Don’t want an unmade bed in your background while on a Zoom call? University Communications created SPU-themed Zoom backgrounds — including interior and exterior campus shots, as well as cityscapes and illustrations — for you to use instead. Check them out on this Zoom Resources web page.

This winter, Faith & Co. will offer two online courses: Serving the World, will be taught by SPU Professor of Management Randy Franz. It incorporates the Faith & Co. season 4 films and explores how faith shapes the way organizations think about their impact in the local community and natural environment. Serving Employees will be taught by John Terrill, executive director of Upper House in Madison, Wisconsin, and former director of SPU’s Center for Faithful Business. This course incorporates the Faith & Co. season 2 films and considers how faith shapes the way organizations engage with and manage employees. Both courses start Jan. 10, 2022, and there are free and for-credit options available. Learn more and register.

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 to your 403b account may take up to seven days to be provided to SPU for processing, so please contract Transamerica by the first of the month prior to your requested change. 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 Cherylin Shdo in HR at 206-281-2816.

The Faculty/Staff Bulletin is published weekly during the academic year. The next deadline is Thursday, Jan. 6, and the next issue will be published Monday, Jan. 10. 

If you have information or event news, send it as soon as possible with an image or graphic to Bulletin editor Tracy Norlen at fsb-editor@spu.edu. Submissions may be edited for clarity.

An article co-authored by June Hyun, associate professor of school counseling, titled “The critical need for peer clinical supervision among school counselors,” was published in the Journal of School-Based Counseling Policy and Evaluation.

Jason Thornberry, receptionist for the School of Education, recently had his essay, “Nesting Season,” published in Thimble Literary Magazine. Jason’s work has appeared in The Los Angeles Review of Books, North Dakota Quarterly, Soundings East, Broadkill Review, Sledgehammer Lit, and elsewhere.

Alberto Ferreiro, professor of European history, gave the second of five lectures to the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) group at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Bothell. The lecture was titled “The Four Marks of the Church," and the marks are One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic church as found in the Nicene Creed. The talk covered the historical background and the theological meaning of each and what they mean for Catholic and Orthodox Christians.

Professor Emerita of Theology Kerry Dearborn was quoted in a guest essay published in The New York Times on Dec. 24, 2021, titled "Why Jesus Never Stopped Asking Questions." The essay was written by Peter Wehner, a contributing opinion writer and author.

Seattle Times art critic Moira Macdonald and local book writers selected their favorite books of 2021. Associate Professor of English and Writing Peter Moe's book Touching This Leviathan about the alluring mysteries of Earth’s largest mammal was one of the books selected.

Part II of an op-ed by Mohammad Qadam Shah, assistant professor of global development, and Mohammad Bashir Mobasher, adjunct professor of law at Western Washington University, titled “Examining the Taliban’s words, Thoughts, and Deeds, Part II Hostage Diplomacy,” was published on Dec. 16, 2021, in The Diplomat.

From University Archivist Adrienne Meier: Students walk past the south side (not the north side as stated in the 12/20/21 issue of the Bulletin) of a snow-covered Peterson Hall, circa 1950. The building edge on the left of the photo is where Moyer Hall now stands. At the time, Peterson Hall housed the library, chemistry lab, prayer chapel, classrooms, and the president’s office. (Select the link for a larger image.)

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