4 7.6092° N 122.317 7° W
PRE SIDENT’S REPORT 2018
2 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
THE
OF A SEATTLE U EDUCATION HOW COULD JESUITS HAVE A WIDER IMPACT IN AFFECTING “THE MORE UNIVERSAL GOOD”? IT WAS A CENTRAL QUESTION OF ST. IGNATIUS’ WORK—AND ONE THAT CALLED FOR COMMUNAL DISCERNMENT BY THE EARLY JESUITS.
3 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Stephen V. Sundborg, S.J. PRESIDENT
The answer was found in Jesuit education, a distinctive approach to teaching that challenges students to embrace a more rigorous and deeper learning, reflect on the moral choices of the day and most importantly, commit to a life of serving others and working for the greater good. At Seattle University, we are widening our impact like never before. The ones making it possible are our exceptional and values-driven students, faculty, staff and 78,000 alumni globally. This is the beginning of a new era for the university. Together, we are transforming the campus around STEM education, accelerating technological and classroom innovation, putting in place a foundation to sustain our Catholic Jesuit character and strengthening the student experience for everyone. My vision has always been a thriving university of the highest quality where all students learn deeply and are inspired to lead lives of purpose and positive change.
To achieve the vision, we must remain committed to serving every student and making sure that each feels they belong here as full members of our diverse campus community, that each has the support to succeed academically and that each is prepared to thrive personally and professionally. Belong, succeed and thrive are the essential and foundational pillars to our educational mission. I often remind graduating seniors they are not leaving Seattle U to enter the real world. They entered the real world the day they stepped onto campus to receive a transformative Jesuit education in the heart of one of the great emerging cities of the world. Our personalized approach to educating the whole person, which embraces experiential and service learning, prepares them for personal fulfillment and professional success from day one. This is indeed an exciting time at Seattle University as we look ahead to the future and our growing impact, locally and globally, that is shaping the world around us in more ways than ever.
# 4
PRIVATE UNIVERSITY IN THE NORTHWEST
RANKINGS & RECOGNITION
93
%
Seattle University is the top-ranked private university— and #2 overall—in the Northwest with high marks for producing successful graduates, investing in the student experience and fostering academic success. —Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education (2018)
PLACEMENT RATE Average placement rate for undergraduates within six months of graduation. —NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers)
TOP 5%
TOP 25
nursing
l aw a n d b u s i n e s s p r o g r a m s
The College of Nursing is among the top nursing schools in the country.
Several School of Law and Albers School of Business & Economics programs are in the Top 25 in the U.S.
—College Factual (2017)
—U.S. News & World Report (2018)
TOP 10 IN THE WEST FOR 17 YEARS —U.S. News & World Report: “Best Colleges” (2018)
TOP PRODUCER OF
FULBRIGHT SCHOLARS (2016-17)
TOP 5%
TOP EARNING G R A D U AT E S
HIGHEST PAID GRADUATES
Seattle U graduates are among the highest earners in the nation for liberal arts/sciences and humanities and computer and information science.
—U.S. Department of Education
—College Factual (2017)
#1 BEST CITY FOR YOUNG PROFESSIONALS —Forbes
IN ALL AREAS LEADING INSTITUTION FOR UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION
MOST INTERESTING
Seattle University is one of the top schools for undergraduate education, according to The Princeton Review's annual college guide, The Best 382 Colleges.
Seattle University is named among the “best and most interesting schools” in the country.
—The Princeton Review Best Colleges (2018)
—Fiske Guide to Colleges (2018)
5 RANKINGS & RECOGNITION
Seattle U is #1 among non-trade—and #2 among all—colleges and universities for highest earning graduates.
BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE 6
CSI AT THE INTERSECTION OF INDUSTRY, INNOVATION AND HUMANITY
PROJECT CENTER New Computer Science Project Center where students will apply machine learning, AI and data analytics to contemporary problems.
CSI: STEM EDUCATION
The Center for Science and Innovation (CSI), slated to open in 2021, is more than stone, steel and glass. It will be the new heart for Seattle University, a place to shape the world’s next generation of leaders, where students will gain the skills and knowledge to make significant contributions to society in the STEM fields. The $100 million CSI puts STEM at the forefront. In the new center, students will benefit from state-ofthe-art research and teaching labs for biology and chemistry, an all-new Computer Science Project Center and a dynamic maker space available to the entire student body to explore, innovate and create. Expanded programs and partnerships will create opportunities to strengthen the university’s connections with the community.
COMPUTER SCIENCE: INDISPENSABLE FOR ANY DISCIPLINE Record numbers of Seattle University students are enrolling in computer science courses, making the Department of Computer Science the fastest growing at the university. Because our students understand that every company is a tech company, many of them are double-majoring across disciplines. The CSI will create new opportunities for every interested student to take courses in programming, machine learning, analytics and design.
