Spring 2025

Sustainability Leadership: Puget Sound Business Journal 2025 Environmental & Sustainability Award 

In March, Seattle University’s sustainability efforts and initiatives were recognized by the Puget Sound Business Journal, in partnership with Slalom, honoring the university with a 2025 Environmental and Sustainability Award for Operational Excellence. According to the PSBJ, honorees from throughout the Puget Sound region are “at the forefront of pioneering sustainability initiatives within their industries. Winning organizations are those that integrate sustainability into their culture, demonstrating tangible results from their climate initiatives.” Read more.

Research: 2025-2026 CEJS Fellowship Awardees

One of the hallmarks of the CEJS is its support of environmental justice and sustainability scholarship by SU students and faculty. Each year CEJS awards two faculty and two student fellowships. Our 2025-2026 awardees are: Ibrahim Badawi (Doctor of Juridical Science Candidate, School of Law) who'll do research on legislative and policy reforms under the Electronics Accountability, Sustainability, and Longevity Act; Abby Robertson (Doctor of Nursing Practice candidate, College of Nursing) with a research project focusing on empowering nurses to advocate for sustainability; Dr. Nazune Menka (Assistant Professor of Law, and Faculty Director of the Center for Indian Law and Policy) who will develop a comprehensive course on the intersection between tribal, state, and federal environmental laws through an environmental justice lens; and Dr. Jessica Imanaka (Associate Professor of Management and Philosophy) who'll complete her book Institutions and Environmental Sustainability: Understanding Legitimation in the Papal Encyclical Laudato Si'. Read more here.

Sustainability Curriculum: Engineering for One Planet

In 2024, Professors Wes Lauer (Civil and Environmental Engineering), Teodora Shuman (Mechanical Engineering), and Shiny Abraham (Electrical and Computer Engineering), were awarded funds from the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Engineering for One Planet (EOP) grant program. Throughout academic year 2024-2025, the team developed innovative cross-disciplinary curricular modules to equip SU engineering students with skills, knowledge, and understanding around environmental sustainability. The project resulted in six sustainability-focused course modules, two in each partnering engineering department. Each module supports the collaboration between one engineering faculty member and a partner from outside the department. Dr. Shiny Abraham recently presented on the six modules at the ASEE regional meeting in Pullman. See this poster with more details about the EOP project at SU.

A Fond Farewell: Dr. April Atwood honored as Professor Emerita

At the recent Provost’s Celebration of Faculty Scholarship and Achievements, Dr. April Atwood was granted the honorary rank of Professor Emerita. She will retire from her position at Seattle University after 16 years of remarkable service and teaching. Between the University of Washington and SU, Dr. Atwood (Associate Teaching Professor, Marketing Department, Albers School of Business and Economics) spent 43 years in higher education, teaching classes such as Sustainable Business, Sustainable Marketing, Marketing & Social Issues, Consumer Behavior, and more. She served as co-chair of SU’s President's Committee on Sustainability (2019-2021); was an active member of SU’s Laudato Si’ Action Platform “Zero Waste” working group (2023-2025); and contributed to the development of SU’s first Sustainable Procurement Policy (2023-2024). Dr. Atwood put exceptional effort into ensuring that most of her courses included sustainability-related student projects. It was her conviction that “business is a powerful force in current society and holds immense potential for positive social and environmental impact.” This commitment propelled Dr. Atwood to continue teaching and advocating for sustainability at every opportunity. We thank you, April, for your unique dedication to sustainability engagement and education at SU! Read more about Dr. Atwood here.

Stewardship: The New "International Garden"

The newest addition to Seattle University’s green spaces is the “International Garden,” outside the Pigott Pavilion. The Grounds team designed the garden to celebrate SU’s international students. Campus gardeners partnered with the International Student and Scholar Center and MOSAIC (Meaningful Opportunity for Student Access, Inclusion and Community) Center to receive updated demographic information, which outlined the top nine countries represented on campus. They then sourced plants from those countries that would thrive in our Pacific Northwest climate. When it was time to plant, the MOSAIC Center helped transplanting the plants into their new home.

