The next Chapel is Tuesday, Feb. 3, 11:10 a.m. in First Free Methodist Church with Campus Pastor Fred TenEyck. The theme for the quarter is "Launching together: Following Jesus is not a solo journey." All faculty and staff are invited to join a community lunch each week after Chapel in the SUB Fireside Room. Bring your lunch and share fellowship with others across campus.

Seattle Pacific Seminary is hosting a conversation with Dr. Salim J. Munayer, a veteran peacebuilder and founder of Musalaha: A Vision of Reconciliation, on Monday, Feb. 9, 12–12:50 p.m. in Eaton Hall 112. Munayer will share insights from decades of work between Israelis and Palestinians. A Christian Palestinian-Israeli scholar and author of Reconciling Justice, he will look the courage, patience, and hope needed for reconciliation amid ongoing conflict.

On Saturday, Feb. 7, past and present SPU athletes, coaches, and friends will gather to celebrate a new slate of Falcon Hall of Fame inductees. In their day, these former Falcon stars achieved the highest levels of excellence in their respective events while supporting the ideals of SPU. The Class of 2026 Hall of Fame inductees are:

• Ken Bone, Men’s Basketball Coach
• Peter Hattrup, Men’s Soccer
• Linnea Jarvits, Women’s Basketball, Track & Field
• Bob Murphy, Baseball
• Mike Olson, Men’s Track & Field
• Keith Phillips, Athletic Administration
• Karin Grelsson Strong, Women’s Track & Field
   

The ceremony will be held in Bach Theatre in McKinley Hall at 10 a.m. FOX-13 news and sports personality Erin Mayovsky will emcee the ceremony. Admission is free and wheelchair accessible. Seating is limited. RSVP online. If you have questions, email athleticsinfo@spu.edu.

University Communications is reviewing photos across spu.edu to ensure they accurately represent our departments and programs. If you notice images that are out of date or need replacement, please complete the online form to submit your suggestions. Your input helps maintain an accurate and professional web presence. If you have questions, contact the UC Web Team at UCWebTeam2@spu.edu.

SPAC Gallery is pleased to present, "A Very Hungry Caterpillar," an exhibition of paintings and works on paper by guest artist and SPU alumna Erin Milez. The exhibition is a gathering of work made since the beginning of Milez’s professional career five years ago and reflects the growth of her artistic voice and style. 

Working from autobiographical experiences, Milez’s work honors and humors the slow chaos of domestic life. In this body of work, which includes her 2023 piece, “A Very Hungry Caterpillar,” Milez displays her refinement of figurative distortions and spatial relationships. The show includes works on paper which are key stepping stones in Milez’s image development, not to mention play and experimentation that yield an ever curious and evolving studio practice.

In her artist statement Milez states, “In this current era that glorifies the social-media-post-worthy and glamorous moments, our recommitment every day to caring for home is a tether to humility and love. My work is my own commitment to myself that I am not above caring for the smallest of things. My work articulates and celebrates the significance of everyday life.”

Milez was born in 1994 and grew up in Chicago. She has split her adult years between Seattle and the New York City area. She earned her BA in Studio Art from SPU and her MFA from the New York Academy of Art in 2021. She is a two-time recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields Grant and featured in Art Maze magazine. She currently lives and works in Seattle with her husband and kids.

The exhibition runs through Friday, March 6, 2026. The gallery is located at 3 West Cremona and is open 9 a,m.–4 p.m. Monday throught Thursday or by appointment.

The Center for Career and Calling is launching its signature #ProfessionalPetsCCC campaign, open to current faculty and staff! If you have a pet who helps you work, keeps your life in order, or simply brightens your day, we want to see them. All pets are welcome 🐶🐱🐸🐢🐠🦚🦜🐇🐀🦔. To enter the contest, submit a photo of your pet doing something “professional” (however you define it!) via the QR code by Friday, Feb. 20. Two winners will be selected — one current student and one current SPU faculty or staff member — with prizes of up to $50 each. If you have questions, contact spucareercenter@spu.edu.

