Seattle University (SU) is a Jesuit Catholic
university located on Capitol Hill in Seattle, Wash. SU is the
largest independent university in the Northwest with 7,500 students
enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs within eight
schools, and is one of 28 member institutions of the
Association of
Jesuit Colleges and Universities.
U.S. News & World Report, in its
"Best Colleges 2010," ranked Seattle University 7th out of schools
in the West that offer a full range of master's and undergraduate
programs. SU recently completed the largest capital campaign in the
university's history, raising almost $169 million and surpassing
the original campaign goal by almost $20 million. The campaign has
resulted in new scholarships for students, academic programs and
professorships, a fitness complex, an arts center and more, all
strengthening the university’s mission of empowering leaders for a
just and humane world. The centerpiece of the capital projects is
the $56 million Lemieux Library and McGoldrick Learning Commons,
scheduled for completion fall 2010. The success of the campaign
will significantly contribute to the university’s transformation in
the coming years. As noted by university President Stephen V
Sundborg, the campaign marks the beginning in the next chapter of a
university on the rise.
History
In 1891, Fathers Victor Garrand, S.J., and Adrian Sweere, S.J.,
took over a small parish near downtown Seattle at Broadway and
Madison. At first, the school was named after the surrounding
Immaculate Conception parish and did not offer higher education. In
1898, the school was named Seattle College after both the city and
Chief Seattle, and it granted its first bachelor's degrees 11 years
later. Initially, the school served as both a high school and
college. From 1919 to 1931, the college moved to Interlaken Blvd,
but in 1931 it returned to Capitol Hill permanently. In 1931,
Seattle College became the first Jesuit university in the country
to admit female students.
In 1948, Seattle College changed its name to Seattle University
under Father Albert A. Lemieux, S.J.
In 1993, the Seattle University School of
Law was established through purchase of the Law School from the
University of
Puget Sound
in Tacoma, Washington
. In 1999 the School of Law moved to the
Seattle campus.
Campus
Interior, Chapel of St. Ignatius,
Seattle University
The Seattle University campus is 48 acres and is located on Capitol
Hill, near downtown Seattle, Wash. The SU campus has been
recognized for its commitment to sustainability through
pesticide-free grounds, a food waste compost facility, recycling
program and energy conservation program.
The most
well-known building on campus is the Chapel of St. Ignatius,
designed by New
York
architect Steven Holl,
born in Bremerton,
Washington
: the 1997 building won a national Honor Award from
the American Institute of
Architects
in 1998.
The university is increasingly attracting and retaining a diverse
student population. Almost half of the overall student body
represent diverse groups, in 2008 the makeup of the university
was:52% Caucasian19% Asian/Pacific Islander8% Latino/Hispanic5%
African American1% Native American8% International Students
The campus
includes numerous works by well-known artists (including the
Centennial Fountain by Seattle artist George Tsutakawa—recipient of an honorary
doctorate from Seattle U.—and a large glass sculpture in the PACCAR
Atrium of Piggot Hall by Tacoma, Washington artist Dale Chihuly, as
well as works by Chuck Close, Jacob Lawrence, Gwendolyn Knight, William Morris and David Mach) and several architecturally notable
buildings.
They have also been well known for the Orientation program that is
used to welcome new students at the beginning of every school
year.
Academics
Seattle University offers 61 bachelor's degree programs, 31
graduate degree programs and 27 certificate programs, plus a
law school and a
doctoral program in education. The university consists of eight
colleges: the College of Arts and Sciences, the Albers School of
Business and Economics, the College of Education,
the School of Law,
Matteo Ricci College, the College of
Nursing, the College of Science and Engineering, and the School of
Theology and Ministry. A Seattle University education is estimated
to cost $150,000, although much of this is covered by financial
aid.
Service-learning and social justice are important components of the
educational experience at Seattle University, which strives to
"empower leaders for a just and humane world." Each year students,
faculty and staff commit hundreds of hours to service projects and
community outreach through the Center for Service and Community
Engagement.
Albers School of Business and Economics
Albers School of Business and Economics has a reputation as one of
the premier business schools in the Northwest. Both the
undergraduate and graduate programs are consistently ranked among
the best in the country. The 2009
U.S.
