Professor Brent Ruby graduated from SPU in ‘89 with a degree in exercise science. He now serves as a professor at the University of Montana where his research includes the physical and mental toll fighting wildland fires has on the people who battle the blazes. Listen or read the interview at SPU Voices podcasts.

Several vanpools are looking for more full-time or part-time riders.

Northend: Do you commute from Lynnwood, Edmonds, Mountlake Terrace, Bothell, or Shoreline? Tired of the commute strain mentally, physically and financially? Join SPU’s Northend vanpool! It’s a great way to save money and create community with other SPU employees. We are open to full-time or part-time riders. Our vanpool meets at 7:10 a.m. Monday–Friday at the Mountlake Terrace Park & Ride. We arrive at SPU by 7:50 a.m. We leave SPU at 5:10 p.m. Monday – Friday from the Emerson Parking Lot. Contact Cherylin Shdo at shdoc@spu.edu or Christina Traverso at traversoc@spu.edu for more information.

Eastside: Do you live on the Eastside and commute across the Highway 520 bridge (or choosing to drive around to avoid the toll)? If so, you could be saving as much as $300 a month by joining a vanpool. The vanpool is completely free to SPU employees which means the 520 toll, gas, campus parking, and car maintenance are all covered through the Trip Reduction Program. Part-time riders are also welcomed. The vanpool meets at the South Kirkland Park and Ride, Monday–Friday at 7:05 a.m. for a 7:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. work schedule. If you’d like to know more, email Lynn Anselmi at lynnnanselmi@spu.edu. Benefits of vanpooling can be found at spu.edu/vanpools.

Southend: Do you travel to SPU from the Southend and are tired of traffic, or maybe you take the bus or Sounder and would like to join a vanshare from the King Street Station to SPU and back? If so, my vanshare is in need of new riders/drivers who can join ASAP. I travel in a couple days per week (usually Wed. and Thur.) and I'm currently the main and only driver. Below is our van information.

Leave King Street Station: 7:20 a.m.+
Arrive at SPU: 7:30-7:45 a.m.
Leave SPU: 4 p.m. from the WAC parking lot
Arrive King Street Station: 4:25 p.m.+ (depending on traffic)

If you currently drive and would like to save money on gas, or if you already take the bus or train and would like to join the vanshare, please contact me, Teresa Lewis, at tlewis7@spu.edu so I can get you signed up. You will need an ORCA card from Safety and Security to join a vanshare — information can be found here. If you are interested and have any questions, or would like more information, please feel free to contact me.

The Faculty/Staff Bulletin is published every other week during the summer. The next deadline is Thursday, Aug. 31. Due to the Labor Day holiday, the next issue will be published Tuesday, Sept. 5. The Bulletin will resume weekly publication on Sept. 5.

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.

Dave Denton, associate professor of education, had his article "Preparing Preservice Teachers to Teach Probability and Statistics to Early Learners: A Systematic Review” published in a special issue of the Statistics Education Research Journal. SERJ is one of the flagship journals for statistics education.

A paper by John Douglass, assistant professor of biology, was published in the journal, Cell Metabolism. The article was titled "Obesity-associated microglial inflammatory activation paradoxically improves glucose tolerance." This paper, done in collaboration with researchers at the University of Washington and University of California San Francisco, uncovers an unexpected association between obesity and Type 2 diabetes. As John explained in an email to biology faculty: "Our previous work demonstrated that fattening diets lead to activation of resident immune cells in the brain and overconsumption of calories. In the current study, we looked at glucose intolerance as a early marker of developing diabetes. We originally predicted that brain inflammation would exacerbate the progression of diabetes. Using an array of transgenic mouse models and dietary interventions, we instead show that immune cell activation in the brain caused by high fat diet actually prevents hyperglycemia (this is very different than what occurs in peripheral tissues such as adipose and liver)." This discovery has important implications for developing drugs to treat both obesity and diabetes, particularly given the current buzz around brain-targeting medications like Ozempic and Mounjaro.

Please join the Office of Human Resources in welcoming Olivia Handman, administrative assistant to the dean, School of Education.

Professor of Biology Cara Wall-Scheffler was interviewed for the show Marketplace by American Public Media that aired on NPR on August 8. The show, titled "The 'slow burn' phase of the banking crisis," includes an interview with Cara at the 16:15 mark of the 26-minute episode. She talks about her new research that gives global and historical evidence that women participated and continue to participate in subsistence hunting as much as men.