The SPU Wellness program helps you identify and change unhealthy behaviors with the goal of reducing your risk of illness and rewards you for taking action. To kick start your health in 2026, Human Resources will host Quest biometric screenings on campus. Receive a $50 e-gift card for participating. Watch more information in the weeks ahead.

Feb. 24–25, 2026, 8 a.m.– 12:30 p.m., SPU Ames Library/Seminar Room

Sign-ups are now open.

Registration Link: My.QuestForHealth.com

Registration Key: SPU2026

Unique ID: Aetna WID found on your Aetna ID Card

Already registered with Quest? Enter your username and password on the homepage to get started.

A message from Human Resources: HSA contribution changes can take place at any time during the plan year. At the close of 2025, we experienced Workday calculation challenges with HSA contributions. If you would like to update your per paycheck contribution for 2026, Workday is now calculating them accurately.

Here are some definitions to help you with this process:

Per Paycheck: The amount you want deducted from each paycheck and placed in your HSA account.

Annual: Your per paycheck contribution multiplied by the total number of paychecks remaining in the plan year. 

Maximum Annual Amount: Your annual company (SPU) contribution subtracted from your IRS annual maximum contribution:

• Individual 2026 IRS annual maximum: $4,400
• Family 2026 IRS annual maximum: $8,750
• If you are 55+, add $1,000 catch-up
• NOTE: Your SPU Match Contribution is NOT included here but is calculated in your paycheck and visible on your Workday payslip. 

Your true annual maximum must also subtract your 2026 SPU annual match:

• Individual = up to $600; Family = up to $1,000. 

Annual Company Contribution: SPU’s 2026 annual contribution that is paid out per paycheck: Individual = $1,008; Family = $2,016.

Total Annual Contribution: Your annual contribution + Your annual company (SPU) contribution.

The Swedish Mobile Mammography coach will be back on campus Monday, March 2, offering convenient on-site mammograms for women ages 40+ that are enrolled in SPU’s Aetna health plan. Appointments are required — schedule yours at Swedish Mobile Mammography Online Mammogram Registration.

Please bring:

• Your completed medical history form (from the online scheduling link)
• Insurance card
• Photo ID
• First and last name of your current primary care provider

Location: The coach will be parked across 3rd Ave. West in the Ross Parking Lot (site of the former Subway).

For more information, contact Cherylin Shdo, senior benefits specialist, at shdoc@spu.edu.

The Faculty/Staff Bulletin is published every Monday during the academic year. The next deadline is Thursday, Feb. 5, and the next Bulletin will be published on Monday, Feb 9. 

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 and will be published for two consecutive issues; they can be resubmitted for an additional two weeks.

Doug Strong, Paul T. Walls Professor of Wesleyan Studies, and Rob Wall, Paul T. Walls Professor Emeritus of Scripture and Wesleyan Studies, will be honored with individual Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Wesleyan Theological Society at their annual meeting, March 19–20. The meeting will be held at SPU with almost 200 scholars from around the world in attendance. WTS is the premier academic society for Wesleyan theologians. Congratulations to Doug and Rob!

Kirsten Koetje, assistant professor of teacher education, and Jorge Preciado, professor of teacher education, have been awarded a Developing Educators Workforce (DEW) state grant to support ten educators each year from the Kent and Issaquah school districts in earning their teacher certification. This two-year grant, spanning 2026–28, totals $280,000, with the majority of the funds dedicated directly to student scholarships and grants.Koetje has coordinated this grant — formerly known as the Alternative Routes Block Grant — since 2016. Including this new award, the grant has supported or will support a total of 114 graduate students in earning their teacher certification with cumulative funding of $1.56 million. Koetje says this continued investment is a powerful testament to the program’s impact and to the commitment of faculty and community partners to strengthening the educator workforce.

Professor Emeritus of History Bill Woodward was featured in the "Donor Spotlght" in the Winter 2026 Cascade PBS Legacy Circle newsletter. Here's a part of the feature. "A historian by vocation, Bill spent more than four decades teaching at Seattle Pacific University, where he specialized in public history – history designed not just for scholars, but for everyday people. 'You can’t really know where you are or where you’re going unless you know where you’ve been,' he says. That belief shaped his career and continues to guide him today."