At the College of Puget Sound (now University of Puget Sound), John D. Regester was Dean of Faculty until 1960 and then served as Dean of the Graduate School until 1965. Norman Thomas served as Dean approximately 1960 to 1967.

John Dickinson Regester arrived at the College of Puget Sound as a 26-year-old professor of philosophy and psychology in 1924. Prior to coming to Puget Sound, Professor Regester served as a naval hospital corpsman with the Marines in France during World War I. He was a 1918 graduate of Allegheny College and later earned S.T.B. and Ph.D. degrees at Boston University. As a scholar, John Regester was known principally for his study of and his relationship with Albert Schweitzer, who referred to him as “my first American friend.” His doctoral dissertation was titled “Immediate Intuition in a New Rationalism of Albert Schweitzer.” In 1936, President Edward Todd made Regester Dean of the college. In addition to academic affairs, Regester’s responsibilities included serving as Dean of Men. When Dean of Men became a separate administrative position in 1958, his title was changed to Dean of the Faculty. In 1960, Regester became Dean of the Graduate School.

Norman Francis Thomas was born in 1917. He earned his A.B. from Yankton College (1940), A.M. from University of South Dakota (1944), and Ph.D. from University of Minnesota (1954). At the University of Puget Sound, he was a professor of history. He was Dean of the Graduate School in 1967, when he left the University of Puget Sound for position at Detroit Institute of Technology.