We are extremely pleased to announce that the University was just awarded a $750,000 grant from the Norcliffe Foundation in support of the Alexander Hall Campaign. This grant is in addition to a generous award from the Murdock Foundation in the amount of $400,000. With our final construction costs at $6.2 million, and gifts and pledges totaled at $5,800,627, this leaves just $399,373 left to be raised.

Alexander Hall stands solid and secure at the heart of our beautiful campus, thanks to gifts and pledges made not only by private foundations such as Norcliffe and Murdock whose boards recognized the value of SPU’s heritage represented by this iconic building, but also by supportive faculty, staff, alumni, students, and parents of students. One of the most noteworthy of these gifts was a $2.5 million pledge from alumna and Board of Trustees Secretary Becky Arnett Gilliam. We are very near the total amount needed to cover the costs of the renovation, and would welcome your prayers as we seek to reach our goal.

On the anniversary of the tragic events on our campus one year ago, two events will be held on Friday, June 5, 2015.

A special chapel service will be held Friday, June 5, 12:30-1:20 p.m., in First Free Methodist Church. University Chaplain Bo Lim will lead the service. Offices will not be closed, but faculty and staff are encouraged to attend. The chapel service will be streamed live.

At 7:30 p.m. in First Free Methodist Church, the Music Department will host a special concert featuring Fauré's Requiem as a time of worship and reflection. The requiem is a combined orchestra and choral arrangement.

The last chapel of the year will be a universitywide communion service on Tuesday, June 2, 11:10 a.m.-12 p.m. in First Free Methodist Church. Doug Strong, dean of the School of Theology, will lead a time of remembering and preside over the Eucharist.

Fall and winter reservation requests are now being taken for the Faculty/Staff House at Camp Casey on Whidbey Island.  The dates of stay are September 28, 2015, through January 4, 2016.  Reservation requests are due by June 5, 2015. The fall and winter requests are selected by lottery and are not affected by summer stays at Casey. If you have questions, contact Camp Casey at 866-661-6604 or campcasey@spu.edu. Visit the Camp Casey website to request a reservation.

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The Percussion Ensemble will present their last concert of the academic year on Tuesday, June 2, 7:30 p.m. in E.E. Bach Theatre in McKinley Hall.

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The Art Department is currently presenting an exhibit in the Art Center Gallery featuring the work of graduating visual communication students. The exhibit highlights multiple mediums of visual communication including motion, interaction, exhibit design, print, and brand identities. The gallery is open 9 a.m.- 5 p.m., and the exhibit runs until June 12.

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If you need to order stationery in this fiscal year ― and have it delivered and billed by June 30, 2015 ― you must order by June 2. Orders made by June 2 will be delivered June 12 and billed before June 30. If you have questions, call Hope McPherson in University Communications at 206-281-2552.

What’s one thing you do to support better business or good labor practices? A message from Hannah Notess, managing editor of Response magazine. “We invite your answers to ‘The Question’ n the next issue of Response. We’ll feature stories of people who are working to end human trafficking and support trafficking survivors. Part of ending trafficking is changing the systems that exploit people in ways large and small — we all have a role to play. Tell us how you support better business or good labor practices."

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The 10th of each month is the last day to make changes to your upcoming payroll check. Do you need to add or remove your spouse and/or children from your health care plans? If so, contact Human Resources (HR) to complete the appropriate form. Changes might include events that are expected to impact your benefits and deductions, such as your spouse or children gaining or losing coverage due to employment, birth, marriage, etc. Additionally, any changes you wish to make to your 403(b) account contributions must be made by the 10th of the month. For changes to your 403(b) account, contact Transamerica Retirement Solutions at 1-888-676-5512 (5 a.m.-6 p.m. PST), or 1-800-755-5801. If you have any other benefits-related changes, call Mardeth Hughes in HR at 206-281-2816.

The Faculty/Staff Bulletin is published every week during the academic year. If you have information or event news, send it as soon as possible to Bulletin Editor Tracy Norlen at fsb-editor@spu.edu. Submissions may be edited for clarity. The next deadline is Thursday, June 4. The next Bulletin will be published Monday, June 8. Beginning June 15, the Bulletin will be published every other week during the summer.

A chapter written by Professor of Christian Ministry, Theology, and Culture Jeff Keuss titled “Love Among the Ruins: Hermeneutics of Theology and Literature in the University after the Twentieth Century” was published in Theology and Literature After Postmodernity (T&T Clark, 2015). This volume includes chapters by Rowan Williams, Stanley Hauerwas, Graham Ward and other scholars addressing the importance of theology and the humanities in the life of the 21st century university. In his chapter, Jeff charts the way that hermeneutics, in the reading and engaging of texts, has shifted in university education. He suggests students and faculty alike become “priests of the order of Melchizedek,” seeking out the face of God in a place and a people that might seem strange, yet through deep humility, offer new insights and deeper intimacy with the living Lord.

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An article by Seattle Pacific Seminary professors Rob Wall and Dave Nienhuis titled “On Reading Canonical Collections” was published in the Journal of Theological Interpretation 9.1 (2015) 149–160. The article offers a formal response to a panel of scholars who discussed their recent book, Reading the Epistles of James, Peter, John & Jude as Scripture: The Shaping and Shape of a Canonical Collection (Eerdmans, 2013), at the international meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in Vienna in 2014.

A paper co-written by School of Business, Government, and Economics professors John Godek and Gary Karns and Kyle Murray from the University of Alberta was presented by Gary at the Marketing Educators' Association in Las Vegas in April. The paper is titled “The Effect of Tuition Increases on Marketing Student Decisions.” The authors also collaborated on a paper titled “The Effect of Tuition Increases on Business Student Decisions,” published in the Journal of Education for Business, April 2015.