Student Showcase: Liyat Shenkute (Nursing) 

Meet Liyat Shenkute! She is a junior in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program and also works as an outdoor leader for SU’s Outdoor Recreation. Her love for nature and wilderness medicine is what inspired her to pursue a career in nursing. Throughout her time at SU, she has grown to understand the inequities individuals face in our local community. In her project, "University Camping Equipment Renovation for Unhoused Individuals in the Greater Seattle Area," she has been able to repurpose and repair damaged camping gear from SU’s outdoor program to provide essential shelter to unhoused individuals in the community. The project transforms tents, sleeping bags, and other outdoor gear into life-saving resources for those struggling to stay warm and safe on the streets. Partnering with the St. Vincent de Paul Food Bank, this project will help address the lack of donated shelters for houseless individuals. Liyat is hoping that her project continues to grow and be passed down to other employees of the outdoor program, other nursing students, or anyone in the community. For more information on this project and how it relates to health outcomes to patients, read more here.

Care for Our Common Home: Laudato Si' Action Platform - Year 4

On May 20^th, Seattle University celebrated the 10^th anniversary of the encyclical Laudato Si’ and the fourth year of Seattle University’s participation in the global Laudato Si’ Action Platform (LSAP). Our campus community gathered for an ecumenical and interreligious prayer service in praise of Creation and our Common Home at the Chapel of St. Ignatius. The liturgy was followed by a celebration event, including a keynote by Dr. Nancy Tuchman, Founding Dean of the School of Environmental Sustainability at Loyola University Chicago; faculty and student panels; and a community reception. The event also served to update our campus community on the many accomplishments achieved in the fourth year of SU’s participation in Pope Francis’s seven-year journey to Integral Ecology. View the brochure with LSAP Year 4 updates and accomplishments here.

Alumni Showcase: Patrick Barredo (2007) 

Patrick Barredo is a graduate from Seattle University's Pastoral Leadership Program in the School of Theology and Ministry, '07. He serves as the Director of Social Outreach and Advocacy at St. James Cathedral, which in his words requires him to walk with the “two feet of love in action”. Patrick supervises Cathedral staff and volunteers to feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, and visit the sick and the imprisoned through their meals programs, referral center, mental health and wellness ministry, immigrant assistance and detention ministry. Together with the Cathedral’s Care for Creation team, he drafted the Cathedral’s Laudato Si’ Action Plan, focusing primarily on their Responses to the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor, and environmental education. His advice to SU students: “It may be easy to be discouraged by the plight of our future, but as people of faith, we are called to live with hope. Hope is that spark that helps us see the light of a new day!” Read Patrick Barredo’s interview here.

Waste Diversion: #1 in Nationwide Race to Zero Waste Competition

Between February and April,  SU joined 70 colleges and universities across the country in an eight-week “Campus Race to Zero Waste” competition to track our zero waste efforts and benchmark our practices against other institutions. Seattle University ranked first in the medium sized campus division of the competition’s diversion category. Some of the campus engagement and awareness events organized at SU during Race to Zero Waste were: two Community Recycling Days, "What Goes Where" education tables, an e-waste collection month, and a Book Donation Day. See SU’s Race to Zero Waste competition page here.

Campus Engagement: Recap of Earth Month 2025 

Earth Month 2025 at SU featured a full program of month-long events and initiatives by student groups and campus partners that encouraged learning, action, advocacy and collaboration for environmental justice, sustainable development and climate solutions. Earth Month included 22 initiatives, nine of which were student-led, and featured the following campus-wide events: A conversation with Governor Ferguson organized by the Public Affairs and Non-profit Leadership program; the annual EARTH TALKS hosted by CEJS celebrating the 55^th anniversary of Earth Day; a morning of events with Dr. Robert D. Bullard co-sponsored by the Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture; and an evening on Environmental Stewardship in Health Care with Dr. Elizabeth Schenk, Providence Health & Services, invited by the College of Nursing. Student-organized events included a month-long E-Waste Drive (by KXSU students); a Zero Waste crafting event (by RHA); a planter box workshop (with ESW and Xavier Hall RA's); a weigh the waste event at Redhawk Dining; a gear swap (by STOKE); and more. See the full Earth Month program here and watch the five-minute EARTH TALKS videos.