The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI) now offers seed grants to support departmental diversity action plans. As your office or department begins planning for your action plan, consider applying for a seed grant. Find out more at one of the info sessions or during drop-in office hours.

Information sessions

Have questions about what is expected of departments and the process for submitting an action plan and seed grant application? Join us at a general information session Monday, October 8, or Monday, October, 15, from noon till 1 p.m. in the Walls Advancement Center conference room. Bring your lunch and your questions. We’ll provide the drinks and treats. RSVP to odei@spu.edu.

Drop-in office hours

Unsure how to implement a diversity action plan? Stop by the ODEI office in Demaray 253 during our drop-in office hours on one of these upcoming Tuesdays: 10/9, 10/16, 10/23, 10/30, 7:30–9:30 a.m. Bring your ideas, and we’ll provide coffee and scones.

Faculty and staff are invited to the “First Fridays Colloquium Series” sponsored by Social Justices and Cultural Studies. The series is titled “Seeking Justice Through Stories.” The first events are Friday, October 5, in Weter Hall 201.

Immigration Law
12:30–1:30 p.m. Guest speaker: Gretchen Korb-Nice, immigration and family law attorney. Hosted by: Susan Okamoto Lane, Dean of Multi-Ethnic and Wellness Programs.

Environmental Justice 
3-4 p.m.

Guest speaker: Tanya Hayes, On Impact of International Conservation Policies and Programs in Latin America, Director of Environmental Studies at Seattle University.

Panel: Kathleen Braden, Professor Emerita of Political Science and Geography; Biology professors Eric Long and Ryan Ferrer; and Theology professors J.J. Lease and Mike Langford. Hosted by: Peter Moe, Assistant Professor of English and Director of Campus Writing.

Please invite your first-year and transfer students to the library for a night of studying and food on Tuesday, October 9, 6-10 p.m. This annual event called NAP (Night Against Procrastination) is to get as many students as possible working on papers, projects, and exam prep — and avoiding procrastination and having fun getting their work done. Study Table tutors, faculty, and reference librarians will be available, as well as support from the Research, Reading, & Writing Studio.

A message from the Office of Global Engagement: For many international college students at SPU, November 22 will mark their first American Thanksgiving experience. As U.S. students return home to celebrate the holiday, many international students cannot do the same. The SPU Home for the Thanksgiving Holiday program is an opportunity for international students to enjoy a traditional holiday celebration with members of the SPU community.

The Office of Global Engagement (OGE) is seeking faculty and staff host families to match with one or more international students this Thanksgiving Day. All you need to do is set one more place at your table. We will match you up with a student (or two if you want!). (Students may or may not need help with transportation.) This unique opportunity not only allows students to experience a major aspect of American culture, it is also a chance for them to connect with American culture beyond the classroom or residence halls. Last year, over 15 faculty and staff volunteered to host. Here are some of your colleague’s experiences from last year:

A student from China joined Professor Emerita Evette Hackman’s family for the Thanksgiving meal. Evette provided a unique experience for this international student from China who is pursuing a degree in nutrition as she was even included in meal preparations

.

Nursing faculty member Carol McFarland welcomed a pre-ded major from Ghana to her family Thanksgiving meal. With several family members practicing in the medical field, this international student not only received the gift of an American holiday meal but kind and gracious career mentoring.

Will you consider becoming an SPU Home for the Holidays Thanksgiving host? If so, contact Sharleen Kato, director of OGE, by October 15.

The Office of University Communications (UC) invites faculty and staff to an open house on Thursday, October 11, 2:30–3:30 p.m. in lower Weter Hall. Learn about the many ways UC supports the university, departments, and offices and see some of the more than 1,000 projects produced each year. Get questions answered about Seattle Pacific’s new visual and messaging identity and learn how it’s being used in advertising, print, on the web, and more. Everyone who comes to the open house can be a judge in the “Best Branded Homemade Treat” contest (goodies made by UC staff), and will also be able to enter a raffle for a special, one-of-a-kind newly branded gift.

Staff Council presents "Next Steps with the New Brand," Thursday, October 18, 3:15–4:15 p.m. in Demaray Hall 150. Come at 3 p.m. or stay afterward to receive a staff gift!

You’ve heard about the new brand. You’ve seen it. Maybe you’ve even worn it. Now, what questions do you have as we live into it? Staff Council’s Fall Forum is an opportunity to engage with the new brand as we map out the next steps for our campus and individual areas. Come join us!

A message from University Communications: With the rebrand, 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 newly 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 new 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.

A message from Alison Estep, assistant vice president, University Communications: Watch for upcoming global navigation changes to spu.edu to improve the web experience of our visitors by simplifying and creating a cleaner, more task-based approach to navigation. We are moving away from using too much SPU-specific jargon that may not mean much to an outside audience and focusing on the top tasks of prospective students. This moves the website from audience-based navigation to topic-based navigation, and uses best practices for usability on higher education sites. The new navigation has been built after benchmarking other university websites and pulls from published research on how to create a better user experience on higher education websites. The hope is this will make spu.edu more intuitive and provide a strong focus on completing top tasks for our prospective student audience which include learning about costs, majors/minors, campus life, scheduling a visit, requesting information, and applying.

