Seattle University (Seattle U or SU) is a private Jesuit university in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the largest independent university in the Northwestern United States, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs within seven schools.
History In 1891, Adrian Sweere, S.J., took over a small parish school near downtown Seattle at Broadway and Madison. At first, the school was named after the surrounding Immaculate Conception parish and did not offer higher education. In 1898, the school was renamed after the city it was located in as Seattle College, which itself was named after Chief Seattle.
Seattle College granted its first bachelor's degrees 11 years later. Initially, the school served as both a high school and a college. From 1919 to 1931, the college moved to Interlaken Boulevard but in 1931 it returned to First Hill permanently. When the college moved back to First Hill, it split off the High School portion of the school, which remained on Interlaken, as Seattle Preparatory High School. They remained connected through the Matteo Ricci program, which ended in 2017, and the many Seattle Prep Students who go to Seattle University for undergrad.
In 1931, Seattle College created a night school for women, though admitting women was highly controversial at the time. The night school classes actually began at noon, and were spearheaded by James McGoldrick, who stood up to Seattle's bishop when he complained. In 1934 a Superior General in Rome investigated the night school, but the president of Seattle College was able to keep it open for the reason that its numbers were needed to maintain the college's accreditation. The college was one of the first coeducational Jesuit colleges in the U.S., and these institutions were only sanctioned two decades later.
The college's School of Nursing opened in 1935, and many women from the college joined the Army Base Hospital 50 unit in 1942 for World War II. The first Black students at Seattle University enrolled after World War II ended. Sam Smith was the first to enroll and Millie Bown Russell the second, although Russell graduated first in 1948.
In 1948, Seattle College renamed itself to its current name of Seattle University under president Albert A. Lemieux. In 1993, the Seattle University School of Law was established through the purchase of the Law School of the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, and the School of Law moved to the Seattle campus in 1999.
In 2009, Seattle University completed its largest capital campaign, raising almost $169 million. This led to investment in the scholarship fund, academic programs and professorships, a fitness complex, an arts center, and the $56 million Lemieux Library and McGoldrick Learning Commons, completed in fall 2010.
In 2024, Seattle real estate developer Richard Hedreen donated his $300 million art collection to the university in honor of his late wife, alumna Betty Hedreen, marking one of the largest single gifts to a university ever made.
In December 2024, the university announced that it would acquire Cornish College of the Arts. This transaction became official in 2025 with the establishment of Cornish College of the Arts at Seattle University, which became SU's seventh college.
Campus Seattle University occupies two campuses covering about 55 acres. The main campus is located in the city's First Hill neighborhood, east of downtown Seattle and immediately adjacent to the Capitol Hill neighborhood and is known as the First Hill Campus. The second campus, located about 1.5 miles west of the First Hill Campus, is the South Lake Union campus and is home to Cornish College of the Arts at Seattle University. Seattle University's campus has been recognized by the city of Seattle and EPA for its commitment to sustainability through pesticide-free grounds, a food waste compost facility, recycling, and energy conservation program.
The campus includes numerous works by well-known artists: the Centennial Fountain by Seattle artist George Tsutakawa;Campus scene (Centennial Fountain) , captioned image on the Seattle U. web site. Accessed online February 28, 2007. a large glass sculpture in the PACCAR Atrium of Pigott Hall by Tacoma artist Dale Chihuly;Tina Potterf, Home Is Where the Art Is , Seattle University Magazine article reproduced on the Seattle University web site. Accessed online February 28, 2007. and works by Chuck Close, Jacob Lawrence, Gwendolyn Knight, William Morris, and David Mach.
Undergraduate enrollment in 2024 was composed of 50.0% White, 33.7% Asian, 14.4% Hispanic, 8.4% Black, 3.5% Pacific Islander, 1.9% Native American, and 2.0% Other/Unknown; approximately 14% of the student body identifies with more than one ethnicity. 9.0% of the student body are made up of international students. The gender makeup of the undergraduate student body is 61% Female and 39% Male.
Administration Building
The Administration Building is home to the office of the president and other administrative offices for Seattle University on the first floor of the building. It also houses classrooms on the upper floors which house classes from a variety of disciplines and the core curriculum. It was the site of student protests around the Israel Palestine conflict in 2024.
Bannan Center
The Bannan Center for Science and Engineering is a building with two wings which house the science and engineering departments. Science and Engineering each have a separate wing of the building which were previously separate buildings. The building overlooks the Centennial Fountain and has entrances on both the upper and lower malls of campus.
While the biology, chemistry, and computer science program used to be housed with the science and engineering programs, they has primarily moved to the new Center for Science and Innovation. The Bannan Center underwent renovations in 2020 alongside construction of the new Center for Science and Innovation.
