SPU - Key Persons


Andrew Ryder

Job Titles:
  • Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Professor of Theatre Education

Armon Tanaw

Job Titles:
  • Admissions Counselor for Multicultural Outreach

Audrey Kamemoto

Job Titles:
  • Executive Assistant to VP for Business and Finance

Ben McFarland

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Biochemistry

Brenda Salter McNeil

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor and Director of Reconciliation Studies, Appears on the Cover of the October 2012 Christianity Today Magazine As One of "50 Women to Watch
: Those Most Shaping the Church and Culture." The article about her work in reconciliation is titled "Brenda Salter McNeil: Reconciler." "Her work," writes the author of the article, "has shaped the policies of Christian colleges, universities, and seminaries across the country and the world."

Brian Lugioyo

Job Titles:
  • Dean of the School of Theology Professor of Theology and Ethics

Bryan Jones

Job Titles:
  • Associate Vice President for Admissions

Cara Wall-Scheffler

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Biology

Cecilia Best

Job Titles:
  • Admissions Counselor

Cedric Davis

Job Titles:
  • Advisor With the Seattle Foundation
Cedric Davis, senior philanthropic advisor with the Seattle Foundation, is the new chair of the board of trustees at Seattle Pacific University.

Charles Ethan Porter

Job Titles:
  • African American Artist

Chuck Strawn

Job Titles:
  • Associate Vice President, Dean for Students
  • Dean of Students for Community Life

Cynthia Price

Job Titles:
  • Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Associate Professor of Sociology

Dan Lepse

Job Titles:
  • Athletic Director
  • Athletics Director

Daniel Schofield

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Chemistry

Dean Kato - Chairman

Job Titles:
  • Chairman

Dow Constantine

Job Titles:
  • King County Executive
King County Executive Dow Constantine recognized SPU for its many years of emergency planning and "a campuswide culture of preparedness." SPU was the first university to receive this award.

Dr. Daniel J. Martin - President

Job Titles:
  • President
announced today that he will resign his position effective April 5, 2021. Martin served as president for nine years, and is only the 10th president in SPU's 130-year history. In an email statement to the SPU community, Martin said, "I have decided it is the right time to transition from my role as president of Seattle Pacific University. Following this resignation, I accepted an offer to serve in a leadership role at a healthcare foundation for a national health system. The nature of the role and the healthcare system's expectations that I begin before the end of April will require me to transition prior to the conclusion of the academic year." Seattle Pacific University President Dan Martin announced support for international students studying at his institution after a recent decision by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that would bar them from remaining in the country if they take all their classes online. Seattle Pacific University President Dan Martin joined other college presidents in asking President Trump to allow DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) students to continue working and studying in the United States as Congress debates new legislation on their status.

Dr. Deana L. Porterfield - President

Job Titles:
  • President
  • 12th President
  • President of Roberts Wesleyan University
Dr. Deana Porterfield, president of Roberts Wesleyan University and Northeastern Seminary at Roberts Wesleyan University, was unanimously elected today by the Seattle Pacific University Board of Trustees as the university's next president. Porterfield will be only the 12th president in the university's 132-year history. She will assume her duties on July 1, 2023.

Dr. Deborah Wilds

Job Titles:
  • Vice Chair

Dr. Jennifer Wiseman

Job Titles:
  • Senior Project Scientist for the NASA Hubble Space
Dr. Jennifer Wiseman, senior project scientist for the NASA Hubble Space telescope, is the keynote speaker for Seattle Pacific University's annual Day of Common Learning on Wednesday, October 19. The public is invited to hear her talk at 10 a.m. in Royal Brougham Pavilion titled "Stars, Galaxies, Planets, and Life: An Amazing Universe to Behold."

Dr. Joseph Williams

Job Titles:
  • Microsoft Executive and Former Professor at Colorado State University, Has Been Named the Dean of Seattle Pacific University 's School of Business and Economics
Dr. Joseph Williams, a Microsoft executive and former professor at Colorado State University, has been named the dean of Seattle Pacific University's School of Business and Economics.

Dr. Kathy Lustyk

After an extensive nationwide search, Dr. Kathy Lustyk has been named the next vice president for academic affairs and chief academic officer at Seattle Pacific University. Lustyk currently serves as vice chancellor and associate chief academic officer at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), Prescott. She will assume her new role at SPU in the next few months.

Dr. Laura Hartley

Job Titles:
  • Associate Provost
Dr. Laura Hartley, associate provost for student academic success and dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at George Fox University, has been named SPU's new provost. Following is an excerpt from a message to the SPU community from President Dan Martin.

Dr. Pete Menjares

Job Titles:
  • Provost and Senior Vice President for Vanguard University in California
Dr. Pete Menjares, provost and senior vice president for Vanguard University in California, has been named interim president of Seattle Pacific University beginning July 1, 2021. Menjares is currently on the Board of Trustees for Seattle Pacific and is also a senior fellow for diversity with the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Philip W. Eaton

Dr. Philip W. Eaton has announced his decision to step down from his role as president of Seattle Pacific University, effective July 1, 2012.

Dr. Rebekah Rice

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Philosophy Chair of the Philosophy Department

Erica Ingalls

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Gabriel Jacobsen

Job Titles:
  • Director

George Scranton

Job Titles:
  • Professor
George Scranton, professor emeritus of theatre, passed away on Nov. 28. George, an SPU alumnus, served on the faculty for more than 40 years and left a lasting impact with hundreds of students and Seattle Pacific.

