A message from the John Perkins Center: During the academic year, the John Perkins Center sends out a weekly e-newsletter to students and the SPU campus community. This e-newsletter, Connected to Service, Community & the JPC, features a short reflection and highlights events on- and off-campus that focus on reconciliation, justice, and community engagement. The e-newsletter serves as a connection point for engagement between campus and community. To sign-up for this resource, email perkinscenter@spu.edu. Read the current newsletter online.

More

Mark your calendars and invite your students to Life After College Week, January 23-27. The opening session, “Stories, Wit, and Wisdom ꟷ SPU Voices on Vocation” will feature President Martin and faculty members Brian Bantum, Debbie Pope, Rod Stiling, and Brad Murg talking about their own "life after college" experiences, debunking myths, and sharing lessons learned about vocation, success, call, and purpose. For a complete list of the week’s events and more details, visit the website.

More

An International Feast for SPU International Students, a campuswide potluck for international students, faculty, and staff, will be held Friday, January 27, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. in Eaton Hall lounge. Participants are asked to bring an appetizer, main dish, dessert, or any food dish distinctive to their culture or background. (American foods from different cultural backgrounds are welcome!) This will be a wonderful time to share cultures and welcome our international students. Please RSVP to Professor of Family and Consumer Sciences Jaeil Lee at leej@spu.edu before January 14 and let her know what dish you will bring.

Enjoy an evening lecture and performance of Beethoven’s majestic and enigmatic final piano sonatas on Tuesday, January 10, 7:30 p.m. in Nickerson Studios. Assistant Professor of Piano and Director of Keyboard Studies Dainius Vaicekonis will explore aspects of unity and spirituality in the composer’s three piano sonatas. This event is part of the 2016-17 SPU Music Faculty Concert Series.

The Spanish Conversation Table will be available Winter Quarter to anyone who wants to speak with others in Spanish. Beginners are welcome. Meet your classmates and colleagues, make new friends and improve your Spanish. If you want to get some help on vocabulary or figure out how those reflexive verbs work, come see us. You don’t have to sign up ahead of time; just bring your lunch and join us. The table meets on Fridays, 12:30-1:30 p.m. in Eaton Hall, conference 305. If you have questions, email adjunct faculty member Vilma Illanes at villanes@spu.edu.

You are invited to join the SPU community this February for Homecoming and Parents Weekend. Participate in all the favorite Homecoming traditions, plus gather for a special 125th anniversary Homecoming celebration of Falcon sports at the Falcon Hall of Fame Induction Brunch and the All-Athletics Reunion. Find out more details and register online.

More

The SPU Wellness Initiative is a group of faculty and staff working to improve the mental, physical, and emotional health of undergraduates. The monthly posts on the Wellness Initiative blog provide faculty and staff with information about common mental health problems that students deal with on a daily basis, and will help them identify students who may need extra support. The blog also contains campus and community resources available for students. This month’s focus on the Wellness Initiative blog is on student alcohol and drug use. Substance use on college campuses is a major concern both nationwide and here at SPU. There are many consequences for students struggling with alcohol or drug use, but there are simple things that faculty and staff can do to help. To learn more, visit the website.

More

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.

For the latest information on Falcon sports, visit the website.

Friday, January 13
Women’s gymnastics vs Oregon State. Brougham Pavilion, 7 p.m. 

Saturday, January 14
Men's and women’s track and field,  University of Washington Indoor Preview, Dempsey Indoor at UW; field at 9 a.m., track at 9:30 a.m.

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, January 12. Due to Martin Luther King Jr. Day on January 16, the next Bulletin will be published on Tuesday, January 17.

The Confessions of X, a novel by Writer in Residence Suzanne M. Wolfe, received Christianity Today’s 2017 Book Award for fiction. A judge wrote, “In her deftly told and well-researched story, the unnamed woman whom Augustine loved and lived with for 13 years rises from the footnotes of history to become a dynamic, fully fleshed character." Congratulations, Suzanne!

More

Associate Professor of Music Brian Chin will speak on the arts and social justice at the Chamber Music America Conference in New York on January 13. He will work with a group of peers with national reputations for generative multi-arts social justice work. 

The Office of Human Resources would like the SPU community to welcome Phillip Ferrell, interim minister of worship in Campus Ministries.