INCREASED CAPACITY
50% Growth in overall STEM enrollment 145% Growth in Computer Science
STEM MAJORS WILL: • Develop solutions to industry-driven design problems. • Perform in-depth research in multi-investigator labs. • Collaborate across disciplines with peers, professors and industry partners. • Lead the way in devising humanitarian solutions.
MAKER SPACES Dynamic spaces designed for hands-on, experiential learning, where students from the entire Seattle U community will explore new technologies.
RESEARCH LABS Cutting-edge, multi-investigator labs where increasing numbers of undergraduate students will perform in-depth scientific investigations.
TEACHING LABS State-of-the-art labs designed for active learning, where every Seattle U undergraduate will take Core science classes.
7 CSI: STEM EDUCATION
Rendering by EYP Architecture & Engineering
“The Seattle area is one of the top 10 hubs in the world driving innovation in STEM. The leaders we train at Seattle U have command of that domain. They also know how to lead with purpose and impact and cutting-edge companies are interested in doing things with purpose. This is how Seattle U is going to fill that demand as the area continues to grow.” —Dean Allen, CEO, McKinstry Chair, Center for Science and Innovation Task Force
8 GLOBAL AWARENESS
GLOBAL EDUCATION EXPANDS
PARTNERSHIP WITH JESUIT SCHOOL IN INDIA WILL BOLSTER RESEARCH AND SERVICE LEARNING Seattle University has formed a strategic partnership with St. Joseph’s College in Bangalore, India, as part of its everexpanding commitment to global education. The alliance promotes collaboration in research, teaching and service learning across multiple disciplines. Like Seattle, Bangalore is a technology hub recognized worldwide. Nearly 40 percent of India’s information technology industry is concentrated there, which is considered the Silicon Valley of India. In recent years, Seattle U and St. Joseph faculty and staff have laid the groundwork for the partnership through teaching exchanges and immersion trips. Student exchanges are expected to begin this coming academic year.
During their visit, faculty from St. Joseph’s joined with SU College of Science and Engineering faculty for a lake research project.
Collaboration between Seattle U’s College of Science and Engineering and St. Joseph’s sciences departments is already underway. Other academic departments, including business, social work and communications, have expressed interest in collaborating and there is potential for reciprocal community service initiatives. The Seattle U-St. Joseph’s partnership is based on the highly successful Central America initiative, launched in 2013 in which the Universidad Centroamericana (UCA) in Managua, Nicaragua, serves as the primary partner. More than 20 educational and service projects are underway as part of that global initiative.
9 ALUMNI PROFILE: NHI PHAM NHI PHAM, ’95, MAKES COMMUNITY AT HOME AND ABROAD BETTER THROUGH HUMANITARIAN WORK In the early years of growing her dental practice and starting a family, Nhi Pham, ’95, struggled to make space in her life for an intrinsic calling to serve others. When she confessed this to her husband his response was supportive but direct: “Work smarter and grow bigger,” he advised. She did him one better. Instead of trying to go it alone, Pham invited others—family, employees and patients—to join her in the causes she cared about. Pham, who is involved in more than 10 local and international organizations, was named the 2017 “Citizen of the Year” by the Washington State Dental Association. Pham says she was surprised by the award but quickly saw an opportunity to use it as a “platform for others to come forward” and share in her community vision. Veterans and refugees are especially close to her heart. Part of Pham’s gift is in seeing her business as a vehicle for social justice.
A board member for Medical Relief International (MRI), a Christian relief agency, Pham is helping to open a medical and dental clinic in Tanzania and has traveled to Haiti, Ecuador and most recently Greece, where she provided dental care to Syrian and Afghan refugees. As a refugee herself and a professional woman of color, she feels she provides something more: a symbol of hope and “a role model for girls around the world.” Pham is often asked why she goes abroad when there is so much need at home. Her reason boils down to something she learned in a Seattle U religious studies class some 25 years ago. “Every human being has the fundamental dignity and likeness of God,” she says. “That is still etched in my mind and in my heart. We’re all called upon to serve locally and globally.”
GLOBAL COMMUNICATOR
CAREER SHIFT PROVED FORTUITOUS FOR AMAZON'S DREW HERDENER, ’01
10 ALUMNI PROFILE: DREW HERDENER
A journalism major, Drew Herdener, ’01, set out to be a sports reporter but an introduction to Seattle U’s public relations officer changed his career course. “I realized I preferred to be behind the scenes,” he says. A passion for storytelling transferred into public relations work, which became his minor. He worked for both the university public relations and sports information offices throughout his time as a student. As Herdener feeds on the fast pace of his industry, it’s no surprise he rocketed up the corporate communications ladder to his position today as Vice President of Global Corporate Communications at Amazon. After joining the company in 2003 as a PR manager, Herdener became a director of communications overseeing Amazon Web Services, devices and digital media. He launched the company’s first device—the Kindle—as well as the Amazon Web Services business.
how we operate as a company and how we empower our customers, employees and small businesses around the world,” Herdener says. Interestingly, Herdener nearly passed up the chance to work for what was then a little-known startup. Fresh out of college, he had what he thought was his “dream job” doing public relations for the Seattle SuperSonics, when he got a call from the woman who had run the public relations firm where Herdener had interned every summer during college. She had moved to Amazon and wanted Herdener to join her. His family thought he was crazy but something clicked for Herdener during the interview at Amazon. “I was so drawn to the culture of the company—the fast pace, the invention and the smart people I met— that I couldn’t say ‘no’ or I knew one day I would regret it,” he says. It proved to be a good decision on his part as the next year, the Sonics moved to Oklahoma City.
