A message from Louise Furrow, vice president for University Advancement: Never doubt your capacity to be a positive influence! It is easy to underestimate the influence we have on those around us, yet as faculty and staff we have an opportunity to cultivate meaningful relationships that can make a tremendous difference for students in the future.

The deep connection that developed between Tom and Marjorie Constant and the University is a perfect example. In 1990, the couple enrolled in classes as senior learners even though they were not alumni and didn’t have children who had attended SPU. Over the years, through classes and their involvement on campus, Marjorie and Tom developed deep relationships with members of the faculty and staff. When Marjorie passed away in 2004, she generously left a large gift to the University. Through Marjorie and Tom’s financial planning and upon Tom’s passing in 2016, the estate gift they generously left to SPU was over $4 million.

Another friendship between a campus neighbor and the University also shows the significance of relationship. After 35 years as a nurse and with retirement on the horizon, Patricia Bentz decided she wanted to go back to school. She was familiar with SPU, having lived near the campus for many years, so enrolling here to earn a doctoral degree in education was a natural choice. One of the first six students to earn this particular doctoral degree in 1996, Patricia continued to take classes at SPU after graduation and her retirement. As a result of this meaningful connection she had made with SPU and the faculty, Patricia set up a planned gift to benefit the university. A few years later, to offer support for faculty, she established the Patricia M. Bentz Endowment for the Center for Scholarship and Faculty Development. Funds from this endowment have been used to send faculty to conferences, provide concentrated time for course development, and fund an honorarium to recognize the Teacher of the Year award.

These are just a few examples of how you greatly influence the lives of students — no matter what stage of life! 

Local homeless advocates will talk about their work on Thursday, October 26, 11:10 a.m.ꟷ12:30 p.m. in Demaray Hall 150. The panel discussion is titled "Why We Do This: It’s a Matter of Faith." The speakers are Rev. Dr. Jean Kim (Jean Kim Foundation), Mark Ribbing (president of Nascent Wave), Jeff Lilley (president of Union Gospel Mission), and Mary Steele (executive director of New Horizons). SPU will host Tent City 3, a self-managed homeless community, for a three-month stay beginning in November.

Preparations are underway for Tent City 3’s encampment at SPU from November through February. As in 2012 and 2015, volunteers are welcome to join one of our three committees: Food, Services, and Auxiliary; Campus Programming; and Church and Community Programming. Please email tentcity3@spu.edu if you are interested. All volunteers are welcome to help on move-in day (TBA). If you’d like to do something other than lifting and carrying, we welcome contributions of lasagna, salad, or dessert for move-in dinner with Tent City 3. More information to come.

The Office of Safety and Security (OSS) is sponsoring a Red Flag Campaign this week in Tiffany Loop. The campaign is to raise awareness about dating violence and the "red flags" that can be present in relationships. The campaign encourages students to recognize these harmful relationship red flags in their own relationships and the relationships of others. The goal of this event is to raise awareness and encourage students to identify and speak up when they notice relationship red flags. Learn more on the OSS website.

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The Office of Educational Technology & Media (ETM) is hosting weekly workshops on topics such as academic integrity, open content, and Canvas. Here are the upcoming events.

Tuesday, October 24. Academic Integrity and TurnItIn in Canvas. 9:30–10:30 a.m. in the Ames Library classroom on the main floor. This will be a hands-on workshop and last approximately 40 minutes with time for questions afterwards.

Thursday, October 26. Presence in the Digital Classroom. 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. in the Ames Library classroom on the main floor. This workshop will look at the differences between instructor presence in person and online, and discuss different ways to increase presence in the digital classroom. The workshop will be hands-on, so bring your devices. The workshop will last approximately 40 minutes, with time for questions afterwards.

Monday, October 30. TechTapas topic: Zoom/Webinars, 12:45–1:15 p.m. in the ETM offices, located on the lower level of the Ames Library. We’ll do a 15-minute overview of Zoom and how it can be used in the classroom and linked into Canvas.

A message from Family and Consumer Sciences: We are tremendously grateful for all the faculty, staff, alumni and students who came out to support the Family and Consumer Science Warehouse Sale fundraiser on Grand Reunion Weekend. It was a tremendous success, and we owe it all to this remarkable, generous community.  We hope you enjoyed the experience and got some great deals. Thanks again!

Come hear the best in Seattle Pacific choral music at the All-Choir Concert on Friday, November 3, at 7:30 p.m. in First Free Methodist Church. The concert features the Chamber Choir, Concert Choir, and Men’s and Women’s Choirs. The event is free and wheelchair accessible. 

Staff Council is pleased to host its Fall Forum event on Monday, October 30, 12:30–1:30 p.m. in Demaray Hall 150. Provost Van Duzer will give an update on Seattle Pacific. This staff event is a time to celebrate SPU successes, hear about new directions, and even get some budget updates for this school year. Light snacks will be provided. We hope you’ll join us.

