The following update was sent to students, faculty and staff on January 22, 2015:

President's Update: Winter 2015 from Seattle University on Vimeo.

FY16 Budget

I look forward to providing an update on the FY16 budget in February following Cabinet deliberations. Chief Financial Officer Connie Kanter and I were pleased to participate in 16 budget briefings with divisions, colleges and schools last fall. The discussions were informative as planning was getting underway for FY16. In December, we held a budget consultation with a larger group of university leaders to discuss planning parameters. The group will meet at various points prior to the budget being finalized in May. Division leaders and deans should continue consulting with their respective faculty and staff throughout the process.

Socially Responsible Investing Working Group

I applaud the work of student representatives from Sustainable Student Action and Connie Kanter and Michele Murray, vice president for Student Development. Their ad hoc working group on socially responsible investing (SRI) is doing some good work, starting with educating faculty and staff about SRI options that are available through the university's retirement plan. The group has met frequently over the course of the academic year, focusing on ways to build upon SU's strong record on sustainability, both in terms of operations and academic programming. I look forward to future updates from the group.