A reminder from Alison Estep, associate vice president for University Communications: As we start the new academic year, and recognizing we’ve had many people join our community since our rebrand, it is a good moment to remind the campus that as of the 2018 rebrand, SPU faculty and staff are asked to adopt the same email signature convention. This provides professionalism and brand consistency for all our audiences, including prospective students.

This is not taking away your option for personalized expression or advocacy, but the Senior Leadership Team is looking for consistent branding that supports the recruiting effort and enrollment efforts, as well as prioritizing brand coherence and consistency. Here are simple step-by-step instructions for using the institution’s email signature.

Seattle Pacific has consolidated Health Services and the University’s Counseling Center into a single department, which is now called Student Counseling, Health, and Wellness. Sharon Bar-Jeffrey is the director of the new department, and Kristen Jones, ARNP, FNP, is the medical director. Over the summer, the wall that separated Health Services and the Counseling Center was removed, and a door was added to connect the offices.

Facility and Project Management has completed additional ventilation projects throughout the SPU campus, and you will find the updated list of building restrictions on the Closed or Restricted Buildings webpage. 

Beginning early Autumn Quarter, many of the student resources that were formerly provided at Unicom in the Student Union Building are now available for students at The BRANCH desk on the second (main) floor of Weter Hall. As before, students will be able to:

• Check out ORCA Cards to use as they explore Seattle.
• Have fliers and posters approved for advertising across campus.
• Access resources available for student clubs and organizations.
• Reserve the desk space for campus engagement (fundraising, ticket sales, etc.).

The BRANCH is staffed in person Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–12 p.m., next to the Common Grounds coffee shop. Students can also access these services on Third Weter at the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership reception area between 12–6 p.m.; persons with mobility challenges can call the OSIL reception area to have a staff person come to meet them on the second floor.

The Faculty/Staff Bulletin is published weekly on Mondays during the academic year (or Tuesday, if Monday is a holiday). The next deadline is Thursday, Sept. 22, and the next issue will be published Monday, Sept. 26.

If you have information or event news, send it as soon as possible with an image or graphic to Bulletin editor Tracy Norlen at fsb-editor@spu.edu. Submissions may be edited for clarity.

Kristine Gritter, professor of curriculum and instruction and Fulbright Specialist in the School of Education, and doctoral student Alice Wing Shuen Lau, co-authored the paper, “Hidden voices: How Chinese immigrant educators implement culturally inclusive practices in U.S. classrooms,” which was published in Educational Research and Development Journal.

Janette Plunkett, sustainability manager in the Office of Facility and Project Management, has earned the Certified Energy Manager accreditation from the Association of Energy Engineers. This credential qualifies her to oversee and file compliance reports for new building energy management regulatory requirements from the city and state. Janette was also the lead author of energy-transition actions adopted by the Presbyterian Church, PCUSA.

Munyi Shea, professor of counselor education in the School of Education, recently had her co-authored commentary, “A two-way street: Immigrants’ mental health challenges, resilience, and contributions,” published in One Earth, a Cell Press journal. In this commentary, Munyi and Y. Joel Wong (Indiana University) discuss how to optimize immigrants’ mental well-being by leveraging their lived experiences and unique strengths via a strengths-focused approach.

Mischa Willett, assistant professor of English and writing, had an essay on poetry of the Apocalypse, “The life & afterlife of ’Festus,’” published in the New Criterion.

An essay by Alberto Ferreiro, professor emeritus of European history, titled “Martin of Braga” was published in the Brill Encyclopedia of Early Christianity. The essays contain the latest research on the topic and are accompanied by a historiographical section on the significant publications. This is one of five entries on early Christianity in Hispania that he was asked to write. Martin was the object of Alberto’s master’s thesis in 1979 and since then he has published some dozen studies on him.

Please join the Office of Human Resources in welcoming the following new staff members.

Emma Engel, interim biology lab coordinator, Biology
Noha Elbahouty, assistant residence life coordinator, Residence Life