A message from Safety and Security: This summer, Safety and Security is making an effort to remove all unclaimed or undocumented bikes on campus. From August 10 through August 19, any bike that is unidentified will be removed and donated to a bike charity. There are a number of bikes currently identified as potentially abandoned. These bikes have already been moved to a secure location. If your bike is missing, and to make sure it does not get donated, contact Nate Morehouse at nsm@spu.edu or call Safety and Security at 206-281-2922. If you have not done so, we strongly urge you to register your bike with bikeindex.org. This is a nationwide online index to identify bike owners and if bikes are stolen, to find the owners. Police departments, security departments, bike shops, and pawn stores are just a few of the groups that use bikeindex.org to help identify stolen bikes.

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Rooted in Mission: The Founding of Seattle Pacific University, 1891-1916 is now available in the SPU Bookstore. The book by Howard Snyder traces the early history of Seattle Seminary and the critical roles of founders Nils Peterson, Hiram Pease, John Norton, and Alexander and Adelaide Beers, as well as Benjamin “B.T.” Roberts, the founder of Free Methodism. The book is $11, and only available for sale at the bookstore.

Departments reporting to the Office of Business and Finance will have modified schedules and/or limited crews on Thursday, August 18, due to their annual summer event. The departments listed below will be closed at 11 a.m.  If there is an urgent need, contact Safety and Security at 206-281-2922 to reach personnel for the following departments:

OBF Vice President’s Office
Computer and Information Systems
Finance and Office of the Controller
University Services
Campus Cards
Conference Services
Housing and Meal Plans

Mailing and Copying Services will deliver mail to offices between 10-11 a.m. They will close at 11 a.m. and re-open at 8 a.m. on Friday. Office pick-up and deliveries will resume on Friday afternoon

Facility and Project Management will be open but with a limited crew.

The Bookstore and Camp Casey Conference Center will be open and on a regular schedule.

Prospective students and their families will be on campus for Summer Visit Day on August 26. This series of summer events hosts more than 100 guests as they explore SPU, learn about admissions, and meet current students, faculty, and staff. Please look for these students and their families and make them feel welcome!

A message from the Wellness Initiative: People tend to feel better in the spring and summer months than in the fall and winter months. Some people attribute this elevation in mood to having more sun exposure, which in turn increases your vitamin D level. What is the actual evidence for these claims? This month’s focus looks at the evidence behind the connection between sun exposure, vitamin D, and mood. To learn more, visit the Wellness blog.

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Bloodworks Northwest will host a blood drive on campus Friday, August 12, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. near the entrance of Tiffany Loop. There’s an extra need for donations during the summer, so encourage friends and family members to stop by and donate. Schedule an appointment online.

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You have until 9:59 a.m. on Tuesday, September 6, to have stationery order(s) delivered on September 16. Stationery orders are delivered once a month. Orders made after 10 a.m. on September 6 will be delivered October 14. 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.

The Gwinn Commons dining hall summer hours are posted online. The hours will be updated daily for the upcoming week. Remember that dining hall hours are based on Conference Services clients and internal groups and are subject to change. Contact conferenceservices@spu.edu if you have any questions.

These are the Campus Dining specials for the month of August. 

Common Grounds: 20 percent off Starbucks Cold Brew beverage, and 20 pecent off venti Italian Sodas

Einstein Bros Bagels: 20 percent off all Tostini sandwiches (BBQ chicken, veggie, Turkey Club, and Italian Chicken).

C-store: All Top Ramem is .59 cents. Get two, 28 ounce Gatorade beverages for $3.33.

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.

The Faculty/Staff Bulletin is published every other week during the summer. 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, August 18. The next Bulletin will be published Monday, August 22, 2016. 

Ryan Ingersoll, head of library technology, gave the keynote address for the Association of Christian Librarians annual conference at George Fox University. His address, titled "Redeeming Innovation: Engaging Emerging Technologies by Rediscovering our Roots,” focused on how Christian academic librarians can explore the emerging technology frontier wisely equipped with essential tools. Ryan invited the audience to embark on a journey with a short visit to a “low tech” spiritual retreat community, Holden Village, to develop a toolkit with themes of play, collaboration, hospitality, and contextual adaptation. More information is available online. 

