From Tracy Norlen, Faculty/Staff Bulletin editor. "This month we introduce a new feature called 'Library Connections.' Each month, library staff members will highlight a different resource available to faculty and staff to help in research and teaching. The first installment explains the recently acquired Historical Abstracts, an excellent database for world history topics. Look for this new feature the first week of the month in the Bulletin."

Doug Koskela, SPU associate professor of theology and the associate dean of undergraduate studies in the School of Theology, will give the annual Paul T. Walls Lecture on Wednesday, May 6, 7 p.m. in First Free Methodist Church. This lecture will explore the place of spiritual perception in John Wesley’s understanding of how one comes to embrace the Christian faith.

Doug will consider “Can an experience of the heart enable us to know God?" and “How can we relate the intellectual claims of the Christian faith to the dynamics we experience on the way of salvation?” In his sermons and other writings, John Wesley articulated a carefully defined and crucial role for such experiences. Communities in the Wesleyan tradition have tended to follow Wesley in valuing both the head and the heart, yet many believers sense a tension between them. The lecture will also consider the contemporary relevance of Wesley’s vision in the particular settings of congregational ministry and Christian educational institutions. The response will be given by Rob McKenna, chair and associate professor of the Department of Industrial-Organizational Psychology. The event is free and open to the public. 

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Tuesday, May 5, is a BIG day for all who know Seattle Pacific University best. May 5 is GiveBIG, a 24-hour fundraiser made possible by the Seattle Foundation and its charitable partners. In 1,440 minutes, the more money that is donated to SPU, the larger the portion of matching funds SPU will receive from the Seattle Foundation. On GiveBIG day last year, SPU received more than $70,000 in gifts and matching funds. Faculty and staff members, you know the difference our students make in the world. Show you support for SPU by visiting the GiveBIG website on May 5. Note: Please use the comments box to designate your gift to your program of choice. If you have questions, contact annualgiving@spu.edu.

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School of Theology Dean Doug Strong will talk about the classic book Rediscovering Our Evangelical Heritage: A Tradition and Trajectory of Integrating Piety and Justice at the Library’s next “Creative Conversations" event on Thursday, May 7, 3-3:50 p.m. in the Library Reading Room. The book by Donald Dayton “showed that many evangelical Christians in the 19th century didn’t distinguish between a private faith focused exclusively on personal salvation and radical concern for the poor and oppressed … It wasn’t an evangelical faith concerned only about heaven and the life hereafter but also about bringing the kingdom of God into this world,” according to Jim Wallis in the Forward to the book. Doug, who had the honor of writing a new introduction and conclusion for the republication of this classic text, will present the second edition of this book.

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A message from Advancement Services: “Join us in celebrating what Seattle Pacific means to each of us and the people who make our dreams possible. Alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and others fund everything from scholarships and new residence halls to awesome student programs such as Welcome Week and University Ministries. Join us May 4-7 for "ILoveSPU Week" as we come together to celebrate the legacy of this place, say 'thanks for giving,' and pay it forward!”

What does it mean to be an Asian American Christian? How can Asian American Christians engage the ministry of racial justice and reconciliation today? On Tuesday, May 5, SPU’s Asian American Ministry Program, in partnership with the Office of University Ministries, will join Asian Pacific American (APA) communities from across the nation to commemorate APA Heritage Month. It will be an inspiring time of worship, prayer, theological reflection, and discussion on these important questions and more. Faculty and staff are invited to attend.

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Open Enrollment will run May 4-22 this year. Where there’s Open Enrollment there’s Human Resource’s (HR) annual Benefits Fair. The HR staff would love to have you join us on Friday, May 15, 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. in Upper Gwinn for the fair. Please take a few moments to come by and say hello, stroll around the fair, and enjoy some snacks. This will be an excellent opportunity to meet with SPU’s dedicated Cigna team as well as discuss any questions or concerns you may have. Representatives from other featured vendors will also be present:  BAC (administrator for SPU’s health care and dependent care flexible spending accounts), Washington Dental Service, VSP (SPU’s vision plan), and many more.  These representatives provide information, answer questions, and bring give-aways. Don’t forget the prizes! We look forward to seeing you there. Reminder: Pay careful attention to all communications from Human Resources particularly during this Open Enrollment season.