Casey Building Home to the College of Arts and Sciences, the Casey Building is a five-story building housing the college's administrative offices and a majority of the undergraduate and graduate departments. It features multiple meeting and conference rooms, the office of the Dean, and a five-floor glass atrium overlooking the gardens hidden behind the building. The building also had McCrory’s Clock installed in front of it in November, 2024. It sits along the upper mall of Seattle U's campus across from the Centennial Fountain.
Chapel of St. Ignatius
The Chapel of St. Ignatius on campus, designed by Washington born, New York based architect Steven Holl, won a national Honor Award from the American Institute of Architects in 1998. At night the chapel sends beacons of multi-colored lights out onto the campus.
Fine Arts Building
Overlooking the largest open lawn on the Seattle University campus, the Fine Arts Building houses the classrooms, administrative offices of the Art and Art History Department and the Performing Arts and Arts Leadership Department, as well as the department's Vachon Room: an open performance space used for rehearsals, exhibits, live theater and other events of artistic expression. Adjacent to the Fine Arts Building, the recently remodeled Hunthaussen Hall also contains several learning spaces, a design studio and digital art lab.
Garrand Hall
Garrand Hall was Seattle University's first permanent building opening in 1894 built primarily by volunteers from Seattle's German and Irish immigrant communities. It now houses the College of Nursing, but is not the location of any of the simulation labs for the nursing students. It is on the upper mall of campus between the Casey and Administration buildings.
Hunthausen Hall
Hunthausen Hall is named for Rev. Raymond Hunthausen and housed the School of Theology and Ministry (STM) until Seattle U closed the program in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the STM operating at a significant deficit. It east of the fine arts building on the eastern end of campus.
Jeanne Marie & Rhoady Lee Center for the Arts
Seattle University opened The Jeanne Marie & Rhoady Lee Center on February 14, 2006. A performance and exhibition space on the corner of 12th Avenue and East Marion Street, the facility was designed for use by Seattle University students, Seattle artists, and the wider community.
The Center for the Arts houses a 150-seat flexible theater designed for drama, dance, and ensemble music. It also houses The Hedreen Gallery, a lobby art gallery for the public display of visual art by students and visiting artists visible through over of plate glass windows along Twelfth Avenue. The Center also includes a scene shop, costume shop, prop room, green room, dressing room, and ticket booth.
Designed in conjunction with the managing and artistic directors of local theater and dance companies as well as with Seattle University faculty, the performance space is usable by a wide variety of visiting artists and resident companies. Both stage and seating are mobile and removable. The theater is equipped with lighting and sound technology operated from an elevated control booth. The exterior decor coordinates with the surrounding campus, while the lobby art gallery along 12th Avenue is another feature.
The site of the Lee Center is currently under consideration to be the home of the new Seattle University Museum of Art which was designed by architecture firm Olson Kundig. The plan to redevelop the building and remove the Lee Center has drawn backlash from faculty and students who have advocated for developing the new museum on the site while preserving the Lee Center as the highest quality performing arts education space on Seattle U's First Hill campus.
Jim and Janet Sinegal Center for Science and Innovation
The Sinegal Center is the newest building on Seattle U's campus opening for the 2021 academic year. It is the fifth LEED Gold Certified building on campus and had a reported budget of $100 Million. It was built to house Seattle U's growing STEM program and as a new home for the Student run radio station KXSU. It also houses the Convergence Zone which is an on-campus plant-based dining option for students.
Lemieux Library
The Lemieux Library was founded in 1991. it contained 216,677 books and subscribed to 1,604 periodicals. It is a member of the American Theological Library Association. It also contains a large bank of the school's computer labs and a school-run café called The Byte.
Pigott Building The Pigott Building is home to Albers School of Business and Economics. It houses the largest auditorium on Campus, the Pigott Auditorium which has hosted a Seattle Mayoral debate and various on-campus events. It is located between the lower and upper malls of campus with entrances from both.
The Pigott building has a large atrium which houses an on-campus dining option called The Bottom Line. It also has a large glass sculpture by Dale Chihuly called "Accendo".
Residence Halls Students at Seattle U are required to live on campus for the first two years of their undergraduate degree unless they live within 20 miles of campus.
Bellarmine Hall Bellarmine Hall (often referred to as Bell) is primarily for first-year and some sophomore students. It is the most centrally located dorm on campus and houses around 400 students in dormitory-style housing with most rooms having two beds and some sleeping three. It is attached to the Pigott Pavilion which provides some student services including career counselling, counselling and psychological services (CAPS) and the print shop SUperCopy.
Campion Hall
Campion Hall (often referred to as Camp) is primarily for first-year and some sophomore students. It is the tallest building on campus at 12 stories tall and the largest dormitory on campus housing around 650 residents. It has a ballroom on the first floor which hosts many types of events such as the annual Lūau.