Empowering Purposeful Leaders to Serve the Greater Good

Located in the heart of one of the most advanced cities in the nation, Seattle University pulls in faculty at the top of their disciplines. These scholars don’t just lead their fields but revolutionize them.

Their philosophy isn’t exclusive to their research activities or filed in the appendix of a book. Our faculty provide personalized learning for students, leading to an education that challenges, empowers and inspires.

Students work in a laboratory

Kristin Hultgren, PhD, studies marine species diversity using both ecological and evolutionary tools. Locally, she is involved in several studies examining ecological patterns in crustacean biodiversity in the Puget Sound.

Like many classes in the Biology Department, students in Associate Professor Hultgren’s courses often conduct hands-on research during labs. Emphasizing the “how” of biology in research-based labs allows students to learn by making mistakes, modifying techniques and reevaluating hypotheses.

Kristen Hultgren, PhD, Associate Professor, Biology

“By doing this, they start to view themselves as a professional scientist. Developing the technical and analytical skills needed to conduct research helps prepare students for a professional life beyond college. Plus, it’s a lot of fun.”

Hultgren, who joined Seattle U in 2012, teaches courses at several different levels in the Biology Department. “I love the ‘aha’ moment when they can apply a concept they learned in my class to solve a problem in biology,” she says.

Hultgren also has her own active research lab and students work with her on projects during the academic year and in the summer. Much of her research is collaborative, involving faculty and graduate students from around the world and in some cases undergraduates have played a key role in this collaborative research. She enjoys this approach because it allows students “to see themselves as participants—rather than just observers—in the community of science.”

Hultgren says one of the most rewarding aspects of teaching at Seattle U is the effect that the Jesuit mission has on the type of students we attract and their attitude toward their education. Seattle U students, Hultgren says, “are strongly committed to social justice and to making a difference in their communities.”

Outside of the classroom, Hultgren enjoys exploring Seattle and Washington state with her family, along with cooking and dining both at home and around the city. She loves crabbing and clamming, which she says is a good way to combine her loves of cooking, eating and marine biology.

100% CLASSES TAUGHT BY FACULTY, not TA’s or graduate students

18 AVERAGE NUMBER OF STUDENTS PER CLASS

11:1 STUDENT TO FACULTY RATIO