As I’ve communicated previously, one of my primary goals is to keep the issue of homelessness in front of our community after hosting Tent City 3 (TC3) last year. We believe we have resources and value to offer the broader Seattle community that would assist, support, and enhance the work that is already been done to eradicate homelessness in King County and beyond. To this end, I am excited to announce the official launch of SPU’s Committee on Homelessness.

This committee, co-chaired by Associate Professor of Sociology Karen Snedker and Center for Learning Director Niki Amarantides, grew out of Goal 3 in the Strategic Plan (G3, O3, S2 of 3) around “engagement and ownership in the University as a primary contributor to ending homelessness in the city of Seattle.” Other members of the committee are Celeste Cranston, Kate Caday, Sandra Hartje, Sharleen Kato, and Kevin Neuhouser.

The committee’s goal is to initiate and facilitate ideas – both curricular and co-curricular – that will engage the SPU community around the issue of homelessness. This includes ongoing TC3 involvement and hosting them every three years; creating academic opportunities such as annual break-out sessions at the Day of Common Learning; organizing an annual symposium on homelessness in our city; and providing a website for dissemination of ideas and learning activities around engaging homelessness.

The committee’s first activity for our community is to engage in an educational time during the Day of Common Learning breakout sessions on Wednesday, October 21. We welcome your participation and engagement in these sessions, and look forward to continued progress as we seek to partner in the work of addressing and ending homelessness. 

Here are the sessions available at the Day of Common Learning related to homelessness:

“Park Your Privilege at the Tents”

Leaders: Jennifer McKinney and Karen Snedker (Sociology)

Description: This session explores how students engaged with residents of Tent City 3 during their stay at SPU earlier this year. We explore student data and reflections to unpack the power of privilege in addressing homelessness and engaging with people who are homeless. We will discuss how students struggled with their differential status in society – as privileged, middle-class college students. In the session we will also reveal how students were able to some extent “park their privilege at the tents” armed with academic knowledge, research skills, and a passion for social justice.

Seattle Nice or Seattle Ice? Facing Homelessness in our City

Leaders: Alison Eisinger, Seattle King County Coalition on Homelessness and Niki Amarantides, Director Center for Learning and member of SPU’s Initiative on Homelessness

Description: Seattle ranks fifth in Forbes’ fastest-growing cities list, with an unemployment rate of 4.7 percent and median pay of $72,000. At the same time, homelessness increased by 21 percent and 3,772 people are sleeping outside. Join in a lively, interactive conversation and learn how SPU students challenged the University to get involved in homelessness. Find out more about homelessness in Seattle and King County and practical ways you can get involved.

The annual Day of Common Learning offers the SPU community the opportunity to gather together to study and discuss a major topic as we seek to live out the mission of our institution. The theme of this year’s event on Wednesday, October 21, is “Seek Justice, Do Justice, and Sustain Justice: Building Community in a Broken World.” The day begins at 10 a.m. in Brougham Pavilion with a keynote address titled “Who Is My Neighbor? Responding to God’s Call for Justice for the Poor,” delivered by Lisa Slavovsky with International Justice Mission. In the afternoon, more than 25 different seminars led by SPU faculty, staff, students, and community members will be offered at 1 p.m. and repeated at 2 p.m. Regularly scheduled classes, labs, and seminars before 3 p.m. are suspended; classes and labs after 3 p.m. are held as usual. Visit the website for all the information. 

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Seattle Pacific Seminary and the University of Washington Comparative Religion Program present two opportunities on Thursday, October 15, to hear from Willie James Jennings, associate professor of systematic theology and Africana studies at Yale University. Jennings is one of the foremost scholars of race and theology and has written numerous essays in the areas of Christology, critical race theory, cultural identity, and theological anthropology. He will participate in a panel discussion about theology, art, and the body; and then give an evening lecture titled “Embodying the Artistic Spirit and the Prophetic Arts.” Visit the website for more information. 