“It’s my job and the job of my team to show the world what Amazon is all about—our principles, our culture,
"WE EMPOWER OUR CUSTOMERS, EMPLOYEES AND SMALL BUSINESSES AROUND THE WORLD."
11
ISHMENT FOR T R U HE O N
ALUMNI PROFILE: ANNA CONSTANT
SOUL
A L U M N A A N N A C O N S TA N T IS WORKING TO FEED A M E R I C A’ S H U N G R Y
As a kid Anna Constant, ’10 MPA, loved the TV series “B.J. and the Bear” about a trucker and his pet monkey traveling America’s highways. When she told her grandmother she wanted to be a truck driver someday, her grandmother quipped, “That’s fine, but you’ll have a master’s degree.” Although Constant never became a truck driver she is crisscrossing the country—and with a master’s degree to boot. Constant, a graduate of Seattle U’s Master of Public Administration program, is director of compliance and capability for Feeding America.
food to 275 neighborhood pantries, shelters and meal programs in the Puget Sound region. As one of seven Feeding America compliance officers in the U.S., Constant manages a portfolio of 30 food banks. She is on the road nearly every other week visiting member warehouses. In nine years, Constant has had a hand in nearly all facets of the industry and it all began with a Craigslist ad for a “grocery rescuer.” That job involved reclaiming food that grocery stores were clearing from their shelves for Food Lifeline to redistribute to areas food banks.
Feeding America provides food to millions of children and adults each year by redirecting billions of pounds of food that would otherwise go to waste from America’s farms, manufacturers, grocery stores and restaurants.
Seattle University’s MPA program was integral to Constant’s professional journey, equipping her with the skills to lift her passion.
“It spreads the Gospel of best practices, innovation and cross-pollination in hunger relief,” Constant says. “I think of our contracts with food banks as a kind of map for being the best food bank you can be.”
“One of the things I got from my program was selfconfidence,” she says. “Having learned from such knowledgeable people, with so much experience… I walked away feeling like a stronger professional.”
Feeding America works with 200 food banks across the country including Food Lifeline, which provides
12 ALUMNI PROFILE: DAVID BLEY David Bley, ’80 MPA, is reflecting on what drew him to public service and philanthropy nearly four decades ago. “All human beings are a product of their time, place and family,” says Bley, director of the Pacific Northwest Initiative at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
23-person team and an annual budget of approximately $60 million, he directs community-based strategies focused on supporting stable families, great schools and strong communities in Washington state, as well as high-quality early learning nationwide.
In his role at the Gates Foundation, Bley works to ensure that low-income youth and children of color will prosper in our growing economy and that our region will benefit from their contributions. “Our region is an engine for the future economy across the globe. Yet, very few of our jobs are going to kids raised here,” Bley says.
Early in his career, before his role at the foundation, Bley was working as a community organizer for a tenants’ union when he enrolled in Seattle University’s College of Arts and Sciences to pursue a Master of Public Administration degree. While here, he was awarded a fellowship to work as a White House management intern. Seattle U enabled him to fast track his degree to take advantage of the opportunity.
In 2007 Bley came to the Gates Foundation as a champion for local issues: poverty, economic opportunity, neighborhood revitalization and affordable housing.
His relationship with the university continues today as a parent, volunteer and donor. At the Gates Foundation, he has been a key partner in Seattle U’s initiatives to alleviate homelessness.
In directing the Gates Foundation’s Pacific Northwest Initiative, Bley is responsible for shaping the regional agenda for the world’s largest foundation. With a
“There is a high personal alignment between Seattle University and me,” Bley says. “I would never have gone here if I didn’t think it provided a great education.”
THE CENTER FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT The Seattle University Youth Initiative (SUYI) unites the university and the wider Seattle community to develop successful youth, thriving communities and an engaged neighborhood.
ENGAGING FACULTY Each year, hundreds of SU faculty creatively design courses and research projects to respond to community-identified needs. Many of these efforts focus on the geographic area of the Seattle University Youth Initiative, including Yesler Terrace, the Chinatown-International District and the Central District. Faculty programs of the past year include community immersions and the following: Academic Service-Learning Faculty Fellows: Engaging six faculty in a yearlong cohort program that explores the theory and practice of service learning. Community Engagement Justice Fellows: Mobilizing 10 faculty members to explore issues related to race, power and privilege. Community-Engaged Research Fellows: Providing two faculty with course release time or summer funding to pursue community-engaged research.
