A message from Facility and Project Management: This is a reminder that from Dec. 22 through Jan. 1, most buildings will have their heating turned down. Exceptions are listed at the Christmas closure building schedule. Offices located in buildings without networked temperature controls (e.g., houses that were converted to offices) are asked to turn their thermostat to 55 F before departing for the Christmas break.

Please let us know at sustainability@spu.edu if there is a date before Dec. 22 when all staff in a building will be working offsite and the building heat can be turned down. If just a few offices are needed, space heaters can be requested by submitting a service request. This would help us save energy instead of heating a whole building. Thank you!

A message from University Ministries: Save the dates! Come join us for our winter All-University chapels on Tuesdays, 11:10 a.m. in First Free Methodist Church. These should be office closure chapels, so please look for Chaplain Lisa’s email for “Office Closure” signs for each chapel. Hope to see you there!

Jan. 16 – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Chapel. SPU students, faculty, and staff. "A Tough Mind and a Tender Heart."
Jan. 30 – Sermon on the Mount Series focusing on prayer with Rev. Dr. Brian Lugioyo, Dean of the School of Theology
Feb. 13 – Sermon on the Mount Series focusing on Life in Christ with Rev. Kelsey Rorem, Associate Chaplain, University Ministries
Feb. 27 – Invitation to Lent with Scott Erickson, artist, author, speaker, and visual curator for spiritual stuff

After 18 years serving as a probation officer with the Lewis County Juvenile Court, alumnus Lee Montgomery saw how easily kids without a strong support system found themselves getting into trouble. He had to do something to help slow the cycle of poverty and incarceration, so he started the Lewis County Youth Mentorship Program with a mission to inspire youth through meaningful relationships to make positive choices that build resiliency, encourage growth, and enable them to pursue a successful future.

Listen on read the podcast online. 

Pulitzer Prize-winning author, historian, and theologian Dr. Ronald C. White will be on campus to share about his new book on Joshua Chamberlain, the famous Civil War general who was also a committed Christian and abolitionist. This latest release is an important companion for his previous books on Lincoln, Grant, and the social gospel. Enjoy significant conversations around issues of racial justice and Christian participation in war. His talk is co-hosted by the School of Theology and the History Department. This event is free and no registration required.

"On Great Fields: The Life and Unlikely Heroism of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain”
Thursday, January 25, 2024, 7–9 p.m.
First Free Methodist Church (Fine Center)

The Faculty/Staff Bulletin is published every Monday during the academic year or Tuesday if Monday is a holiday. The next deadline is Thursday, Jan. 4, and the next Bulletin will be published Monday, Jan. 8.

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.

Jaeil Lee, professor and co-director in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, gave a presentation at the Korean Association of Human Ecology conference in Korea focusing on technological developments in the fashion industry and the convergence of talent development for the future. Additionally, she delivered presentations at Jeju National University, Chungbuk National University, and Chungnam National University in Korea. These lectures delved into the evolving landscape of the fashion industry with a special emphasis on the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and its implications for future industry trends. She offered insights on how undergraduate and graduate students can prepare for emerging job opportunities post-graduation.

Alissa Walter, associate professor of history, testified as an expert witness on Iraq country conditions for an asylum hearing at the ICE detention center in Tacoma on Dec. 14.

The latest nonfiction piece titled "Abandoned Pets and Empty Museums" by Jason Thornberry, office coordinator in the School of Education, was published by Afterimages. Jason says, "(This is) a very personal personal essay — this one examines my traumatic brain injury and my very lengthy recovery."