Honoring in Memory

Following is the e-mail President Stephen Sundborg,S.J., sent to campus to announce that Michael Silver will posthumously be awarded the James B. McGoldrick, S.J., Fellowship.

Dear Faculty, Staff and Students,

Each year a member of Seattle University's faculty is chosen to receive the James B. McGoldrick, S.J., Fellowship. Named for a legendary SU Jesuit, the fellowship is awarded to a professor who shares Father McGoldrick's passion for teaching, deep commitment to students and embodiment of SU's Jesuit mission. I am pleased to announce that this year's McGoldrick Fellow is being awarded posthumously to a man who made an enduring impact on the many lives he touched, especially the students, alumni, faculty and staff of the College of Education.

Dr. Michael Silver passed away last August after an exceptionally distinguished career, first as an educational leader and then as a member of our faculty. For nearly two decades, Dr. Silver served as superintendent of schools in the Tukwila School District, where he led the most ethnically diverse school district in the state through a period of change and growth. 

Seattle University was blessed in 2004 when Dr. Silver joined the College of Education faculty. At SU, he was instrumental in forming the next generation of leaders, serving as director of the Educational Administration Program and developing and teaching courses in leadership and administration for principals, superintendents and program administrators. Dr. Silver was also chair of the Department of Professional Studies. To these efforts he brought wisdom, creativity and compassion. Everyone who had the opportunity to learn from and work with him is better for it today and his impact will continue to be felt by countless K-12 students whose educational experiences are being enriched by the administrative leaders Dr. Silver helped form. 

As we continue to mourn Dr. Silver's passing, we are exceedingly grateful for his many contributions to the college and our university. It is customary for the McGoldrick Fellow to receive a paid sabbatical for a quarter or, for law school recipients, a semester. To recognize Dr. Silver and all that he meant to our university, we will make an equivalent donation to the scholarship fund that has been established in his name to benefit students in the Educational Administration Program in the College of Education. 

We will honor Dr. Silver as the 2015 McGoldrick Fellow at our Faculty and Staff Appreciation Party this spring. In the meantime, please join me in keeping in our prayers his family, colleagues, former students and friends. 

Sincerely, 

Stephen V. Sundborg, S.J.
President