By concentrating resources and partnerships in several neighborhoods adjacent to campus, SUYI builds upon this widespread commitment to community engagement by offering students, faculty and staff intensive opportunities to more fully understand and participate in the pursuit of equitable and just communities.
St.
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SEATTLE UNIVERSITY YOUTH INITIATIVE
Neighborcare Health
CCS/BCIA/ Village Spirit Center
OUT OF
Bailey Gatzert Elementary School
Yesler Terrace
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InterImCDA
Garfield High School
DEDICATION TO SERVICE
CENTER FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Yesler St.
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SUYI COMMUNITY PARTNER SPOTLIGHT
4 5
STUDENTS ENGAGE IN COMMUNITY SERVICE That’s 3x the national average.
13 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
SEATTLE UNIVERSITY YOUTH INITIATIVE
14
ATHLETICS
TOGETHE WE SOAR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT Seattle U student-athletes achieved a combined 3.3 GPA for fall quarter 2017 and 35 were named to the 2017 Fall Western Athletic Conference Academic Team.
MEN’S BASKETBALL Under new head coach Jim Hayford, men’s basketball has a renewed energy and spirit in 2017-18. They finished the home portion of the schedule with a 16-2 mark, capped by a huge win over WAC leader New Mexico State. The win over the Aggies was 19th of the year, marking the most wins during the program’s modern-day D-I era while competing against a full D-I slate of opponents.
MEN'S SOCCER Men's soccer won the WAC Championship for the third time in five years and went on to defeat Washington in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Senior Alexis Montgomery, '18, was named the Preseason WAC Player of the Year by a vote of the league’s head coaches. She has been living up to the honor thus far, ranking among the nation’s best in scoring and rebounding.
ELGIN BAYLOR HONOR
Seattle University men's basketball and NBA great Elgin Baylor is being honored by the Lakers with a statue in his likeness that will be installed outside the Staples Center in Los Angeles in April. Baylor was part of the unforgettable 1958 SU men’s basketball team and was pivotal in taking the then Chieftains to the NCAA national championship game.
Roldan, '18, is the first Redhawk to be taken in the
15
first round of the MLS SuperDraft and is officially under contract with the team. He joins brother Cristian Roldan, a midfielder with the Sounders.
ATHLETICS
ER R
Drafted by the Seattle Sounders FC, senior Alex
Senior Alexis Montgomery, '18, continues to shine and was awarded WAC Player of the Week for the fifth time this season as she posted 14 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for the first triple-double in SU’s Division I program history.
16 FACULTY SPOTLIGHT: DAVE LILLETHUN
MEDIEVAL MODERNITY MEETS
By day, Assistant Professor Dave Lillethun, PhD, teaches and researches some of the most future-focused subjects in the field of computer science and software engineering. By night he goes back in time by way of a medieval martial arts practice he calls “historical fencing.” There are parallels between Lillethun’s hobby and his academic career. While he might not be dressed for knightly combat in the classroom, Lillethun must engender a certain agility when preparing his computer science students to compete in an industry that is “always moving and changing.”
Following the convention of the computer science field, Lillethun grounds students in the fundamentals before moving into the more subtle realms of teaching them “to learn new techniques as they go.” In his research, Lillethun is working with aspects of the industry he believes are here to stay and looking at how to take those technologies to the next level. Working with an SU undergraduate, Lillethun is developing a software platform that involves the next iteration of cloud computing— large, remote network servers that manage data—into what he calls “fog computing,” which Lillethun likens to “little bread crumbs” of
personal computer resources. His platform would bring those personal resources together with a variation of the Internet of Things (IoT). IoT connects everyday objects via computers. Lillethun’s municipal IoT would link objects across domains. “The goal is to work toward a platform for developers creating these municipal IoT applications to use,” Lillethun says. “It would provide them with abstractions to facilitate developing these apps and help to manage the underlying fog computing and IoT resources such as the sensor devices and communication channels.”
INNOVATION IN
17 CSE: INNOVATION LAB
THE FUTURE OF ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING LOOKS BRIGHTER THAN EVER Inside Room 210 of Seattle University's Bannan Building lies the future of electrical and computer engineering (ECE) education at Seattle University’s College of Science and Engineering (CSE). The new Father Wood Innovation Lab has specialized equipment not found anywhere else on campus. There’s a laser cutter that could, for example, cut the pieces for a robot chassis on which a student might mount gearboxes, motors and microcontrollers. Using the lab’s 3D printer, students could then fabricate the necessary fixtures to hold various sensors. All assembled, the completed project might be a robot or some other student design. Amid it all, bringing a high-voltage energy all his own, is Richard Bankhead, SU’s first “Innovator in Residence.” As he sees it, the lab offers much more than the sum total of its super cool parts. “It’s a safe space for students to come in and learn by doing,” Bankhead says. “… The difficulty in electrical and computer engineering is that you are learning about things that can’t be seen. Our goal is to help students engage and see some of the things that are hidden to them.”
