The John Perkins Center invites you to this year's annual Perkins Lecture Series on Tuesday, April 23, including Rev. Sandra Van Opstal as keynote for the annual Perkins Lecture at 7 p.m. in Upper Gwinn. More information can be found on the Perkins Center website. Events are open to the campus community.

11:10 a.m. Chapel in First Free Methodist Church: Elizabeth Perkins, co-president of the John and Vera Mae Perkins Foundation.

6 p.m. SPU/JPC 20th Anniversary Reception in Upper Gwinn: Meet and greet with the Perkins Foundation presidents, Elizabeth Perkins and Priscilla Perkins, and celebrate the Perkins Center 20 years of ministry before this year's Perkins Lecture. Light appetizers served.

7 p.m. Annual Perkins Lecture in Upper Gwinn. Keynote speaker is Rev. Sandra Van Opstal — pastor, activist and author. 

The SPU History Department and student history club Hindsight present a lecture titled, "The Rwandan Genocide: What have we learned 30 years later?," by Associate Professor of History Becky Hughes on Monday, April 29, 5:30–6:30 p.m. in Weter Hall 202. This month marks the 30th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide. Becky will give a brief history of the genocide and offer some "lessons" learned since then. 

Join SPU Dining Services on Tuesday, April 23, 11 a.m.–2 p.m. as we celebrate Earth Day with a delectable and eco-friendly lunch at Gwinn Commons! Discover more about sustainable eating by visiting the Sustainability Club's table located in front of the dessert station.

The SPU Art Department is pleased to present the Senior Photography/Studio Art Exhibition, "Earthly Bodies." This culmination of study features individual projects by students Kati Chau, Macs Herdrich, and Madi Stephens. The works present a range of material approaches including photography, sculpture, video, and textiles to explore the spiritual connection that exists between bodies. SPAC Gallery in the Seattle Pacific Art Center is located at 3 West Cremona. The exhibition will be on view through April 26. Gallery hours are 9 a.m.–4 p.m., Monday–Thursday or by appointment.

Celebrate your colleagues and express your appreciation for their committed years of service during the annual Celebration of Service on Thursday, May 2, 11:10 a.m. in Brougham Pavilion. The professor and staff members of the year will also be announced. There will be a community reception immediately following the event. All offices are closed during the celebration so faculty and staff can attend.

Human Resources will host a series of upcoming events next week designed to get you ready for retirement. Whether retirement is a distant dream or just around the corner, these events are designed for you!

Retirement Ready Seminar

Tuesday, April 30, 2024
4 p.m.–6:30 p.m.
Hendricks Falcon Club, Royal Brougham Pavilion
Join us for an informative presentation from a Transamerica representative and a Medicare Health Plan expert.

Transamerica Individual Appointments (scheduling link coming soon)
Wednesday, May 1, 2024
8 a.m.–5 p.m.
Scott Jozefowski from Transamerica will be available for individual virtual appointments. He can go over anything from how to navigate the Transamerica website to your retirement outlook and everything in between.

Medicare Individual Appointments
Friday, May 3, 2024
8:30 a.m.–4 p.m.
Human Resources Conference Room
Dan McCarley from Advocate Insurance Group will be on campus for Individual appointments. Dan is an experienced Medicare Health Plan broker who can help you navigate Medicare planning and enrollment. Schedule an appointment with Dan.

University Communications needs help identifying outstanding students from this year’s graduating class. This request is for undergraduate and graduate students. These students and their achievements will be pitched to media outlets prior to Commencement and featured on our "Meet the Class" webpage. Please send the name(s) of the students and a short description about why you are recommending them. Examples would be students who overcame obstacles to graduate, were involved in community service projects, participated in innovative research, started a new venture, took a class that changed their career direction, or did something really interesting. Basically, anything that would make a good story! We will follow up with the student and get permission to use their profile. Send information by email to Director of Public Information Tracy Norlen at tcnorlen@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, April 25. The next issue will be published Monday, April 29.

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.

Todd Rendleman, professor of communication, was one of "Ebertfest 25's Film Critics and Scholars" at the annual film festival dedicated to the memory of Pulitzer-Prize winning film critic Roger Ebert. Todd is the author of Rule of Thumb: Ebert at the Movies (Continuum, 2012).

Mischa Willet, assistant professor of English and writing, was interviewed for the podcast “Let Go the Goat” about gatherings of Christian artists.

A new book by Rob Wall, Paul T. Walls Professor Emeritus of Scripture and Wesleyan Studies, titled Preaching the Pastoral Epistles has just been published in the "Proclamation: Preaching the New Testament" series by Wipf&Stock (Cascade Books). Rob gives an intro to his book. "This book is written in a commentary series for 'teaching pastors' and 'pastoring teachers' on three Pauline letters (1&2 Timothy, Titus), famously called the 'Pastoral Epistles' because they have been used by the church since their composition and canonization to order the practice and working relationships of a worshiping community. Very practical letters with a ton of memorable soundbites and theological summaries that have helped shape the direction of Christian discipleship and community for two millennia. (Yes, I deal head-on with the 'texts of terror,' especially used to silence Christian women, that are also found in these letters.) Get a read on!"

An in-depth interview with President Deana Porterfield titled, "New President: Seattle Pacific University Educates for Competence, Character, Christ," by Light + Life magazine was published online on April 19. The magazine is published by the Free Methodist Church–USA.

Jack DeJong, associate professor of finance, was interviewed for an article in Yahoo!Finance titled “Why This 'Guaranteed' Retirement Income Product May Be Too Good to Be True. 

An opinion piece in The Seattle Times by Psychology Professor Paul Youngbin Kim titled "Maybe the Korean concept of jeong can thaw the Seattle Freeze" was published on April 19. The essay introduces the Korean concept of "jeong" as a way for better interpersonal connections and to counter what is known as “The Seattle Freeze.”