A message from Alumni Relations: “Homecoming and Parents Weekend is the perfect time for our entire SPU community to connect with one another and parents and participate in special programming. Homecoming will feature all our Falcon fan favorites including the annual Talent Show, basketball, theatre, Homecoming Luncheon, and more. New this year will be a pre-Talent Show Tailgater (open to the entire SPU community) and Talon’s Birthday Bash, following the women’s basketball game versus Central Washington University on Saturday, January 30. Talon’s Birthday Bash will be an epic celebration sure to go down in Falcon history! The biggest change to this weekend is that all class reunions and most affinity reunions will now be a part of the all new Grand Reunion 2016 inaugural event October 7-9, 2016. (The 50-year reunion event will still take place on June 10, 2016, during Ivy Cutting.) For more information on Homecoming and Parents Weekend, visit the website."

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The women’s basketball team hosts the Sodexo Tip-Off Classic this weekend in Brougham Pavilion. Faculty and staff receive complimentary general admission tickets (including spouse and dependent children up to a maximum of four tickets). Here’s the schedule.

Friday, December 18
Concordia vs. Wisconsin-Parkside, 4:30 p.m.
Seattle Pacific vs. Eastern New Mexico, 7 p.m.

Saturday, December 19
Concordia vs. Eastern New Mexico, 4:30 p.m.
Seattle Pacific vs. Wisconsin-Parkside, 7 p.m.

For the latest in Falcon sports, visit the website.  More

A message from Ruth Moon, Response magazine temporary managing editor. “Calling all coffee stories! Coffee is a signature Seattle drink. It is also a ministry outreach tool, a global commodity, and fosters a culture of connection and community. We want to tell Response readers about the ways SPU uses this beverage to engage the culture and change the world. Are you teaching a class or conducting research that involves coffee — its production, its culture, its history, or other aspects of Seattle’s signature drink? Do you know students doing innovative work with coffee production or service? Do you have former students who started their post-college lives as baristas — whether they’ve moved on or are still in the role? Do you just have a great coffee story to tell? We’re looking for student and faculty stories to feature in the upcoming issue of Response, so please send any and all ideas to response@spu.edu.”

The Center for Scholarship and Faculty Development and Educational Technology and Media is offering a seminar for faculty and staff on how to accommodate all types of student learners. The seminar on Tuesday, December 15, is titled “Universal Design: Nine Principles to Improve Student Learning.” More information, including all December events taking place the week after finals, can be found online.

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Assistant Professor of New Testament Laura Holmes will introduce the Center for Biblical and Theological Education’s (CBTE) next Lectio series at a dinner seminar on Tuesday, January 5, 6-9 p.m. The next Lectio is on the Gospel of Mark. The seminar will examine common questions among believers such as “Have you ever wondered how to follow Jesus when you haven’t got it all figured out? When Jesus surprises you? Or when you need encouragement to be faithful?” The seminar is free for faculty and staff, and includes dinner. External guests can also attend for $20. To register, email Nate Hoover, CBTE interim assistant director, at hoovern@spu.edu.

You have until 9:59 a.m. on Tuesday, January 5, to have stationery order(s) delivered on January 15. Stationery orders are now delivered once a month. Orders made after 10 a.m. on January 5 will be delivered February 12. 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.

If you are planning an event in Martin Square, Tiffany Loop, Fifth Avenue Streetscape, SUB lawn, or other outdoor space on campus, reserve it through SPU Room Finder. Submitting an event through Room Finder allows you to book space and send the information to the SPU Master Calendar (if appropriate) at the same time. All events held on campus can now be entered through Room Finder, and all SPU-sponsored events not on campus can be posted directly through the SPU Master Calendar by selecting “Submit an Event.”

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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 17. The last Bulletin in December 2015 will be published Monday, December 21.

Assistant Professor of Education Robin Henrikson was recently elected to the Sequim School Board. She will serve a four-year term. After being sworn in on December 7, she was elected vice-president of the board. The Peninsula Daily News recently covered the swearing-in ceremony of the new school board members.

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Assistant Professor of Political Science and Director of Global Development Studies Bradley Murg recently presented a paper at the conference "The Morant Bay Rebellion and the Eyre Controversy: John Stuart Mill, Thomas Carlyle, and the Rule of Law.” His paper was titled "Nation Building and Classical Liberalism in Caribbean Politics." The conference was organized by George Mason University in Jekyll Island, Georgia.

Assistant Professor of Exercise Science Dale Cannavan recently gave a presentation at the international conference in Thurles, Ireland, on Developing and Maximizing Youth Athletic Potential. Dale also hosted a two-day strength and conditioning workshop, prior to the conference, for the National Strength and Conditioning Associations certification exam. This was the first of its kind in Ireland.

The Department of Psychology is pleased to announce that a chapter co-authored by Assistant Professor of Psychology Tom Carpenter was recently published in a French-language edition of Religion, Personality, and Social Behavior. The chapter, titled “Religion, Prejudice, and Intergroup Relations,” provides a broad review of theories of prejudice and explores how features of religiosity may lead people toward, or away from, prejudice and discrimination. Tom would like to recognize his co-authors, Dr. Wade Rowatt and doctoral candidate Megan Haggard of Baylor University; and editor Vassilis Saroglou of the Université Catholique de Louvain.

An article by Assistant Professor of Education David Denton and former SPU Clinical Instructor Cindy Sink was recently published in the Journal of Social Studies Education Research. The article was titled “Preserving the Social Studies as Core Curricula in an Era of Common Core Reform.”

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A quote by Professor of Geography Kathleen Braden was used in a Seattle Met story about Seattle’s Gold Rush. The story was published in the December 2015 issue, and can also be found online.

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