With the start of the new academic year, new representatives have been appointed to the University Advisory Council (UAC). 

We want to express our thanks to members who have served and are rotating off the Council. The representatives are leaders from a cross-section of the campus constituency, and they represent the needs and viewpoints of faculty, staff, and students in our community.

For those not familiar with the UAC, there are two purposes for the Council’s existence. The first is to provide an opportunity for greater University representation and discussion on key institutional matters of concern — both present and future. Second, the UAC serves as an integral communication point where we can discuss and share important information regarding both our operations and our future plans to enhance broader awareness and understanding. I believe this occurs as the UAC members serve as a communication conduit to the various units, departments, programs, and constituents across the University.

The annual Day of Common Learning offers the SPU community the opportunity to gather together to study and discuss a major topic as we seek to live out the mission of our institution. The theme of this year’s event on Wednesday, October 26, is “Tracing Our Roots, Telling Our Stories.” The day begins at 10 a.m. in Brougham Pavilion with a keynote address titled “Not Just Fun and Games: The Social and Political Significance of ‘Recreational’ Genetics,” delivered by Dr. Alondra Nelson, dean of social science and professor of sociology and gender studies at Columbia University. In the afternoon, more than 20 different seminars led by SPU faculty, staff, students, and community members will be offered at 1 p.m. and repeated at 2 p.m. Regularly scheduled classes, labs, and seminars before 3 p.m. are suspended; classes and labs after 3 p.m. are held as usual. Visit the website for all the information.

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Miroslav Volf, founder and director of Yale Center for Faith and Culture, will discuss the role religion plays in reconciling people from different backgrounds at a special event on Wednesday, October 26, 7 p.m. in Upper Gwinn Commons. The event is free to students, faculty, and staff with SPU ID.

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What does a historian do when faced with gaps in the historical record? SPU Archivist Adrienne Meier describes the difficulties in reconstructing the 125-year-old story of SPU's founding for the book Rooted in Mission. The Library’s first Creative Conversations of the year is Thursday, October 27, 3-3:50 p.m. in the Library Reading Room.

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Faculty and staff (and their family and friends) are invited to the Mistletoe Market on Friday, October 28 (10 a.m.-7 p.m.), and Saturday, October 29 (9 a.m.-2 p.m.), at the Fine Center in First Free Methodist Church. The market features year-round home décor, hostess gifts, accessories, gift certificates, one-of-a-kind SPU items, and much more. This special fundraising event will benefit scholarships in Family and Consumer Sciences, and is sponsored by Sigma Rho, a philanthropic organization of FCS alumni and friends. To see photos of some of the items for sale, visit the website.

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Flu shots are now available in Health Services, located in Watson Hall. Current staff, faculty, and dependents (age 15 years and up) who have Cigna coverage through SPU may receive their annual flu shot free of charge as part of the preventive care benefit. For those not covered by Cigna, the cost is $25. Make an appointment by calling 206-281-2231.

Winter/spring reservation requests are now being taken for the Faculty/Staff House at SPU’s Camp Casey Conference Center on Whidbey Island. The available dates of stay are January 4 through June 12, 2017. Reservation requests are due by November 14, 2016, and can only be made by full-time faculty and staff. The academic year requests are selected by lottery and are not affected by summer stays at Casey. Visit the Camp Casey website to request a reservation. If you have questions, contact Camp Casey at 866-661-6604 or campcasey@spu.edu.

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A message from the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership: OrgSync is a one-stop connection to student life. It’s a campus community portal that enables you to explore student organizations, connect with students, and stay up-to-date with everything that is happening on campus. SPU students are using OrgSync as their main mode of accessing information on student groups and campus events. On OrgSync you'll find:

• Campus events calendar

• Campus news and announcements

• Student government (Associated Students of Seattle Pacific)

• More than 85 clubs and organizations

• Resources and connections OrgSync has to offer (you can join as many groups as you like)

To get started, go to spu.edu/orgsync, and complete the sign-in with your SPU credentials. Make sure to join the Looped In page to get up-to-date information on campus events. You can also update your profile and upload a photo. If you have any questions, email the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership at osil@spu.edu or call 206-281-2247.

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Loopy, SPU’s weekly campus e-newsletter for students, is changing to Looped In. Looped In will still help promote on-campus events and programs hosted by SPU academic departments, ASSP-affiliated student groups, and registered student organizations. However, Looped In will only be posted in an OrgSync portal and emailed to the SPU community every Monday morning. Make sure to join OrgSync to stay in the loop.

To submit an event:

• Fill out the online OrgSync submission form. 

• Submit the event before Thursday at 5 p.m. Any event submitted after this time will not be listed on the next issue of Looped In.

• Once submitted, the Looped In editor will review your submission.

• All submissions are also subject to review by the Office of Student Involvement and Leadership.

If you have questions, contact Looped In Editor Heather Maguire at loopy-editor@spu.edu.

Working with challenging youth or adults? Seeking strategies that build capacity to manage challenge and needing skills in avoiding aggression? Workshops designed to build skills in managing violent and angry behavior in youth will be offered at First Free Methodist Church, November 4-5, 2016. The workshops are being offered in collaboration with the SPU chapter of the Chi Sigma Iota Counseling Honor Society.

The workshops feature Alastair Gardiner, director of the United Kingdom’s Nurtured Heart Approach. He is an expert in working with treatment facilities, foster care, parent support agencies, therapists, and educators in training adults on how to manage behaviors without using restraint, containment, or other similar negative tools in order to bring about transformation in behavior and self-regulation. These workshops are being offered in only four U.S. cities, including Seattle.

