A Message from Provost Isiaah Crawford
by Isiaah Crawford
Provost Isiaah Crawford
Photo by Chris Joseph Taylor
The outstanding professors and deep learning for which Seattle University is so well known for have received a major boost from the largest fundraising campaign in the university’s history.
On April 7, 2009, with President Stephen Sundborg, S.J., and Mary Kay McFadden, vice president of University Advancement, the bell rang at the Chapel of St. Ignatius as a signal that we have passed our $160 million campaign goal.
Your gifts allow more students than ever to reach new heights of excellence in the fine and performing arts thanks to our wonderful Lee Center for the Arts, which opened in 2006. A transformation of our campus library into the world-class Lemieux Library and McGoldrick Learning Commons is underway. We are adding 33,000 square feet of new construction and an infusion of state-of-the-art information technology to this building.
First-rate facilities are not the only outcome of this campaign. Benefactors have invested $37.6 million in top-priority academic initiatives, including four new endowed chairs and seven new endowed professorships. The M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust recently named the College of Science and Engineering as a new member of the prestigious Murdock College Science Research Program, which encourages faculty and undergraduate student research in the natural sciences. Acceptance into the program comes with a grant of $350,000 to support undergraduate research in biology, chemistry and physics. Recently we announced the creation of the Sister Kathleen Sullivan, RSCJ, Professorship in Mathematics—a tribute to an outstanding professor who has led the way in introducing middle school girls to the sciences.
As provost of Seattle University, I take tremendous pride in the excellent scholar-educators who share their gifts of knowledge, wisdom and personalized guidance with our students. I am excited about working with all of you to bring these benefits to a new generation. Thank you again for your investment in our work.