University of Puget Sound is pleased to announce a gift of $1.15 million from Trustee Sumner P. Erdman ’87. The gift will support Logger Athletics, the Puget Sound Fund, and experiential learning.
“I am honored to be able to give back to the University of Puget Sound,” said Erdman. “Puget Sound provided me with a wonderful education and I am grateful for the opportunities it created. I hope this gift will help ensure that future generations of students have the same positive experience.”
From the gift, $250,000 will be used to support the Logger Baseball Field, which adds to the $300,000 gift by the Ben B. Cheney Foundation to transform the Logger baseball field with modern synthetic turf, ensuring a top-tier playing and practice environment. Erdman’s gift also contributes $150,000 to the Puget Sound Fund, a vital resource that directly supports the university’s most pressing needs. These needs encompass critical areas like financial aid for students, faculty development programs, cutting-edge classroom technology, and other essential initiatives.
“We are incredibly grateful for Sumner’s generosity,” said University of Puget Sound President Isiaah Crawford. “This gift will have a significant impact on our students, and bolster our ability to provide them with a transformational educational environment and the resources necessary to achieve their goals.”
The gift also allocates $750,000 to establish an endowment for experiential learning. This will provide funding for programs that allow students to learn outside the classroom, such as internships, research projects, and study abroad programs. With Erdman’s gifts, students will have the opportunity to focus their experiential learning work on sustainability, agriculture, farming, and food access. All students participate in some form of experiential learning making this portion of the gift especially impactful.
“Experiential learning is an essential part of a Puget Sound education,” said Crawford. “This endowment will ensure that we can continue to make these opportunities available to all of our students.”
Erdman graduated from Puget Sound with a degree in history and has been an active alumnus, hosting events and participating in alumni activities. He has served on the Board of Trustees since 2015, holding various positions including Chair of the Finance & Facilities Committee and member of the Executive Committee. His involvement extends to several key committees such as the Development & Alumni Relations Committee, Campaign Steering Committee, and Committee on Trusteeship.
In 2016, Erdman’s family made a $1 million gift to support financial aid for students from Hawaii. In 2017, the family established the Erdman Family Endowed Scholarship Fund with another $1 million gift. Individually, Erdman has made significant contributions. He donated $200,000 towards the Welcome Center project and has shown unwavering support for the Puget Sound Fund. His commitment to Puget Sound is evident in his ongoing contributions and active involvement in shaping the university’s future.
About University of Puget Sound
A nationally ranked residential liberal arts college in Tacoma, Washington, University of Puget Sound enrolls 1,600 undergraduate students from across the country and around the world, as well as 250 graduate students in education, counseling, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and public health. A low student-faculty ratio provides Puget Sound students with personal attention from faculty members who have a strong commitment to teaching and offer 1,200 courses each year in more than 50 areas of study. Puget Sound graduates include Rhodes and Luce scholars, notables in the arts and culture, scholars and scientists, entrepreneurs and elected officials, and leaders in business and finance locally and throughout the world. A top producer of Fulbright scholars, Puget Sound is the only nationally ranked independent liberal arts college in Western Washington, and one of just five independent colleges in the Northwest granted a charter by Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s most prestigious academic honor society. As part of its commitment to expanding access to higher education, Puget Sound offers the first accredited bachelor’s degree program in a prison in Washington state.
