From Don Mortenson, staff secretary for the Board of Trustees and special assistant to the president: Following the news of the election of President-elect Dr. Deana Porterfield, who begins on July 1, the chair of the Board of Trustees formed a committee to oversee preparation details during this next five months prior to Dr. Porterfield’s arrival on campus. Dr. Porterfield has specifically asked the Transition Committee to act as the point of contact for her while she remains still fully employed at Roberts Wesleyan University. Visit the Transition Committee webpage for a list of the committee members to whom all recommendations, ideas, and requests should be submitted.

From the COVID-19 Decision Group: We are thankful that our community has experienced few reported cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of Winter Quarter. We hope these trends will continue. As a reminder, our employees are to report positive tests to Human Resources as required by regulatory guidance. To do so, please contact Human Resources at hr@spu.edu or 206-281-2809. Second, we want to inform you that we continue to monitor regulatory guidance and will make changes as we are able. At this moment, we are required to have all new employees complete COVID-19 training. Also, we continue to restrict the full usage of some spaces due to airflow. If you have any questions, please email COVID19plan@spu.edu.

You are invited to the Winter Quarter Faith, Diversity, and Science Lecture, “Can I get a climate witness,” with speaker Marqus Cole, JD, on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 11:10 a.m., in Upper Gwinn. At this special Chapel event, Mr. Cole will use his unique voice as a Black, millennial, professional, and person of faith to bridge the gap between key stakeholder communities in this climate moment. In this lecture, you’ll hear his call to train, equip, and mobilize believers to recover the Scriptural mandate to steward and care for creation. For more information, including a livestreaming link, visit the website.

You are invited to participate in a Zumbathon fundraiser and silent auction to raise funds for the Martinez Fellowship, which supports teachers of color. The School of Education event will be Saturday, Feb. 18, 1–4 p.m. in Royal Brougham Pavilion. Visit this PDF for more information about the Martinez Fellowship, as well as a website for payment (CashApp: cash.app/$SOEfundraiser OR Venmo: @SOEfundraiser). The registration fee is $20 in advance or $25 at the door. Receipt of payment will automatically register you for the event. Join us either for the entire time or some of the time to participate in Zumba and/or bid on any of the awesome auction items. You must register to participate in Zumba and/or auction. Bring your family and friends!

The Music Department welcomes composer Nansi Carroll to Seattle to celebrate her music and perform the world premiere of A Tree Telling of Orpheus, a piece commissioned by SPU. These events are free and open to the public: 

Thursday, Feb. 16, 11 a.m., Nickerson Studios 103: “Faith and Music,” a talk with Nansi Carroll. In this discussion, Nancy will discuss the intersection of her faith with her music. 

Thursday, Feb. 16, 7:30 p.m., Nickerson Studios: The world premiere of A Tree Telling of Orpheus, with the SPU Chamber Singers, TORCH, and the POST-HASTE REED Duo.

Yesterday, Feb. 12, SPU musicians, including the Concert Choir, also performed a choral concert at Bellevue’s St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church that featured her music.

The School of Education will present its monthly EdTalks event on Thursday, Feb. 16, 4–5:30 p.m. The title is “Supporting Asian American Students During the Rise in Anti-Asian Hate Crimes.” This presentation will identify how the Model Minority Myth and other biases have been weaponized against Asian American students and works against their racial identity. Our speaker, Joan King, will offer strategies and methods for educators to implement in their classrooms to better support their Asian American students with a culturally competent approach. This Zoom event is free, but you must register here to receive the link.

SPU’s annual biometric screenings return Feb. 21–22. Human Resources, Aetna, and Quest Diagnostics have partnered together to offer free, confidential health and wellness screenings available to SPU employees and spouses enrolled in SPU’s health plan. Participants earn $25 toward the 2023 Aetna Wellness Incentive.

On-campus sessions are available Tuesday, Feb. 21, 7 a.m.–12 p.m., Upper Gwinn, Cascade Room, or Wednesday, Feb. 22, 7:30 a.m.–12 p.m., Library Conference Room, and more morning time slots have been added, making it easier to complete a fasting blood test. Conducted by certified health professionals, your biometric screening will take less than 20 minutes and include a brief health assessment, blood pressure screening, and blood test. Both fasting and non-fasting options available.

