Follow President Porterfield

Presidential Search Committee

Students hanging out in front of Demaray Hall at Seattle Pacific University

The nationwide search for Seattle Pacific University’s next president is being supported by FaithSearch Partners, which is based in Texas. Ed Fry, FaithSearch president, pledged that the firm “will take seriously its commitment to offer faithful service to the entire SPU community” throughout the search.

A team of individuals have agreed to serve as members of the Seattle Pacific Presidential Search Committee. The search committee comprises trustees, faculty, staff, students, and alumni of the institution, following the same model of representation used in SPU’s previous presidential search. The members are:

  • Joshua Canada, Trustee
  • Carrie Cox, ASSP President
  • Becky Gilliam, Trustee
  • Ruth Jacobsen, search assistant (nonvoting)
  • Bryan Jones, Interim Vice President for Enrollment Management and Marketing     
  • Dean Kato, Trustee and Search Committee Chair
  • Melani Plett, Director of Engineering and Computer Science Programs
  • Leland Saunders, Faculty Chair
  • Kim Sawers, Vice President for Business and Finance
  • Leslie Vander Griend, Trustee
  • Matt Whitehead, Trustee
  • Deborah Wilds, Trustee
  • Joyce Williams, Trustee
A view of SPU

SPU again ranked as a “Best National University”

For the ninth year in a row, SPU was named a “Best National University”  in U.S. News & World Report, earning a spot among the top 100 undergraduate engineering programs and receiving high marks for its undergraduate nursing program. Read more.