President’s Feb. 16 Town Hall Recap

At his Feb. 16 Town Hall, President Eduardo Peñalver updated the campus community on Seattle University’s Strategic Directions, recent successes and the importance of shoring up retention. Following are some highlights:

Reigniting Our Strategic Directions – “We’ve made tremendous progress over the first year (of the five-year) plan,” said Peñalver. “Reigniting Our Strategic Directions (can be thought of as) our best thinking about what (our) vision means and how we want to move toward it over the next few years.”

Recent victories – The president highlighted some of the progress being made toward the goals of the Reigniting Our Strategic Directions. These included returning the retirement benefit to a maximum of 10 percent and the largest pay increase for faculty and staff in over a decade; securing significant grant funding and new corporate partnerships; welcoming new leadership; reimagining the curriculum; changing how SU works with diverse suppliers and updating financial procedures; and forming new partnerships with institutions in India.

President Peñalver also highlighted positive developments around student success and retention such as an increase in first-time-in-college (FTIC) applications, increasing retention from fall to winter, activating the Campus Climate Incident Reporting and Response Protocol and enhancing student support during winter break.

Budget – While retention was up last quarter, it has been a challenge for several years, said Peñalver. A drop in undergraduate retention from spring to fall 2022, contributed to a deficit for FY23. The shortfall has been managed by expense reductions and other one-time adjustments we won’t be able to rely on going forward. The president expects a similar picture for FY24, pointing out that our expenses are outpacing revenue. Retention is key to addressing budget shortfalls and “is the most mission-aligned way for us to think about undergraduate enrollment,” he said.

Moving forward – In addressing current budgetary constraints, the president said we must be guided by commitments to decisions based on sound data; explore opportunities to improve processes and take advantage of new efficiencies; make continued progress on faculty and staff compensation and benefits; and put the student experience and retention efforts front and center.

Reminder: Coffee with the President is held noon on Tuesdays in the Student Center by the hearth on the first floor. Students, faculty and staff are invited to come hear more about the university or ask specific questions.