The Innovation Lab draws inspiration from the national “maker movement,” a technology-based subculture that creates do-it-yourself projects. Maker spaces engage a “touch-screen generation” that has little experience with mechanical devices— things that used to give young engineers a tactile reference point for how things work. Bankhead envisions first- and second-year students using the lab to augment their textbook-heavy physics and math coursework. For juniors and seniors, Bankhead sees the lab offering something different—the chance to develop their own projects or work on senior design projects, which gives students an edge when applying for internships or jobs because of the self-initiated projects that they have worked on. “Employers seek independent learners with engineering-related experiences outside of their prescribed course work,” Bankhead says.
18 ALUMNI PROFILE: MARIAH ARNOLD
EXPLORING THE WORLD OF CYBER SECURITY Mariah Arnold, ’17, knew she wanted more out of life than the low-paying service jobs she worked as a teenager. To make it happen, she deftly forged a path as a computer science major at the College of Science and Engineering that helped her land a job right out of college with one of Seattle’s top technology companies, F5 Networks.
for bugs,” she says. “A lot of what I do involves investigating to see if we are vulnerable to a hack.” As a former transfer student, Arnold chose Seattle U for its small class size and the reputation of the college’s computer science program.
Arnold was offered a full-time job at F5 following a F5 bills itself as the “product family (that) blends summer internship with the company. She believes software and hardware to help you inspect and control a Seattle U graduate-level elective she took as an all traffic that passes through your network—ensuring undergraduate set her apart from the competition. apps are fast, available and secure.” “I was the only one they interviewed who knew those things. If I hadn’t taken that class I wouldn’t have got Arnold works in the team-based world of cybersecurity. that internship.” “We work with other teams in the company to search
CLOSING THE GAP COLLEGE OF SCIENCE & ENGINEERING DID YOU KNOW? Seattle University is the only university in the U.S. with women chairing all of its engineering and computer science departments.
42%
of full-time faculty are women
43%
of students are women
Top 10
ENGINEERING SCHOOLS Seattle U is ranked among the Top 10 engineering schools in the U.S. for a high percentage of female faculty in engineering and computer science. —American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE)
SINESS OF U B E H T
It’s no secret: Big data is revolutionizing business. Large sets of data that have the capability to reveal patterns or trends about human behavior are changing the way many industries operate—and not necessarily in the ways you might think.
“Every business has a way to gather data in ways they didn’t before,” says Albers Associate Professor Gareth Green, PhD. “What makes it interesting is that there are stories in that data. Through business analytics, we have a chance to learn those stories.”
For example, professional sports teams use big data to rank players. Insurance companies use it to evaluate whether you’re a safe driver. And retailers use it to determine when to mark down prices.
Seattle U’s business analytics students are trained to analyze data and be liaisons between those who do deep analysis, such as computer scientists and statisticians, and those who apply it, such as marketing directors and executives. The curriculum is steeped in statistics, computer programing and business in addition to coursework that teaches students how to communicate complex information to a non-technical audience.
But big data is only as good as the people who can analyze, interpret and communicate it. For every computer scientist or mathematician a business has, it needs exponentially more employees who can understand the data analysis, communicate its stories and take action. Enter the Albers School of Business and Economics’ new undergraduate Business Analytics program.
“We’re seeing real trends in data,” Green says. “But you have to be able to think from the perspective of ‘What’s the most important point? How do I tease it out? And, how can it be used?’”
PROGRAM SPOTLIGHT
BIG DATA
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20 CAMPUS DEVELOPMENT
RESIDENCE HALL WILL HONOR NATIVE AMERICAN VI HILBERT NEW BUILDING, TO OPEN IN FALL 2018, NAMED FOR REVERED STORYTELLER AND ELDER Seattle University’s new student housing and office building under construction—and slated to open in the fall—will help address a growing need for student housing and will pay homage to an important figure who greatly influenced the university’s support of native peoples and their culture. The building will be named the Vi Hilbert Hall in honor of the revered and respected Pacific Northwest Native American who is acknowledged as one of the most important people for the preservation of the Lushootseed language, also known as Puget Sound Salish. Vi Hilbert (1918–2008), whose Lushootseed name is taqwš blu, may be familiar to many already. Seattle
University’s Ethnobotanical Garden is named in her honor and her portrait is included in the murals of significant Pacific Northwest Native peoples in the Student Center. In 1994, the university conferred the degree Doctor of Humanities, Honoris Causa, in recognition of Hilbert’s accomplishments as a language teacher, storyteller, translator, researcher and traditional elder. Over the years Hilbert has received numerous awards recognizing her lifelong cultural contributions, including being named a Washington State Living Treasure in 1989 and a National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship from President Bill Clinton.
ENDOWMENT
TO ENLIVEN THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE • New Student Retreat: Organized by Campus Ministry, this retreat offers first-year and transfer students the opportunity to get away from campus and engage with one another, building community while beginning their journey of self-discovery at Seattle University.
