The Faculty/Staff Bulletin is the weekly, internal e-newsletter for SPU faculty and staff. Only faculty and staff receive the Bulletin, and most items are submitted by its readers. Faculty and staff are encouraged to submit information to fsb-editor@spu.edu or by selecting “Submit News” at the bottom of the Bulletin.

The Bulletin is published on Mondays (or Tuesdays if Monday is a holiday), and every other Monday during the summer. The deadline to submit information is the preceding Thursday. Submissions may be edited for clarity. The Bulletin is edited by Tracy Norlen, director of public information, and Hope McPherson, web editor, in University Communications. The Bulletin is divided into several sections.

Campus News & Events highlights the major news and events on campus. Only events related to SPU will be accepted. All faculty and staff are encouraged to submit information, including department news, campus events, or guest speakers on campus. Digital photos or graphics are required for each entry. When possible, event information will be published two weeks prior to the event. Remember to plan ahead when submitting information.

Faculty & Staff News is for professional information related to your position at SPU or in higher education. Items of interest are conferences attended, books or articles written or published, presentations made, awards received, or research completed. We especially would like more professional news from staff.

SPU in the News lists most of the print or broadcast media appearances by faculty and staff. If you've been used as a resource for a reporter, let us know by submitting the information to the Bulletin.

From the Archives is a monthly feature showcasing photographs and stories from the SPU archives provided by University Archivist Adrienne Meier. The feature is published the last week of each month during the academic year, and is not published during the summer months.

Milestones is for personal news of interest to the SPU community, including births, adoptions, marriages, anniversaries, church services, mission trips, awards, and athletic accomplishments. Digital photos are always welcome. This section is also used for memorial service information.

Drawn Out Puns is a monthly cartoon by Nate Hoover, associate director for the Center for Biblical and Theological Education. The cartoons capture both the literal meaning (drawn content being puns) and the figurative/social stigma of puns being "drawn out" to excess. This feature will appear the first week of every month.

If you have any questions, contact fsb-editor@spu.edu.

If you missed last week’s opening Communion and State of the University address, you can watch it online until Tuesday, Sept. 15. If you aren’t already signed in, you will need your SPU credentials to access the video recording.

From Health Services: We would like to strongly encourage all the SPU campus community to get a flu shot this fall. Unfortunately, we will not be able to provide flu shots to staff and faculty on campus this year. But Cigna health benefits cover the flu vaccine, which is widely available in many area pharmacies and walk-in clinics. Health Services will have flu vaccine available on campus for students by appointment.

Reusable face masks featuring the SPU flame were distributed in offices, departments, residence halls, and at campus events. If you didn’t receive a face mask, or need some for your office or classroom, contact University Communications at ucofficemgr@spu.edu. Remember, as part of Washington state’s Safe Start plan, face masks must be worn indoors, and outdoors in public spaces if a six-foot distance cannot be maintained. This is a practical way to care for others.

A message from Health Services: SPU Health Services facilitates health and wellness for our students. However, all SPU students and employees should report symptoms, exposures, and positive test results for COVID-19 to Health Services as soon as possible and stay separate from others until evaluated by a health care provider.

Students and employees who live off campus should stay home and call Health Services as soon as possible if symptoms develop while off campus, if they have been tested for COVID-19, or if they have been notified of a close contact with COVID-19. If new COVID-19 symptoms develop while on campus, the individual should go home immediately and then call Health Services to report the symptoms.

Resident students (who live on campus) should stay in their residence and call Health Services as soon as possible to report their symptoms, tests, or exposures. If Health Services is not available, they should leave a message and students in the residence halls should notify their RA.

Read, reflect, and respond with the Office of Inclusive Excellence in our quarterly newsletter, OIEX Connections. Check out the fall edition here. We look forward to connecting with you now and throughout the year.

In the latest SPU Voices podcast, Pike Place Market Foundation Executive Director Lillian Sherman ’91 shares some history about Pike Place, including the little known fact that people live there, and how the Pike Place Market Foundation cares for them.

A message from Christopher Hanson, assistant professor of music education and director of music education and orchestral studies: I am so thrilled to share this virtual performance of Tormod Tvete Vik's "Suite for Hope," featuring the collective talents and efforts of our SPU orchestra students and a global network of community musicians. 

When the pandemic limited our opportunities to make music with each other in person over five months ago, the students and faculty of the SPU Music Department generated extraordinary ways to stay connected and continue to make music together. One of the products of this creativity and perseverance was the SPU Orchestra's "Concert of Hope," which features a series of pieces recorded by musicians from around the world with our SPU students. In March, we sent out a call to any and all musicians that would be interested in recording themselves performing "Suite for Hope" by Norwegian composer Tormod Tvete Vik. We ended up with over 50 musicians from five different states and two countries submit over 70 individual recordings that were mixed and mastered by our SPU Music Technology Program to produce the performance.