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An article by School of Psychology, Family, and Community (SPFC) faculty members Hee-Sun Cheon and Paul Kim and School of Education faculty member June Hyun was recently published in the peer-reviewed journal, Mental Health, Religion & Culture. The article, titled “Mental Health Disparities Impacting Christian Korean Americans: A Qualitative Examination of Pastors’ Perspectives,” describes the viewpoints of Korean pastors from the Seattle area regarding the mental health related challenges that their congregants experience, and proposes some practical solutions. Recent SPFC graduate Liz Chang, now with Navos Mental Health Solutions, is also a co-author.

Zhiguo Ye, assistant professor of history, gave a presentation titled “Cities Under Siege: The Flood of 1931 and The Environmental Challenges of Chinese Urban Modernization” at the annual International Planning History Society conference in July in Delft, Netherlands. The paper is published in the conference collection, volume 2; History Urbanism Resilience: The Urban Fabric (ISSN 2468-6948).

Randy Beavers, assistant professor of finance, presented his paper titled “What Matters Most: The CEO Pay Slice, Inside Debt, or Overconfidence?” at the World Finance Conference in New York City in July.

A review by Associate Professor of Political Science Caleb Henry titled “Hayek’s Modern Family: Classical Liberalism and the Evolution of Social Institutions” was published in The Journal of Markets & Morality (19:1): 144-147.

Daniel Hallak, former professional development specialist in the School of Business, Government, and Economics, successfully defended his doctoral dissertation titled “Take Control of Your New Job: Proactive Development and Onboarding Success.” Daniel’s doctorate was earned in industrial-organizational psychology, and his dissertation chair was Paul Yost, associate professor of industrial-organizational psychology. Congratulations!

Assistant Professor of Communication and Journalism Peg Achterman attended the World Journalism Education Congress at Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand. Her presentation, titled "Use Smart Phones & Simple Software to Teach the Art of the Interview,” was given in the “Ignite” format — five minutes and 20 slides. She says she was honored to participate in a “syndicate” looking at the question "How do journalism educators revise curricula to effectively prepare students for the reality of mobile technology while maintaining the fundamentals of journalism education?” The event is triennial and drew professors from almost 40 nations. Learn more about the conference.

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Jaeil Lee, professor of apparel design and merchandising, co-authored a paper titled “The Perceptions of Apparel Design and Merchandising Students on Creativity and Apparel Design Copyright” in the International Journal of Costume and Fashion.

University Communications Specialist Clint Kelly writes a monthly column titled “Don’t Get Me Started!” for the print and e-magazine collective Uniquely Northwest Publications. His recent column deals with presidential elections and mentions SPU and a few insights from Downtown Business Breakfast Speaker Doris Kearns Goodwin. Read the column online. 

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Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering Don Peter presented a paper and a poster at the American Society of Engineering Education conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, in June. His paper was based on a survey he conducted among power engineering professionals in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, Western Montana, and Northern California to investigate the proposition that there is a shortage of new qualified engineers to replace those who are retiring and to fill newly created positions. In addition, he polled this population on their recommendations on how best to teach a power engineering course. 

The poster, titled "Supporting Diverse and Atypical Engineering Students,"summarized SPU’s Engineering and Computing Sciences department’s utilization of National Science Foundation funding to enable community college transfers to attend SPU for an electrical engineering degree. Led by Professor of Electrical Engineering Melani Plett, and supported by ECASE (Engaging the Community to Achieve Success in Engineering) Program Coordinator and Administrative Assistant Angelina Lane and other faculty, this program achieved an 89 percent persistence rate and a 100 percent technical employment rate among the ECASE graduate population.

The Office of Human Resources would like the SPU community to welcome the following new employees. Contact information can be found in the SPU online White Pages.

Matt English, lead maintenance electrician, Facilities
Michael Ladd, assistant coach – men’s basketball, Athletics
Sophie Nelson, student financial services coordinator, Student Financial Services
Peter Renn, director, Center for Professional Education
Eric Vicente-Flores, counselor, Student Financial Services

Karen Altus, associate director for the Center for Career and Calling, was quoted in a Seattle Times story on August 5 titled “Juggling jobs: Balancing work in the gig economy.” She talked about how to manage multiple projects and gigs instead of one full-time job. Read the story online. 

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Professor of History Michael Hamilton was interviewed for an NPR story about Norman Vincent Peale’s impact on Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his family. This story aired on several NPR stations around the country.

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