From the President
Grounded in our Jesuit, Catholic Educational Mission, Much to be excited about
This is a time of great momentum for Seattle University. As detailed in these pages, Seattle University has accepted an invitation to join the West Coast Conference (WCC) starting in the 2025-26 season. In every way—athletically, academically, geographically—SU is closely aligned with the WCC’s member schools. This is where we belong. And it goes beyond sports. Being a part of the WCC provides new opportunities for heightened competition, visibility, recruitment (of all students, not just student athletes) and institutional pride.
The announcement of Seattle University’s move to the WCC came on the heels of the incredible news that Richard Hedreen was donating in honor of his late wife and SU alumna Betty a $300 million art collection. This is the largest gift ever made to SU and the largest gift of art ever made to any university in the nation. And thanks to additional seed money from the Hedreens, the collection will be located in the new Seattle University Museum of Art now being planned for our campus.
With these transformative votes of confidence, the wind is at our back and new avenues are opening to shine a brighter light than ever before on the type of university we are.
While Seattle University is a multifaceted institution with many attributes and strengths, there is one thing at the heart of it all: our insistence upon academic excellence. The nearly 500-year Jesuit tradition of providing a values-based education of unquestioned rigor is our north star. Without it, we are nothing.
Of course, the excellence of our academic enterprise ultimately rests with and is brought to life by the people of this institution—the faculty who teach, mentor and push the bounds of knowledge in their disciplines; the students who accept the challenge of a Jesuit education and emerge as their best selves; the staff who support their holistic development; and the alumni who bring the power of a Seattle University education into their professions and communities. All of which is in service of the common good.
In this magazine you will read about some of the professors, students and graduates who are excelling as leaders and innovators at SU and beyond. This includes Professor Carolyn Stenbak, PhD, who is leading important research with undergraduate students in the College of Science and Engineering; an alumna who manages one of the country’s largest public transit organizations—King County Metro; a Q&A with former President Stephen Sundborg, S.J., who returned to SU this summer as chancellor; a profile of Nicole Parker Donaldson, ‘21 MEd, who is working to energize and engage alumni as the new director of Alumni Engagement; and a profile of our new Student Body President, who is setting priorities for the year ahead.
Collectively they tell the story of a university that is grounded in a distinctive Jesuit, Catholic educational mission and striving always to be a force for good in the world. As we prepare to join the WCC and build a world-class art museum on our campus, this story will be told on a larger stage and our impact will only grow. I can’t wait.
Eduardo Peñalver
President