A particularly remarkable relationship was built between our SPU Orchestra students and the students of "Sounds of Palestine," a not-for-profit community music program that serves refugees in Palestine. It was incredible to connect with musicians across the world to share this message of hope! 

None of this would have been possible without the tireless and selfless efforts of our students and music faculty, particularly Ron Haight (who volunteered an extraordinary number of hours to complete this performance after starting his retirement)!

Thank you to everyone that contributed to this. I look forward to sharing more opportunities for you and others to connect through music at SPU.

Mailing and Copying Services is reinstating mail delivery and pick-up routes on Sept. 14, but will only deliver mail and packages and pick up any outgoing mail or packages in the afternoon. Please notify them if your office will be closed during the quarter so that they can make adjustments to the route schedule.

Resume Rescue is back – and now online! Students are welcome to have their resumes reviewed with the Center for Career and Calling before the Virtual Job Fair on September 17, hosted by Student Employment.

Resume Rescue takes place Tuesday, Sept 15, 1–5 p.m., and Wed, Sept 16, 9 a.m.–1 p.m. Students can book a 20-minute appointment on Handshake by choosing the “Resume Rescue” appointment type. On September 15 and 16, students can call the CCC front desk at 206-281-2485 to book an appointment for that day. Resume Rescue sessions will be conducted through Zoom and students will receive the Zoom link in advance of their Resume Rescue appointment.

The Office of Student Employment will hold a virtual job fair on Thursday, Sept. 17, 11 a.m.–2 p.m. Students will be able to connect with work study, non-work study, off-campus, and on-campus employers. Please tell your students about this opportunity. They can register on Handshake at spu.edu/handshake. 

Love to golf? Want to help support the Falcons during this unusual time? Join SPU Athletics for the 42nd annual Falcon Golf Classic tournament at Harbour Pointe Golf Club on Friday, Sept. 25. Tee times will be assigned starting at 7 a.m. Registration is $600 for a foursome or $150 for a single player, which includes 18 holes, a Falcon swag bag, snacks, and a chance to win fun prizes! Grab your co-workers or family and friends and help the Falcons raise valuable funds for COVID-19 testing throughout the year. For more info or to register, contact Stefanie Kosco in Athletics at stefanie@spu.edu or 206-281-2855.

A reminder from University Communications: With the rebrand in 2018, SPU faculty and staff are asked to adopt the same email signature convention. This will provide more consistency across campus. UC has provided instructions on how to update your email signature to the branded signature. Because graphics cannot be consistently delivered through email on mobile devices or when an email is forwarded, UC is not recommending use of the SPU flame for email signatures. UC is also recommending “arial” as the default font for email correspondence. If you have any questions, contact UC at 206-281-2051 or ucofficemgr@spu.edu.

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 and 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.

The Faculty/Staff Bulletin is published weekly during the academic year. The next Bulletin will be published Monday, Sept. 21, and the deadline is Thursday, Sept. 17. 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.

Danny Helseth, assistant professor of music and director of instrumental studies, recently became a “diamond-wearing” first sergeant for the 194th Medical Group, Washington Air National Guard, based in Camp Murray. The monthlong course in Montgomery, Alabama, was a hybrid model, with two weeks in quarantine and eight to 14 hours a day in courses on Zoom. Once over, Danny sang the national anthem at the ceremony, which was shown live on Facebook. The first sergeant position in the military traces its history back to the legions in the Roman army in the 16th century. The position is responsible for developing and maintaining a ready force and looking after the welfare, fitness, and overall morale of the troops. Congratulations, Danny!

On June 5, Jeffrey Overstreet, assistant professor of English and writing, interviewed filmmaker Daniel Garcia live on Zoom for the Summer Stage series hosted by Image. On June 10, he interviewed the filmmakers behind the new film The Quarry: Scott Teems (writer/director) and co-writer Andrew Brotzman. Subscribers to Image have access to video recordings of those events. On June 30, he was a guest lecturer for Eastern University’s Templeton Honors College Summer Session, speaking on text-to-screen adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. His presentation was called “There and Back Again ... and Again and Again: Revisiting Middle-Earth at the Movies.”

Peter Moe, assistant professor of English and co-teacher of the September Session Whale Skeleton Articulation course, was featured in the Queen Anne and Magnolia News on September 9 in a story titled "Gray whale of a tale: Whale skeleton installed on SPU campus." Peter and student Alex Pedersesn were featured in a KIRO-TV news story on September 8 as the whale skeleton was being installed in the lobby of Eaton Hall.