News
& World Report ranking of undergraduate business
programs puts Albers in the top 30% of AACSB accredited schools and
one of the top 50 private business schools in the U.S. Albers’s
part-time MBA program has been recognized as one of the top 30 in
the nation, according to the latest issue of
U.S.
News
& World Report’s “America's Best Graduate Schools
2009.” The Executive Leadership Program was ranked by CRO Corporate
Responsibility Officer magazine among the top 10 executive training
programs in
corporate
responsibility. In addition, the Albers EDGE program (Education
for Global Executives) was honored in 2008 as the only academic
institution to receive the President’s "E" Award, which recognizes
persons, firms, or organizations that contribute significantly in
the effort to increase United States exports.
Seattle University's Albers School of Business and Economics,
started in 1945, was named after the Albers family. George and Eva
Albers were generous donors to the university. Their daughter,
Genevieve Albers, attended SU and continued the family's legacy of
generosity to the school; she also sponsored a business forum,
established an eponymous professorship, and donated funds to create
scholarships. In 1967, the business school added an MBA program,
which is now the largest nationally accredited, evening program for
working professionals in the Pacific Northwest. Both the Leadership
Executive MBA Program and the part-time MBA Program are recognized
among the Top 25 in their categories by "U.S. News & World
Report's 2010 America's Best Graduate Schools." US News also ranks
the Albers School among the top 10% of undergraduate business
schools nationwide. The Albers School is accredited with the
Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
AACSB.
College of Arts and Sciences
The Seattle University College of Arts and
Sciences in
Seattle
, Washington
is the oldest undergraduate and graduate college
affiliated with Seattle University, the Northwest's largest
independent university. The College offers 33 undergraduate
majors, 33 undergraduate minors, 7 graduate degrees, and 1
post-graduate certificate. In the College of Arts and Sciences,
Seattle University's graduate program in psychology is notable as
one of the few schools in the country to focus on
existential phenomenology as a
therapeutic method.
Matteo Ricci College
The Matteo Ricci College was founded in 1973 and named after
Italian Jesuit missionary, Matteo Ricci. The program allows high
school students from Seattle Preparatory School and other area high
schools to graduate with a bachelor's degree in
humanities or
teaching
after as little as three years in high school and three years in
college.
School of Law
The
Seattle University
School of Law is the largest and most diverse in the
Pacific Northwest. It is also one of three
law schools in Washington state, the other two being the
University of Washington
School of Law and
Gonzaga University School of
Law.
The School of Law was founded in 1972 as part
of the University of
Puget Sound (UPS) in Tacoma, Wash.
In 1993, the University of Puget Sound and Seattle
University agreed on a transfer of the law school to Seattle
University; in August 1994 the transfer was completed, and the
school physically moved to the Seattle University campus in
1999. The 2009
US News and World Report Law School
rankings list the School of Law in the top 100 Law Schools in the
nation. The school of law is home to the number one Legal Writing
program in the nation.
College of Nursing
Seattle University's College of Nursing will celebrate its 75th
anniversary in 2010. It is housed in the completely renovated
Garrand building, the site of the original Seattle College and the
oldest building on campus. The 19,000 square foot "state of the
art" Clinical Performance Lab is located in the James Tower a few
blocks away from the main campus. Undergraduate and Graduate
students use this lab to practice skills necessary for clinical
nursing.The BSN program attracts students who begin as Freshmen as
well as transfer students from community colleges and those with
degrees from other universities. The MSN program welcomes
registered nurses with Bachelor's degrees. The Advanced Practice
Nursing Immersion program (MSN)offers an accelerated program for
those with a Bachelors degree in another field.Specialties
available in the MSN program are Family Nurse Practitioner,
Psych-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Geriatric Nurse
Practitioner and Advanced Community/Public Health Nursing.
College of Education
Founded in 1935, the
College of
Education has a long and distinguished history of preparing
ethical and reflective professionals. Programs offered include a
Doctorate in Educational Leadership, Masters in Adult Education and
Training, Counseling, Curriculum and Instruction, Educational
Administration, Literacy for Special Needs, Master in Teaching,
Master in Teaching with Special Education Endorsement, Special
Education, Student Development Administration, and Teaching English
to Students of Other Languages. Educational specialist degree
programs include Educational Administration – Principal
Preparation, School Psychology, and Special Education and
Certificate programs offered include Superintendent, Principal, and
Professional Development.
