University Designated as Minority Serving Institution

The U.S. Department of Education has designated Seattle University an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI), recognizing not just demographics and support for AANAPI students but SU’s Jesuit-inspired commitment to inclusive academic excellence.

This establishes the university as a Minority-Serving Institution, a federal designation recognizing when a school enrolls significant numbers of ethnic or racial minority students. The designation makes SU eligible for federal funding opportunities to further serve the AANAPI campus community.

President Eduardo Peñalver praised the Office of Diversity and Inclusion for its work preparing the application, noting that SU intends to also apply for a designation as a Hispanic-Serving Institution, furthering its commitment to inclusive academic excellence.

“This communicates to the world who we are,” Peñalver says. 

Monica Ingram, vice provost for Enrollment Management, says the designation recognizes the university’s rich tradition of embracing students from Asian American and Pacific Islander cultures. 

“More importantly, our AANAPISI designation will allow us to expand our resources to financially support additional educational and mentorship programs in furtherance of academic excellence that benefits the greater Seattle University community,” Ingram says.

One key eligibility requirement for the designation is having an enrollment of undergraduate students that is at least 10 percent Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander. In fall 2023, more than 36 percent of undergraduates identified as Asian and nearly 4 percent as Pacific Islander (students can identify as multiple ethnicities).

During the same period more than 15 percent of undergraduates identified as Hispanic.