Over the last few weeks, SPU has received many meaningful messages of support from around the world – via email, social media, printed items, photographs, and many other forms. We are collecting these items, with the SPU Archives in the Library as the ultimate destination. In the meantime, University Communications will be collecting these items. If you have items that you would like to contribute, please send them to Hannah Notess at hnotess@spu.edu in University Communications, Suite 116. Contact Hannah or Adrienne Meier at ameier@spu.edu with questions.

Beginning in July, campus stationery orders placed through the Stationery Products Menu and printed by Vision Press will be delivered once a month. If you have any questions or concerns, contact Hope McPherson in University Communications, at hmcpherson@spu.edu.

The summer hours for Gwinn Dining Hall are now posted online. The hours will be updated daily for the upcoming week. Please remember that dining hall hours are based on Conference Services clients and internal groups and are subject to change. Contact conferenceservices@spu.edu if you have any questions.

The Faculty/Staff Bulletin will be published every other week during the summer. 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, July 7. The next deadline is Thursday, July 3.

Professor of Art Roger Feldman and students in his advanced sculpture class built and installed outdoor sculptures for the Kruckeberg Botanic Garden in Shoreline earlier this month. This year’s work centered on the theme of “Wildlife Habitat,” and the sculptures provide homes for bats, insects, spiders, small mammals, and bees. Roger and SPU art students have been designing and installing sculptures in the garden for several years. Learn more about the sculptures, which will be in the garden until the end of September, at the Kruckeberg Botanic Garden website. Select the link for photos of the sculptures.

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An article by School of Business and Economics Dean Joseph Williams titled "Enterprise Self-Assessment Analytics for Sustainability, Resilience, and Robustness" was recently published in The TQM Journal, Volume 26, No. 4, pp. 368. The article was co-written with Rick Edgeman of Aarhus University. Read the abstract online.

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Chair and Associate Professor of Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) Scott Edwards, along with MFT alumni Leslie Savage, MS, recently gave a presentation at the American Family Therapy Academy in Athens, Georgia. They presented their research titled “Patient Narratives of Their Relationship With Chronic Pain: Impact on Mindfulness and Well-being.”

The Office of Human Resources would like the SPU community to join us in welcoming the following new staff members. Contact information can be found on the SPU online White pages.

Alie Dorsey, office assistant, Human Resources
Kate Janzen, microsystems analyst, Computer and Information Systems
Aaron Patterson, business systems analyst, Computer and Information Systems
Heather Zook, course management and registration coordinator, School of Education

From SPU Master Gardener Jeff Daley. The Cornus kousa dogwoods have been absolutely stunning this year! Not only on campus, but also all over Queen Anne and our Seattle neighborhoods. Dogwoods, like a few other flowering trees and shrubs, have an annual "on-off" bloom cycle. That is to say, the amount of blossoms alternate year to year ― they're fuller one year and more sparse the next. As this year is a fuller one, it's really fun to see so many trees completely covered in flowers.

Kousas are native to northeastern Asia (although there is much dispute over whether to call them by the common name of Korean Dogwood, Flowering Japanese Dogwood, or Chinese Dogwood). I've always liked to refer to kousa dogwoods as the “Cadillac of the dogwoods” and here's why: They are a very hardy tree and the least vulnerable of their species to pests and disease. Not only that, kousa dogwoods begin to bloom after other dogwoods have already begun to fade, prolonging the period of time in which we can enjoy all of the different beautiful dogwood blossoms. Known for their spectacular flower displays in early summer, as well as their colorful burgundy leaves in the fall, kousas also bear bumpy reddish drooping fruit that are edible for people, but not too tasty. Birds enjoy it, though. For gardeners who worry about deer damage, kousas are listed by experts as trees that are not bothered by deer.

The floral bracts of most kousas start out pure white and turn pinkish as they age. Some varieties of kousa dogwoods, like Satomi (one of my favorites), start out deep pink and get darker still. Varieties like this are just beautiful, and in fact, I found a gorgeous Satomi on top Queen Anne Hill and took picture of it. You can see why they excite me so much.

Of the many varieties of dogwoods on campus, I encourage you to pay special attention to kousa dogwoods this month ― they're a favorite of mine, and hopefully yours too!

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