Grant Rasmussen

Job Titles:
  • Coordinator for Campus Recreation

Isaiah Peterson

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Director for International Admissions

Jason Chivers

Job Titles:
  • Director of Graduate Admissions

Jeff Van Duzer

Job Titles:
  • Dean of SPU 's School of Business and Economics, Has Been Named Provost
Jeff Van Duzer, dean of SPU's School of Business and Economics, has been named provost.

Jeffrey C. Jordan

Job Titles:
  • Vice President for Student Life

Jenny Elsey

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Provost for Experiential Learning and Student Success
  • Associate Vice President, Dean for Student Success

Jessi Adamson

Job Titles:
  • Program Manager

John Mouser

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor of Chemistry

Joyce Del Rosario

Job Titles:
  • Director

Julia King

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Director of Graduate Admissions

Julie Antilla

Job Titles:
  • Faculty Chair

Karen Isbell

Job Titles:
  • Administrative Assistant to the Executive Offices

Karisa Pierce

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Chemistry Chair of Dept of Chemistry and Biochemistry ( 2019 - 2022 )

Katherine Douglass

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor
Katherine Douglass, Seattle Pacific University associate professor of educational ministry and practical theology, received a $1 million grant from Lily Endowment Inc. as part of the Christian Parenting and Caregiving Initiative to study faith socialization in families. The grant will also bring together ministry leaders and parents for a trip to Hawaii to learn about the impact of disease, family, religion, and government within the former leper colony on Moloka'i. Douglass will be working with undergraduate and graduate students along with four SPU professors and staff in theology, psychology, and multi-ethnic programs.

Kati Barr

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Director

Katy Sanchez

Job Titles:
  • Transfer Admissions Counselor

Katy Tangenberg

Job Titles:
  • Dean of the School of Psychology, Family, and Community Professor of Social Welfare

Ken Cornell

Job Titles:
  • Vice President for Enrollment Management and Marketing

Kenda Gatlin

Job Titles:
  • University Registrar

Kevin Deschler

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Director

Kevin McKinney

Job Titles:
  • Enrollment Budget Manager

Kim Sawers

Job Titles:
  • Vice President for Business and Finance

Kimberly Frost

Job Titles:
  • Executive Assistant for the Office of Student Life

Kristen Jones

Job Titles:
  • Director

Larry Roberts - Treasurer

Job Titles:
  • Treasurer

Laura Brown

Job Titles:
  • Visits & Events Coordinator

Leland Saunders

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Philosophy

Les Steele

Job Titles:
  • Interim Chief Academic Officer

Linda McCarrel

Job Titles:
  • Executive Assistant to the Provost

Lisa Ishihara

Job Titles:
  • University Chaplain

Lora Yoder

Job Titles:
  • Associate Director for Communications and Operations

Madeleine Albright

Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will speak on the Seattle Pacific University campus on Thursday, April 3, at 7 p.m. in Royal Brougham Pavilion. Albright is America's first woman secretary of state (1997-2001), the former ambassador to the United Nations, and a former member of the Cabinet and National Security Council.

Marian Wright Edelman

Job Titles:
  • Founder and President of the Children 's Defense Fund, Wil
Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president of the Children's Defense Fund, will speak at Seattle Pacific University's Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony on Saturday, June 14, at Key Arena in downtown Seattle.

Mark Cederborg

Job Titles:
  • Secretary

Matthew Benton

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor of Philosophy

Megan Korsak

Job Titles:
  • Graduate Assistant for Leadership and Budgeting

Megan Scott

Job Titles:
  • Associate Director for Visits & Events

Michael Paulus

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Provost for Educational Technology Dean of the Library Associate Professor of Information Studies

Minhee Lee

Job Titles:
  • Associate Professor of Chemistry

Molly Martin

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Director of Recruitment and Counseling

Nerissa Lewis

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Professor of Chemistry

Nyaradzo Mvududu

Job Titles:
  • Dean of the School of Education Professor of Education

Patrick McDonald

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Philosophy

Rachel Goodrich

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Director

Rebekah Johansen

Job Titles:
  • Financial Planning Manager

Ross Stewart

Job Titles:
  • Dean of the School of Business, Government, and Economics Professor of Accounting

Ruth Jacobsen

Job Titles:
  • Executive Assistant to the President

Sarah Richter

Job Titles:
  • Assistant Director of Graduate Admissions

Sharon Barr-Jeffrey

Job Titles:
  • Director
  • Sharon Barr

Sue Martin

Job Titles:
  • Laboratory Manager and Chemical Hygiene Officer Adjunct Professor of Chemistry

Susan Okamoto Lane

Job Titles:
  • Dean
Susan Okamoto Lane, dean of multi-ethnic and wellness programs at Seattle Pacific University, received the "Vision from the Mountaintop Award" during the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Breakfast in Seattle on January 15. This annual award recognizes a community, education, and business leader from the Seattle area "who demonstrates leadership and contributes in the community or business world for the furtherance of justice, reconciliation, and empowerment."

Susie England Becker

Job Titles:
  • Director

Tracy Norlen

Job Titles:
  • All Media Inquiries Should Be Directed to

Van Duzer

Job Titles:
  • Named Provost

Veronica Zhu

Job Titles:
  • Director

Wade Grabow

Job Titles:
  • Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry

Zechariah Knepper

Job Titles:
  • Admissions Counselor