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Faculty and staff (and their family and friends) are invited to the Mistletoe Market on Friday, October 23, and Saturday, October 24, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. at Hillford House, 600 West Dravus Street. The Martins are opening up the SPU president’s residence for a special fundraising event to benefit scholarships in Family and Consumer Sciences. The event features year-round home décor, hostess gifts, one-of-a-kind SPU items, fresh floral arrangements designed by Campus Dining’s Loida Arabia Kennedy, and fresh Christmas wreaths made by SPU Master Gardner Jeff Daley. Other items include candles, pillows, throws, hand bags, trays, jewelry, gifts for kids, gift certificates from local businesses, and much more. All profits will benefit Family and Consumer Sciences scholarships. The event is sponsored by Sigma Rho, a philanthropic organization of FCS alumni and friends. For more information, contact Mia Hays in Family and Consumer Sciences at 206-281-2195 or mhays@spu.edu.

University Advancement is looking for student volunteers for Advancement Core (AC), a group that helps plan “I Love SPU” week, serves as student ambassadors at events such as Homecoming and the annual President’s Circle Dinner, and does overall work to create pride, loyalty, and gratitude for the SPU community. If you know students who might be interested and are in their second academic year or later at SPU, have a deep love of SPU, and have strong interpersonal skills and professionalism, send their names to Meranda Clausen in Alumni and Parent Relations at clausenm@spu.edu.

Flu shots are now available in Health Services, located in Watson Hall. Current staff, faculty, and dependents (age 15 years and up) who have Cigna coverage through SPU may receive their annual flu shot free of charge as part of the preventive care benefit. For those not covered by Cigna, the cost is $25. Make an appointment by calling 206-281-2231.

Have you been trained in Sitecore or Contribute but keep putting off making changes to your site? Mark your calendar to join members of the University Communications Web Team on Thursday, October 15, for our monthly brownbag Q&A. Sitecore/Contribute Brownbags occur the third Thursday of most months, noon to 1 p.m. in the Lower Weter large conference room. If you need help with changes you need to make to your site, bring them with you and we’ll walk you through them. If you plan to come, email Kathy Henning in University Communications at kathy@spu.edu.

Hundreds of prospective students and their families will be on campus this month for SPU Friday Plus. Undergraduate Admissions is hosting two overnight events October 15-16, and 22-23. High school juniors and seniors will stay overnight in the residence halls on Thursdays; then dine in Gwinn Commons, attend informational sessions, and visit classes on Friday. Look for these students and their families and make them feel welcome.

Thursday, October 15
Men's soccer vs Simon Fraser, Interbay Stadium, 7 p.m.
Volleyball vs Central Washington, Brougham Pavilion, 7 p.m.

Saturday, October 17
Volleyball vs Northwest Nazarene, Brougham Pavilion, 1 p.m.
Men's soccer vs Western Washington, Interbay Stadium, 7 p.m.

For all the latest in Falcon sports, visit the website. More

The Faculty/Staff Bulletin is published weekly 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, October 15. The next Bulletin will be published Monday, October 19.

A paper by Professor of Accounting and Interim School of Business, Government, and Economics Dean Ross Stewart and co-author Jill Hooks was published in the September volume of Critical Perspectives on Accounting. The article is titled “The Changing Role of Accounting: From Consumers to Shareholders.” 

Two studies by Associate Professor of Clinical Psychology Dave Stewart have been accepted for publication. “Effectiveness of Motivational Incentives for Adolescent Marijuana Users in a School-Based Intervention” was published in the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment. Dave's co-authors were Dr. Ben Felleman at the University of California-San Diego and Dr. Chris Arger at the University of Vermont. Both are graduates of SPU’s clinical psychology program. Two other clinical psychology alumni, Dr. Kelly Serafini at Yale University and Dr. Leandra Shipley of the Seattle Veterans Administration Hospital, co-authored an article with Dave titled “Motivation and Substance Use Outcomes among Adolescents in a School-Based Intervention,” which will appear in an upcoming issue of Addictive Behavior journal.

The Office of Human Resources would like the SPU community to join us in welcoming Joshua McBrayer, program coordinator in the Center for Biblical and Theological Education.