University of Puget Sound The University of Puget Sound ( Puget Sound or UPS ) is a private liberal arts college located in the North End of Tacoma , Washington , in the United States . It is the only nationally ranked independent undergraduate liberal arts college in Western Washington , and one of only seventeen west of the Mississippi River . It offers Bachelor of Arts , Bachelor of Science , Bachelor of Music , Master of Arts in Teaching , Master of Education , Master of Occupational Therapy , and Doctor of Physical Therapy degrees . As of 2010 , it has an undergraduate enrollment of 2 , 632 and a graduate enrollment of 209 . The school draws students from 48 states and 20 countries . It offers 1 , 200 courses each year in more than 50 major fields . In the 1970s the university was widely known for its freewheeling social life , but throughout the 1980s and 1990s , the focus increasingly shifted to academics . Now , Puget Sound is a nationally ranked institution enjoying top academic marks from third party evaluators and college guides . In 2009 , U . S . News & World Report ranked it 80th in a list of the top liberal arts colleges in the United States . The university maintains a relationship with The United Methodist Church . History . The University of Puget Sound was founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1888 in downtown Tacoma . Charles Henry Fowler , who had previously been the president of Northwestern University , dreamed up the idea for the college while in Tacoma for a Methodist conference . He spoke at the conference with his vision of a Christian institution of learning . The conference released a report : Two cities vied for the location of the school : Port Townsend and Tacoma . The committee eventually decided on Tacoma . A charter was drawn up and filed in Olympia on March 17 , 1888 . This date marks the legal beginning of the school . At this time , the school ' s legal title was " The Puget Sound University " . In September 1890 , UPS opened its doors , taking in 88 students . The beginnings of the school were marked by moral conviction : students were warned against intoxicating liquors , visits to saloons , gambling , tobacco use , and obscene drawings or writings on the college grounds . The university also had a financially tumultuous beginning . There was no endowment and the school often struggled for funds to pay the professors . It moved locations three times in 13 years and , at one time , the school was merged with Portland University ( former campus is now the University of Portland ) . It opened up a year later ( 1899 ) back in Tacoma on the 9th and G Street . In 1903 , the school was " reborn " and re - incorporated as a different entity , different trustees , and a different name : the " University of Puget Sound " . The character of the school changed dramatically during the presidency of Edward H . Todd ( 1913 – 1942 ) , who worked tirelessly to bring financial and academic stability . During his tenure , the " Million Dollar Campaign " was started , raising $ 1 , 022 , 723 for buildings , equipment , and endowment . With this money , the campus moved in 1924 to its current location in the residential North End of Tacoma , with five buildings , setting a stylistic tone for the institution . In 1914 the university was renamed the " College of Puget Sound " . President R . Franklin Thompson ( 1942 – 1973 ) led a massive physical and institutional expansion : During this era almost all of the university ' s buildings were constructed . In 1960 , the university ' s name changed from the " College of Puget Sound " back to the " University of Puget Sound " , as it is known today . Phillip M . Phibbs presided from 1973 to 1992 and endeavored to change the tone of Puget Sound . In 1980 , the university divested its attachment with the Methodist Church , and an independent board of trustees assumed full fiscal responsibility of the university . Also during this time , the university began to focus on undergraduate education excellence , phasing out all off - campus programs except the law school and most graduate programs . During this time the library collections were broadened and the faculty greatly expanded . With the advent of President Susan Resneck Pierce ( 1992 – 2003 ) , the law school was promptly sold to Seattle University , in a move that was calculated to focus the university ' s resources on its undergraduate campus . During her tenure , the University completed almost $ 100 million of new construction and renovation Collins Memorial Library and four academic buildings were renovated , and Wyatt Hall was constructed to house the growing class and office space needs of the Humanities Department . Trimble Residence Hall was constructed , bringing on - campus student residency to 65 % . SAT scores rose from 1067 to 1253 and the endowment more than tripled . Puget Sound ' s newest President is Ronald R . Thomas , affectionately called " Ron Thom " by many students , a scholar of Victorian literature , and the former vice - President of Trinity College . Thompson Hall , home of the sciences at the university , underwent a major renovation , including the construction of a new wing ( Harned Hall , completed 2006 ) on the building ' s western side against Union Avenue and extensive renovations to the current wings and courtyard to allow for upgraded labs and facilities . The entire project was completed in mid 2008 . The entire complex is now known locally as " The Science Center " . The now completely enclosed courtyard contains a striking Plexiglas structure where a new coffee shop , the Oppenheimer Cafe , is located . ∗ Prof . Charles O . Boyer ( acting president , 1901 – 1903 ) Campus . The campus is located in North Tacoma , Washington in a primarily residential setting a few minutes ' walk from downtown Proctor and the Sixth Avenue district . President Ron Thomas recently initiated a campus " Master Plan " in order to preserve and expand the campus aesthetically and fundamentally . The plan will increase on - campus housing to 75 % as well as allow for the construction of a number of new buildings . The campus is made up of mainly brick buildings in the Tudor - Gothic architectural style . Buildings are mostly arranged into quads . The three main quads are the North Quad and South Quad , which contain residence halls , and Karlen Quad , which contains Jones Hall , Collins Memorial Library and the Music Building . The library was designed by Tacoma architect Silas E . Nelsen in 1954 . It was later renovated . President Thomas recently wrote a piece explaining his opinion that new buildings should maintain the gothic style that the university is known for . Academic buildings . Harned Hall , named for alumnus and local real estate developer H . C . " Joe " Harned , was dedicated on September 29 , 2006 . The building is and cost $ 25 million to construct . It was designed and built to meet the US Green Building Council ' s LEED Silver Standard . The building features labs for biology , geology , chemistry , environmental science , and physics , a courtyard with a crystalline glass gazebo in the center , a Foucault pendulum designed by Alan Thorndike , as well as Gray whale skeleton named Willy . After Harned Hall was completed , the university began a $ 38 million renovation of Thompson Hall , the " old " science building . Harned and Thompson Halls form a square with a courtyard in the middle that are collectively named the Science Center . Thompson Hall has an area of and was originally constructed in 1968 . The renovation was completed in spring 2008 . Wyatt Hall is the second newest academic building on campus , dedicated in 2003 . It houses the English , History , Foreign Languages & Literature , Politics & Government , Philosophy , Honors , Science Technology & Society , Classics , and Religion departments . Many of the classrooms in the building are seminar style , meaning a circle of tables that students sit at to encourage discussion between students and the professor , rather than a lecture . The building features glass art by Dale Chihuly that represents the ivy leaves covering the campus buildings . The Wheelock Student Center , known as the " SUB " ( Student Union Building ) is the main hub of life on campus . It features a rotunda used for lectures and catered events , KUPS ( the campus radio station ) , the cafeteria and dining area , Diversions Cafe ( a student - run coffee shop ) , and The Cellar ( a student - run pizza parlor ) . Other buildings include McIntyre Hall , home of the School of Business and Leadership , the departments of Economics , Comparative Sociology and International Political Economy , Howarth Hall , home of the psychology and education departments , Jones Hall , home of theatre arts , communications and several administrative offices including the Office of the President and the Music Building ( which is the only building on campus without a name ) . Kittredge Hall , the original student union building , now houses the art department and Kittredge Art Gallery . The Gallery is now affiliated with the Tacoma Art Museum . Collins Memorial Library houses over 400 , 000 books and over 130 , 000 periodicals , is a partial federal government repository , and has substantial microform holdings . The Library was named after former trustee Everill S . Collins . The current Library building was built in 1954 . A larger addition was completed in 1974 . In 2000 , a major renovation brought new technology and media resources into the Library ' s spaces , making it one of the most popular campus gathering places for students . Construction for the Center for Health Sciences began in spring 2010 . At , the center will provide the resources and flexibility needed to support new areas of study in the fields of health and behavioral sciences . Designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson / Seattle , the center will conform to the U . S . Green Building Council ' s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ( LEED ) Silver standards . Residential buildings . Harrington , Schiff , Anderson / Langdon , Smith , and University halls make up what