The College of Education is accredited by the National Council of
Accreditation of Teacher Education and the National Association of
School Psychologists and approved by the National Association of
School Psychologists.
College of Science & Engineering
The College of Science and Engineering focuses on basic sciences,
mathematics and their applications. Students can major in basic
science disciplines, computer science or one of the engineering
departments - civil and environmental engineering, mechanical
engineering, or computer and electrical engineering. Students may
also obtain an interdisciplinary general science degree, or prepare
for graduate work in the health professions.
School of Theology & Ministry
The School of Theology and Ministry is an ecumenical program with
relationships with 10 Protestant denominations and the Catholic
Archdiocese of Seattle. It is committed to social justice and
addressing the needs of an increasingly multicultural church. The
school offers a number of master's degrees and certificates,
including a Master of Divinity.
Community Investment
Investing and partnering with the community are part of the Jesuit
Catholic mission of education for service and social justice. More
than 3,000 students—three out of every four—take part in at least
one for-credit “service learning” class by the time they graduate;
nearly 45 percent participate in a service-learning class in any
given year. This translates to 185,000 hours, the equivalent of
more than 80 full-time workers or $6 million. By comparison, on a
national level only about one-third of college students volunteer,
according to the Corporation for National & Community
Service.
The number of service learning courses at SU has nearly doubled
since 2004. One-third of service-learning students continue their
community work even after their class has ended and they've earned
a grade. Many students continue serving after graduation through an
SU program called Magis:Alumni Committed for Mission. In the past
two years, nearly 100 alumni have participated in Magis efforts
such as the Alumni Mexico Mission Trek and the annual Serve Seattle
project. And in each of the past three years, at least a dozen
graduates have gone into full-time service with the Jesuit
Volunteer Corps, the Peace Corps and Teach for America.
Because SU is part of Seattle's urban hub, students have easy
access to a number of areas that offer a wide variety of service
learning opportunities, including the Central District, the
International District and Pioneer Square.
The economic impact of SU in the Seattle area in 2008 was $580.4
million. This figure is drawn from the total spending by the
university, its students and visitors.
Environmental Sustainability
Among Seattle University's many environmental undertakings, there
are projects ranging from composting initiatives to water
conservation. There are also solar panels on buildings, and a
central recycling yard with an extensive recycling program. The
university has been composting since 1995, and in 2003 it built the
first composting facility in the state on an urban campus.
SU received the Sustainability Innovator Award in 2007 from the
Sustainable Endowments Institute for SU’s pre-consumer food waste
composting program and the Green Washington Award in 2008 from
Washington CEO Magazine for SU's sustainable landscape practices
and pre-consumer food waste composting program. The Princeton
Review's 2009 Green Rating gave the school a 97 out of a possible
99.
SU's move to a pesticide-free campus began in the early 1980s when
Ciscoe Morris, now a local gardening celebrity, was head of the SU
Grounds Department in the 1980s. He put a halt to chemical spraying
and in its place released more than 20,000 beneficial insects
called lacewings to eat the aphids that had infested trees on
campus. It worked and that led to a whole host of pesticide-free
gardening practices. Cisco began a transformation that has made the
university a model for ecological gardening.
Mission Statement
Seattle University is dedicated to educating the whole person, to
professional formation, and to empowering leaders for a just and
humane world.
Vision
The vision of Seattle University is to be the premier independent
university of the Northwest in academic quality, Jesuit Catholic
inspiration, and service to society.
Values
Care: We put the good of students first.Academic Excellence: We
value excellence in learning with great teachers who are active
scholars.Diversity: We celebrate educational excellence achieved
through diversity.Faith: We treasure our Jesuit Catholic ethos and
the enrichment from many faiths of our university
community.Justice: We foster concern for justice and the competence
to promote it.Leaderships: We seek to develop responsible leaders
committed to the common good.
Athletics
Between 1950 and 1971, Seattle University competed as a Division I
independent school. In the 1950s, the basketball team was a
powerhouse with brothers Johnny and Eddie O’Brien, who led Seattle
University as the only team in history to defeat the world famous
Harlem Globetrotters. In 1958, future NBA Hall of Famer Elgin
Baylor paced a men’s basketball team that advanced to the Final
Four and defeated top-ranked Kansas State University before losing
to the University of Kentucky. Seattle University was also a leader
in the area of racial diversity, with an integrated squad known as
“the United Nations team.”
