University Chaplain Lisa Ishihara will facilitate chapel on Tuesday, April 20, at 10:30 a.m. on the UMin YouTube channel.

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.

The Faculty Life Office invites you to view “Priceless: Art and Luxury in a Low-Res World,” the 2021 Winifred E. Weter Lecture from Katie Kresser, professor of art. In “Priceless,” Katie examines the mystique of fine art in our postmodern world, arguing that fine art began as a deeply spiritual and distinctively Christian phenomenon. She shows how its glamour today is rooted in traces of Christian mystery that have survived since ancient times. In the process, she recovers the original view of art as a spiritual technology meant to draw the soul toward the good and true. Initially scheduled for April 2020 but postponed due to COVID-19, “Priceless: Art and Luxury in a Low-Res World” is now available for viewing.

The SPU Art Department is pleased to announce the 2021 Studio + Visual Art Senior Exhibition ¡Vamos! curated by guest artist and theologian Maria Fee. The multidisciplinary exhibition will be launched publicly on the SPAC Gallery website on Friday April 23, along with a Zoom reception at 5 p.m. for the artists and their families. Guest curator Maria Fee will share her observations and students will also share briefly about their selected works in the exhibition and their experience at SPU. 

Please join us to celebrate this culmination of work for our Senior Studio + Visual Art students!

The Office of Human Resources will host a Retirement Ready Webinar Series during the week of May 4–6, 2021. It is an opportunity for faculty and staff who are making plans or preparing to retire in the near future to hear from professionals in the retirement industry. We hope that you will be able to join us live or take advantage of these recorded events. Watch for specific webinar details and links to come.

From The Office of Human Resources: Transamerica representative Ronee Dakin will be available for one-on-one phone consultations Wednesday, May 12, and Thursday, May 13. She will be available to discuss your retirement strategy over the phone. Please have access to the internet during your phone consultation. Make an appointment here.

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.

More than 6,000 SPU parents and families received the April 2021 In the Loop parents newsletter, which included information about the resignation of President Dan Martin, the Winter Quarter Dean’s List, the SPU Living Experience, the Mentor Program, and more.

Join the 2021 Perkins Lecture Series, Living Into the Legacy: Women in Reconciliation, Tuesday, April 27–Thursday, April 29. Brenda Salter McNeil, associate professor of reconciliation studies, will begin the week with the annual Perkins Lecture on Tuesday, April 27, 10:30 a.m. The week’s other virtual events will include spaces for connecting with campus through a Black Women Leading Panel, a conversation on student leadership, and a conversation with the CCDA Regional Network with Dr. John Perkins. Learn more about all of the virtual offering by visiting the event site.

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 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.

The John Perkins Center is hosting this annual writing competition for students enrolling or enrolled at SPU. The Perkins Prize honors the legacy of John Perkins’ work in reconciliation and Christian community development. The deadline for entries has been extended to April 30, 2021. The winner will receive a $1,000 SPU tuition scholarship. Visit the Perkins Prize webpage for detailed information.

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.

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.

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 26, and the deadline is Thursday, April 22. 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.

Katherine Douglass, associate professor of educational ministry and practical theology, recently gave two presentations at the International Association for the Study of Youth Ministry conference, held online by the Diaconia University of Applied Sciences in Helsinki, Finland. She gave a keynote address titled, “Cultivating Teen Faith — Findings from the Confirmation Project in the U.S.,” and a second presentation titled, “Holy Disorientation: Ministry with young adults that takes risks, builds confidence, and anticipates failure.”

Katherine Douglass, assistant professor of educational ministry and practical theology, and Brittany Tausen, associate professor of psychology, were awarded summer fellowships at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. They will join a group of others studying “theological puzzles” in a fellowship that supports interdisciplinary projects between theology and science. Their project will focused on the love command and disrupting patterns of dehumanization.

Eugene Lemcio, professor emeritus of New Testament, recycles his BS in zoology from Houghton College by publishing poems in God and Nature magazine’s spring edition, including “The Manis Mastodon of Sequim, WA.” Additionally, for the third year, the University of Washington College of Arts and Sciences reappointed him as affiliate professor in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures. Gene preached the Advent 1 and Good Friday sermons at Ascension Episcopal Church in Magnolia where his wife, Diane, is director of music and organist.