is called the " North Quad " , and Todd / Phibbs , Regester , Seward , and Trimble make up the " South Quad " . Theme Row , which runs to the south end of campus , contains around 20 different theme houses that students may apply to live in . The Music House is the longest standing house , originating in 1989 . After the Music House , the Outhaus and the Track and Cross Country Theme House are the two longest standing houses . There are also about 60 non - theme university - owned houses available . Currently around 65 % of students live on campus . Students are required to live on campus for their first two years of enrollment at the university . In 2009 , the university upgraded residential Internet bandwidth by more than two - fold , to 100 Mbit / s . During that year , a new connection to the Washington State K - 20 Educational Network was also installed , bringing the university ' s aggregate bandwidth to 150 Mbit / s . Further bandwidth upgrades have brought student bandwidth to 250 Mbit / s for the 2012 - 13 academic year . Academics . Profile . The university offers more than 40 major programs in the liberal arts and sciences , as well as graduate programs in occupational therapy , physical therapy , and education . The student to faculty ratio is 11 to 1 . The University is consistently ranked among the top five small liberal arts colleges for the number of graduates who participate in Peace Corps ; in 2007 , it ranked first . University of Puget Sound was ranked one of The Advocate ' s " Top 20 College Campuses for Lesbian , Gay , Bisexual , and Transsexual students " , getting 19 out of a possible 20 points . The demographics of the surrounding area are 76 % White , 7 % Black , 6 % Hispanic , 6 % Asian , and 1 % Native American . International programs . The university sponsors study abroad programs in Argentina , Australia , Austria , Chile , China , Costa Rica , England , France , Germany , Greece , Ireland , Italy , Japan , the Netherlands , New Zealand , the Pacific Rim , Scotland , Spain , Taiwan , and Wales . The program in the Pacific Rim , known as PacRim , or the Pacific Rim / Asia Study - Travel Program ( PRAST ) is unique to UPS . Every three years a group of 15 - 25 students are selected to spend two semesters traveling , studying , and researching in eight Asian countries . Students must have taken three courses in the Asian Studies program and completed a course of readings assigned by the director . Over the program ' s thirty year history students have visited : Mongolia , People ' s Republic of China , Japan , South Korea , India , Nepal , Vietnam , Thailand , Cambodia , Malaysia , Sri Lanka , Indonesia , Papua New Guinea , Fiji , Australia , New Zealand , Iran , and Yugoslavia . Previous lecturers have included : Johan Galtung , Ken Yeang , Dr . M . S . Nagaraja Rao , Jack Weatherford , His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama , His Holiness Swasti Sri Charukeerthi Bhattaraka , Ogyen Trinley Dorje , Khyongla Rato Rinpoche , and Sogyal Rinpoche . The number of students at UPS who study abroad has increased from 17 % to 40 % from 1998 to 2008 . Tuition and finances . For 2009 - 2010 , the cost of attendance ( tuition , room , board , and fees ) is $ 44 , 900 , which is consistent with other liberal arts colleges of its caliber . Although the college is viewed as expensive by most students , it has a reputation for being generous with financial aid . More than 90 % of all students receive some form of financial aid . In the 2008 - 2009 academic year , for students who qualified for need - based assistance , the middle 50 % of aid packages were between $ 20 , 690 and $ 38 , 665 . There are three scholarships attainable by incoming freshmen based on the academic strength of the application ( these are awarded by merit , independent of need ) : All of the above scholarships require no additional applications and are renewable provided a student maintains satisfactory academic progress . Additional scholarships are available through separate applications or by audition . Puget Sound offers scholarships for music , forensics ( speech and debate ) , art , and other talents . Scholarships based on academic interest — such as the sciences , humanities , and Asian Studies — are offered as well . Athletics . The Puget Sound athletics teams are known as the " Loggers " with a grizzly bear , " Grizz " , as their mascot . Originally only " Loggers " was used , until debate arose over the appropriateness of having a male logger be the mascot at a school which supports equal rights for men and women . The school is now trying to shift mascot recognition over to " Grizz " , who is viewed as more in line with the University ' s focus . They participate in the NCAA ' s Division III Northwest Conference , competing with George Fox University , Lewis and Clark College , Linfield College , Pacific University , Pacific Lutheran University , Whitman College , Whitworth University , and Willamette University . Varsity sports . The University offers 23 different varsity sports teams : Men ' s Baseball , Men ' s and Women ' s Basketball , Men ' s and Women ' s Crew , Men ' s and Women ' s Cross Country , Men ' s Football , Men ' s and Women ' s Golf , Women ' s Lacrosse , Men ' s and Women ' s Soccer , Women ' s Softball , Men ' s and Women ' s Swimming , Men ' s and Women ' s Tennis , Men ' s and Women ' s Indoor and Outdoor Track & Field , and Women ' s Volleyball . On a minor note , former national soccer team coach Bruce Arena got his coaching start at Puget Sound in 1976 as head of the men ' s soccer team . Club sports . There are both men ' s and women ' s club soccer teams , as well as men ' s club lacrosse ( which , due to Title IX restrictions , competes in the Pacific Northwest Collegiate Lacrosse League ) . The University also has a men ' s club Ultimate team known as the " Postmen " , and a women ' s club Ultimate team known as " Clear Cut " . The University is most well known for its successful Men ' s rugby club . The club has achieved regional and national success over the past three seasons under coach Mark Sullivan . In 2012 the club was ranked 10th in the nation for small college rugby and traveled to Cal Marytime University in Vallejo , California for the regional tournament . The success of the men ' s rugby club is attributed to the hard work of the players and continual dedication of their coaches . Also , an intense rivalry has developed between the UPS rugby club and the Seattle University rugby club . Known as the Seatac Cup , UPS has achieved seven straight victories over their rivals . In 2012 , the victory over Seattle University clinched the Loggers ' playoff spot . The UPS Loggers Hockey team which was founded in 2005 and is currently an ACHA division II team . The team ' s most prominent victories include defeating the University of Washington Huskies in a 3 - game series in the 2006 - 2007 season , and the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the 2007 - 2008 season . Loggers hockey is subsidized by ASUPS ( the Associated Students of UPS ) student body and ticket sales for home games . Home games are currently played at the Sprinker Ice Area in south Tacoma . Players come from the student body , and mostly consist of students hailing from Canada , Washington , Colorado , Minnesota , and states on the East Coast . Achievements . Several sports teams have achieved some degree of success in recent years . The men ' s basketball team has won three straight Northwest Conference championships since 2004 , as well an average . 826 winning percentage over the 2004 , 2005 , and 2006 seasons . In 2005 , the Division III Loggers defeated the Division I Highlanders of the University of California , Riverside , making it their first Division I defeat since the 1970s . In the 2009 regular season , the Loggers went an undefeated 16 - 0 in Northwest Conference play , becoming the first team in conference history to do so , capturing the conference title in the process . Student life . Traditions and events . Log Jam is a campus - wide celebration that ends the first week of fall classes . Tables are set around the perimeter of Todd Field and clubs and teams set up to recruit potential members . Foolish Pleasures is an annual student film festival showing films written , directed , acted , and produced by students . Midnight breakfast is a celebration in the student union building , which occurs each semester on the last day of classes . The Hatchet . The Hatchet is the official symbol of sports teams at the University of Puget Sound . It was first discovered in 1906 when students were digging up a barn at the old campus . They decided to carve their class year into it . This became a tradition of sorts , as the seniors would hand the hatchet to the juniors on senior recognition day . This turned into a competition where each class would try to possess the hatchet for as long as possible . It disappeared for 15 years until it was anonymously mailed to former President Franklin Thompson . Thompson displayed it in a trophy case in Jones Hall , where it mysteriously disappeared again , only to resurface at a homecoming game in 1988 . In 1998 , the hatchet ' s return was negotiated through an intermediary , and it was permanently displayed in a display case in the Wheelock Student Center . It was stolen in 1999 during a false fire alarm in one of the dormitories . On September 30 , 2006 ( homecoming ) a student rappelled into the football field at halftime , brandishing " the hatchet " . It was later revealed by the student newspaper " The Trail " that this hatchet is a replica of the actual hatchet , commissioned by the former student government administration without the knowledge of the student senate . The replica hatchet was painstakingly carved to look exactly like the original , using over 150 photos as a guide . The original hatchet was finally returned to President Ronald Thomas in 2008 by two anonymous alumni and was displayed at Homecoming . Plans for safe storage of the relic are still in the works . Sustainability . The campus has a notable recent history of sustainability . On February 