The University Ministries team is available as needed to faculty and staff. If you would benefit from spiritual care and pastoral presence during this time of uncertainty, there are multiple opportunities to pause, pray, and meet together as a community. Here's a list of resources available from UMin and other campus partners. UMin: Hard Spaces Together.

Message from the Office of Alumni, Parent, and Family Relations: For more than 60 years, Seattle Pacific University has celebrated outstanding individuals through our Alumni of the Year and Medallion awards. This year, Seattle Pacific is collectively honoring the many SPU alumni who serve on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic. We invite you to watch Front-line Falcons, a short film that focuses on three — two nurses and a physician — working hard to save lives at Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center. Experience a day in the life of each medical professional as they give compassionate care to others.

The Office of Global Engagement is pleased to offer a workshop on Tuesday, April 20, 4–5 p.m. for faculty interested in learning more about the Fulbright Scholar Program, which provides funded opportunities for faculty and administrators to pursue teaching and/or research in over 135 countries. Register here for the virtual workshop.

Take a 10-minute break and join Sharpen or UMin’s Instagram page for a guided time of communal "Breath Prayer." Join us on April 19, May 3, May 17 and May 31 at 12:30 p.m.

Faculty and campus partners, please join with the SPU library on Thursday, April 29, for a time of learning about open textbooks and how they can support student learning and success. Learn more and register here.

The History Department invites faculty, staff, and students to its Spring Quarter News & Nachos event: “Can the American Church Survive?” on Thursday, April 29, 10:10–11:40 a.m. on Zoom at spu.zoom.us/j/93114955781. 

In the face of partisan politics, racial inequality, and disagreements over gender and sexuality in the church, American Christians find themselves deeply divided (and oftentimes segregated) on Sunday mornings and, increasingly, in daily life together. The use of Christian symbols and language by many individuals and white supremacist organizations who besieged the Capitol on Jan. 6, or even the opposition to COVID-19 vaccination by some evangelical leaders, can feel like a moment of existential reckoning for American Christians. What has American Christianity been in the past, what has it become today, and where can we go in the future? And how can we apply these lessons to our own campus as we have recently found ourselves divided on questions of sexuality and, at times, on questions of faith and social justice more broadly? Join us as four panelists discuss these questions: Mike Hamilton (history emeritus), Josh Tom (sociology), Katie Douglass (theology), and Rev. Lisa Ishihara (SPU chaplain). There will be time for Q&A afterward.

Open to supervisors: This workshop from the Office of Inclusive Excellence provides practical strategies for navigating difficult conversations in the workplace around issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Participants explore common examples of difficult dialogues; examine how past experiences, biases, and fears can trigger unproductive responses; and acquire tools to turn challenging situations into opportunities for growth. This session is intended for supervisors who want to learn how to communicate across differences more productively and with less stress and anxiety. Next Session: April 28, 10–11 a.m. Register here.

College Cafe, hosted by First Free Methodist Church, is a new space for the SPU community to take a break and be served by your FFMC neighbors. Every Monday from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at College Cafe, you can get an espresso drink — just bring your SPU ID, and, if you are able, a $2 donation would be appreciated to sustain the ministry. (Students will be invited to the cafe in week three.) Entrance is at First Free under the sky bridge.

OneNote is a powerful tool that all SPU users can use for tracking notes, research, and meeting agendas in a central, searchable location. Gone will be the days of flipping through a pad of notes or trying to remember what you titled that file when you were talking about a certain topic. The paper can’t get lost and the notes are fully searchable to find exactly what you want quickly and easily. If you’d like to start keeping your notes in a searchable digital notebook, or want more info about doing so better, RSVP here for OneNote training on April 21, 10:15–11 a.m. There will be time for Q&A at the end of the session. Contact CISTrainings@spu.edu with any questions in the meantime, and find more information on the CIS Training Program.

A message from the Center for Applied Learning: You are invited to participate! Join us Wednesday, April 14, 2021, as the School of Business, Government, and Economics once again hosts the annual Social Venture Plan Competition. Visit spu.edu/SVPCShowcase2021 for a full schedule, and be sure to submit your vote for the People’s Choice Award!

Join Seattle Pacific University’s Center for Biblical and Theological Education, School of Theology, and Seattle Pacific Seminary for a special virtual event highlighting theology faculty authors. This event will be streamed online on Thursday, April 22, 3–4:30 p.m. (PDT). Please register.

The Office of Inclusive Excellence invites you to join us Thursday, April 15, 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m. for Diversity 101: Exploring the What, Why, and How of Diversity at SPU. Learn more and sign up here.

Through Monday, April 12, faculty and staff will receive two bonus meals if they purchase a Faculty Staff Block 10 Meal Plan. That’s 12 meals for $87 (or $7.25 per meal)! (Limit one per person.) You can use the plan in Gwinn anytime during service hours. Or you can use it to purchase Simply to Go meals at the Corner Place Market, Academic Perks (SUB), or Common Grounds (Weter). Meals can be used for guests, too. Plans can be purchased through Banner. Meal balances roll from quarter to quarter as long as you are employed at the University. Questions? Call Housing and Meal Plan Services at 206-281-2188 or email mealplan@spu.edu.

All faculty and staff who come to campus must complete an online self-screening to attest that they meet certain criteria for being on campus (e.g., not exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms). SPU has developed a campuswide tool through Banner (login into Banner and select Personal Menu) to report a daily COVID-19 self-attestation for faculty and staff working on campus (including Camp Casey and Blakely Island). A link to the self-attestation form is also available on the Stay Smart website, which is now highlighted in the top banner on the SPU homepage.

The Faculty/Staff Bulletin is published weekly during the academic year. The next Bulletin will be published Monday, April 19, and the deadline is Thursday, April 15. 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.

Katie Douglass, assistant professor of educational ministry and practical theology, and  Brittany Tausen, associate professor of psychology, were awarded a £2,000 course-development grant from the New Visions in Theological Anthropology project at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. This grant will be used to develop the cross-listed course THEO4950/PSY4910 Love of Neighbor: Theological and Psychological Perspectives, which will be offered in the fall of 2021.

Alissa Walter, assistant professor of history, testified as an expert witness at the hearing of an Iraqi asylum seeker at the Immigration Court at the Tacoma Detention Center on April 5, 2021.

Please join the Office of Human Resources in welcoming Clinton Jones, clinical lab coordinator, School of Health Sciences.

(An anonymous applause.) A shout out to Karl Law, developer/systems analyst, Computer and Information Systems, and John Middeljans, senior business analyst in Student Financial Services. Karl and John developed a process via Constituo to import data from Excel to the Banner student account, eliminating manual data entry for several quarterly tasks. This process also allowed us to post CARES Act and HEERF funds to student accounts in a matter of minutes, instead of the 30-plus hours it would have taken otherwise. Thank you for improving efficiencies which ultimately benefit students!

For his monthly cartoon, Nate Hoover, associate director for the Center for Biblical and Theological Education, explains this month’s feature: You have to weigh the risk of using a pun. Sometimes it pays off, and sometimes it backfires. Unlike the character in this cartoon, I usually only put my dignity on the line when punning. To see more of my cartoons, you can find me on Instagram @hoovernathaniel.

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