Fall Quarter Update from Dean Butch de Castro

The 2024-2025 academic year marks my second as Dean of the College of Nursing. Last year was a truly amazing experience for me—learning, living, and loving the culture and spirit of Seattle University—and I enter this academic year inspired to broaden and deepen my engagement in all that it has to offer. I hope you join me in seeking out opportunities and taking on pursuits that embody and fulfill our distinct identity as a Jesuit institution of higher learning.

At the same time, thanks to faculty and staff, I am more aware and better understand what would help cultivate a thriving academic and scholarly environment. To guide my approach in handling day-to-day tasks to the manifold endeavors that shape the College’s present and future, I turn to the Jesuit expression of being a contemplative in action to reinforce how my actions are determined by reflection and discernment on what is in best service to the greater good (more here and here).

With regard to action, I was thrilled by the job well done by our faculty, staff, and students to organize our College’s first Early Bird Immersion event in our Clinical Performance Lab just before the academic year started. New students entering our undergraduate nursing and diagnostic ultrasound programs did some hands-on learning of clinical skills and received insights about the student experience ahead of them. Seeing the enthusiasm and alacrity among these incoming students and envisioning them as the future transformers and leaders in health care they will become, energizes me with a reminder of why I chose to serve in higher education. And, as a result, we are exploring a pre-collegiate summer experience that introduces high school aged students (primarily) to nursing, diagnostic ultrasound, and other possibilities, as a college major.

As I become more immersed in Seattle University, I am fortunate this year to be participating in the Ignatian Colleagues Program organized by the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. This 18-month long, national program educates and forms senior leaders more deeply in the Jesuit and Catholic tradition of higher education so they can carry out their roles in fulfillment of institutional mission. My experiential learning will include a weeklong silent retreat in November at the Eastern Point Jesuit Retreat House, as well as an international encounter trip in December to the Dominican Republic organized in partnership with the Centro de Educacion para la Salud Integral. I am sure that I will forever be changed by the entirety of the program.

Also ahead is our pursuit to expand Seattle University’s portfolio of health professions training programs. I am incredibly grateful for the generous support of Charles M. Pigott—retired chairman and CEO of PACCAR Inc.—in establishing an endowed deanship. This transformative $5 million gift will enable Seattle University to develop new academic programs in order to address the critical need for healthcare professionals throughout Washington state and the Pacific Northwest region. Deep appreciation to Mr. Pigott for recognizing this need with us and supporting through his generosity our endeavors to address this societal challenge.

I look forward to the 2024-2025 academic year and all that it will bring.