Seattle University Names New Center for Science and Innovation for Longtime Supporters Jim and Janet Sinegal

The Jim and Janet Sinegal Center for Science and Innovation is scheduled for completion in May and will open for the start of fall quarter.

Jim Sinegal is the co-founder of Costco and has been involved with Seattle U for the past 27 years. He has served as chair of the board, honorary co-chair for The Campaign for the Uncommon Good, is a co-founder of the Seattle University Youth Initiative and a co-founder of the Costco Scholarship Fund, which benefits underrepresented students at Seattle University and the University of Washington. Together, Jim and Janet have served as Seattle U Gala chair and have supported the university’s College of Nursing, including the Clinical Performance Laboratory.

“Together they have been some of the most generous and involved citizens of our region,” says President Stephen V. Sundborg, S.J. “We are thrilled the Sinegals have accepted that our university bears their family name.”  

“I am delighted that the names of Jim and Janet Sinegal will be on our new building. They are pillars of our community and great friends to Seattle University,” says Michael J. Quinn, dean of the College of Science and Engineering.

When completed, the Jim and Janet Sinegal Center for Science and Innovation will form the centerpiece of campus and serve as the main entrance to campus. In new, state-of-the-art facilities, an increasing number of STEM students will benefit from opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration with their peers, professors and industry and community partners. Students will gain the skills and knowledge to solve the most pressing problems of today and tomorrow and to shape the next generation of leaders.

The CSI will be a five-story, 111,000 square foot structure that will house the Biology, Chemistry and Computer Science departments. Named spaces, including the Amazon Computer Science Project Center, the Microsoft Café and the Art and Dorothy Oberto Commons, are also part of the new building. Additionally, a campus makerspace, the Center for Community Engagement and student radio station KXSU-FM will be housed here.

The CSI project also includes renovations to the Bannan Science and Engineering buildings, which will be home to Electrical & Computer Engineering, Civil & Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Mathematics and Physics, as well as the new PACCAR Engineering Innovation Center.

The Center for Science and Innovation is part of The Campaign for the Uncommon Good,  a $275 million fundraising effort. Funding for the Center for Science and Innovation is $100 million of the total goal, of which $96 million has been raised to date.