As a professor, academic adviser and orientation and retreat chaplain, the warm, fun-loving “Father Rog” endeared himself to scores of students and alumni from 1987 until his passing in 2010. He was passionate about helping new students with the transition to campus through orientation and participated in more than 50 student retreats.
• Search Retreat: Rooted in the Jesuit tradition, this retreat is open to all students and is designed to promote a broader understanding of spirituality. It helps students move deeper into their own selfexploration by affirming their worth in the context of a loving community.
Retreats are a core element of Jesuit spiritual practice and are open to students of all faith traditions and philosophical backgrounds to provide a communal space for self-inquiry and conversation. This endowment will shepherd the spirit of Fr. Gillis’s work in perpetuity through the continuation of the following programs:
• Immersions: Campus Ministry’s domestic and international immersions are a unique opportunity for students interested in exploring justice issues at a deeper level. Over the course of an academic quarter, participants reflect on the intersections of faith and justice and how they are uniquely called to be in relationship with others as global citizens.
2017 FINANCIALS
12,344 TOTAL GIFTS
6,153 TOTAL DONORS
20.5%
INCREASE IN ALUMNI GIVING IN FY2017
32
NEW SCHOLARSHIPS
$12,950,461.53 RAISED FOR SCHOLARSHIP SUPPORT
30
NEW ENDOWMENTS
346 TOTAL ENDOWMENTS
$8.457M
SUPPORT PROVIDED TO CAMPUS PRIORITIES
LEGACY SOCIETY (571 MEMBERS, 34% ALUMNI) | PRESIDENT’S CLUB (1,406 MEMBERS)
21 ENDOWMENT & FINANCIALS
Creating a sense of belonging for a diverse student body is the goal of the Roger Gillis, S.J., Endowment to Enliven the Student Experience. The $1.5 million endowment seeks to perpetuate the spirit of the late Father Gillis, who devoted himself to helping students “come home to themselves.”
CAREER OUTCOMES 22 CAREERS
Many companies and industry leaders employ graduates of Seattle University and offer internships to current students. Among Top Employers of Recent Graduates Among Top Employers for SU Interns Amazon Amazon The Boeing Company BECU City of Seattle Expedia Expeditors Harborview Medical Center Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center Liberty Mutual Microsoft Puget Sound Energy Nordstrom Russell Investments PACCAR Seattle Children’s Hospital Seattle City Light Starbucks Weyerhaeuser
GREAT LOCATION Seattle University students take to the city’s streets, hills, forest, museums, theaters, hospitals, biotech companies and other businesses as part of their educational experience. Seattle the city and Seattle the university are laboratories of learning. A Seattle University education equips students with the knowledge and skills to lead in their chosen professions, gaining on-the-job experience through internships and employment.
CAREER SPOTLIGHT: ALAN YU
INTERNSHIP LED TO JOB AT MICROSOFT Alan Yu, ’17, considers himself lucky to have been offered a job on Microsoft’s high-profile Azure SQL Database team right out of college. But tenacity had much more to do with it than luck. After transferring to Seattle U for its computer science program, Yu set out to join the region’s world-renowned technology sector only to discover that he would have to pay his dues. Seeking his first internship, Yu applied to 100 companies. Over a five-month period, he was rejected by 93 of his prospects. Interviews proved to be another learning curve. But instead of getting discouraged, he sought
feedback and made adjustments along the way. It worked. Weyerhaeuser hired him as a software developer intern. The experience raised Yu’s profile so that his next search went much more quickly: 50 applications yielding 20 interviews. By November, Yu had lined up an internship at Microsoft for the following summer. That led to two permanent job offers from the company, nearly a year before graduation. “You’re going to have a lot of failures in life,” Yu says. “Being able to enjoy the learning process helped set the tone for the rest of my years at Seattle University and eventually transitioning to the rest of my professional career.”
MARKETING SOCIAL CHANGE 23 INTERNSHIPS
The patio of Edelman’s high-rise office offers sweeping views of Seattle. Phoebe Kim, ’18, often found inspiration here in summer 2017 when she was a Prism Scholar at Edelman, a global communications marketing firm. By summer’s end, Kim had set her sights beyond that horizon to South Korea, where her mom was born and the rest of her family lives, with a vision to address global injustice through marketing. It was not the life she had once imagined. Kim came to Seattle University on a music scholarship but had to change course when injury cut her violin career short. She was wading into a new major in communications when she applied for the Edelman internship, which the company established to attract underrepresented minorities to the field. Though Kim was an intern in the university Marketing Communications department, she felt she lacked the
experience to compete for the internship and almost didn’t apply. Fortunately, a professor urged her on and guided her through the process. Ultimately, Kim was one of two interns selected from 80 applicants across the country for the program’s inaugural year. What she calls the “opportunity of a lifetime” left her emboldened to make a difference through her new profession. “Here at Edelman I see a connection with social justice,” she says. “Those issues are only getting more important and coming more to the forefront in the world.” Kim says Seattle U’s mission to educate the whole person was instrumental in forming the self-assured professional she has become. “How I carry myself and how I’ve changed is because of that piece of the mission,” she says. “Being genuine has really shaped who I am.”
