A message from the Office of Academic Affairs: For the last number of years, the Undergraduate Commencement ceremony has been held at KeyArena. As you might be aware, KeyArena is now undergoing a massive renovation, taking it offline for the next few years. After looking at a variety of other venue options, the University of Washington, with a campus located on the edge of Lake Washington, offered to partner with us by offering Alaska Airlines Arena (aka “Hec Ed”). This is another great indoor venue located here in the heart of the city.

This year’s Undergraduate Commencement will on Saturday, June 8, and it will be an evening ceremony with a processional start time of 7 p.m. Faculty will be invited to arrive at 5:30 p.m., when a catered dinner will be served. More details are available here.

Alaska Airlines Arena, located just north of Husky Stadium, is located right near a Link light rail station. We think this will provide a convenient alternative mode of transportation to get to the ceremony.

Schedule of Events

With over 17 events happening on campus over a 36-hour period, there is a lot going on June 7-8!

Here are the main high ceremonies and events:

Ivy Cutting*

Friday, June 7, 9:30–10:30 a.m., Tiffany Loop

Graduate Hooding Ceremonies

Friday, June 7, various times and on-campus locations

Graduate Commencement Ceremony*

Friday, June 7, 2–3:30 p.m., Tiffany Loop

Baccalaureate

Friday, June 7, 7:30–8:30 p.m., Royal Brougham Pavilion

Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony*

Saturday, June 8, 7–9:30 p.m.

             * includes faculty processional, in regalia    

To find out more information on all of the year-end high events, check out the website. Still have questions? Please email graduationinfo@spu.edu.

Due to the recent inclement weather and campus closures, the deadline to withdraw from Winter Quarter classes has been extended to Friday, February 22, 4:30 p.m.

A message from the Body Positive Committee: Come join Body Positive Week, February 25–28, 10 a.m.–3 p.m. in Martin Square. We will de-bunk myths about weight and health, combat weight stigma, declare our own authentic beauty, and raise awareness about disordered eating and negative body image. Stop by our Instagram booth, make your own body positivity button, practice mindful eating, enter to win gift cards, or just come warm up with some hot tea. All are welcome, and we would love to see you there.

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @BodyPositiveSPU #SPUAreEnough #BodyPositiveSPU.

The quarter census information is now available on the Office of Institutional Research website. Several pages on the OIR site are open to the public; others are available only to SPU staff and faculty. If you have comments or questions about the information appearing on the website, contact Tim Gatlin, senior systems and data manager, at tgatlin@spu.edu or 206-281-2545.

What are our diversity goals? How will we achieve our goals? How will we know that we are making progress along the way? Explore these questions in the new ODEI Connections.

The Office of Human Resources will host SPU’s annual Retirement Ready Seminar on Tuesday, March 5. It is an opportunity for faculty and staff who are making plans or preparing to retire in the near future to ask their questions to professionals in the retirement industry. We hope that you will be able to join us! Please register for the Retirement Ready seminar by February 22.

Date: Tuesday, March 5
Time: 4–7:30 p.m.  
Location: Upper Gwinn Commons, Queen Anne Room (third floor)

The Center for Applied Learning has rescheduled the second installment of the School of Business, Government, and Economics Dean’s Speaker Series. Roger Meece, a former U.S. diplomat who served as both the U.S. ambassador to Malawi and to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, will speak on Monday, February 25, at 3 p.m. in the Ames Library Seminar Room. Ambassador Meece will discuss his 30-year career in foreign service, development on the African continent, and the state of U.S. diplomacy. Faculty, staff, and students are welcome to attend. Space is limited, so RSVP in advance by emailing cal@spu.edu.

Do you know a student who is energetic and outgoing? Do you know a student who enjoys helping people? Do you know a student who loves SPU? If you answered yes to these questions then you should encourage the student(s) to apply to be an Orientation Student Coordinator or Orientation Leader. Applications are on OrgSync at Orientation Student Coordinator and Orientation Leader. Email Jacob Arzaga, assistant director in the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership, at arzagaj@spu.edu for more information.

Seattle Pacific Seminary is staging a benefit performance of The Vagina Monologues as part of the 2019 V-Day events happening around the world. The SPU community is warmly invited to attend. The performance will take place Friday, March 8, at 7 p.m. in Demaray 150. Suggested admission fee is $5/person. All proceeds will benefit The NW Network and the V-Day 2019 Spotlight Fund for women in prison, detention centers, and formerly incarcerated women.

