Vice President for Mission Integration

Dear Faculty, Staff and Students,

I am very pleased to announce that following an extensive search process, Catherine Punsalan-Manlimos, PhD, has been appointed Vice President for Mission Integration. In this newly created position, Catherine will report directly to me and will facilitate and coordinate the many mission-related activities across the university, including a re-constituted Mission Council.  The Center for Jesuit Education and Campus Ministry will both report directly to the new Vice President. The Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture as well as the Center for Ecumenical and Interreligious Engagement will continue to be under the primary oversight of the Provost.  Catherine, who currently serves as Assistant to the President for Mission Integration at University of Detroit Mercy, will join us on August 1.

Many of you will remember Catherine from her time at Seattle University, during which she served in various roles, including Director of Catholic Studies, the inaugural Director of the Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture, Faculty Affiliate for Mission Integration and a member of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies. At Detroit Mercy, Catherine has initiated a number of new programs and opportunities for the university community to engage with its mission and was the driving force in creating an endowment to sustain these programs. She has piloted seminars on Catholic social thought and mission in teaching, scholarship and service, as well as new retreats and other opportunities for the university community to cultivate their spiritual lives. She has convened colleagues throughout the university for conversations around different dimensions of mission, from the importance of creating a culture of dialogue to engaging racial justice as essential to the institution’s mission.

Catherine asked that I share the following with you:

“I have learned so much from my colleagues at University of Detroit Mercy and am grateful to them for what they are enabling me to bring back home to Seattle University. I look forward to becoming reacquainted with Seattle U and re-establishing and building new collaborative partnerships with the community within and beyond the university.”

I am pleased to welcome Catherine back to Seattle and to our university. Her broad administrative experience as well as her deep grounding in Jesuit education will serve the university well as we advance the Jesuit and Catholic dimensions of Seattle University.

I am grateful to all the staff, faculty, students and Jesuit community members who participated in this search process. (Members of the search committee are listed below.) This successful outcome is a testament to their discernment and commitment to Seattle University. Please join me in warmly welcoming Catherine once more to our Seattle University community.

Respectfully,

Eduardo M. Peñalver
President 

VPMI Search Committee Members

Arturo Araujo, S.J., Arrupe House Rector and Search Committee Chair

Cynthia Dillard, Dean of the College of Education

JoAnn Lopez, Campus Minister for Liturgy

Shane Martin, Provost

Joe Orlando, Special Assistant to the Provost for Strategic Initiatives

Donna Teevan, Chair and Associate Professor, Theology and Religious Studies

Jen Tilghman-Havens, Executive Director of the Center for Jesuit Education

Michael Trice, Director of the Center for Ecumenical and Interreligious Engagement, Spehar-Halligan Associate Professor

Maggie Ricketts, Ex Officio, Human Resources Director for Talent Acquisition, Development and People Analytics

Monica Scott, Staff Support, Executive Vice President’s Office