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.
Men's soccer player Tyler Speer, women's basketball players Hunter Beirne and Natalie Hoff, cross country/track runner Libby Michael, and volleyball player Lindsay Rosenthal all have earned a Faculty Athletic Representative Scholar-Athlete Award for the fourth consecutive year, as announced on July 13, 2023, by the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
They were part of an overall collection of 31 Falcons to make the list — and this one is a very elite list. Getting onto it takes a cumulative grade-point average of 3.85 or higher.
"While thrilled with their accomplishments in competition, we are even more proud of the academic achievements of our SPU student-athletes," interim athletic director Dan Lepse said. "The fact that so many Falcons sustained grade point averages above the lofty 3.85 level is remarkable. Receiving this FAR recognition is a tribute to their diligent work and time management along with the strong support from their coaches and staff."
A new research study by a Seattle Pacific University professor gives global and historical evidence that women participated and continue to participate in subsistence hunting as much as men. “There is not a 'man the hunter' and 'woman the gatherer' dichotomy in most cultures,” says SPU Professor of Biology Cara Wall-Scheffler, co-author of the study with four SPU undergraduate students and colleagues. The study was recently published in the journal PLOS ONE.
The researchers analyzed data from foraging societies around the world as well as archeological research and found that women hunt in at least 79 percent of these societies, opposing the widespread belief that men exclusively hunt and women exclusively gather.
The study has been covered extensively by national, international, and science media.
Esther Williamson graduated from SPU in 1998 with a double major in theatre and English, then earned her master’s of fine arts from the Academy for Classical Acting at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, DC. Now she’s an actor and a teaching artist based in Brooklyn, New York.
A proud member of Taffety Punk Theatre Company, Esther has been praised by The Washington Post and numerous local critics for her deft handling of the heightened text and her grounded, soulful onstage presence. With Taffety Punk, she has performed over half of Shakespeare’s canon, as well as several new and classic works. She’s also acted and taught with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Seattle Shakespeare Company, Book-It Repertory Theatre, Opera House Arts in Stonington, and many, many others.
Meet some of the outstanding graduates in the Class of 2023, view their final projects in photography, visual communication, interior design, and illustration, and say goodbye to our retiring faculty.
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.
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.