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

In the event of snow or other inclement weather, SPU may close the campus for some or all of the day. Closing the campus means moving to remote operations where classes would meet remotely rather than in person, employees would work remotely (unless otherwise instructed), and on-campus events and activities would be canceled (unless otherwise announced). However, even if the campus moves to remote operations, some employees may be asked to work on campus. If SPU announces a late start, early dismissal, or full-day closure then there will also be announcements about plans for remote class and remote work.

The Inclement Weather webpage provides an overview of how these decisions are made.

The latest SPU Voices podcast features Alexia Estrada. A graduate of the Class of 2020 and the granddaughter of farm workers, she also is the director of operations at Semillero de Ideas, a nonprofit centering around farm workers as the leaders of innovation. She spent her summer running an innovation challenge, speaking with farm workers about their ideas of how to make the cherry harvest safer and more efficient for themselves and the growers. In August, they presented the winner with the chance to patent his product and reap the rewards of his own invention.

Listen or read the interview online.

SPU’s Center for Professional Education is looking to hire an engaging online instructor for a summer four-day intensive course: PES 5075: Alternative Sports and Games for Regular and Special Populations. This is a fully remote, four-day workshop, (Monday-Thursday) run annually in the summer — we will work with the instructor to set dates. The full job posting is here. We are hoping to hire by early February.

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, Jan. 11. Due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, the next issue will be published Tuesday, Jan. 16.

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.

Tucker Goodman, assistant professor of theatre, designed the set for Seattle Shakespeare Company’s production of The Comedy of Errors, which runs from January 10–28, 2024.

Cara Wall-Scheffler, professor of biology, and Rob Wall, Paul T. Walls Professor Emeritus of Scripture, co-authored the "Afterward" of Darrel Falk's new book, On the (Divine) Origin of Our Species (Wipf & Stock). In his monograph, Professor Falk is the past president of BioLogos, an international leader in the conversation between science (especially the field of evolutionary biology) and Christian faith. He draws upon findings in the fields of paleoanthropology and genetics to secure the scientist's conclusion that the success of the human species is due to humankind's ability to function cooperatively in social groups and reads this conclusion theologically to argue that this ability is the result of the Creator's making of our species in God's image and the continuing work of God's hovering Spirit who brings this ability to maturity.

In their response to Falk's expansive and evocative essay, Wall-Scheffler and Wall focus primarily on Falk's important ideas about a "pneumatology of human evolution"--how might we understand and observe "in real time" this hovering Spirit as the divine agent and guide of human evolution (e.g., natural selection) and how might we understand and observe "in real time" how humans cooperate with the Holy Spirit in the success story of the human species? Both think Falk's monograph will be widely used as one model in negotiating the relationship between science and Christian faith.

An essay by Jason Thornberry, office coordinator in the School of Education, titled "Scooter's People," was published in the latest issue of Rougarou: Journal of Arts & Literature. Says Jason, "It's a short, lighthearted memoir piece about distant memories of childhood. If you'd indulge me with a quick read, I'd love to know what you think."

Please join the Office of Human Resources in welcoming the following new staff members. 

Molly Martin, assistant director, recruiting and counseling, Undergraduate Admissions
Megan Scott, associate director, visits and events, Undergraduate Admissions
Armon Tanaw, admissions counselor, multicultural recruitment, Undergraduate Admissions

A memorial service George Scranton, professor emeritus of theatre, will be held at First Covenant in Seattle on Saturday, January 27, 2024, at 2 p.m. The service will be livestreamed and a reception will follow. George passed away on November 28, 2023, at the age of 79. The Evangelical Covenant Church published this obituary on George, who was a Covenant minister.

Nate Hoover, program coordinator in the MFA-Creative Writing Program, explains his monthly cartoon: Revenge for all those years of higher education. Check out more of my cartoons on Instagram @hoovernathaniel.

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