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.
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.
The women's rowing team and men's track & field triple jumper David Njeri will compete in their respective NCAA Division II Championships, May 25-27. The women are headed to the NCAA Division II Women’s Rowing Championship, May 26-27, at Cooper River Park in Pennsauken, New Jersey. Njeri will make his second straight trip to the NCAA Track & Field Championships in the triple jump at Neta and Eddie DeRose ThunderBowl in Pueblo, Colorado, May 25-27. Learn more at spufalcons.com.
SPU Illustration is pleased to present the 2023 Senior Illustration exhibition, "TOKIMEKI: An expression of our hope and excitement for the future and what we intend to bestow upon it." Eight graduating illustration majors used various mediums to create immersive environments with the goal of fostering a world that celebrates imaginative thinking. The students’ visual works encompass a diverse range, spanning video games, embroidery, motion design and animation, children’s books, traditional and digital illustration, mixed media and paintings. All are unified by a shared vision and passion for the art of visual storytelling. With each distinctive creation, these illustrators cultivated their individual expression as artists.
In Everybody, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins takes the time-honored medieval morality play, Everyman, and updates it for a modern world.
At the end of life, Death is sent to collect Everybody (randomly selected from the cast at each performance), who isn’t really ready to go. Now, with the “help” of some friends, Everybody journeys down a road toward the greatest mystery of all ...
Everybody, a finalist for the 2018 Pulitzer Prize, is a theatrical high-wire act played without a net. Just like life.
More information on the SPU Theatre Department website.
While Autumn, Winter, and Spring quarters last about 10 weeks at Seattle Pacific, Summer Sessions are two to eight weeks long — allowing you to earn credits during the summer, take charge of your degree, and graduate sooner.
Check out the 2023 Summer Sessions for undergraduates and graduates.
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.