All are welcome for a time of community worship at the annual Thanksgiving Chapel on Tuesday, November 24, at 11:10 a.m. in First Free Methodist Church. The chapel will include a time of reflection on the previous year through testimonies by faculty, staff, and students, and conclude with the celebration of the Lord's Supper. 

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The annual Festival of Lessons and Carols is Tuesday, December 1, at 11:10 a.m. in First Free Methodist Church. This service, hosted by the Department of Music, is a traditional Advent celebration that tells the story of the coming of Christ through Scripture and song.

The basketball season is underway and the Falcons are excited to announce a new change to the Junior Falcon Kids Club program. The Queen Anne Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt is the new title sponsor of the program, and that means membership is now FREE for all Falcon fans in eighth grade and younger.

Junior Falcon members receive all of these great benefits for the 2015-16 men’s and women’s basketball season.

-   Free admission to all Falcon home events (a total of 27 games)
-   A free Junior Falcons T-shirt
-   An exclusive, personalized Junior Falcons credential
-   Special VIP opportunities to meet coaches and players
-   Special meet and greet events with Talon, the Falcon mascot
-   A birthday card from Talon with a coupon for free food at Menchie’s!

Sign up today by visiting the Junior Falcons registration page.  

SPU’s Art Center Gallery is currently featuring “Color Forms,” a multimedia exhibit which includes knitted fabrics, wood panels, acrylic paints, watercolor, as well as other mediums. The pieces in the show seek to explore the vocabulary of color through a variety of forms. The exhibit runs through November 27, and the gallery is open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. The gallery is located on 3 West Cremona Street. 

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The last event of this three-part series featuring theologians discussing issues related to living in the digital age is Monday, November 30, at 7 p.m. in the Library Seminar Room. Michael Burdett from Oxford University will talk about “Forming the (Virtual) Self: Christian Practice and Internet Living.” The series is funded with support from the Provost Innovation Fund, SERVE, and the SPU Library.

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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.

You have until 9:59 a.m. on Tuesday, December 1, to have stationery order(s) delivered on December 11. Stationery orders are now delivered once a month. Orders made after 10 a.m. on December 1 will be delivered January 15, 2016. 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.

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. Due to the Thanksgiving holiday, the next deadline is Wednesday, November 25. The next Bulletin will be published Monday, November 30.

An article by Professor of Old Testament Frank Spina titled “'The Son of Jesse': Is the Story of David and Goliath a David and Goliath Story?” appeared in My Name Is Frank and That’s Who I Am: Essays in Honor of Frank H. Thompson, edited by Gary L. Hunter and published by Greenville College (2015).

A new book by Executive in Residence Al Erisman titled The Purpose of Business: Contemporary Perspectives from Different Walks of Life was published in October by Palgrave Macmillan. The co-editor was David Gautschi.

An article by Rob McKenna, chair of industrial-organizational psychology, titled “Developing Whole Leaders for the Whole World” (with doctoral student Kira Wenzel) was published in the Journal of Values-Based Leadership. Here’s an abstract about the article: “Cultivating leaders to tackle the most pressing moral challenges and imperatives in our complex and ever-changing world ― including climate change, resource distribution, gentrification, sexism, political corruption, and racism ― requires recruiting adept and resilient individuals who are willing to listen, foster meaningful dialogue, engage in diplomacy, and practice deliberate strategy planning. Authors McKenna and Wenzel state that developing leaders with the character and competence to lead in this fashion requires a new paradigm ― one of holistic development referred to as the Holistic Leadership Development Model (HLDM).” Read the article online.

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The Office of Human Resources would like the SPU community to join us in welcoming the following new staff members. Contact information can be found in the online SPU White Pages. 

Beth Douglass, communications specialist, University Communications
Dusty Henry, communications specialist, University Communications
John Pearson, advancement officer, University Advancement

Assistant Professor of Industrial-Organizational Psychology Joey Collins was quoted in an article titled “The Myth of Fearless Leadership: How to Lead When You’re Afraid” in the online Business2community.com.

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From SPU Master Gardener Jeff Daley: One of the fantastic benefits of a mature landscape is that herbaceous plants, shrubs, and trees love to reproduce themselves. They provide seedlings that you can share with friends and neighbors or just plant into your own garden. The SPU campus is full of leafy treasures ― over the years I have enjoyed discovering and transplanting them here, there, and everywhere.

Recently I teamed up with Associate Professor of Biology Eric Long and students from the Biology and Environmental Science departments. We shared an exciting time together scouring the campus for Japanese maple seedlings. We gathered and transplanted 125 seedlings that will grow and ultimately be used as gifts at SPU’s 125th year Anniversary Gala. What a beautiful expression of giving back something tangible and meaningful, grown on our campus, and potted by SPU students.

The botanical names for the Japanese maple are Acer palmatum and Acer japonicum. The Japanese maple grows in a mind-boggling number of different cultivars and varieties. Many are quite expensive, and all are unique and elegant additions to any landscape. Sizes range from a midsized shrub a few feet tall, to 30-ft trees. Some varieties do quite nicely planted in containers or even as bonsai. In the fall, Japanese maples electrify the garden with varying shades of bright red, yellow, and orange; they are guaranteed to brighten any gray, dreary Pacific Northwest day.

If you are considering a Japanese maple for your garden, shop for your tree in the fall to see the color of the leaf. Japanese maples will generally do well when planted in sunny areas, although most prefer partial shade, especially in the hotter part of the day. As a rule of thumb, non-green-leaf varieties like burgundy, red, or golden will be much more susceptible to sunburn and should definitely be given partial afternoon shade. Water well the first few years until your tree is established. Be aware that Japanese maples do not like to sit in standing water, so planting them in riparian (near streams, lakes, natural springs, etc.) areas should be avoided. In wet conditions like this you could plant the native vine maple Acer circinatum, which is every bit as decorative.

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