters in a women’s forced labor camp. Dogged research, extraordinary archival imagery and staggeringly candid interviews reveal a portrait of a woman who dared to be the hero of her own story, transforming herself from N**i slave to freedom fighter, from refugee to spy and saboteur, ultimately reinventing herself as a matriarch in America. A real-life story of a daughter coming to terms with a woman who went to extraordinary lengths not to be defined by trauma.”

To learn more and to register for this in-person event, please visit:
https://www.plu.edu/hgst/natalie-mayer-endowed-lecture-series/

04/28/2026

TONIGHT!

6:30pm, Scandinavian Cultural Center!

The College of Liberal Studies and History Department are thrilled to welcome John Garrison Marks to campus as our 2026 Schnackenberg Memorial Lecture speaker.

A historian and writer whose work has appeared in TIME, Washington Post, and Smithsonian Magazine, Marks currently serves as the Vice President of Research and Engagement at the American Association for State and Local History. Marks’ newest book is Thy Will Be Done: George Washington’s Legacy of Slavery and the Fight for American Memory, published in April 2026.

For more information and to register for this hybrid event, please visit: https://www.plu.edu/history/walter-c-schnackenberg-endowment/walter-schnackenberg-memorial-lecture/

This lecture is free and open to the public through the generous sponsorship of the Schnackenberg family.