Seattle University

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**Seattle University**
Image:SeattleUSeal.jpg
Motto	Where education means more.
Established	1891
Type	Private, Jesuit
Endowment	$157.8 Million<ref>Institutions by assetsPDF</ref>
President	Rev. Stephen V. Sundborg, S.J.
Faculty	522
Location	Seattle, Washington, United States
Campus	Urban, 48 acres
Conference	Great Northwest Athletic Conference
Mascot	Redhawks
Website	www.seattleu.edu

Seattle University is a private, co-educational Roman 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 2007" ranks Seattle University among the top 10 schools in the West that offer a full range of masters and undergraduate programs.

Seattle University was founded by Father Victor Garrand and Father Adrian Sweere in downtown Seattle. It served as both a high school and college. In 1893, construction began 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. 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 had decided not to move, and sold the land in 1940. <ref>Valerie Bunn, Wedgwood Echo, volume 20, issue IV, July 2005, p.4.</ref> Seattle College changed its name to Seattle University in 1948.

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 includes 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 School of Nursing, the School of Science and Engineering, and the School of Theology and Ministry, and awards bachelor's, MBA, master's, Ed.D. and J.D. degrees, all are regionally accredited and highly regarded in the Pacific Northwest.

Seattle University's Albers School of Business was named after the Albers family. George and Eva Albers were generous donors to the university. Their daughter, Genevieve Albers, attended Seattle U. and continued the family's generosity to the school; she also sponsored a business forum, established a Genevieve Albers Professorship, and donated scholarship funds. The Albers School was established in 1945. In 1967, it added a MBA program, making Seattle U. the second university in the Pacific Northwest to offer an MBA. The 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 in Tacoma, Washington. Twenty-one years later, UPS 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 Seattle in 1999. The 2007 US News and World Report Law School rankings list the School of Law in the top 100 Law Schools in the nation. Also, for the second straight year, they have the number one Legal Writing Program in the nation.

Seattle University's graduate program in psychology is notable as one of the few schools in the U.S. to focus on Existential phenomenology as a therapeutic method. The school also has a more mainstream program in counseling.

The school's sports teams are the Redhawks, and participate in the NCAA's Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The men's soccer program won the 2004 NCAA Division II Championship. Additionally, the men's soccer program won the 1997 NAIA Championship. The men's swimming program have been a recent success with their 2002 NAIA Championship, and the women's team finishing second. The school was also a member of the Division 1 West Coast Conference from 1971-1980.

On October 23, 2006 a statement was released regarding an inquiry from Seattle University to return to the Division 1 status in the West Coast Conference. Seattle University has convened an Athletic Alignment Study Task Force to gather and analyze information relevant to the consideration of WCC status, such as athletics operating costs, financial aid costs, facilities, campus life, student recruiting and student body composition, and institutional visibility. The Athletic Alignment Study Task Force will make its recommendations to the executive leadership of Seattle University no later than May 1, 2007, at which time the university will determine whether or not to proceed with a formal notification and request to the NCAA that it seeks Division I membership.

Also on the campus of Seattle University is Bessie Burton Sullivan Skilled Nursing Residence. It is a 139-bed nursing facility for both long term nursing care, and short-stay rehabilitation, as well as a home health agency. Students from Seattle University's School of Nursing get a large part of their hands-on training there. In addition, many students choose to volunteer there.

Seattle University's mission statement focuses primarily on diversity and social justice. In its strategy to have a more diverse population and have more international dialogue, 50 percent of SU's students are European Americans, while the rest include African Americans, Asian Americans, Latino Americans, mixed ethnicities and international students (who make up 10 percent of the student population).

[edit] Distinguished alumni

Mohamed Ali Alabbar - Chairman of Emaar Properties; One of the world's largest real estate development firms with $25 billion in assets.
Elgin Baylor - NBA Hall of Famer; vice president, Los Angeles Clippers
Major General Peter Chiarelli - Director of Operations, U.S. Army, commander of forces in Iraq
Major General (Ret.) Patrick Henry Brady - recipient of the Medal of Honor
Jeffrey Flowers - President Marco Polo Hotel Group
William P. Foley, II (M.B.A.) - Chairman and CEO, Fidelity National Financial
Micheal Gilleran (1971; J.D. 1975) - Commisioner of the West Coast Conference
John E. Hopcroft - renowned theoretical computer scientist; co-winner 1986 Turing Award
Richard Jones - Judge; King County Superior Court that sentenced Gary Ridgeway, "The Green River Killer"
John Juanda (M.B.A.) - Professional Poker Player
Carolyn Kelly (M.B.A.) - President and COO, The Seattle Times
Robert Kruse (M.B.A.) - Founder & President of VenLogic LLC
Chad Mackay (1994) - President & CEO Mackay Restaurant Group
Steve McConnell (M.S. Software Engineering) - Chair of the IEEE Computer Society's Professional Practices Committee
Stan W. McNaughton (1974) - CEO, PEMCO Insurance
Charles Mitchell - Chancellor, Seattle Community Colleges; was president of Seattle Central Community College in 2001 when Time magazine named it “College of the Year.” Former professional football player with the Denver Broncos and Buffalo Bills.
Frank Murkowski (1955) - Governor of Alaska and former U.S. Senator from Alaska
Dino Rossi Former Washington State Senator and Republican nominee for Governor of Washington
John D. Spellman (1949) - Former Governor of Washington state.
Lieutenant Commander Charles Swift (J.D.; 1994) - served as legal council for Salim Ahmed Hamdan. Listed as 100 most influential lawyers in the US.
Jim Whittaker (1952) - First American to summit Mount Everest in 1963.
Christian Wong - Founder, Chief Chocolate Officer; Chocolati Handmade Chocolates

Honorary Degrees

Sherman Alexie - awarded doctor of humanities, honoris causa, author of many books about Native Americans including Smoke Signals and The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

Great Northwest Athletic Conference
Alaska-Anchorage • Alaska • Central Washington • Montana State-Billings (fall 2007) • Northwest Nazarene • Saint Martin's • Seattle • Seattle Pacific • Western Oregon • Western Washington