Join us this week as we hear from Jonathan Tran, professor of religion at Baylor University, for the Asian-Pacific American Heritage Chapel Service on Tuesday, May 5, 11:10 a.m. in First Free Methodist Church. Tran is the author of  The Vietnam War and Theologies of Memory, Foucault and Theology, and Corners in the City of God: Theology, Philosophy and The Wire. He has numerous articles related to theology, ethics, race, and identity politics. Tran also served on staff with Intervarsity for more than six years, and frequently speaks at churches and conferences across the country.

The School of Health Sciences invites faculty and staff to join nursing faculty and students for a celebration of National Nurses Week, May 6-12. Drop by the nursing skills lab in Marston Watson 256 on Monday, May 11, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. to enjoy cake, see the lab, and chat with students. According to the American Nurses Association, there are about 3.1 million registered nurses in the United States, with 2.4 million of them actively employed. As the largest occupation in health care, nurses are integral to hospitals, clinics, and other health care organizations around the nation. Each year in the United States, nurses are honored during National Nurses Week for the contributions they make to their communities and the field of health care. Hope to see you on May 11.

Do you have questions about our medical plan? Need help with our new online enrollment form? The Office of Human Resources and Cigna will be hosting four online Open Enrollment sessions this month in Otto Miller 139. Join us as we go through how to complete the Open Enrollment form and learn the basics of our medical plans. Space is limited, so call the Human Resources front desk at 206-281-2809 to RSVP.

5/13      3:30-4:30 p.m.

5/14      11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

5/20      3:30-4:30 p.m.

5/21      11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

The spring census information is now available on the Office of Information and Data Management (IDM) website. Several pages on the IDM 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.

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SPU’s Opera Workshop will present an evening of scenes from opera and musical theatre on Thursday, May 7, 7:30 p.m. in the E.E. Bach Theatre in McKinley Hall. The program will include scenes from Strauss’s “Aridane,” Sondheim’s “Into the Woods,” Mozart’s “Magic Flute,” and J.S. Bach’s “Coffee Cantata.” With the sponsorship of Sweet Pea Cottage Preschool, the program will be repeated for families on Saturday, May 16, at 11 a.m. at the Queen Anne Baptist Church. A kid’s craft time will follow this performance. Admission is free at both performances.

Bloodworks Northwest (formerly the Puget Sound Blood Center) will be on campus this week for blood donations. Look for the bloodmobile on May 7-8, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. near the Tiffany Loop entrance on Third Ave West. Sign up for an appointment, or drop by to donate blood.

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If you are interested in biking to work in May as part of the Cascade Bicycle Club’s Commute Challenge, join an SPU team. There are currently four SPU teams, and room for more riders. Contact Tracy Norlen in University Communications at tcnorlen@spu.edu if you would like to join a team. Visit the website to learn about the Commute Challenge.

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The SPU Biology Club is hosting the annual Bone Marrow Registration Drive in the SUB Gazebo Room, May 7-8, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Since this event started two years ago, SPU has registered 551 donors, matched 14 cancer patients, and saved two lives. 

Join us this Thursday, May 7, at noon by the Flag Pole in Tiffany Loop for a service in observance of the National Day of Prayer. This will be a time of worship in music and prayer for our community, nation, and the world.

SPU’s Gospel Choir will present excerpts from the jazz oratorio “Hosea” on Tuesday, May 19, 7:30 p.m., at University Presbyterian Church, 4540 15th Avenue NE in the University District. The oratorio features performances by the student group Mime Ensemble, Seattle gospel singer Nichol Venneé Eskridge, a performance by SPU music faculty Chérie Hughes (soprano) and Danius Vaičekonis (piano). The concert will also include a special performance by local tap dancer Alex Dugdale. The performance includes Scripture readings, litanies, and prayers. The oratorio is directed by Stephen Michael Newby, associate professor of music and director of the SPU Center for Worship. Admission is free and the event is wheelchair accessible. For more information, contact 206-281-2205.

You have until 9:59 a.m. on Tuesday, May 5, to have stationery order(s) delivered on May 15. Stationery orders are now delivered once a month. Stationery orders made after 10 a.m. on May 5 will be delivered June 12. To see deadlines and delivery dates for the remainder of the fiscal year, visit the “Create an Order” stationery page in Banner. For more information, contact Hope McPherson in University Communications at hmcpherson@spu.edu.

