Yesterday I was on the Pacific Lutheran University Board of Regents meeting from 9am to 4:30pm Mountain Time. As I think I blogged before, when I went to my first Region 1 bishops meeting, I was offered the choice of being on the Luther Seminary board or the PLU board and I jumped on PLU, mostly because it’s closer. Three of us bishops from Region 1 sit on the PLU board at one time and right now it’s Bishop Laurie Larson Caesar (Oregon), Bishop Shelly Bryan Wee (NW WA), and me. Bryan Wee also took on the Luther Seminary Board. She’s an alum so that made all sorts of sense. Bishop Rick Jaech (SW WA) is now on the California Lutheran-PLTS board. Bishop Laurie Jungling (Montana) sits on the ELCA church council; recently took that from Bishop Shelly Wickstrom (Alaska). We are all doing our part and I am grateful for my assignment which includes two in-person meetings each year in Parkland and yesterday’s online meeting.

One thinks the middle-judicatory (synod) of the mainline church is a tough place to be and then you get a peek into higher education and you realize what a challenging arena it is right now. The big news out of PLU is the announcement of brand new partnerships:

Partnership for Health Innovation

Pacific Lutheran University is home to a new health education and care district in Parkland, Washington, powered by PLU, MultiCare, and Washington State University’s Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine. This collaborative partnership will work to address health care inequities and provider shortages in Pierce County and beyond. read more

I serve on the Student Life Committee and in our break out room, we got to hear about J-term experiences, which was fun.

I was reminded that a few PLU professors helped author So That All May Flourish: The Aims of Lutheran Higher Education

We heard about the FAFSA disasta and learned what PLU is doing to help families navigate this mess.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the annual application to apply for financial aid at Pacific Lutheran University. For the 2024-25 academic year, the FAFSA is undergoing significant changes, a process known as FAFSA Simplification that was enacted by Congress in 2021. The FAFSA typically opens on October 1st, but for 2024-25, it will not be open until December 2023. In the meantime, we will be sending email communications to students and families with information about the changes you can expect to see with the new FAFSA and the 2024-25 financial aid application process. If you have questions, please email us at sfs@plu.edu or call 253-535-7161.

We also learned about how NCAA Division 3 schools are addressing the NIL discussion; which was fascinating after recently watching the film Air (about Nike signing Michael Jordan). The Athletic Director told us PLU has partnered with Opendorse.

It was a long day with hard discussions but I am honored to be in the room with such great minds and to be on the board of institution with a compelling mission.

This morning, Bishops Larson Caesar, Bryan Wee, and I were back online for a Lutheran Community Services Northwest meeting, just missing Bishop Jaech. I was reminded what vital work they are doing around the region, including in the Tri-cities, Spokane, and Boise. This is a pan-Lutheran organization and so we were also joined by the Missouri Synod District President, who recently announced his retirement after 15 years. I am so glad I got to meet him, even if just this once, because my colleagues hold him in high regard. My take away from this meeting is the simple but important reminder that we are never in this work alone.