LEADING WITH HEART 24 ALUMNI PROFILE: MADLYN MURREY
College of Nursing alumna Madlyn Murrey, RN, MN, is modest about the prestige that comes with her position as head of nursing for one of the best children’s hospitals in the nation. She answers her own phone, greets visitors with a hug and really wants to know what newcomers think of Seattle Children’s, the hospital where she feels privileged to work. In the years since Murrey, ’81 BSN, ascended from bedside nursing to become Seattle Children’s senior vice president and chief nursing officer, she has learned to trust the leadership style that comes naturally to her. “I lead with my heart,” says Murrey. “… For me, it’s about being sensitive and still being smart and strategic. It’s who I am as a leader.” When Seattle Children’s hired Murrey in 2015, it was a homecoming of sorts. Murrey first worked there when she was a Seattle University undergraduate nursing student. As was the case then, Murrey still draws from what her Seattle U nursing faculty taught
“I strive to create an environment where the people who do clinical care delivery can do their best work.” —Madlyn Murrey, ’81 BSN, RN, MN
her about equity and justice when caring for a patient population that is increasingly diverse. In the intervening years, Murrey’s career took her to MultiCare Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma and Randall Children’s Hospital in Portland, Ore. At the same time, she and her husband raised four children of their own and opened their home to eight foster children. Her path diverged from patient care in the early 1990s when Mary Bridge entrusted Murrey—then a part-time ER nurse—with developing a state-certified trauma program. Though Murrey only ever dreamed of being a nurse, she discovered other leadership talents that could broadly impact the profession she loved. “I’m still very much steeped in nursing,” she says. “I strive to create an environment where the people who do clinical care delivery can do their best work. You give up a little personally when you move further from hands-on work. But what I am able to give is so much greater.”
EMPOWERED LEADERSHIP
25 STUDENT PROFILE: PA OUSMAN JOBE
To Pa Ousman Jobe, ’18, knowledge is the catalyst for liberation. For Jobe, a transfer student who grew up in Bakau, Gambia, this quest for what he calls “total freedom” led him to Seattle University and underpins his work as Student Body President. His aim: inspire, uplift and empower peers by giving them a voice and a platform for dialogue on issues relevant and impactful to their lives. An Albers student majoring in finance with a minor in economics, Jobe is part of the university’s inaugural cohort of the Alfie Scholars program, which helps make the dream of a bachelor’s degree a reality for transfer students from two-year colleges. Leadership as a means to create positive change drives his work as Student Body President and it’s a position he takes seriously. “Living through a world filled with so many issues around oppression and marginalization, we can’t
expect anyone to solve our problems for us. We are all part of the problem and we ought to all be part of the solution,” Jobe says. “Students are inundated with different issues daily and I am set out to do my part in ensuring such issues do not get passed on to those yet to come.” The Seattle U student body presidency means many things to Jobe. At the heart of it, he says, is the ability to “amplify the voices of those who are vulnerable.” “It means sharing the power … that comes with the presidency with others, thereby collectively elevating and uplifting each other,” he explains. “The presidency means looking around the room and around the table to see who is missing and how do we invite them in. The presidency is bigger than me…” Post-Seattle U, Jobe’s plans include law school, where he says he aspires “to gain the knowledge to continue the fight for and with marginalized communities in legal capacities.”
26 HONORS
LEADERSHIP IN HIGHER EDUCATION PRESIDENT SUNDBORG RECOGNIZED BY CASE For 20 years, President Stephen Sundborg, S.J., has been known throughout the Puget Sound region and beyond as a leader dedicated to academic rigor, service and the promotion of justice.
Catholic education. He actively supports programs that encourage others to impact the greater good, whether in their communities or in developing countries around the world.
These are among the many reasons why he was selected to receive the 2018 Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) Leadership Award for the Pacific Northwest and western Canada region, says Sue Cunningham, president and CEO of CASE, a global nonprofit association of educational institutions that serves professionals in the field of educational advancement.
Seattle U supporter Tony Audino, founder and CEO of Conzenza, and Anthony Holter, executive director of the Fulcrum Foundation, helped nominate Fr. Sundborg for the award and described him as a leader who has always compelled the Seattle U community to pursue the greatest good and to become women and men for others.
“As someone who actively encourages students, faculty, staff and alumni to serve their community in meaningful and notable ways, President Sundborg sets the standard for servant leadership,” Cunningham says. “He is a visionary and inspirational leader.” Father Sundborg accepted the award at the CASE District VIII Conference in Seattle in February. Throughout his tenure at Seattle U, Fr. Sundborg has remained true to the core values of the Jesuit
“Advancing education, especially higher education, toward the ever-changing needs of an increasingly global population requires visionary leadership, like that of Fr. Sundborg,” says Mark Koenig, chair for CASE District VIII. President Sundborg was also honored for his leadership and vision at the 34th Annual Seattle University Gala this past fall. At the annual event, which raised more than $849,000 for student scholarships, he was recognized for his 20 years as a transformative university president.
