The Office of Inclusive Excellence (formerly Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) is introducing the Search Advocate Program, a new hiring initiative to promote equity, mitigate bias, and increase diversity in SPU’s faculty and staff searches. An inaugural cohort of 12 faculty and staff will complete a training in August, after which they will be available to serve as equity consultants to hiring teams and search committees across campus.

Supervisors and hiring managers, please take a moment to complete this form to let us know of any searches you anticipate in your area during the coming academic year. We look forward to partnering with you in this work.

From the Office of the Provost: Designed last fall by first-generation student Chloe Guillot, an awesome first generation icon has been developed. This new icon serves as a wonderful way to show our community how much pride we take in our “First Gen” staff and faculty. If you are a first-in-family or first-generation college graduate and would like UC to update your contact info to include this icon, email provost@spu.edu. Check out how this icon was rolled out on the Admissions website.

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 and Formstack to report a daily COVID-19 self-attestation for all faculty and staff working on campus (including Camp Casey or Blakely Island). Faculty and staff members should perform the online self-attestation any day they plan to come to campus before they arrive on campus. Also, deans and supervisors will be responsible for monitoring that employees in their areas are completing the self-attestation form. Learn more on the Resuming Campus Operations website.

Computer and Information Systems will roll out a new voice communications platform in the next few months. Microsoft’s Teams Calling phone system will be deployed to handle voice-over IP (VoIP) calling, video calling, voicemail, and more. Beginning in August, CIS will be in contact with each department and school to ensure that calling scenarios are accounted for in the migration. If your departmental needs dictate a specific migration timeline (ex. before the start of Autumn Quarter), contact James Lim at jameslim@spu.edu and Josh Kanehen at kanehj@spu.edu.

Learn more and watch a three-minute video about making calls in Microsoft Teams by visiting the CIS blog.

Faculty and staff members must complete COVID-19 training prior to returning to campus after working remotely. To take the COVID-19 training, log into Skillsoft and select “Learning Plan” in the top menu, and then select “Safety Short: Coronaviruses and COVID-19.” The training takes about 30 minutes. Once you complete the training, a report will be sent to Human Resources. You can also print a completion report. If you have any questions or issues about this training, contact Gary Womelsduff, director of Human Resources, at womelg@spu.edu.

You can now find five video Sitecore tutorials on the University Communications website under Website Assistance. If you need to make an update to your school, department, or office website — but it’s been awhile since you had one-on-one Sitecore training — these short videos can help. The tutorials cover getting started, updating web pages, uploading images, and more.

Join Computer and Information Systems on Wednesday, August 19, for a virtual training mini conference. Previously covered technology tools, topics, and recommendations will be covered again in 45-minute lessons, and there will be three newly offered training sessions.

In the first new training, learn how to navigate Microsoft Teams as a communication tool with instant messaging and video calling, and get a sneak peek into the upcoming SPU phone system transition to VoIP calling with Microsoft Teams. The second new training will introduce Microsoft Bookings, an Office 365 tool that allows others to easily view your availability and schedule appointments online. The third will discuss features of SPU classroom technology for the upcoming year.

All trainings will be held online via Microsoft Teams. See the complete schedule and RSVP online here. View more information on the CIS Training Program. If there are any trainings you would like to attend but are unable to because of scheduling conflicts, or if you have any questions, please contact Allison Pincus in CIS at pincusa@spu.edu.

Be sure to visit the Resuming Campus Operations website, which includes current information and plans for Autumn Quarter. This website provides instructions related to health and safety expectations while on campus, as well as separate webpages for employees and students. More information will be added, so check the website often. If you have information to add or questions, contact Tracy Norlen in UC at tcnorlen@spu.edu.

A message from the library: While our building remains closed, the SPU Library is piloting Contactless Pickup of library materials to the SPU community. Go to Primo to place requests for SPU owned print materials. Requests entered by 10 a.m. on Monday and Thursday will be placed on the hold shelf. Patrons will receive an “On Hold Shelf” email notification when the item is ready for pickup.

Contactless Pickup is currently available Mondays and Thursdays between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Please follow the guidelines below to ensure a secure and healthy pickup experience for staff and patrons alike:

• Wear your mask.
• Go to the front entrance of the Ames Library Building.
• Tap your SPU ID to enter.
• Locate the items you requested on the cart.
• Your items are already checked out to you — you’re ready to go!

If you have questions, or if you would like to arrange curbside pickup in the Dravus lot, please email circ@spu.edu or call 206-281-2228 (phones are answered during pickup hours).

We apologize that we cannot accommodate on the spot requests or welcome you into the building at this time.

The Faculty/Staff Bulletin, published weekly during the academic year, will be published every other week during the summer until September 7. The next Bulletin will be published Monday, August 10, and the deadline is Thursday, August 6. 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.

Lisa Hirayama, assistant director for international admissions, was mentioned in the Bangkok Post about KorPunGun Center for Overseas Education’s online seminar for prospective international students.

President Dan Martin was quoted in two recent articles, “SPU president denounces ICE plan to revoke student visas if classes are only offered online,” which was in the Queen Anne & Magnolia News, and in the article “ICE directive for foreign students worries local colleges” in the HeraldNet (Everett, Washington). The directive has since been reversed.