The success of men’s basketball, in addition to men’s golf and
baseball, continued into to the 1960s with outstanding names like
Eddie Miles, Clint Richardson, and Tom Workman, all of whom went on
to successful careers in the NBA. The 1966 baskeball squad led
Texas Western University to its only defeat in an otherwise stellar
championship season celebrated in the film “Glory Road.” In the
course of the ‘60s, Seattle University produced more NBA players
than any other school.
During that time women’s tennis star Janet Hopps was the first
female to be the top-ranked player for both the men and women
nationally. In women’s golf, Pat Lesser was twice named to the
Curtis Cup in the mid-1950’s and was later inducted into the State
of Washington Sports Hall of Fame.
Before 1980, more than 25 SU baseball players went on to play
professionally in both the major and minor leagues. Men’s golf and
a Tom Gorman led tennis team were also very strong national
programs. Gorman went on to lead the US Davis Cup team to
unprecedented success as he captained a record 18 match wins and
one Davis Cup title (1972) as a player and two more Davis Cup
championships as a coach (1990 and 1992).
SU joined the West Coast Conference in 1971. In 1980, SU left the
West Coast Conference and Division I membership and entered the
NAIA, where it remained for nearly 20 years. In the late 1990s,
President Fr. Sundborg started restoring the university’s NCAA
membership. The athletic program moved into Division II in the fall
of 2002.
Currently, the school is reclassifying from
Division II to
Division
I. This integration process will take five years and should be
complete in 2012-2013. In 2009, the university hired men's
basketball coaches Cameron Dollar, former assistant at University
of Washington, and women's coach Joan Bonvicini, former University
of Arizona coach and one of the winningest women's college
basketball coaches. Seattle University would like to re-join the
West Coast Conference, which is made up of other small, private,
religiously affiliated institutions.
In 1938 the mascot switched from the Maroons to the Chieftains, and
in 2000 the university transitioned its mascot to the
Redhawks.
Notable alumni
Notes
-
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/masters-universities-west-rankings
- http://www.seattleu.edu/campaign/
- http://www.seattleu.edu/university_news.aspx?id=48795
- http://www.seattleu.edu/president/
- http://www.seattleu.edu/history/section2.html
- http://www.seattleu.edu/history/section3.html
- John Pastier, Seattle University's Chapel of St. Ignatius,
HistoryLink.org Essay 2931, January 6, 2001. Accessed online 28
February 2007.
- Campus scene (Centennial Fountain), captioned
image on the Seattle U. web site. Accessed online 28 February
2007.
- Mayumi Tsutakawa, Tsutakawa, George (1910-1997), HistoryLink.org Essay
3088, April 19, 2001. Accessed online 28 February 2007.
- Tina Potterf, Home Is Where the Art Is, Seattle
University Magazine article reproduced on the Seattle
University web site. Accessed online 28 February 2007.
- King 5 News, King 5 News]. Accessed online 11
June 2007.
- http://www2.seattleu.edu/albers/inner.aspx?id=22638
- http://www.seattleu.edu/albers/inner.aspx?id=22626
- http://www.seattleu.edu/artsci/
- http://www2.seattleu.edu/mrc/
- http://www.law.seattleu.edu/The_School.xml
- http://www.law.seattleu.edu/
- http://www.seattleu.edu/nursing/
- http://www.seattleu.edu/coe/
- http://www.seattleu.edu/scieng/default.aspx
- http://www.seattleu.edu/stm/default.aspx
- http://www.seattleu.edu/csce/default.aspx?id=34720
-
http://www.seattleu.edu/uploadedFiles/GCA/SU_BenefitstoCommunityReport.pdf
- http://www2.seattleu.edu/sustainability/initiatives.aspx
- http://www.seattleu.edu/sustainability/awards.aspx
- http://www.seattleu.edu/university_news.aspx?id=41590
-
http://www.seattleu.edu/home/about_seattle_university/mission/
- http://wccsports.cstv.com/school-bio/west-school-bio.html
- http://www2.seattleu.edu/d1/display.aspx?id=1558#5
-
http://www.seattleu.edu/home/news_events/news/news_detail.asp?elYear=2000&elID=521200210924
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