There are several ways faculty, staff, and students will be notified or can find out whether SPU will close or open late due to inclement weather. The most current information will always be provided on the Emergency Closure Hotline at 206-281-2800. Information about evening classes, Library hours, campus dining retail hours, events, and athletic games will also be updated on the SPU home page in the “News” section.

— SPU-Alert text message. You should receive a text before 6 a.m. about a closure or late start. If SPU is open but classes are not in session, faculty and staff will receive a text message.

— Emails will be sent to all faculty, staff, and students before 6 a.m.

— The news section on the SPU homepage will also be updated before 6 a.m.

To confirm or update your SPU-Alert cell phone numbers or email addresses, access the Banner Information System and select Personal Menu and then Emergency Alert System.

Campus Ministries has curated a non-exhaustive list of Advent resources — ideas for prayer, social media engagement, and justice work. The list also includes a few Seattle-area events and assorted books and readings aimed at helping people move through the season. You can find the list online.

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A message from the Center for Career and Calling (CCC): Save the date, tell your students, and plan to come to the CCC’s 5th annual Life After College Week (January 23-27, 2017). Co-sponsored by the Center for Career and Calling, the SPU SERVE Program, and the Alumni Center, this weeklong series of workshops is intended for all class levels – and graduate students, alumni, faculty, and staff are also invited. Presentations will include job search strategies, money management, graduate school, salary negotiation, vocation stories, LinkedIn, career fashion tips, and green careers. Encourage your students to attend and join us.

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A message from Campus Dining Services: Our Dining Services Team would like to wish you a great winter break. Here are our Finals Week Specials (December 5-8) as a gift for you this holiday season:  

• Get 10 percent off any drink, excluding Frappuccinos, at Academic Perks and Common Grounds
• Make your own salad pizza at Bertona Street Pizza. Choose any topping combination.
• Get 20 percent off a pint of Ben & Jerry ice cream at the C-Store
• Get $1 off a burrito at Cocina del Sol
• Grab a coffee from Einstein’s for $.99
• Try a Vegetarian Portobello Mushroom Burger, fries, and drink combo for $7.99 from Falcon Grill
• Get a $5 foot-long tuna sandwich from Subway

Also, try Cocina Del Sol's new special — the Chicken BLT Quesadilla. Get this warm and delicious dish for a limited time for $6.79!

Prospective transfer students will be on campus Monday, December 12, for Transfer Open House. Students and their guests will take campus tours, visit with counselors, and learn more about the transfer admissions process at SPU. Please look for these guests and make them feel welcome!

From the Wellness Initiative: Following up on our July 2016 post, this month’s focus is on how the changing weather and amount of daylight impacts mood. Many people report feeling the winter blues in the Pacific Northwest, where the number of daylight hours is significantly reduced from November to March. Less daylight can lead to lower levels of Vitamin D, which in turn may impact mood. To learn more, visit the Wellness blog.

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A message from Housing and Meal Plan Services: To encourage interaction among faculty, staff, and students outside the classroom, Dining Services provides five meal passes each weekday. Students can pick up a meal pass to take a faculty or staff member to a meal in Gwinn Commons (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-serve basis.

The School of Business, Government, and Economics has officially launched two new continuing education certificate programs — one in digital marketing and one in business analytics. In just two quarters of study and meeting on campus once per week, course participants can gain technical skills to help them gain a competitive edge in their existing careers or transition into new work. The first cohort begins Winter Quarter — so if you know anyone who may be interested, let them know.

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You have until 9:59 a.m. on Tuesday, December 6, to have stationery order(s) delivered on December 16. Stationery orders are delivered once a month. Orders made after 10 a.m. on December 6 will be delivered January 13. To see more deadlines and delivery dates, 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.

Saturday, December 10

Women's basketball vs Cal State Los Angeles, Brougham Pavilion, 2 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, December 8. The next Bulletin will be published Monday, December 12, 2016. The last Bulletin in December will be published Monday, December 19.

Faculty and staff are invited to a farewell reception for David Stewart, professor and department chair of the Clinical Psychology Department, on Wednesday, December 7, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. in Marston-Watson Conference Room 127. There will be a short program at 12:30 p.m. A light buffet and refreshments will be available.

Education professors Julie Antilla-Garza and Kristine Gritter gave a presentation titled "Clever Language and Signs of Growth Mindset: The Rhetorical Strategies of Migrant Adolescents in Structured Debate Competitions" at the annual National Council of Teachers of English Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Kris also participated in a presentation titled "Honoring Everyone: How We Approach Religion and Spirituality in Young Adult Literature" at the ALAN Workshop, also held in Atlanta.

Rob Wall, the Paul T. Walls Professor of Scripture and Wesleyan Studies, participated in a panel discussion of his "canonical approach" to Scripture, and to the Catholic epistles collection (James, 1-2 Peter, 1-2-3 John & Jude) in particular, as a guest at the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society in San Antonio. He read an invited paper, "On the ‘Neglect’ of 2 Peter," and then responded to the papers of four panelists who interacted constructively with the body of his published work. He also attended the annual meetings of the Institute of Biblical Research and the Society of Biblical Literature in San Antonio, where he enjoyed the fellowship of friends and colleagues from around the globe (including Jack and Priscilla Pope-Levison, who send us their love).

Bo Lim, university chaplain and associate professor of Old Testament, presented a paper titled "Towards a Theological Interpretation of Exile and Migration" at the Forum on Missional Hermeneutics at the Society of Biblical Literature in San Antonio, Texas, on November 22. The aim of the paper is to provide a better understanding of the biblical phenomena of exile as it relates to migrant communities so that the church might better appropriate this biblical motif for ministry. Read the abstract online.

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Jaeil Lee, professor of apparel design and merchandising, co-authored a paper titled "Work Involvement Study of Each Job on Technical Design in Garment Development Process in South Korea," which was published in Fashion and Textile Research Journal. The research is how fashion professionals in South Korea understand a fairly new career option of technical design or technical designer, and how it affects their work involvement, work load, and work flow in their domestic and global apparel product development processes.

Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology Brittany Christian co-authored a manuscript that was recently accepted for publication. "Saving for Your Future Self: The Role of Imaginary Experiences" will be published in the journal Self and Identity. The article explores how adopting a third-person perspective can help increase participants' willingness to save rather than spend money. This effect was mediated by the enhanced body awareness that accompanies third-person imagery.

The Office of Human Resources would like the SPU community to welcome Madison Richardson, coordinator – rooms and schedule production, in Student Academic Services.

This fall, the Library upgraded the Academic Search Premier subscription to Academic Search Complete. This upgrade almost doubles the full-text periodical content that was available in the more basic subscription and adds content for all disciplines. Academic Search Complete has online full text for 8,500 journal titles and indexing for 12,500 titles. Take a moment to check out this multidisciplinary article database.

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Assistant Professor of Biology Jenny Tenlen was quoted in an article in Chemical & Engineering News on November 7 about research in tardigrades published by another lab. Read the article online.

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Rob Wall, the Paul T. Walls Professor of Scripture and Wesleyan Studies, his wife, Carla, daughter and Associate Professor of Biology, Cara Wall-Scheffer, and granddaughter, Aria, were featured in the Kitsap Sun on November 25 about Port Gamble Forest Heritage Park. Read the story online.

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