What’s happening at SPU? This is where you’ll find the latest news about research, events, activities, achievements, and milestones in the life of SPU and its people.
During these difficult times our world is facing, we need theologically informed and educated ministry leaders; more than ever. Join us in a fellowship of learning, discipleship, worship, and mission, where you and your study of theology can flourish. With a unique model of theological education we call “Academy, Abbey, Apostolate®,” Seattle Pacific Seminary will equip you for transformational ministry in the church and world.
Come see for yourself the difference a Seattle Pacific education will make. Summer Visit Days are offered on select Fridays during the summer, from 9 a.m.–1 p.m. You will learn about admissions and financial aid from the experts, hear from current students and faculty, talk with your admissions counselor, explore campus, and enjoy lunch.
SPU's annual Ivy Cutting ceremony was the subject of a photo feature by The Seattle Times.
SPU Voices podcast features 2023 Alumna of the Year Phyllis Sortor, who served as a missionary with the Free Methodist World Missions in Nigeria, working for 10 years when she was kidnapped by a terrorist group hoping to end her work with the Fulani and indigenous nomadic people. A new feature-length film has recently been released documenting her kidnapping and time in Nigeria. She immediately returned and built Schools for Africa, an organization providing schools, primary healthcare, grazing reserves, and water and grass restoration for the Fulani people.
Seattle Pacific University’s annual pre-graduation tradition called “Ivy Cutting” will take place Friday, June 9, at 10 a.m. in Tiffany Loop on campus.
Begun as an "Ivy Planting" ceremony in 1922, this long-honored tradition involves hundreds of graduating seniors dressed in caps and gowns circling a rope of ivy, surrounded by family, friends, fellow students, faculty, and staff. After a brief ceremony, each graduate receives a sprig of ivy, signifying both the student’s tie to SPU and the independence that comes with graduation.
The Seattle Pacific University women's rowing team competed for the NCAA National Championship on May 27 in New Jersey, as the Falcons were powered by a third-place performance from the Varsity 8+ boat leading to a third-place team finish.
The third-place finish caps an incredibly successful season for the Falcons. The group earned Great Northwest Athletic Conference Crew of the Week honors three times, was consistently in regional and national polls, and collected a total of 16 postseason awards (academic and athletic) thus far. The strong finish to the year at NCAA Nationals made the entire SPU community proud.
The Department of Family and Consumer Sciences invites faculty and staff to the Interior Design Senior Exhibit on Tuesday, June 6, 4:30‒7 p.m. in Emerson Hall lobby. The exhibit is the culmination of senior interior design students’ portfolios.
The SPU Art Center is pleased to present the 2023 Visual Communication exhibition “Complementary: a visual demonstration how different experiences, cultures, and styles come together to create something bold, vivid, and beautiful" at SPAC Gallery in the Seattle Pacific Art Center through June 9. There will be a public reception with refreshments on Thursday, June 1, 5–7 p.m. at SPAC Gallery.
Students will exhibit examples of their work throughout their time here at SPU exploring various disciplines in design to include graphic, visual, web, brand, motion, environmental, information, experience, human-centered and UI/UX. Follow their Instagram and senior show website, Complementary.
Gabrielle Turner graduated from Seattle Pacific in 2017 with a degree in music, but she was just beginning to find her voice. Building on her general music degree, she immediately began working on her vocal strength and building up her courage as a soloist. Now she is Seattle Sound Music Award’s Best Female Vocalist.
The Faith, Diversity, and Science lecture welcomes Dr. Telli Davoodi, whose lecture, “Acquisition and Function of Beliefs and the Role of Culture,” will be Thursday,May 25, 4:30 p.m. in Upper Gwinn Commons. Her lecture will conclude the one-day workshop, Psychological and Philosophical Perspectives on Faith and Belief. Davoodi is a cognitive developmental psychologist and a senior social science researcher. Her research focuses on the role of the socio-cultural environment in learning, forming beliefs, and reasoning about abstract social constructs such as gender, nationality, religion, or the idea of ownership. This lecture is supported by grants from the John Templeton Foundation and the SCIO Supporting Structures program. It is free, open to the public, and wheelchair accessible.
Dr. Christopher Jones ’94 hopes the families in his medical practice never need to ask: “Is my kid sick enough that I should pay for a doctor’s visit?” Medical director of HopeCentral, a nonprofit health center, he and his team have adapted the concept of concierge medicine to a diverse Seattle neighborhood.
Assistant Professor of Philosophy Leland Saunders earned a $10,100 Graves Award in Humanities for his research project, “The Structure of Moral Judgement: Philosophical Perspectives.” His research responds to recent arguments that human beings’ concepts of morality are just a quirk of evolution and don't connect to anything deeper.