Advancing Our Enduring Purpose

Core Theme 1: Academic excellence and relevance

Through high-quality, well-resourced, and distinctive academic programs that attract high-quality students, faculty, and staff, pursuing pedagogical and technological innovation, Seattle Pacific University will work to foster academic rigor and global and intercultural competency to prepare students for today’s complex society.

Objectives

• Building on a liberal arts foundation, foster the capacity of students to articulate discipline-specific knowledge and apply essential skills.
• Foster global and intercultural competencies and knowledge necessary to further function, engage, and lead effectively in today’s complex society.
• Utilize leading and innovative pedagogical practices, technological tools, delivery methods, and program structure and design to provide an effective, efficient, and accessible student-learning experience.

Left: Nickerson Studios, SPU’s newest performance space, seats about 100 people for intimate concerts. Behind the scenes, sound technicians can record events with state-of-the-art technology. Right: SPU students help at Tent City 3, a unique opportunity for students, faculty, and staff to care for — and learn from — our neighbors.

What we’re doing

• SPU community members serve and learn from homeless community members sheltered in Tent City 3 when it is hosted on campus, including in 2012 and 2015 — and again November 2017–February 2018.
• The Center for Scholarship and Faculty Development began funding Innovation Fund seed grants during the 2014–15 school year. Since then projects have explored ways to gamify science, technology, engineering and math classes, digital literacy, and more.
• Read more in Response about ways SPU faculty are constantly innovating in and outside the classroom.
• Seattle Pacific undergraduate and graduate programs are known for academic excellence: 
  
  

  14:1
  Seattle Pacific has a student-to-professor ratio of 14:1. Our professors know their students by name.
  

  90%
  or more of SPU applicants are consistently accepted to graduate health programs, which is far above the national average.
  

  84%
  of SPU’s faculty have the highest degree possible in their fields. Students learn from the best.
  

  80%
  of SPU students made it to the finalist round in the past three years for the Fulbright grant­ — due in part to intentional faculty coaching.