Click the video to hear from Fr. Steve about this year’s Commencement speakers, what’s shaping up to be a larger-than-expected freshman class this fall and more.

Honorary Doctorate Recipients

I am pleased to announce that Mark Kennedy Shriver and Killian Noe will speak and receive honorary doctorates at our undergraduate and graduate commencement ceremonies, respectively. Both Mark and Killian are stalwart champions for social justice who have devoted their lives to serving the vulnerable and marginalized. I look forward to conferring honorary doctorates upon these two exemplars of our mission. You can find more, including information on the speakers, on the Commencement website.

FY16 Budget

Last week the Board of Trustees approved Seattle University’s preliminary budget for FY16, which begins July 1, 2015. Back in March, I provided an update on the budgetas it was still taking shape. The final version approved last week is consistent with what I previously shared and changed very little since then. You can find an overview of the FY16 budget here. The budget also will be the focal point of my President’s Forum with faculty and staff next week. Forum highlights will also be shared with the campus community by e-mail and included under my updates on the website.

Mission Day

I greatly enjoyed this year’s Mission Day for faculty and staff, particularly the opportunity to gather with counterparts from our sister Jesuit school Universidad Centroamericana (UCA) in Nicaragua and contemplate our shared mission. If you missed it or would like to watch it again, the video shown on Mission Day featuring the students of UCA can be seen here.

Up Ahead

As we move into the busiest time of our academic year, I hope that you will be able to attend and participate in as many upcoming activities as you can. Among other events, the School of Law celebrates commencement this Saturday, the Faculty and Staff Appreciation Event is May 29 and, of course, undergraduate and graduate commencement ceremonies and events take place the weekend of June 13-14.