Marguerite Casey, who, with her family, offered to donate $1 million if the university could raise $2 million. Casey’s brother, Jim, had started Marguerite Casey United Parcel Service (UPS) and was a longtime friend of Seattle U. The Casey building honors the family. Former Seattle U Women’s Guild Member Eva Albers surpassed Casey’s challenge with a $3 million bequest on behalf of herself and her husband George, founder of a successful milling company. The Albers School of Business and Economics bears the family name. Their daughter, Genevieve Albers, became a Seattle U trustee emerita and devoted supporter until her death in 2001.
AN EXTENDED JESUIT FAMILY
Many alumni can recall a time when the university campus, comprised largely of temporary structures, was a far cry from today’s campus. None of that seemed to dampen the affection students and their families had for Seattle U. Since the time of his grandfather, Mick McHugh says Seattle U has always been a part of his family’s life. As a child, he attended dedications of the Bannan and Pigott buildings with his parents. The
oldest of six siblings, all SU alums, he says the Jesuits were like extended family. “The Jesuits would hop on the bus on their day off and come down (to our house) …” McHugh says. “They’d tell us all kinds of stories. We’d dote on their every word. We grew up with them around us all the time.” For Joe Gaffney, ‘67, the Jesuits really were part of the family. Three great uncles were Jesuits and his uncle Louis Gaffney, S.J., was an SU professor when Joe was a student; Louis Gaffney later became university president. Joe and Mick represent an era of Seattle U’s history when families sacrificed to ensure a Catholic education for their children. Both were students when the Society of Jesus nearly closed the university. At the time, neither of them knew anything about the school’s financial troubles. Instead, their memories are of a college that nurtured them body, mind and spirit. “The light went on for me in college,” says Mick, a successful Seattle restaurateur. “I came out of my shell.” Joe developed a lifelong appreciation for Jesuit education that inspires him today as a Trustee. “I have a deep affection for the Jesuits and their blend of values, activism and education in pursuit of truths.”
Students chat at a window table in the Chieftain, circa 1964.
ROOTED IN A CHANGING COMMUNITY
Joe’s wife Terri Gaffney, ’67, ’89, has experienced Seattle U as both an alumna and a former faculty member in the School of Theology and Ministry. She met her husband there and continues to serve as a volunteer leader. Terri traces her SU experience from the “homogeneous” undergraduate years “when most people were Catholic” through a period of personal disillusionment with the Catholic Church when lay leaders like herself longed for more progressive reforms after the Second Vatican Council. Through it all, Seattle U has been a beacon, she says. By fostering dialogue among people of different beliefs, the university honors its roots in the Catholic intellectual tradition. “I am very proud of the ecumenical and interfaith leadership of Seattle University. The more we are able to talk to others about faith, the more we can claim our own,” she says. Seattle University stands on the shoulders of countless individuals and families—from the immigrant parishioners who built Garrand with their own hands to the many people who are committed its continued success. No one can be sure what the next 125 years will bring. But if history is any indication, Seattle University will be guided by a collective can-do spirit that finds opportunity in the face of adversity.
School spirit resonated throughout the city.
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