As Seattle University finalizes the details of Cornish College of the Arts merging into a singular, unified institution with Seattle U, demolition plans for the Lee Center of Arts and the shift of the school’s performing arts program to Cornish’s South Lake Union campus have continued to circulate in discussions regarding the construction of Seattle U’s Museum of Art. At the May 8 Presidential Town Hall, these were topics of conversation for President Eduardo Peñalver between faculty, students and staff, in addition to the university’s current fundraising campaign.
Peñalver opened with remarks on the death of Pope Francis, noting how his inclusive leadership style echoed the priorities and approach of the Society of Jesus, ultimately setting a precedent not only for Seattle U but for Jesuit institutions in higher education as a whole. He also observed how American universities are grappling with the actions of the federal government, specifically, the threats of funding pauses and revoked student visas, which have now been restored, that the Trump administration has posed.
“Taking funding away from universities in a peremptory manner without due process, attempting to insert detailed government intervention into the inner workings of the academic enterprise, represents an unprecedented effort to undermine the academic freedom and the culture of open-ended inquiry that makes universities the kinds of communities they are,” Peñalver said.
To Peñalver, such actions are implications of the federal government attempting to exert influence and control over college campuses. He emphasized ways in which Seattle U has pushed back against the Trump administration, such as continuing ROTC scholarships for transgender students after Trump banned transgender individuals from the military. He highlighted “Know Your Rights” events for students in relation to immigrant rights.
At a state level, Seattle U is lobbying Governor Ferguson to veto a proposed effort to remove some financial aid funding from private universities. Seattle U was one of the first Jesuit universities to sign a letter by the Association of American Colleges and Universities speaking out against federal overreach.
Last month, the board of trustees approved a definitive agreement with Cornish to launch Cornish College of the Arts at Seattle University. The agreement is planned to close at the end of the month, with Cornish contributing its assets to Seattle U. Peñalver shared that 87% of current Cornish students have decided to continue their education at Seattle U, higher than the modeled predictions. However, the goal is to get as close to 100% as possible.
With the merger will come a shift in the performing arts program that currently exists on campus to Cornish’s campuses. Cornish’s South Lake Union campus is about a mile away, a distance Peñalver highlighted as similar to the commute nursing students make to Cherry Hill for their clinicals, which is just slightly shorter, about 0.8 miles.
The administration’s current goal is to break ground on the museum’s construction, and thus the demolition of the Lee Center for the Arts, in summer 2026.
“I know and understand that there are strong feelings about this change, particularly among students and faculty and staff in the theatre program, and I acknowledge the sense of loss that they’ve expressed since learning of this choice,” Peñalver said. “I’d say I’ve had zero success in my efforts to persuade people to focus on the future, but I would just ask those who are affected by this change to continue to remain open to that future and try to separate misgivings about the theater program moving to South Lake Union from feelings about the art museum, because the theater program would be moving to South Lake Union even if the art museum were never a part of our plans.”
Overall, the goal, according to Peñalver, is to utilize Cornish’s performing spaces and to improve and further develop those spaces.
About halfway through the Town Hall, Vice President for University Advancement Edgardo Gonzalez took over to present and discuss Seattle U’s current fundraising campaign. The university raises money year-round, with or without campaigns, but campaigns are multiple-year-long efforts focusing on university goals and the philanthropy necessary to achieve them.
“Universities use campaigns as these artificial constructs that are time-limited, that allow us to focus on specific priorities that move the campus forward,” Gonzalez said.
The current campaign began its planning phase in 2024 and is currently in its “quiet phase.” This doesn’t mean the campaign is a secret, just that input is still being sought from donors, students and the community. Around 2027, the campaign will enter its public phase, where a heavy public effort will be made to seek a large amount of donations for the campaign’s goals. The current campaign will end around 2031.
After Gonzalez concluded his presentation, the Town Hall shifted into its Q&A portion. Nova Robinson, associate professor of history and international studies and director of women, gender, and sexuality studies,, questioned Peñalver about certain administrative decisions where community input may be lacking, such as the demolition of the Lee Center.
“Faculty in the theatre department are upset that they are losing their departmental home, as anyone would be if they were being displaced,” Robinson said. “But more than that, in conversations we’ve had between the College of Arts and Sciences executive committee and theater faculty, we heard that they are alarmed by not being consulted in the decision-making process. They are not stuck in the past; they are concerned about transparent engagement with stakeholders.”
Robinson also spoke to faculty discontent over the potential transition to the semester system. Pointing towards a broader pattern of the campus community feeling left out of critical decision-making processes, she expressed a concern about eroding trust between the administration and the broader community at Seattle U.
“We don’t think that this is your intent, but trust is eroding, and I think the big question is how do you plan to rebuild the trust between your office, students, faculty, and staff?” Robinson asked.
Peñalver responded, explaining that the merger with Cornish, by its nature, needed to occur privately, but that the information was shared once the administration could share it. He explained that the continued development of the Seattle U theatre program at the South Lake Union campus will involve increased ongoing communication.
“I don’t know how it could be more transparent except to say we met with the faculty the day that it became public, but before a lot of decisions were made, and those decisions are going to be made through the normal process of shared governance,” Peñalver said. “That’s the nature of how decisions at any scale happen at a university. They’re not a unilateral thing, but they need to get started.”
Addressing the potential switch to semesters, he explained that the university cannot run two campuses on two different academic calendars. Cornish currently operates on the semester system. He also explained that the law school, which operates on a semester system, will be better integrated with Seattle U’s undergraduate academic calendar, referencing a potential undergraduate degree in law, which would require a shared schedule.
“I can’t speak for the trust point. I don’t hide the ball. I have these town halls, I answer the questions, and I feel like I’m a fairly transparent person, so people can choose to trust me or not, and I can’t control how people feel,” Peñalver said. “I’m sorry to hear that you think that trust is eroding. Here I am. I’m here able to answer any questions.”
Program Coordinator for the Art, Art History, Design, Performing Arts and Arts Leadership departments, Aly Bedford, also questioned Peñalver about the Lee Center for the Arts’ demolition.
“We didn’t hear anything. We did not hear anything and we were not consulted as the experts in the field, so it’s frustrating that senior leadership and the board seem to just, what appeared to us, steamroll past us,” Bedford said, going on to challenge the idea that Cornish has better theatre spaces than Seattle U. “Nobody knew about this. In fact, we all found out through our colleagues at Cornish. That’s why trust is eroding.”
Peñalver characterized the benefits to the theatre department by being part of a larger program at the South Lake Union campus and explained that some spaces at Cornish are better, while others are worse in some ways.
“These are trade-offs, but I think it’s important to separate the question of demolition and the art museum from where our theatre program is doing its instruction,” Peñalver said.
The Town Hall, held at a time of significant change and community pushback against administrative action, had an incredibly low number of students in attendance. This is likely due to the low promotion of the event. An announcement from over a month ago on SU Today featured the date and location, but there were few follow-up emails, posters or announcements.
It seems undeniable that trust has eroded between the Seattle U community and administration, and it’s unclear how that trust will be rebuilt going forward.
