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Spring 2004 | Volume 26, Number 6 | Alumni | |
| A Passion for SPU�s Mission Energizes 1955 Graduate as He Leads the Alumni Board ASK DENTON PALMER �55 how he ended up as Alumni Board president, and he�ll tell you it was purely coincidental. After all, the Board�s previous president resigned mid-term because of his busy schedule and Palmer, then vice president, was the natural choice for the position. But don�t let his modesty cloud the facts: Palmer was clearly the right person for the job. Despite his plans to �retire� from his nine years of service on the Alumni Board, Palmer says he couldn�t ignore the call to serve another two years, this time as president. �It was a tough decision at first,� he says. But in the end, Palmer says it came down to his passion for the University�s mission to engage the culture and change the world, and his belief that alumni play a vital role in that vision. �It�s important to me that I�m a part of the ongoing mission of this university,� he says. The 22-member Alumni Board team is developing ways that alumni can support President Eaton�s �Blueprint for Excellence,� explains Palmer. �We want to work with him in a very real way that helps SPU become recognized as a premier national Christian university.� That�s significant, he says, �because the Alumni Board is a reflection of all alumni.� Palmer, who has fond memories of his own years at Seattle Pacific running track with fellow alumnus Eugene Peterson �54 and others, says connecting with classmates is important. �Even if you haven�t seen an old SPU friend for 30 or 40 years, you�d be surprised at how quickly you can pick up the friendship right where you left off.� Palmer, who lives on Whidbey Island, is a retired school superintendent and the father of one of last year�s Medallion Award winners, Bruce Palmer �79. He�ll see his grandson, Riley Denton Palmer, graduate from SPU this spring, marking three generations of Palmers at the University. What�s the best part about being Alumni Board president? �I love hearing about what�s happening from President Eaton on down to the students,� he says. �I get a lot more out of this job than I give.� There he goes being modest again. |
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 From the President As today�s opinion-shapers declare the Christian message irrelevant, Seattle Pacific University President Philip Eaton reminds us: �For two billion people, the resurrection of Jesus Christ changed everything.� �This Is Our Campaign� Acting on AIDS Fact or Fiction? Looking Ahead |
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