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.
The SPU Library has created three exhibits in honor of President Porterfield’s inauguration. Items on exhibit have been selected from the University Archives and Special Collections.
The Seattle Pacific University Percussion Ensemble presents its Winter Concert on Thursday, Mar. 7 at 7:30 p.m. in E.E. Bach Theater in McKinley Hall. The repertoire includes works by Joel Smales, Mark Ford, Kyle H. Peters, Earl Hatch, Mitchel Peters and Jim Casella, and features solo performances by SPU students Spencer Long, James Loffink and Olivia Callen. Admission is free.
Spokane Public Schools’ Adam Swinyard Med ’08, EdD ‘15 was named 2023 Superintendent of the Year by the Washington Association of School Administrators.
The award recognizes the outstanding leadership of active, front-line superintendents and pays tribute to those who lead Washington’s public schools.
“Dr. Swinyard is a champion for equity, as he brings a consistent and unwavering commitment to achieving more equitable outcomes for all students in the Spokane Public Schools,” said WASA Executive Director Joel Aune.
The SPU community will observe Ash Wednesday on Feb. 14 with a short service sponsored by the Associated Students of Seattle Pacific and the School of Theology. A reflection on Lent will be provided by ASSP Officer of Ministries Kyler Granados, followed by the reading of one of the seven penitential psalms and an accompanying reflection by Professor of Biblical Studies Sara Koenig. The service will conclude with the imposition of ashes by students. The first 100 people will receive a "Lent in a Bag" with aids for prayer and devotional time during this Lenten season.
Weddings are magical events. Guests arrive to a beautiful setting, impeccably decorated with stunning floral arrangements. Music plays in the background. The bride sweeps down the aisle in a dazzling gown and joins hands with the groom. Vows are exchanged; love is promised; and a new family is formed. Then the party starts. Each detail is flawless. The whole evening is perfect. And behind it all? A wedding planner like Holly Patton Olsen ’08, founder and creative director of Perfectly Posh Events, and one of Seattle’s premier wedding planners.
The 2023 Undergraduate Commencement ceremony will take place on Saturday, June 8, 10:30 a.m., at T-Mobile Park, near downtown Seattle. Ivy Cutting and Graduate Commencement will be held on campus, Friday, June 7.
Learn more on the 2024 Commencement website.
New research by professors at Seattle Pacific and the University of Washington Bothell on teaching physics outlined how teachers implemented case studies to teach about energy and the realities of power plants. The study looked at educators who are incorporating case studies on power plants to teach students about the scientific, ethical, ecological, and cultural impacts of energy decisions.
Read the article in SciTech Daily: New Research: Energy Production Is Powered by More Than Just Physics.
The next Center for Faithful Business Coffee Talk is Thursday, February 8 with free coffee and conversation at 7 p.m. at Two Kick Coffee, 3208 Queen Anne Avenue North. Randy Franz, professor of management, will lead a discussion about how people of faith have a rich vision of what it means to be human and how that shapes the way they treat employees.
Alumna Cami Ostman began her career as an English teacher, and then after getting her master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy from SPU in 2000, worked as a therapist for 20 years. But after writing her own successful memoir and discovering the power and transformation allotted to you in writing your own story, she began a company providing writers everything they need to get their books done, The Narrative Project.
Listen or read online this SPU Voices episode.
Professor of Music Carlene Brown was invited to speak at the recent Sound Health Initiative workshop on "Music as Medicine: The Science and Clinical Practice," co-organized and co-sponsored by the National Institutes of Health, National Endowment for the Arts, Renée Fleming Foundation, and John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
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.