"President Sundborg sets the standard for servant leadership. He is a visionary and inspirational leader.”
—Sue Cunningham, CASE
BOARD
S for 2017-18
BOARD OF TRUSTEES Nicole W. Piasecki, Vice Chair Robert A. Ratliffe, Chair Kathleen Aikenhead Rodney A. Bench Maureen Benoliel, ’71 Robert H. Blais Ann Blume Mark G. Bosco, S.J. David W. Burcham Patrick J. Callans, ’08 Peter W. Chiarelli, ’72 Brenda Christensen, ’81 MBA Joseph M. Gaffney, ’62 Allan C. Golston, ’99
Robert B. Grimm, S.J. Russell S. Hagen, ’89 Donald J Horowitz Patrick F. Kennedy Steven P. Knight Thomas M. Lucas, S.J. Michael C. McCarthy, S.J. Killian Noe Kevin F. O’Brien, S.J. William A. Owens Scott Redman Pete J. Rose David Sabey Stephen V. Sundborg, S.J. (Ex Officio)
Ezra Teshome, ’76 Stevens U. Trainer Ruth A. Tressel, ’84 John H. Vassall, II Eric J. Watson, S.J. Jeffrey J. Wright
Trustees Emeriti: Anne V. Farrell John W. Meisenbach, ’60 James D. Sinegal Ann Wyckoff
BOARD OF REGENTS Joseph P. Zavaglia, ’71, Chair Hon. Anita Crawford-Willis, ’82, ’86 JD, Vice Chair R. Miller Adams, ’73, ’87 Dave Anderson, S.J. (Ex Officio) Hugh Bangasser, ’68 Maureen P. Brotherton, ’96 Patricia C. Buchsel, ’74 Christopher G. Canlas, ’01 Salah Dandan Michael G. Daniels, ’70 Ernie Dunston Janet M. Dwyer, ’70 William F. Eisiminger, ’67, ’73 David V. Foley, ’63
Michelle Akiyama Galvin, ’98 O. David Jackson, ’09 Pa Ousman Jobe, ’18, (Student Body President) Jonelle M.C. Johnson James P. Jorgensen, ’65 Diane Siderius Kocer, ’82 Stacy Lill Don Luby, ’65 John McDowall, ’92 Daniel McKay Richard E. Mitchell, JD Nathan Nguyen, ’02 Jason Oliver, ’00 Michael Podlin (Ex Officio)
Marilyn Price Charlie Quigg, ’02 Mariah Ramirez (Chair, Graduate Student Council) John Ruffo, ’65, ’71 Ryan P. Sawyer, ’94 Pastor Paul A. Stoot Stephen V. Sundborg, S.J. (Ex Officio) Starr Tavenner, ’71 Vince Volpe Mary Hermann Welch, ’69, ’76 Kathleen R. Wright Ann Yoo, ’98 (President, Alumni Board of Governors) Ralph K. Zech II, ’72
ALUMNI BOARD OF GOVERNORS Ann Yoo, ’98, President Richard Moore, ’09, President-Elect Karen Lynn Maher, ’00, Vice President Megan Cycyota, ’07 Jim Dykeman, ’61 Thomas Garrett, ’13 Nicole Hardie, ’98
Matt Iseri, ’05 Anne-Marie LaPorte, ’96 Jarrett Payne, ’05 Marilyn Richards, ’79 John Ruffo, ’65, ’71 Mikel Sagoian, ’07, ’12 Christopher Sample, ’11
Ken Schow, ’10 Mike Stewart, ’75 Valerie Trask, ’11 John Vincent, ’09 Susan Vosper, ’90, ’10 DJ Weidner, ’07
ADMINISTRATION Stephen Sundborg, S.J., President Timothy Leary, Executive Vice President Robert Dullea, Interim Provost/Vice President for Planning Connie Kanter, CFO & Senior Vice President/Finance and Business Affairs Marilyn Crone, Vice President/Enrollment Management Michelle Clements, Vice President/Human Resources
Natasha Martin, Vice President/Diversity and Inclusion Scott McClellan, Vice President/Marketing Communications Mary S. Petersen, Vice President & University Counsel Michael Podlin, Vice President/University Advancement Alvin Sturdivant, Vice President/Student Development Chris Van Liew, Vice President & Chief Information Officer Anne Moran, Executive Assistant to the President
SEATTLEU.EDU/PRESIDENT/REPORT
Seattle University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, political ideology or status as a Vietnam-era or special disabled veteran in the administration of any of its education policies, admission policies, scholarship and loan programs, athletics, and other school-administered policies and programs, or in its employment-related policies and practices. All university policies, practices and procedures are administered in a manner consistent with Seattle University’s Catholic and Jesuit identity and character. Inquiries relating to these policies may be referred to the University’s Assistant Vice President for Institutional Equity, Andrea Herrera Katahira at 206-220-8515, katahira@seattleu.edu.