From Campus Dining: “Join us on Wednesday, February 20, in Gwinn Commons Dining Hall from 4:30 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. for our Tour of Bacon Dinner. Enjoy everyone’s crispiest favorite incorporated into popular dishes by our executive chefs.”

In February, the Center for Career and Calling is celebrating Black History Month by connecting and highlighting the lives of local black business owners and professionals. Each week, owners will be on campus to share with students about their career journey. They are eager to share their success and the racial issues they have encountered. The meet-ups are located in Weter 202, 3–4 p.m. Everyone is welcome.

• Tuesday, February 19:  Mara Cardenas, acting diversity and inclusion manager, King County Government; and  Lewis Rudd, CEO of Ezell’s Chicken
• Tuesday, February 26: Alex Brooks, founder of Entreprov (IT business) and Chris Bailey, owner of MindSeekers, LLC (staffing company)

Staff Council will soon be taking nominations for the 2019 Staff of the Year awards. Each year, one exempt and one non-exempt staff member are selected to be honored at the spring Celebration of Service event. We encourage you to nominate a colleague who has made outstanding contributions to the SPU community. Watch for a link to the nomination form in March.

Visit the Music Department website for information on performances this month by the Jazz Ensemble, Wind Ensemble, Gospel Choir, and Symphony Orchestra. All these events will be livestreamed.

The School of Psychology, Family, and Community and the Initiative for Individuals With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities invites you to the Speakers Series with Anne Arnett, Ph.D., on "ADHD and the Brain," Tuesday, February 26, 2019, 7–8:30 p.m., Eaton Hall Room 112. The event is free and open to the public. CE credit is available.

Arnett is an attending clinical psychologist at Seattle Children’s hospital and conducts research on neurodevelopmental disorders, including ADHD, autism, and dyslexia. She will talk about current research on childhood attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, including an overview of the clinical symptoms, cognitive profile, genetic origins, and neurobiological differences. She will discuss her ongoing research and provide an overview of what we know, what we are learning, and where researchers are heading with this work in the future.

Tim Wise, nationally acclaimed speaker and author of the best-selling memoir, White Like Me: Reflections on Race From a Privileged Son, will give a lecture on campus, Friday, March 1, 7–9 p.m. in Upper Gwinn Commons. His talk about politics in America today will be followed by a panel discussion with SPU faculty and a book signing. The event is free, but faculty, staff, and students can get tickets from the ASSP Office in the SUB to ensure seats for the event.

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, February 21. The next Bulletin will be published on Monday, February 25.

A recent book chapter by Chris Chaney, Honors Program director and professor of English, has been selected for inclusion in the new Routledge Historical Resources: Romanticism. Her chapter, “The Intimate Familiar: Essay as Autobiography in England,” comes originally from the book Romantic Autobiography in England, edited by Eugene Stelzig (2009). The new Historical Resources: Romanticism volume, edited by Duncan Wu (Georgetown University), John Strachan (Bath Spa University), and Jane Moore (Cardiff University), focuses on “the best and most relevant” current scholarship of British and Irish Romanticism.

An article by School of Education doctoral student Erin Duez and education professors Arthur Ellis and Nalline Baliram has been published in the February 2019 issue of School Science and Mathematics Journal. The research-to-practice article, “Metacognitive practice and teacher feedback: Ways to improve teaching and learning,” (PDF) is based on an earlier Baliram and Ellis research article titled “The impact of metacognitive practice and teacher feedback on academic achievement in mathematics.”

Two co-authored articles by Munyi Shea, associate professor of counselor education, were published recently. “First-Generation College Students’ Perceived Barriers and Career Outcome Expectations: Exploring Contextual and Cognitive Factors” was published in Journal of Career Development. The second article titled “The Encouragement Character Strength Scale: Scale Development and Psychometric Properties” was published in Journal of Counseling Psychology, an affiliated journal of the American Psychological Association.

An article by Alberto Ferreiro, professor of European history, titled “Braga (city and diocese)” was published for the Brill Encyclopedia of Early Christianity. Braga is in present day northern Portugal, and this article chronicles its place in the late Roman Empire and church through the Sueve-Visigothic phase at the end of the seventh century. His entry is an original essay that brings the latest research on the topic, including a historiography essay and major bibliography.

The Office of Human Resources would like to welcome the following new employees:

• Theresa Maloney, administrative assistant to the assistant vice president of financial affairs and controller, Financial Affairs.
• Joanna Mills, certification specialist, graduate teacher education, School of Education.
• Veronica Zhu, career counselor, Center for Career and Calling.