Seattle University has attached a name to the $100 million Center for Science and Innovation that it is building as a gateway to its campus. The building will be named for Jim and Janet Sinegal who have a long relationship with the university.
Jim Sinegal is the co-founder of Costco and has served as chair of the board and co-chair of the school’s $275 million Campaign for the Uncommon Good fundraising effort.
The Jim and Janet Sinegal Center for Science and Innovation is scheduled to be completed in May and open for the start of the fall quarter, according to a university news release on Tuesday. Ground was broken on the 111,000-square-foot building in May 2019.
The five-story CSI will house the Biology, Chemistry and Computer Science departments and includes spaces named for corporate donors, such as the Amazon Computer Science Project Center, the Microsoft Café and the Art and Dorothy Oberto Commons, are also part of the new building. A campus makerspace, the Center for Community Engagement and student radio station KXSU-FM will also be housed in the building.
Seattle U has faced unprecedented enrollment demand in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines over the past decade. The College of Science and Engineering is the university’s fastest growing college/school, with enrollment expected to reach 1,600 students by 2026. The most rapid growth is in computer science, where enrollment has quadrupled since 2009, making it the fastest growing department at the university.
The CSI, located at the corner of 12th Avenue and East Marion Street, is now considered the centerpiece of the 128-year-old university’s 50-acre campus.