The Nurtured Heart Approach is a relationship-focused methodology designed to support regulation and capabilities in both adults and clients.

Please forward this information to students, colleagues, clinicians, and therapists interested in this interactive and powerful tool. Discounts are provided for registration of three or more, and the registration deadline is October 31. If you have questions, contact Tammy Fisher, doctoral student in counselor education, at 425-221-0171 or fishert@spu.edu.

One-day registration and information.

Two-day registration and information.

The School of Business, Government, and Economics Dean’s Speaker event will be Tuesday, October 25, at 9 a.m., in the Library Seminar Room. SPU alumna Sharlyn Turner, a CPA and Partner at Peterson Sullivan, LLP, will share about her career journey and also talk about the changing face of the public accounting industry. All are welcome, but space is limited. For more information or to RSVP, contact the Center for Applied Learning at cal@spu.edu or call 206-281-2942.

The most current data for the Faculty/Staff Directory is always in the SPU online White Pages. The Office Directory (office phone numbers, fax machine numbers, mailstops, and contact service providers) section has been updated for 2016-17. The Employee Directory (by last name and grouped by department) section is refreshed every day. If you would like to print the directory, visit the website.

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A message from Undergraduate Admissions: Hundreds of prospective students and their families will be on campus October 28 for SPU Friday. Prospective and admitted high school and transfer students will dine in Gwinn, attend informational sessions, and visit classes. Look for these students and their families and make them feel welcome.

The 10th of each month is the last day to make changes to your upcoming payroll check. Do you need to add or remove your spouse and/or children from your health care plans? If so, contact Human Resources (HR) to complete the appropriate form. Changes might 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 10th of the month. For changes to your 403(b) account, contact Transamerica Retirement Solutions at 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 Mardeth Hughes in HR at 206-281-2816.

You have until 9:59 a.m. on Tuesday, November 1, to have stationery order(s) delivered on November 14. Stationery orders are delivered once a month. Orders made after 10 a.m. on November 1 will be delivered December 16. To see deadlines and delivery dates for the remainder of the fiscal year, visit the “Create an Order” stationery page in Banner. For more information, contact Hope McPherson in University Communications at hmcpherson@spu.edu.

For the latest information on Falcon sports, visit the website.

Thursday, October 27
Volleyball vs Central Washington, Brougham Pavilion, 7 p.m.

Saturday, October 29
Exhibition women's basketball. Seattle Pacific at Seattle University, Connolly Center, 4 p.m.
Volleyball vs Northwest Nazarene, Brougham Pavilion, 7 p.m.

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The Faculty/Staff Bulletin is published weekly 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 27. The next Bulletin will be published Monday, October 31, 2016.

Works by Assistant Professor of Art Zack Bent and his wife, Gala Bent, are currently featured in the exhibit “Matched Makers: Northwest Artist Couples” at the Museum of Northwest Art in La Conner, Washington.

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Associate Professor of World Christian Studies Miriam Adeney delivered the opening plenary address at the national Evangelical Missiological Society meetings in Dallas, Texas, on October 14. The talk was titled "Wise as Serpents and Harmless as Doves: Local Churches in Mission."

An article by Caleb Henry, associate professor of science, was recently published in Catholic Social Science Review 21 (2016): 55-70. The article was titled "Obergefell, Locke, and the Changing Definition of Marriage."

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An article by Professor of Accounting Kim Sawers titled “Arizona Microbrewery, Inc.: An Instructional Case on Management Decision Making” was published in American Accounting Association, Volume 31, Issue 4, November 2016.

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Professor of English Susan VanZanten contributed an essay titled “World Christianity” to the Cambridge Companion to Literature and Religion, recently published by Cambridge University Press.

On October 7, Jeffrey Overstreet, adjunct instructor of writing, presented a paper titled “But Now They Must Catch You” at the annual Hutchmoot arts conference in Nashville, Tennessee. The paper is a personal reflection on Watership Down (both the novel and the film adaptation), highlighting the story’s correlations with Christian concepts of fear, courage, and resurrection. It will be published in Hutchmoot’s annual arts journal. On October 8, he led a two-hour Hutchmoot community discussion on moviegoing and Christian discernment. Jeffrey also accepted an invitation to contribute a personal essay — “Away in a Coffee Shop” — to the November/December 2016 print edition of In Touch magazine, focusing on Christ’s tendency to meet seekers in unlikely places. In his weekly Christianity Today column, he recently published reviews of Ava DuVernay’s 13th (a documentary), The Station Agent, and Vertigo.

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A poem by Professor Emeritus of New Testament Gene Lemcio titled "The Lion-Lamb of Lviv (a fantasy in verse") was published in Academia.edu.

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The Office of Human Resources would like the SPU community to welcome the following new employees. Contact information can be found in the online SPU White Pages.

Kyle Brown, annual giving program coordinator, Alumni and Parent Relations
DeHeavalyn Pullium, residence life coordinator, Residence Life

Howard Mount, who held a number of positions at Seattle Pacific, passed away on September 14, 2016, at the age of 82. He came to Seattle Pacific as vice president for finance in 1975. After earning his MBA, he became an accounting professor in the School of Business and Economics, led the MBA program, and was a popular student adviser. In 1992, while on sabbatical, Howard spent a year in the United Arab Emirates as a classroom instructor and supervisor of finance and administration at Dubai Women’s College. He taught another three years at SPU before officially retiring. He is survived by four children, including Christopher Mount ’84, Michelle Woolley Mount ’93, and Allison Mount Tran ’96, and seven grandchildren. (You can sign the online guestbook included in his obituary.) 

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