The Office of Inclusive Excellence is implementing a three-part professional development workshop and yearlong engagement focused on racial equity and pedagogy for faculty members. The second workshop will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 10 a.m.–12 p.m., and the third workshop will be held on Thursday, Jan. 21, 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Learn more.

Join Director of Public Information Tracy Norlen and Social Media Specialist Esther Yun for an informative session on how to promote your event to faculty, staff, students, alumni, and the general public. The session will mainly cover best practices in social media, but also briefly review poster distribution, internal e-newsletters, websites, videos, local blogs, online event calendars, and more. This online session via Microsoft Teams will be offered Thursday, Dec. 3, 2–3 p.m. RSVP to Tracy at tcnorlen@spu.edu.

Important announcement from Human Resources: It’s time to transition our HSA or HRA accounts to a unified HSA Bank structured account for the 2021 plan year. What to expect:

Nov. 11: To make this go smoothly, HSA Bank has advised us not to use our existing HSA/HRA debit cards as of Wednesday, Nov. 11.

Nov. 24–30: We will experience a brief period with no access.

• Plan ahead for purchases or services that need to be paid during these dates of no access.
• After Monday, Nov. 30, your existing debit card will be reactivated for 10 more days — before it is then disabled permanently.

New HSA bank debit cards should arrive by Tuesday, Dec. 15.

More information at HSA/HRA Fund Transition to HSA Bank and New Debit Cards.

Every Thursday during Autumn Quarter, students receive the Stay Smart newsletter highlighting the latest information for students from Student Life, Center for Learning, Student Academic Services, University Ministries, Health Services, Housing and Meal Plan Services, Dining Services, the library, and more. Review last week's newsletter and all the previous newsletters on the Stay Smart website under Newsletter Archive.

In this short video, opera singer and SPU alumna Katie Malik ’02 gives a taste of what to expect at SPU’s fully reimagined Christmas concert, coming to your home on Saturday, Dec. 12, at 7 p.m. Get more information and register to get the link and a free downloadable viewing packet at spu.edu/behold. Invite your family, friends, and neighbors!

Join Computer and Information Services on December 8 or 9 for a training session on Microsoft Forms, the simple solution available to all of SPU for digitizing paper forms as well as creating online surveys and polls. This training will cover a variety of electronic forms tools, but will focus primarily on Microsoft Forms. Let us know your questions and RSVP here to receive a Microsoft Teams meeting link. Contact Allison Pincus in CIS at pincusa@spu.edu with questions, and see here for more information on the CIS training program.

More than 3,000 SPU families recently received the November 2020 In the Loop parents newsletter, which included information about the video One Good Thing, the Mentor Program, the Parents Prayer Network’s prayer requests, and more.

From Caroline Maurer, director of the Office of Global Engagement: Congratulations and thanks to all who participated in the International Photo Contest hosted by the Office of Global Engagement:

• Culture: Veronica Zhu – Prayer wheels (China)
• Place: Sara Koenig – Wanaka tree (New Zealand)
• People: Deema Almunajem (Saudi Arabia)

I hope by next year we all have the opportunity to travel on wonderful adventures and have many photos to share with our community. (Select the link to see the three photos.)

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“We move forward in hope,” writes School of Education Dean Nyaradzo Mvududu in the latest SOE e-newsletter, “and by focusing on what we have to offer, we can bring hope to others.” Read more of the dean’s encouraging message, as well as other SOE updates, in the November SOE e-newsletter.

All faculty and staff who come to campus must complete an online self-screening to attest that they meet certain criteria for being on campus (e.g., not exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms). SPU has developed a campuswide tool through Banner (login into Banner and select Personal Menu) to report a daily COVID-19 self-attestation for faculty and staff working on campus (including Camp Casey or Blakely Island). A link to the self-attestation form is also available on the Stay Smart website, which is now highlighted in the top banner on the SPU homepage.

The Faculty/Staff Bulletin is published weekly during the academic year. The next Bulletin will be published Monday, Nov. 30, but — due to Thanksgiving break — the deadline is Wednesday, Nov. 25. 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.

Stephanie Armes, assistant professor of marriage and family therapy, was awarded the 2020 Dissertation Award from the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy Research & Education Foundation. This award recognizes recent PhD graduates whose research study is related to couples and family therapy or family therapy training. Stephanie's dissertation study, “Re-examining the cost of caring: A mixed methods exploration of secondary traumatic stress in marriage and family therapists,” was the first study of its kind nationally to examine secondary trauma in marriage and family therapists utilizing mixed methods as a research modality.

A paper by Assistant Professor of Finance Randy Beavers, Professor Denise Daniels (Wheaton College), Emeritus Executive-in-Residence Al Erisman, and Associate Professor of Management Don Lee was published in the Journal of Biblical Integration in Business. The paper, titled “Technology and Non-Interpersonal Relationships,” uses Martin Buber’s I-Thou model and Scripture to discuss how technology plays a role in our lives and makes suggestions concerning how businesses should react from a Christian perspective.

The following studies by Rob Wall, The Paul T. Walls Professor of Scripture & Wesleyan Studies, were recently published.

• “The Role of the Acts of the Spirit Within Scripture,” in The T&T Clark Handbook of Pneumatology. Edited by Daniel Castelo and Kenneth M. Loyer. (London: T&T Clark, 2020), 25-32.
• “The Pneumatology of the Johannine Corpus,” in The T&T Clark Handbook of Pneumatology. Edited by Daniel Castelo and Kenneth M. Loyer. (London: T&T Clark, 2020), 41-54.
• “Pneumatic Discernment of the Spirit-Beast of Revelation 13:11-17,” in Spirit and Story: Pentecostal Readings of Scripture. Essays in Honor of John Christopher Thomas (Sheffield: Phoenix Press, 2020) 101-16.
• “A Paratextual Approach to Wesley’s Sermons: ‘Catholic Spirit’ as a Case Study,” Wesleyan Theological Journal 55/2 (Fall, 2020) 147-67.

Rob writes: “Should any of these published bits spark an interest in you that requires a Zoomed conversation, let me know! I’m game.”

An essay by Mischa Willett, assistant professor of English and writing, titled “Joy of Every Longing Heart: An Advent Meditation,” was published in the North American Anglican.

Debra Sequeira, professor emerita of communication, was one of two keynote speakers at York University’s (Ontario, Canada) Conference on Departmental Readiness and Hiring for Diversity. The webinar was held Nov. 12. This opportunity arose from her earlier presentation on faculty hiring for diversity at NCORE (National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education) in May 2018.

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

• Samuel Fischer, collections assistant and office manager, Student Financial Services
• Lydia Florence, student financial services counselor II, Student Financial Services
• Hiroe Une, international student services advisor, International Student Services

Director of Global Engagement Caroline Maurer was interviewed by Christianity Today for an article about international student enrollment at Christian colleges. The article was published online on Nov. 20.

Professor Emerita of Education Annette Robinson passed away on Nov. 21, 2020. She served in the School of Education for 24 years, retiring in 2001. Bill Rowley, professor emeritus of counselor education, said, "I'm so saddened to receive the news of Annette's passing. She not only cared deeply about her students, but she had a wonderful sense of humor. She was a lifetime learner. I was serving as her dean when she retired, and I couldn't help but treasure the many years she contributed to the Special Education Program and the entire SOE. She helped contribute a wonderful, collegial atmosphere for those of us who had lunch in the 'attic' of Peterson Hall." Plans for a memorial service are pending.