05/11/2007
Flagship Tacoma Initiative Expands to Seattle and Welcomes PLU

As its first cadre of scholars prepares to graduate from Whitworth College on Sunday, May 20, the flagship Act Six Initiative in Tacoma is adding a new partnership with Pacific Lutheran University and expanding its recruitment area to include Seattle in a move that will double the number of full-tuition, full-need Act Six scholarships available to emerging urban leaders in the Tacoma-Seattle region.

Officials from 13 Washington colleges and universities attended a summit at Whitworth in January to meet with Act Six organizers and participants and to explore expansion possibilities in the state. Pacific Lutheran University is the first Washington school to join Whitworth in the program, with plans to recruit its first cadre in fall 2007 to enroll in fall 2008. At the same time, the program is also expanding to include applicants from urban neighborhoods in Seattle as well as Tacoma beginning this fall 2007. 

“Pacific Lutheran University has long been dedicated to providing access to higher education to students and families of all socio-economic backgrounds in the greater Puget Sound region,” says Karl Stumo, associate vice president for admissions and financial aid at PLU.  “In that spirit, PLU is proud to partner with the Northwest Leadership Foundation to invest in some of our region's most talented urban students as we help them realize their God-given potential as leaders on our campus and in our urban communities.”

“The Act Six program has brought to Whitworth an extraordinary group of students who have enriched our campus through their leadership and service, even as we have taught and mentored them,” says Whitworth President Bill Robinson. “The program requires big investments, but it also delivers big rewards. So, it would be irresponsible and morally unacceptable if we didn’t explore ways to expand Act Six to other schools.”

Learn more about the expansion effort at the Tacoma-Seattle affiliate site.

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