Remembering a Mountaineer

Seattle University is a place people can become legends and the passing of one made headlines around the world in April. Jim Whittaker, the first American to summit Mount Everest and one of the leading figures in mountaineering history, died on April 7 at age 97. Whittaker, a 1952 grad of SU in biology, was also the first full-time employee of REI. His death was extensively covered, including in the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, The Seattle Times and Outside Magazine.

Meanwhile, President Trump’s critical words of Pope Leo XIV allowed Seattle University faculty and staff experts to weigh in. Vice President of University Ministry Luke Lavin penned an op-ed for The Seattle Times, while Assistant Clinical Professor of Theology and Religious Studies Brian Taberski (KREM), Vice President of Mission Integration Catherine Punsalan-Manlimos (The Spokesman-Review) and Associate Teaching Professor Patrick Schoettmer (KIRO 7) were all interviewed.

Schoettmer also continued to be a go-to source for analysis on the ongoing war in Iran, appearing twice on Bloomberg TV, along with KING 5, KIRO 7 and KIRO Radio. The economic impact of the war was also an important topic, with Assistant Professor of Economics Nick Huntington-Klein speaking to The Seattle Times, KOMO and KING 5 about the price of fuel and its impact on travel.

With Seattle University’s fourth-annual Ethics & Tech Conference coming up on May 15, Professor Onur Bakiner, director of the Technology Ethics Initiative, appeared on KING 5’s New Day Northwest to discuss the conference, emerging technology and his new book.

The Albers School of Business and Economics always seems to be in demand, this time with Economics Professor Emeritus-in-Residence Brian Kelly interviewed by The Seattle Times about possible tariff refunds and Professor of Economics Joseph Phillips analyzing Microsoft’s surprising move of offering early retirement for KIRO 7. MBA Sport and Entertainment Management Program Director Natalie Welch was on KOMO talking about rumors that Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook may be interested in buying the Seahawks.

Over at the Seattle University School of Law, Professor of Law Andrew Siegel talked to The Spokesman-Review about the U.S. Supreme Court hearings on birthright citizenship and Assistant Professor of Law Erin Carr analyzed the Supreme Court’s ruling on electoral map redistricting.

With former SU President Eduardo Peñalver departing for Georgetown at the end of March, the Puget Sound Business Journal did a story on Stephen Sundborg, S.J., stepping into the interim president role.

Alumni In the News

The Asian Journal did a feature story on Sara Porkalob, a performance artist and graduate of Cornish College of the Arts at Seattle University who portrays 28 characters in a new show about her family’s immigrant struggles. Kestra Medical Technologies and its CEO Brian Webster—who has a MBA from SU—was featured in 425 Business.

Former SU athletes were also featured in the news. Men’s soccer player Peter Kingston signed a first-team contract with the Seattle Sounders as covered by The Seattle Times, among others. And former cross country runner Michael Van Nuland was one of the biologists featured in a story about a vital global research project in Quanta Magazine.

Finally, Washington Governor Bob Ferguson filled a seat on a state campaign watchdog panel with Seattle University Law graduate Matt Segal, as covered by the Washington State Standard.