Bring your Aetna medical ID card to your biometric screening. To schedule an appointment, go to My.QuestForHealth.com to set up a username and password. Note: If you have old Quest Diagnostics credentials once used with Cigna, you will need to set up a new username and password. Enter your unique ID: Aetna WID# (from your Aetna ID card); and registration key: SPU2023. Contact: Cherylin Shdo in Human Resources at shdoc@spu.edu with any questions.

A message from Bryan Jones, interim vice president for enrollment management and marketing: Each year we try to convey to incoming students the kind of learning community they will find here at SPU. An example of this has been a project that the Undergraduate Admissions team spearheads in asking faculty to write a personal note to each admitted student for the coming fall. 

Because it is an “old school” type of engagement, it is hard to quantify the rate of return on your investment of time (which we know is very valuable). Yet each year, we get unsolicited feedback at our spring events and from our admitted student research that receiving a personal note card from a college professor is a powerful message that students will be known and may begin an actual relationship with a faculty member. As you navigate these challenging times in the life of SPU, we know that you continue to juggle so much as you care for and invest in our current students. Knowing that the students who are in front of you are your top priority, we work to keep this project manageable, while still reaching out to a large, yet targeted segment, of our incoming students with personal notecards.

We ask that you either sign up for your cards to be delivered to you or that you join us for a faculty notecard writing party, where your cards will be waiting for you.

• If you are willing/able to write even just a few cards, please COMPLETE THIS BRIEF FORM (takes about 30 seconds to complete).
• Notecard writing parties: We would love for you to join us for one or both faculty notecard writing parties during lunch. Pizza and snacks will be offered at both, as well as music, prizes, and good times with colleagues. (Please RSVP via the form linked above.)
• Most faculty will write to students within their own academic disciplines, but you may still be asked to write a general note of welcome to students from outside your program’s majors or to those whom are undecided.
• All notecards will be pre-labeled and pre-stamped, and we will include suggested text for your note. (Though it’s a wonderful touch if you include one of your business cards if you have them.)

Faculty notecard writing party #1: Monday, Feb. 20, noon–2 p.m., and Faculty notecard writing party #2: Tuesday, Feb. 21, noon–2 p.m., will be held in the McKenna Hall conference room. We hope to have all notecards mailed by Monday, Feb. 27, so that our students will hear about our admitted-student events on time.

At the end of this project, we plan to award the coveted “Golden Falcon Pen-holder Award” to the faculty member who writes the most cards. We also have a LOT of SPU swag to give away and will be hosting faculty drawings among those who write cards. Again, thank you for all that you are doing for our current students, and we thank you in advance to those who are willing and able to help us with personal cards again this year!

Mammograms save lives! To help make these essential tests convenient for women in our community, SPU is hosting the Swedish Mobile Mammography coach on Wednesday–Thursday, Feb. 22–23. Schedule your appointment by going to Swedish Breast Center online scheduler. Bring your medical history form from the online scheduling link, your insurance card, and photo ID. Face masks required. The coach will be near Tiffany Loop on Third Ave. W. For more information, contact Cherylin Shdo, human resources benefits specialist at shdoc@spu.edu.

The Faculty/Staff Bulletin is published weekly on Mondays during the academic year (or Tuesday if Monday is a holiday). The next deadline is Thursday, Feb. 16, and the next issue will be published Monday, Feb. 20.

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.

New date and time: Join in celebrating Dave Church, assistant vice president for Facility Management, for his 42 years of exemplary work at SPU on Tuesday, Feb. 28, 9:30–11 a.m., in the Hendricks Falcon Club, Royal Brougham Pavilion, with a program starting at 10 a.m. Dave has made an impact on every department, building, and (most likely) every office on campus. We are compiling a book for him, and blank notecards will be available at the event for you to write him a note to be included. If you are unable to attend but would like to include a note, email your message to kamemoto@spu.edu, or pick up a note card/drop off a note or card in Demaray 250.