Early bird tickets for SPU’s annual Sacred Sounds of Christmas concert will go on sale Thursday, September 4. This event sells out early every year, so buy your tickets early. The concert is Monday, December 1, 7:30 p.m., in McCaw Hall at Seattle Center. Sacred Sounds of Christmas features the best of traditional Advent and Christmas carols from around the world, performed by the Music Department's nationally recognized student and faculty musicians.

Gwinn Commons dining hall is closed for renovations. It will reopen beginning with dinner on Friday, September 12. Specific hours for the early arrival period (September 12-25) will be posted online by September 10.

All offices and classroom buildings are furnished with recycle bins. Paper, plastic, metal, and glass items may be deposited in any recycling container on campus – no sorting necessary. For more information about what can be recycled, visit the Facility and Project Management website.

The weight room and Fitness Center in Royal Brougham Pavilion are available to faculty and staff. If you are interested in using these facilities and need locker room access in Brougham, contact Lisa Faucette, administrative assistant in Athletics, at 206-281-2085. The cost is $6 per quarter.

The Tent City 3 (TC3) Services Committee is looking for faculty and staff to help plan and coordinate meals and services (in-kind donations from the greater community) for SPU’s hosting of TC3 during Winter Quarter. Email Danielle Richmond in Student Financial Services at dani@spu.edu if you are interested in joining the committee.

The 15th of each month is the last day to make changes to your upcoming payroll check. Do you need to remove your spouse and/or children from your health care plans? If so, contact Human Resources (HR) to complete the appropriate form. It must be submitted to HR by the 15th of the month, prior to your dependent's access to new coverage. Otherwise, the change can only occur the subsequent month, and any premiums paid will not be refunded. Changes might also 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 15th of the month. For changes to your 403(b) account, contact Transamerica Retirement Solutions 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 Carrie McCrimmon in Human Resources at 206-281-2676.

Remember the Camp Casey Conference Center for your department retreats (rates as low as $15 per person), or as part of a church or community organization in which you belong ($22-25 per person). Family events are also welcome. There is also a campground at Casey. To book a retreat or schedule a tour, contact the Camp Casey Conference Center at 866-661-6604 or campcasey@spu.edu.

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 Bulletin will be published Monday, September 15. The next deadline is Thursday, September 11.

An article by Assistant Professor of Communication Peg Achterman titled “Do Student Internships Really Work? Digital Tools Can Help Evaluate Them” was published online at pbs.org’s  “Media Shift,” which focuses on digital media.

Associate Professor of Sociology Karen Snedker recently presented a paper titled “Ritual, Stigma, and the Repair of Spoiled Identities: The Case of Mental Health Courts.” She gave the presentation at the American Sociological Association’s annual conference in San Francisco. The paper was part of a panel on law, crime, and mental illness.

Professor of Music Education Ramona Holmes recently gave a presentation titled “You Got Your Degree Where? Preparing Music Educators Who Value Their Faith to Be Teachers in a Secular World.” She gave the presentation at the Critical Perspectives on Music, Education, and Religion Symposium in Helsinki, Finland, last month. While in Helsinki, Ramona also taught ethnography at the University of the Arts’ Helsinki Music Education Fall Seminar.

John Terrill, former director of the Center for Integrity in Business, recently served as a keynote speaker for the Korean American Society for Certified Public Accounts meeting in Seattle. His presentation was titled “The Currency of Trust.”

The Office of Human Resources would like the SPU community to join us in welcoming the following new staff members. Contact information can be found in the SPU White Pages.

Catherine Dominguez, senior admissions counselor, Undergraduate Admissions
Nathan Mabie, residence life coordinator, Residence Life
Lindsey Walkemeyer, residence life coordinator, Residence Life
Jimmy Ward, assistant coach, men’s soccer, Athletics 
Correction: Ted Haase, SFS coordinator, Student Financial Services. (Ted’s name was misspelled in the August 18 issue of the Bulletin.)

In a recent podcast titled "Art, Violence, and Hospitality," Brian Moss with Christians in the Visual Arts interviewed Professor of Art Roger Feldman about his work and the June 5 shooting on campus. Listen online.

University Archivist Adrienne Meier, and her husband, Computer and Information Systems Senior Systems Analyst Josh Meier, are the proud parents of Hannah Marie Meier, born at 11:27 p.m. on August 19. She was 9 pounds, 3 ounces at birth. Adrienne and Josh report that “she is a healthy and happy baby.” Select the link for more photos of Hannah.