Alumni Blog

Twenty-five years ago, the Albers School of Business and Economics began to offer international study tours. To honor this milestone, we have chosen to celebrate where one of the original and long-running study tours took place: Sansepolcro, Italy! We have created a 4-day program that includes highlights of the original Italy Study Tour where there will plenty of opportunities to dine, taste and play while connecting with fellow alumni and guests. We are delighted that Dean Joe Phillips and Professor Bill Weis will be joining us in Italy to celebrate!

Over the years, Albers Study Tours have traveled to destinations such as Asia, Central America, China, Europe, and South Asia. In 1994 Sansepolcro, Italy became the first destination for an Albers Business School Study Tour when three Seattle University professors - Chauncey Burke, Dave Tinius, and Bill Weis - created and held a symposium in Sansepolcro to honor the “father of accounting” Luca Pacioli and recognize the 500th anniversary of his publication of a treatise on double-entry bookkeeping.

Professor Burke brought 25 Seattle University business students to join the two-week symposium in Sansepolcro and from there the Albers Italy Study Tour was born. The Italy Study Tour took place every year after 1994 for seventeen years and averaged over 30-40 participants each year. In honor of our visits, the town commissioned and resurrected a statue of Luca Pacioli! 

We invite all alumni and guests to join us for four days in Tuscany to celebrate international learning and the impact study tours have on the educational experience. We will be visiting Sansepolcro during the annual Palio Festival, where the village is transformed into a magical Renaissance experience. Something not to be missed! Celebrate with us under the September Tuscan sun while dining on some of the best food and wine in the area and experience the hospitality of the wonderful walled-village of Sansepolcro. 

For more information and registration, visit the Albers Study Tour website or contact Hartley McGrath at mcgrahar@seattleu.edu. 

Seattle University is proud to host and sponsor the Crosscut Festival May 3-4 and we hope to see plenty of Seattle U alumni in attendance—we have a special discount for you.

The Crosscut Festival is a public affairs ideas summit of thought-provoking conversation and innovative thinking, tackling the most important issues of our time with acclaimed journalists, current and former elected officials, best selling authors, and newsmakers of all types descending on Seattle U’s campus.

A slew of headliners will appear on five stages throughout campus, including Seattle rapper and icon Macklemore, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin, Obama Administration Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett, distinguished Seattle U alumna Hollis Hong Wear, ’09, and the best collection of writers, journalists, and academic minds around. Check out the entire lineup and program.

Karen Lynn Maher, ’00, attended Crosscut in 2018 and had this to say, “Attending last year's Crosscut Festival was amazing. I arrived being curious and left with deep gratitude for the opportunity to participate in and observe conversations about important and complicated challenges that we face every day. I believe the solutions will unfold when we take the time to come together, listen to one another and truly search for right actions. I can't wait to attend again this year.”

Register now and enjoy a 20% discount when you use the promo code: Alumni. (The code is case sensitive, so make sure you capitalize.) Student tickets are only $20, so if you have a young Redhawk in your family, encourage them to register, too! Questions? Reach out to the Seattle University Alumni Association at alumni@seattleu.edu.

We’ll see you on campus the first weekend in May.