John Perkins, SPU’s co-founder of the John Perkins Center, returns to campus for two events. On Monday, April 21, John will lead a brown bag Bible study beginning at 12:30 p.m. in the Library Seminar Room. On Tuesday, April 22, John will give his annual lecture in Chapel at 11:10 a.m. in First Free Methodist Church.

A message from Sarah Kilmer and Mike Macdonald, co-chairs, SPU United Way Campaign. The SPU Spring United Way Giving Campaign is underway. We humbly ask for your support as we partner with United Way to tackle some of the very serious issues our neighbors struggle with every day. On a given night in King County, nearly 9,000 people are homeless. Seventy-five percent of low-income children in King County show up for kindergarten unprepared. Because of the enormous network of volunteers, there is no doubt that giving to United Way works, as more than 95 percent of every dollar goes directly to community programming. SPU and United Way make it easy for us to contribute and the process takes only a few minutes. Simply go to the website and follow the donation directions. You have the option of making a one-time donation or having contributions deducted from your paycheck each pay period. You may allow United Way to choose where to direct your contribution, or you may specify any nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization to which you would like to contribute. Thank you for your support!

Once again, interdisciplinary student teams are working hard on plans for sustainable businesses that meet real needs — and make a profit. Their entries for the eighth annual Social Venture Plan Competition will be on display from 2 to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 16, in Weter Hall lounge. Faculty and staff are encouraged to bring their students and vote for the $500 “People’s Choice Award” winner. The event is sponsored by SPU's Center for Applied Learning. For more information, contact cal@spu.edu or visit the website.

Faculty and staff: Show your appreciation this week to your student employees and encourage them to attend the Student Employee Appreciation event hosted by the Office of Student Employment on Thursday, April 17, 11 a.m.-1.p.m. in Martin Square. There will be free popcorn, and students can enter to win one of 40 gift cards from local area businesses such as the Woodland Park Zoo, the Space Needle, Thai Fusion, Café Ladro, Sodexo, and more. Here are a few ideas for ways to show appreciation in your office: take your students out to lunch, throw a party hosted by your staff, give them a gift card, purchase some SPU swag from the SPU Bookstore, or write a letter thanking them for their contributions to your team.

The SPU Art Department and Image journal invite you to a presentation by Murdock Visiting Scholar Makoto Fujimura on Tuesday, April 15, at 7:30 p.m. in SUB Collegium room. His new work “Golden Sea" takes its name from a series of paintings by the artist. In addition to painted works, the project comprises a published retrospective monograph containing images of his paintings with accompanying essays by leading critics and scholars. Also included will be a biographical documentary film featuring interviews with Fujimura and his colleagues.

SPU’s annual Good Friday Service is April 18 at 12:30 p.m. in First Free Methodist Church. Campus will close at noon on Friday.

May is Bike-to-Work Month. If you’re thinking about commuting to SPU by bike, plan to attend an informal meeting with regular SPU bike commuters and get some tips. The brown-bag lunch meeting is Wednesday, April 23, in the University Communications conference room in Lower Weter Hall. Faculty and staff bike commuters will be on hand to answer your questions and help plan your route. Also learn about the Cascade Bicycle Club’s annual “Commute Challenge” in May. If you sign up with an SPU team, you get free access to the locker rooms in Brougham, free guaranteed ride home if needed, and access to an ORCA card to pay your fare on buses and trains. If you have questions, contact Tracy Norlen in University Communications at 206-281-2977 or tcnorlen@spu.edu.

SPU is required to file certain information about our health and welfare plan on an annual basis with the Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, as required under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974. This provides your annual notification of SPU’s filing. View the Summary Annual Report online.

The Faculty/Staff Bulletin is published every Monday during the academic year. Deadlines for submissions are Thursdays. If you have information or event news, send it as soon as possible to Bulletin editor Tracy Norlen at fsb-editor@spu.edu. Submissions may be edited for clarity. The next Bulletin will be published Monday, April 21. The next deadline is Thursday, April 17.

Professor of English Jennifer Maier and Response Managing Editor Hannah Notess will read from their new books of poetry on Friday, April 18, at 7:30 p.m. at Open Books in Wallingford. Jennifer will read from her poetry collection Now, Now (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2013), and Hannah will read from her book Ghost House (Floating Bridge Press 2013). Open Books is located at 2414 N. 45th Street in Seattle.

Professor of History Bill Woodward has contributed in a variety of ways in regional historical venues. In February, he was elected vice president of the Pacific Northwest Historians Guild. On request, he wrote a formal evaluation of Washington State Historical Museum’s new exhibit about the Civil War in the Pacific Northwest (he highly recommends it) for the American Association for State and Local History. He also gave presentations to the Highline Historical Society on baseball, and to an Everett retirement community on Lincoln’s constitutional views. He has recently returned from the 2014 Pacific Northwest History Conference in Vancouver, Washington, for which he served on the Program Committee.

An article by Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance Herbert Kierulff titled "Net Present Value: Six Ways to Improve Precision" was published at the Society of Business Research Conference (Ed. Michael Phillips. 2014. 13). Herb is the Donald Snellman Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance.

“My husband and I were fortunate enough to adopt this special nomad cat from Hope McPherson in University Communications. She is a 1-year-old, blue-point Siamese mix and we named her Wilson Phillips, though she answers to Wilson (Go Hawks!) and Kitty. Even though she has a shorter, kinked tail and an abnormality in her left eye, she is full of confidence. Like a good Siamese, she has beautiful blue eyes and enjoys talking loudly when she wants attention. Her favorite toy is a feather that she chases around the house. My favorite thing about her is that she loves people and will follow us around the house and hang out on the couch with us.” Kaitlyn Straton, cataloging specialist, University Library. Select the link for more photos of Wilson.