Vice President for Mission Integration Announced

In a letter to the campus community, President Eduardo M. Peñalver announced Catherine Punsalan-Manlimos, PhD, has been appointed Vice President for Mission Integration. Dr. Punsalan-Manlimos, who currently serves as Assistant to the President for Mission Integration at University of Detroit Mercy, will join Seattle University on August 1.

In this newly created position, Dr. Punsalan-Manlimos will facilitate and coordinate the many mission-related activities across the university, including a re-constituted Mission Council. The Center for Jesuit Education and Campus Ministry will both report directly to the new Vice President. The Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture as well as the Center for Ecumenical and Interreligious Engagement will continue to be under the primary oversight of the Provost. 

Many will remember Dr. Punsalan-Manlimos from her time at Seattle University, during which she served in various roles, including Director of Catholic Studies, the inaugural Director of the Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture, Faculty Affiliate for Mission Integration and a member of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies.

“I am pleased to welcome Catherine back to Seattle and to our university,” says President Eduardo M. Peñalver. “Her broad administrative experience as well as her deep grounding in Jesuit education will serve the university well as we advance the Jesuit and Catholic dimensions of Seattle University.”

At Detroit Mercy, Dr. Punsalan-Manlimos initiated many new programs and opportunities for the university community to engage with its mission—and was the driving force in creating an endowment to sustain these programs.

She has piloted seminars on Catholic social thought and mission in teaching, scholarship and service, as well as new retreats and other opportunities for the university community to cultivate their spiritual lives. She has also convened colleagues throughout the university for conversations around different dimensions of mission, from the importance of creating a culture of dialogue to engaging racial justice as essential to the institution’s mission.

“I have learned so much from my colleagues at University of Detroit Mercy and am grateful to them for what they are enabling me to bring back home to Seattle University,” says Dr. Punsalan-Manlimos. “I look forward to becoming reacquainted with SU and re-establishing and building new collaborative partnerships with the community within and beyond the university.”

President Peñalver thanks all the staff, faculty, students and Jesuit community members who participated in this search process.

“This successful outcome is a testament to their discernment and commitment to Seattle University. Please join me in warmly welcoming Catherine once more to our Seattle University community,” says President Peñalver.