If you live on the Eastside, drive across the 520 bridge, and would love to save more than $300 per month on tolls, gas, and car maintenance, we want you! Our Eastside vanpool needs more riders. Van pools are 100 percent paid for by the SPU Commute Trip Reduction program, so it won’t cost you anything. We currently meet at the South Kirkland Park and Ride (right off 520) at 7:20 a.m., and arrive at SPU by 7:45 a.m.; we leave SPU at 4:50 p.m. and arrive at the Park and Ride by 5:20 p.m. or so. Beginning in June, these hours can be flexible depending on the riders in the vanpool. If you are interested (even part-time), email Lynn Anselmi in University Communications at lynnnanselmi@spu.edu.

A message from University Services: “As you begin to hire students for summer employment, remember that on-campus summer housing is available on a first-come, first-served basis. Applications, including location and price, are now available in the Office of University Services and must be received by Friday, May 8, at 4:30 p.m. Please advise your student employees to complete an application if they are hoping to live on campus during the summer. If you have any questions, contact University Services at 206-281-2188 or housing@spu.edu.”

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, May 7. The next Bulletin will be published Monday, May 11.

At the annual Celebration of Service ceremony on April 30, faculty and staff were honored for their many years of service to SPU. The Associated Students of Seattle Pacific named Professor of Geography Kathleen Braden as Faculty Member of the Year. The SPU Staff Council awarded the Oral V. Hemry Non-Exempt Staff Person of the Year Award to Lindy Pearson, administrative assistant in University Ministries. One of the nominations stated “her profound compassion for every member of our community is unmistakably embodied in her every word and deed and apparent to all.” The Exempt Staff Person of the Year Award went to Niki Amarantides, director of the Center for Learning. “Niki goes above and beyond the expectations of her role at SPU to help our community pursue our Christian commitment to align with those who may be unseen or who are not treated with love in our society,” said one nomination. Faculty and staff who have served SPU for five, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 years were also honored. Receiving awards for 40 years of service were John Glancy, director of SPU’s 125th anniversary celebration; George Scranton, professor of theatre; Dave Tindall, assistant vice president of technology services; and Laurel Tindall, women’s gymnastics head coach. Congratulations!

Faculty and students with the Apparel Design and Merchandising program recently participated in the annual Fashion Industry Conference hosted by Sanford Brown College and held in Seattle. Assistant Professor of of Textiles and Clothing Raedene Copeland and student Fashion Group President Brittney Wilhelm gave a presentation on planning fashion events. Raedene reports that one industry person told her, "it’s clear that the caliber of your students are above and beyond the rest." Designs by student Anna Ardill were featured in a online slideshow about the event by seattlepi.com.

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A paper by Professor of European History Alberto Ferreiro titled "Pope Siricius and Himerius of Tarragona (385): An Example of Provincial Papal Intervention in the Fourth Century” was recently published in The Bishop of Rome in Late Antiquity. Geoffrey D. Dunn (ed.). Surrey: Ashgate, 2015, pp. 73-85. The paper was originally presented at the XVI International Conference on Patristic Studies in August 2011 at Oxford University. The book is a collection of papers delivered on the theme of the bishops of Rome (popes) in the first millennium of Christianity. This article is on the first extant letter from a bishop of Rome to the Iberian Peninsula. Pope Siricius was responding to a series of questions that Himerius, bishop in Tarragona, Spain, had sent him seeking apostolic guidance from the successor of Peter and Paul. This was not, however, the first interaction of the bishops of Rome with the Iberian Peninsula.

Bruce Baker, assistant professor of business ethics, presented his research paper “Spiritual Formation in Corporations: Practical Lessons for the Workplace Based in Christian Spiritual Disciplines” at the fourth International Colloquium on Christian Humanism in Economics and Business in Barcelona, Spain, April 20, 2015.

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From Adrienne Meier, liaison librarian for the social sciences. “The library has recently acquired Historical Abstracts, an excellent database for world history topics, to pair with America: History and Life, the library’s American history database. The Library Journal calls Historical Abstracts 'the standard indexing tool' for history and social science. The database uses the familiar Ebsco interface (the same as Academic Search Premier), and it covers more than 2,600 journals in multiple languages, with many of the articles available in full text. It’s a great resource for anyone doing research on topics in global development, political science, church history, art, and more.” Select the link to get started with Historical Abstracts.

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