Alumna of the Year Award

Kim Shirley, ’88, ’91 JD

Albers School of Business and Economics + School of Law

Seattle University honors Kim Shirley as Alumna of the Year for her lifelong dedication to the advocacy and advancement of the Seattle art community and embodying SU’s mission.

Shirley has spent her legal career dedicated to advocacy for nonprofit and startup organizations. A passionate advocate for arts and culture, she serves as a trustee of the Seattle Art Museum, the Tate Americas Foundation and previously Pacific Northwest Ballet. She is a member of several art committees and councils, most notably appointed by President Joe Biden to the President’s Committee on Arts and Humanities in 2023. 

Shirley and her husband, Jon, are committed art collectors and were supporters of the creation of the specialized art collection at the Sinegal Center for Science of Innovation. In 2023 the Shirleys gained national attention by making one of the most significant gifts in history to the Seattle Art Museum through the establishment of the Shirley Family Calder Collection, which provides funding for educational programming to make art more accessible to the public.

One of Shirley’s nominators for Alumna of the Year said, “It is difficult to imagine anyone more deserving or whose life work is more closely aligned with the university’s strategic vision and values, particularly as we prepare to establish a campus art museum to serve our students, community and surrounding schools.”