A group exhibit that will look at “drawing from the fringes” opens Monday, October 1, at the SPAC (Seattle Pacific University Art Center Gallery.) The exhibit will open to the public on Thursday, October 18. Zack Bent, assistant professor of art, is the curator for the exhibit. “Drawing is taken as a core skill and way of knowing in art education,” he explained. “My approach here has been to find those experimental places where artists are exploring in their practice ways of seeing that have a loose or direct connection with drawing expressed through a host of mediums- text, printmaking, sculpture, photography, video, painting and found object/appropriation.”

SPAC is open Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. Admission is free. (Image credit: Hanita Schwartz Relicaptia, P. 50, 2015-18, Photograph After The Raft of the Medusa by Géricault.)

The 19th annual Sacred Sounds of Christmas, featuring the SPU Music Department’s nationally recognized student and faculty musicians performing traditional Advent and Christmas carols from around the world, is Sunday, November 25, 7 p.m. in Benaroya Hall in downtown Seattle. The concert is a consistent sellout, and tickets are now available. 

Update: The Nickerson Repaving Project has begun its third segment of construction for the next two months. This will affect primarily the area leading up to the Ballard Bridge around 14th and 15th streets. Please expect delays and detours, and plan your commute to SPU accordingly to allow for extra time. Visit the Seattle Department of Transportation website for more information.

Faculty and staff can receive a free Choose-to-Reuse (CTR) container when they purchase a Faculty/Staff  Block 10 Meal Plan through Friday, October 5. (Limit one per person.) The CTR container allows you to take food from Gwinn Commons. You can use the block-10 plan in Gwinn Commons any time during service hours, or you can use it to purchase Simply to Go meals at the Corner Place Market and Academic Perks in the SUB, or at Common Grounds in Weter Hall. Meals can be used for guests, too.The plan costs $82 and can be purchased through Banner. The CTR container will be available in University Services the business day after you purchase your plan. Meal balances roll from quarter to quarter as long as you are employed at the University. If you have questions, contact Housing and Meal Plan Services at 206-281-2188 or mealplan@spu.edu.

You have until 9:59 a.m. on Tuesday, October 2, to have stationery orders delivered Friday, October 12. Stationery orders are delivered once a month. Orders made after 10 a.m. on October 4 will be delivered on November 16. For more information, contact Hope McPherson in University Communications at hmcpherson@spu.edu.

The Faculty/Staff Bulletin is published every week during the academic year. 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, October 4. The next Bulletin will be published on Monday, October 8.

Carlos Arias, assistant professor of computer science, taught for three weeks during the summer at UNITEC Honduras. He taught a computer science course, Data Structures 1, and a graduate course software development management. He also participated in a panel for the Launching of the Technological Innovation Prize (Premio a la Innovacion Tecnologica – PIT).

Assistant Professor of Philosophy Matt Benton recently had an article, "God and Interpersonal Knowledge," published in the journal Res Philosophica. The article is about the epistemology of knowing God personally, and its significance for several debates in philosophy of religion.

Jaeil Lee, professor of apparel design and merchandising, published her third edition of Technical Sourcebook for Apparel Designers with Fairchild (Bloomsbury) Publications. The book is a comprehensive 400-page technical design and product development college text book. A matching instructor’s guide book (including PowerPoint lectures and visual materials for instructors) and art files and visuals for students were also published simultaneously. Since its first edition’s release in 2010, the book has been used globally in leading fashion schools.

A peer-reviewed article titled "Communication Technologies and Interpersonal Relationships: Some Consideration from Theology" by Randy Beavers (Assistant Professor of Finance), Denise Daniels (Professor of Management and Associate Vice President for Strategic Initiatives), Al Erisman (Professor Emeritus), and Don Lee (Associate Professor of Management) was recently published in Christian Business Review. The paper describes a model for dealing with technology and suggestions for businesses and individuals to keep relationships healthy.

A peer-reviewed article by Instructor of Writing Mischa Willet was recently published in Edinburgh University Press’ journal Victoriographies. The article about poetry during the Crimean War is titled "Fading Crimean Flowers: Spasmodic Sonnets on the War." Mischa argues that though most people writing about Victorian poetry don’t mention "Sonnets on the War" by Alexander Smith and Sydney Dobell, it is an important book because it doesn’t cover over the conflict’s ugly or unpleasant bits.

The Office of Human Resources would like to welcome the following new staff to the University.

Jenisa Barr, program coordinator, Art
Emily Crow, administrative assistant, School of Health Sciences
Odette Lubi, access services specialist, University Library
Jonathan Moua, Seattle Pacific Seminary tutoring assistant, Theology
Tristan Sanders, maintenance mechanic, Facility & Project Management

The Office of Human Resources would like to congratulate Colin Lewis on his new appointment as technical services specialist in the library.