About the director

Larry Knopp, Ph.D.

Our students learn to integrate knowledge and skills from multiple perspectives, and to apply them in ways that make a difference in the local community, the world, and their own lives. This reflects our shared commitment to putting students and the South Puget Sound region first, while fostering responsible, 21st-century global citizenship.

Larry Knopp was named director of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences, the largest of UW Tacoma's academic programs, in 2009.

Formerly, Knopp was professor of geography at the University of Minnesota Duluth and associate dean for UMD programs at the University of Minnesota Graduate School. He served six years as head of the Geography Department, 12 as director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Community and Regional Research, and 10 as coordinator of the Interdisciplinary Urban and Regional Studies program.

Knopp grew up in central Seattle. He earned his bachelor's degree at UW Seattle in 1983 and has maintained close ties with the UW Geography Department. He conducts research with two UW faculty members and has been an affiliate professor at UW Seattle since 2005.