A message from Housing and Meal Plan Services: To encourage interaction between faculty and staff and students outside of the classroom, Dining Services provides five free meal passes each weekday that students can use to take a faculty or staff member to Gwinn Commons for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Tickets are available at the Office of University Services during business hours (9 a.m.–4:30 p.m.). Tickets must be picked up on the day they are to be used. (If a breakfast meeting is scheduled before the office opens, students may pick up a ticket the day before.) The ticket is for the faculty or staff member; the student must use their own meal plan, Falcon Funds, or cash to enter the dining hall. Tickets are provided on a first-come, first-served basis.

Use your dining dollars with the Faculty and Staff Meal Plan, or add Falcon Funds with the "GET Mobile" app to save on tax at our dining locations.

This Week in Gwinn Commons Dining Hall:

• Try our new Seasonal Salad Bar featuring local produce from the Pacific Northwest.
• On Wednesday, our chefs are cooking up pumpkin-themed dishes for lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• On Friday, we will have a loaded baked potato station to celebrate National Potato Day.

This week in retail dining:

• Cocina del Sol Late-Night Special: Monday-Friday, 7 p.m. until closing, our entrees (excluding the rice bowl) are $5.
• Wild Wednesday Deal: This week's Wild Wednesday deal is a $5.99 taco salad at Cocina del Sol.
• New C-Store Items: From a new Starbucks cold brew to Shin Ramen bowls, the C-Store is packed with new items!
• Make sure to head to our retail dining locations on Friday to get a dining special for only $5! ($5 Teriyaki Turkey Burger at Bertona Street Grill.)

For the latest information on Falcon sports, visit the Falcons online.

Thursday, October 26

• Men's soccer vs Concordia-Portland, Interbay Stadium, 4:30 p.m.
• Women's soccer vs Western Oregon, Interbay Stadium, 7 p.m.

Friday, October 27

• Exhibition men's basketball: Capilano University at Seattle Pacific, Brougham Pavilion, 7 p.m.

Saturday, October 28

• Men's soccer vs Saint Martin's, Interbay Stadium, 7 p.m.
• Volleyball vs Montana State Billings, Brougham Pavilion, 7 p.m.

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 26. The next Bulletin will be published Monday, October 30. 

Professor of History Don Holsinger was an invited speaker on the panel “Remembering the Schowalter Oral History Project: A Fifty-Year Retrospective” at Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas, on October 14. The panel was part of the exhibition “Voices of Conscience: Peace Witness in the Great War,” developed by Kauffman Museum and Bethel College, with support from the Kansas Humanities Council. As a senior history major at Bethel College in 1969-70 and at the height of the Vietnam War, Don conducted and tape recorded interviews in ten states with men who had been drafted during World War I to serve in the military. Most of the men interviewed were Mennonite conscientious objectors at a time when there was no provision for religious conscientious objection to war. Their stories were often harrowing — many of the interviewees were also German speaking — during the hyper-nationalistic fever of 1917-18. A number of these 50-year-old recordings are now available online, offering a new generation opportunities to listen to the voices of their great-great-grandfathers reflecting on the difficulties of serving both God and country during wartime.

An article co-authored by Valorie Orton, instructor of nursing, was published online in Nursing Education Perspectives on September 19. The article was titled “Moral Distress and Associated Factors Among Baccalaureate Nursing Students: A Multi-site Descriptive Study.” Read the abstract online through PubMed Central®, a free archive of biomedical and life sciences journal literature at the U.S. National Institutes of Health's National Library of Medicine. 

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Associate Professor of Counselor Education Munyi Shea, along with her collaborators from New York University, University of Maryland-College Park, and the Wright Institute, presented an interactive session titled "Disseminating Best Practices on Bullying Prevention and Intervention to Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) Parents and School Professionals" at the Asian American Psychological Association National Conference on October 5. The project was funded by American Psychological Association Public Interest sector. 

Jeffrey Overstreet, an adjunct instructor teaching writing and film in the English Department, was invited to speak at the InspirED/ACSI Educators Convention at Pacific Academy in Surrey, B.C., on October 6. He gave a morning lecture about his strategies for teaching film-focused courses at Seattle Pacific, and followed that with an afternoon presentation called "Empathy and Uncertainty: How One Powerful Movie Makes My Students Love Poetry," which included a screening of the 2016 movie The Fits and a post-movie discussion.

Brad Murg, assistant professor of political science and director of Global Development Studies, was invited to lecture on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) economic integration and the role of China at the Heinrich Boll Foundation's conference titled "ASEAN at 50: ASEAN's Development Paradigm" in Yangon, Myanmar. Brad then traveled to Singapore where he was invited to present his paper "Chinese Aid Policy in Cambodia: Concessionary or Predatory?" at the Rajaratnam School of International Affairs at Nanyang University's conference titled "The Maritime Silk Road: China and Infrastructure Development in Southeast Asia." The proceedings will be published in an edited volume in Spring 2018. Brad would like to extend his deepest thanks to his amazing colleagues in the School of Business, Government, and Economics who generously volunteered to administer exams and take on his classes while he has been overseas.