Seattle University. Office of the President.

William J. Sullivan, SJ served as the 20th President of Seattle University from 1976-1996. A member of the Wisconsin Province of the Society of Jesus, Father Sullivan was only the second university president not from the Oregon Province Jesuits. Father Sullivan was the first Roman Catholic priest admitted to the religious studies program at Yale Divinity School, receiving his doctorate in 1971. Father Sullivan was serving as Dean of the St. Louis Divinity School when he was appointed Provost of Seattle University in 1975. Father Sullivan was appointed President in 1976 following the departure of Edmund Ryan, SJ. Father Sullivan was one of the most successful administrators in university history. Under his presidency finances were stabilized, an endowment was established, new academic and professional programs were launched (most notably the Law School), and the physical campus was transformed with ecological green landscaping and new and renovated buildings, including the Casey Building, the Chapel of St. Ignatius, the George Tsutakawa fountain, Sullivan Hall and the Garrand building.