Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,

I am pleased to announce that the Board of Trustees earlier today approved the appointment of Natasha Martin, JD, as Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion. For the past year Natasha has been serving in the chief diversity officer role as an associate vice president. In this newly appointed VP role, she will serve full-time as a member of my Cabinet and report directly to me. Her new appointment will allow the university to better align diversity and inclusive excellence with the university’s strategic priorities and allow us to make a greater impact on the initiatives called forth by this commitment.

In a short period of time, Natasha has made significant progress in strengthening our commitment to inclusive excellence at Seattle University. She has established the Office of Institutional Inclusion, built collaborative relationships within the campus community, established a Bias Prevention and Climate Care Working Group and opened new lines of communication with students and colleagues alike.

Natasha brings to her new role 15 years as a faculty member at the School of Law and co-chair of the Task Force on Diversity and Inclusive Excellence. (Click here to read her full bio.) As Vice President Natasha will expand upon the efforts she has already made to fully integrate inclusive excellence within the university’s strategic priorities and drive the implementation of recommendations from the task force report. As she continues to actively engage with the university community, she will also assist in building capacities for advancing inclusive excellence while conducting research on best practices of diversity, equity and inclusion and representing Seattle University externally.

Those with whom Natasha works and interacts appreciate her empathy, compassion and candor as well as the energy and hopefulness with which she approaches her work. I personally am grateful for Natasha’s wisdom, commitment and insight and look forward to the contributions she will make in her new role. We all must work together in partnership with Natasha and one another to accomplish this important work and realize our full potential as a welcoming, inclusive and compassionate community.

Please join me in congratulating Natasha on her well-deserved appointment and let us recommit ourselves to working with her to make our university the kind of place where every student, faculty and staff member feels they belong and are valued and cared for.

Sincerely,

Stephen V. Sundborg, S.J.
President