The Manhattan String Quartet, well known for their performances of 20th century classics, has established a significant international reputation with regular concert appearances throughout North America, Europe, Latin America, and Asia. The quartet will be guests of Conference Services in June, and they are inviting the SPU community to free concerts on Wednesday, June 21, and Saturday, June 24, at 7:30 p.m. at First Free Methodist Church. Visit the website to learn more about the group and the repertoire for the concerts.

More

To place a stationery order in the 2016-17 fiscal year, make your order before 10 a.m. on Tuesday, June 6. Your order will be delivered June 16 and billed in the current fiscal year. Orders made after June 6 will be billed in the 2017-18 fiscal year. If you have questions, contact Hope McPherson in University Communications at 206-281-2552 or hmcpherson@spu.edu.

The Department of Family and Consumer Sciences invites faculty and staff to the Interior Design Senior Portfolio Show on Tuesday, June 6, 4‒7 p.m. in Upper Gwinn Commons. The exhibit is the culmination of senior interior design students’ portfolios.

More

The work of graduating art students in visual communication design will be featured through Friday, June 9, in SPU’s Art Center Gallery. The gallery is located at 3 West Cremona. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Technology has become a part of college students’ daily lives, impacting how they live, work, and communicate. It also has an impact on mental health. Technology has been related to some negative effects on mental health like depression, anxiety, and cyberbullying. However, students may also use technology to stay connected with friends, receive support from others, or engage with mental health treatment. To learn more, visit the Wellness Initiative blog. 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 information about common mental health problems that students deal with on a daily basis. This will help faculty and staff identify students that may need extra support, and provide faculty and staff with campus and community resources that are available for students.

More

The Center for Career and Calling and the Office of Student Employment are excited to announce our transition to Handshake—an online college recruiting platform and career resource center for SPU undergraduates, graduate students, and alumni. Handshake replaces SPULink, and offers  a more intuitive platform to post on campus positions and assist students with their career needs. In the coming weeks, Handshake will invite you to activate an account. In the meantime, please back up any documents and pending applicant information you have in SPULink, as they will not be saved. If you have an open job posting, you will need to re-post it in Handshake. If you need more information, visit Handshake's Employer website or contact the Center for Career and Calling at 206-281-2485.

More

An open house at SPU's Camp Casey Conference Center on Whidbey Island, an historic military fort built at the turn of the 20th century, will be held Friday, June 16, 12-4 p.m. The event will feature tours of the barracks, mess hall, and Fort Casey Inn, which was formerly used as officers' housing prior to World War I. Visitors will have the chance to join a guided tour of the Colonel’s House, which is used predominately as a retreat space for SPU leadership and special groups. Steve Kobylk, a Fort Casey Volunteer Battalion member, will lead the tour, and SPU Professor of History Bill Woodward will deliver an historical lecture prior to the tour. These tours will be held at 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. Complimentary coffee and snacks will be provided as well. Guided tours of Fort Casey State Park, adjacent to the Camp Casey Conference Center, will also be held at 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.

More

A message from the Office of Student Life: This year’s Senior Gift Committee, made up of several SPU students and sponsored by ASSP, chose to focus on fundraising "to commemorate the lives of Paul Lee and Erin Kimminau." The tragic events of June 5, 2014,  impacted the entire SPU community, and the Senior Gift Committee would like to commemorate Paul’s life and honor the many who were affected. Students, faculty, and staff are working with the Lee family on a memorial installation for campus that will evoke peace, reflection, movement, and life.

This past fall, the SPU community also lost Erin Kimminau, who passed away in a car accident on her way back from protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline. Erin traveled across the country to Standing Rock for the sake of justice, life, and water. Erin will be honored through an endowment set up by her family, supporting servant and social justice scholarships at SPU.

If you would like more information, or to participate by giving, please email student Felicia Perez or the Office of Student Life.

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.

Registration for Falcon Athletics Summer Camps is now open. All faculty and staff receive a 25 percent discount on camp registration fees for children entering grades 3-8 this upcoming fall 2017. To receive this discount, contact Madi Velling, Athletics Department office manager, at vellingm@spu.edu. Go Falcons!

More

Be sure to follow us @SPUdining for more information on weekly specials. You can also find the finals week and summer hours of operation posted at dining locations and online.

Finals Week Specials, June 5-9

Get your finals week coffee fix with a $0.99 medium coffee special at Einstein Bros. Bagels.

Get 10 percent off hot or iced beverages from Academic Perks and Common Grounds.

Cool off with a Guava, Passion Fruit, or Mango Italian Soda at Common Grounds for only $1.99.

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, June 8. The next Bulletin will be published on Monday, June 12. Beginning June 20, the Bulletin will be published every other week until September 11.

Assistant Professor of Psychology Jenny Vaydich presented a poster titled “The Influence of Parental Attachment and Communication on Emotional Functioning and Disordered Eating During Late Adolescence" at the Association for Psychological Science in Boston, Massachusetts. Cheryl Hong, a graduating senior in Jenny’s lab, also presented a poster titled “Rumination as a Mediator between Parent-Adolescent Communication and Anxiety in Late Adolescence.” 

Professor of English Susan VanZanten has been named a regular quarterly columnist for Bearings Online, a publication of the Collegeville Institute at St. John’s University. Her first column, a review of the film A Quiet Passion, is posted online.

More

The Office of Human Resources would like the SPU community to welcome Jason Fletcher, senior systems analyst in Computer and Information Systems.