Seattle University

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Seattle University
Motto: Connecting the mind to what matters.
Established: 1891
Type: Private, Jesuit
Endowment: $215 Million[1]
President: Stephen V. Sundborg, S.J.
Faculty: 609
Undergraduates: 4,160
Postgraduates: 1,963
Location: Seattle, Washington, United States
Campus: Urban, 48 acres
Conference: Great Northwest Athletic Conference
Mascot: Redhawks
Website: http://www.seattleu.edu/
Centennial Fountain, designed by George Tsutakawa. From left to right in the background are Garrand Hall (School of Nursing), the Administration Building, and Piggot Hall (Albers School of Business).
Centennial Fountain, designed by George Tsutakawa. From left to right in the background are Garrand Hall (School of Nursing), the Administration Building, and Piggot Hall (Albers School of Business).
Interior, Chapel of St. Ignatius. Architect: Steven Holl.
Interior, Chapel of St. Ignatius. Architect: Steven Holl.

Seattle University is a nonprofit Jesuit Catholic university in the United States. Located on Seattle, Washington's First Hill, it was founded in 1891 as the School of the Immaculate Conception by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), and continues to operate as a Jesuit institution. Today, Seattle University is one of 28 member institutions of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. U.S. News and World Report's "Best Colleges 2008" ranks Seattle University 6th out of schools in the West that offer a full range of masters and undergraduate programs. [2]

Contents

[edit] History

Seattle University was founded by Father Victor Garrand and Father Adrian Sweere in downtown Seattle, and has served as both a high school and college. In 1893, construction started on the First Hill campus. The school moved to First Hill in 1898 and changed its name to Seattle College, at which point the high school became a separate institution now known as Seattle Preparatory School. In 1909, the college awarded its first bachelor's degrees. In 1931, Seattle College became the first Jesuit university in the country to admit female students.

At one time, the Jesuits planned to move the college to the tract of land that is now the heart of Seattle's Wedgwood neighborhood, but by 1940 they decided against the move, and sold the land in 1940.[3] Seattle College changed its name to Seattle University in 1948.

[edit] Programs

Seattle University offers 44 bachelor's degree programs and 24 graduate degree 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. [4]

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. The part-time MBA Program is recognized among the Top 25 by "U.S. News & World Report's 2007 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.

The School of Law was founded in 1972 as part of the University of Puget Sound (UPS) in Tacoma, Wash. Twenty-one years later, UPS and SU 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 SU campus in 1999. The 2008 US News and World Report Law School rankings list the School of Law in the top 100 Law Schools in the nation. Also, the School of Law is home to the number two Legal Writing program in the nation.

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. The school also offers a mainstream program in counseling.

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.

The university is increasingly attracting and retaining a diverse student population. Since 1995, the number of underrepresented minority students – Native American, Hispanic and black – has nearly doubled from 441 in 1995 to 856 at the start of the 2006-07 academic year. More than one-third of the overall student body represent diverse groups.

The campus includes numerous works by well-known artists (including the Centennial Fountain by Seattle artist George Tsutakawa[5]—recipient of an honorary doctorate from Seattle U.[6]—and a large glass sculpture in the PACCAR Atrium of Piggot Hall by Tacoma, Washington artist Dale Chihuly,[7] as well as works by Chuck Close, Jacob Lawrence, Gwendolyn Knight, William Morris and David Mach[7]) and several architecturally notable buildings. Of the latter, probably the most famous 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.[8]

[edit] Athletics

Main article: Seattle Redhawks

The university's sports teams are the Redhawks, and participate in the NCAA's Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The athletics program at SU has produced top-notch athletes both on and off the field. The men's soccer program won the 2004 NCAA Division II Championship, and the university's swim program has produced many All-American swimmers. Seattle University was also a member of the Division 1 West Coast Conference (WCC), at that time the West Coast Athletic Conference, from 1971-1980.

On January 21, 1952, the Seattle University basketball team, then known as the Chieftains, beat the Harlem Globetrotters in a stunning 84-81 upset, led by Johnny O'Brien's 43 points.[9] Between 1953 and 1969, they reached the NCAA Division I Tournament 11 times. The 1958 team, led by Elgin Baylor, advanced to the NCAA championship game, where they lost to Kentucky 84-72.

On March 7, 2007, President Father Steven V. Sundborg sent a campus-wide e-mail explaining that the West Coast Conference of the NCAA Division I would not be expanding now or in the foreseeable future. Father Sundborg left the door open to more campus discussion, but Seattle University remains a Division II team in the GNAC.

On May 11, 2007, despite the West Coast Conference recent decision to not expand, the Seattle University board of trustees gave its approval anyway to apply for Division I status. If the move is approved by the NCAA, Seattle University could transition to a mixed Division I and II schedule in 2008-09 and could be Division I in all sports as early as 2009-10.

[edit] Notable alumni and attendees

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ 2007 Market Value of Institution Endowment AssetsPDF (2.8 MB)
  2. ^ 1
  3. ^ Valerie Bunn, Wedgwood Echo, volume 20, issue IV, July 2005, p.4.
  4. ^ King 5 News, King 5 News]. Accessed online 11 June 2007.
  5. ^ Campus scene (Centennial Fountain), captioned image on the Seattle U. web site]. Accessed online 28 February 2007.
  6. ^ Mayumi Tsutakawa, Tsutakawa, George (1910-1997), HistoryLink.org Essay 3088, April 19, 2001. Accessed online 28 February 2007.
  7. ^ a b Tina Potterf, Home Is Where the Art Is, Seattle University Magazine article reproduced on the Seattle University web site. Accessed online 28 February 2007.
  8. ^ John Pastier, Seattle University's Chapel of St. Ignatius, HistoryLink.org Essay 2931, January 6, 2001. Accessed online 28 February 2007.
  9. ^ Fifty years ago tonight, Seattle U. upset the mighty Globetrotters, accessed January 24, 2008

[edit] External links

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Great Northwest Athletic Conference
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Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities
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