A message from Annamaria Traverso, transportation manager, Office of Safety and Security: As the new academic year approaches, we kindly remind all faculty and staff members to complete their parking registration at their earliest convenience. Registering your vehicle is required, and you can register your vehicle for free by choosing the Street Parking option if you do not require designated parking. Please visit the SPU Parking Forms webpage and complete the E-Permit Application. A variety of forms are available for different requests. Your cooperation is greatly appreciated as we work together to facilitate a seamless start to the upcoming quarter.

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.

Last year, a number of faculty and staff enjoyed playing pickleball on a weekly basis in Upper Gym in Brougham Pavilion. We plan to play this year and would love to have any level of player join us. If you are an expert, the weak link, or somewhere in between, come join the fun. If you are interested in playing, email staff member Cindy Strong at clstrong@spu.edu for more information.

The 10th of each month is the last day to make changes to your upcoming payroll check. Do you need to add or remove your spouse and/or children from your health care plans? If so, contact Human Resources (HR) to complete the appropriate form. Changes might include events that are expected to impact your benefits and deductions, such as your spouse or children gaining or losing coverage due to employment, birth, marriage, etc.

Additionally, any changes to your 403b account may take up to seven days to be provided to SPU for processing, so please contact Transamerica by the first of the month prior to your requested change. For changes to your 403(b) account, contact Transamerica Retirement Solutions at 1-888-676-5512 (5 a.m.–6 p.m. PST), or 1-800-755-5801. If you have any other benefits-related changes, call Cherylin Shdo in HR at 206-281-2816.

The Faculty/Staff Bulletin is published every Monday during the academic year, or Tuesday if Monday is a holiday. The next deadline is Thursday, Sept. 7. The next issue will be published Monday, Sept. 11.

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.

Bo Lim, professor of Old Testament, contributed to a Syndicate Symposium on Joseph Gordon’s new book, Divine Scripture in Human Understanding.

An article co-authored by Mohammad Qadam Shah, assistant professor of global development, was recently published in the Washington International Law Journal. The article is titled, "Development Disrupted: The Case of Afghanistan Taliban 2.0 and Lessons Learned About Foreign Aid Management."

Alissa Walter, associate professor of history, presented a paper titled, "Women and Gender in the Ba‘th Party Archives," at the Iraqi History Conference in August, sponsored by the Hoover Institution at Stanford University.

An essay by Mischa Willett, assistant professor of English and writing, titled, "Why I Go to Church," was recently published in the journal Fare Forward.

A poem titled "Abraded Wings" by Jason Thornberry, office coordinator in the School of Education, was featured in Apricity (Volume VII), the University of Texas at Austin's literary magazine.

An article by Alberto Ferreiro, professor emeritus of history, was recently published in a special issue of Vox Patrum, a premier journal of patristics in Poland. The article, “The condemnation of Priscillian’s use of non-canonical books and his defense in Tractatus III: Liber de Fide et de Apocryphis," was published in a special issue titled "The Bible and Biblical Apocrypha," Vox Patrum 86 (2023) 51-74.

Priscillian of Avila was accused of using apocryphal books, encouraging others to do so, and for inclusion wholesale into the New Testament canon. All accusations had no merit. In his own book, Priscillian reminded his accusers that the Old Testament refers to many other books that were used in writing the canonical ones and also in the New Testament, especially Jude who cited Enoch I. Furthermore, many church fathers used them, notably Ambrose. Priscillian never argued for their full inclusion in the canon. Lastly, he recommended that only those advanced in the faith should read them. Priscillian lived in the fourth century and was executed for heresy, magic, and witchcraft in 385 by the usurper emperor Maximus in Trier. In other published studies, Alberto has demonstrated that all charges were based on lies, vendettas, and personal attacks. Priscillian was the subject of his 1991 Weter Lecture.