10 , 2005 , President Ronald R . Thomas signed the Talloires Declaration , committing the University to certain standards regarding sustainability . The Sustainability Advisory Committee , consisting of one faculty co - chair , one staff co - chair , and a mix of faculty , staff and student volunteers , organizes the majority of sustainability efforts on campus . These efforts have included : In 2007 , the Sustainability Advisory Committee initiated an innovative campus grants program . Members of the campus community are invited to submit proposals to the Sustainability Advisory Committee . Proposals are ranked using criteria of feasibility and impact , and decisions for funding are made accordingly . Recipients and project descriptions are available here . The Students for a Sustainable Campus , founded in 2006 , actively generated and pursued projects during the 2006 - 2007 school year , including : In 2007 , President Thomas signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment on behalf of the university . Fraternities and sororities . UPS is home to three fraternities and four sororities . 20 % of male students and 29 % of female students are involved in Greek life . Represented fraternities include , Phi Delta Theta ( 1848 / 1952 ) , Sigma Chi ( 1855 / 1950 ) , and recently reinstated Sigma Alpha Epsilon ( 1856 / 2010 ) . Represented sororities and women ' s fraternities include Pi Beta Phi ( 1867 ) , Kappa Alpha Theta ( 1870 ) , Alpha Phi ( 1872 ) , and Gamma Phi Beta ( 1874 ) . Puget Sound has a " deferred recruitment " , which means that fraternities , sororities , and their members are not allowed to have any official contact with freshmen outside of class , athletics or club activities until the organized recruitment events in the first two weeks of the spring semester . Freshmen may not join a chapter until January . In the fall , chapters are permitted to give " snap bids " to upperclassmen , as well as participate in an organized fall recruitment open only to upperclassmen . A ceremony called " Crossover " takes place annually on the third weekend of spring semester . Members of the Greek community partake in an entire day of celebration to honor the new members as they run across the field to their selected fraternity . Previously , several other organizations , including Sigma Nu , Kappa Sigma , Delta Delta Delta , Kappa Kappa Gamma and Beta Theta Pi were represented on campus , however those chapters have all closed for a variety of reasons . Media . KUPS 90 . 1FM ( The Sound ) is a student - run , non - commercial , educational college radio station that began in 1968 . In 2002 , KUPS began streaming its standard live programming online to the world . The radio station broadcasts 24 hours a day , 7 days a week and serves the greater Tacoma area with programming in a variety of genres . KUPS has earned various awards while broadcasting over the years . In 2005 , KUPS was named by The Princeton Review as one of the best college radio stations in the country ( # 12 ) . In 2007 , KUPS was ranked # 9 by the Princeton Review in the Top Ten Best College Radio Stations in the Country . Most recently , in the spring of 2010 , MTV honored KUPS with the national title of Best College Radio Station at the MTVu Woodie Awards . In the fall of 2011 , KUPS was ranked third in a list of " 10 great college radio stations " in the Washington Post . " The Trail " is an independent student - run organization that provides Puget Sound students , faculty , staff , and the local community with a credible weekly newspaper that serves as a comprehensive source of information , entertainment and discourse relevant to its readership . " The Trail " provides opportunities for students interested in journalism and acts as an archival record for the university . In addition , The Trail serves as a link between Puget Sound and the greater Tacoma community and provides an open forum for student opinion and discourse within the university . " Crosscurrents " is the school ' s literary and arts magazine and was established in 1957 . Crosscurrents is published two times during the academic year , once during the Fall semester and once during the Spring semester . Magazines are free to the campus community . It is staffed by students and publishes student artwork , photography , prose , poetry , and the occasional miscellaneous piece . Crosscurrents also features a guest artist or writer in each issue - usually a notable person from the pacific northwest who is interviewed about their work . " Wetlands " is a recent student - organized magazine focusing on sexual exploration and gender expression to encourage inclusive and open - minded conversations across the campus community . The magazine features community - submitted photography , poetry , and prose . " Black Ice " ( or the Black Student Union Zine ) is a student magazine by the focused on issues for the betterment of all students of color . The magazine is published by the The Black Student Union , which was founded in 1968 making it one of the university ' s oldest clubs .