Summer reservation requests are now being taken for the Faculty/Staff House at SPU's Camp Casey on Whidbey Island. Full-time faculty and staff can make a reservation request for periods of stay between June 10–Sept. 30, 2024.  Reservation requests are due by Apr. 8, 2024.

Summer requests are based on years of service to SPU and past summer stays at Casey. Employees are ranked by their years of service as verified by Human Resources. Once the ranking is developed, the past summer stay history is cross-checked. If you have stayed at Casey during the summer, your ranking is replaced with the years it has been since your stay at Casey. Request a reservation here. If you are curious about how the lottery works or how to stay at Camp Casey with discounted faculty and staff rates, check out the HR wiki. Questions? Contact Camp Casey at campcasey@spu.edu.

The Faculty/Staff Bulletin is published every Monday during the academic year, or Tuesday if Monday is a holiday. The next deadline is Thursday, Mar. 21. The next issue will be published Monday, Mar. 25.

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.

A solicited book review of David Maxwell's, Religious Entanglements: Central African Pentecostalism, the Creation of Cultural Knowledge, and the Making of the Luba Katanga, (University of Wisconsin Press, 2023), by Rebecca Hughes, associate professor and chair of history, was recently published in the Journal of Religion in Africa.

The Center for Faithful Business (CFB) recently celebrated Dr. Al Erisman as the 2024 recipient of the Frank Haas Integrity in Business Award. Al, School of Business, Economics, and Government executive in-residence emeritus, is a writer, speaker, and chair of the board for the Theology of Work Project and founding board member of KIROS.

Al is a senior fellow for the Center for Faithful Business and the Institute for Marketplace Transformation. He has spoken on business, technology, ethics, and theology on six continents, and has been engaged in micro finance work in the Central African Republic. Last year, he completed a term on the board of elders at Westminster Chapel in Bellevue, Washington. Al is the author of several books including The Accidental Executive: Lessons on Business, Faith, and Calling from the Life of Joseph (2015).

He was honored by distinguished guests, including his wife, Nancy; son, Michael, and his wife, Kathy; son, Andrew, and his wife, Stacy; grandson, Chandler, and his wife, Mari; and friends. Dr. Denise Daniels, former SPU professor of management and undergraduate SBGE dean, interviewed Al and highlighted his many contributions to the study and perpetuation of work and faith. Tributes were delivered by Uli Chi, Scott Hardman, Ryan Falls, Jeff Van Duzer, Jack van Hartsvelt, and sons, Michael and Andrew Erisman. President Deana Porterfield concluded the evening with comments and prayer.

The Frank Haas Integrity in Business Award is given to a businessperson who contributes to community flourishing by integrating faith into every aspect of life. The award is named for the president and founder of Leisure Communities Ltd. in Lakeland, Florida. Frank was a caring, warm person who was particularly committed to the pursuit of integrity in business and was instrumental in the founding of the Center for Faithful Business at SPU.

Please join the Office of Human Resources in welcoming Kristen Brown, chief of staff and senior advisor of University Strategy, Office of the President.

Professor Emeritus of Educational Ministry Ed Smyth died at his home in Lexington, Kentucky, on March 9, 2024, after a lengthy illness. Ed came to SPU in 1976 and taught educational ministry (Christian education) until 1985, and then again from 2000 to 2016, when he retired. He was the director of Church Relations at SPU from 1985 to 1992 and served in ministry positions outside of SPU from 1992 to 2000.

During his 32 years of faithful service at SPU, Ed led 29 yearlong student discipleship groups at his home every Thursday evening. Ed was the 2003 Professor of the Year and was twice asked to be the baccalaureate speaker at Commencement. "All of us who had the privilege of knowing Ed recognized him as a cheerful, kind person who, above all, wanted everyone to experience the love of Jesus," says Doug Strong, Paul T. Walls Professor of Wesleyan Studies and the History of Christianity.

Ed is survived by his wife, Ellen, his four children, David, Melanie, Josh, and BJ, and several grandchildren. A funeral service will be held in Lexington and then a Service of Celebration for Ed's life will be held in Seattle sometime later in the spring or summer. Condolences can be sent to Ellen Smyth, 2428 Brookshire Circle, Lexington, KY., 40515.

Beth Van Camp, former nursing enrollment counselor for the School of Health Sciences and Graduate Admissions, died on February 21 in Seattle. Beth was a 1998 SPU alumna, earning her bachelor of science and associate degree in nursing. She worked at SPU from 2007 until 2017. A remembrance of Beth's life will be held later this spring or summer. Her obituary can be found online.

Nate Hoover, program coordinator for the MFA in Creative Writing Program, explains his monthly cartoon: When it comes to making puns on the margins of funny, the rules are wide. To see more of my cartoons, follow me on Instagram @hoovernathaniel.

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