The Daily Bruin

Please be aware that, due strict reporting requirements, the financial affairs office will have a very tight schedule for closing the books for the month of December.

If you have expenses that need to be posted in the month of December, please be sure to have your check requests and invoices into our office no later than Thursday, Jan. 9, at 5 p.m.

December invoices and check requests received in our office after 5 p.m. on Jan. 9 will be posted as January expenses.

Questions? Contact Bruce Owen at bowen@georgefox.edu.

Thanks and have a very Merry Christmas!

Plan to join us for the all-employee meeting today (Thursday), from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in Bauman Auditorium! President Robin Baker will be making some important announcements, and we have a full agenda planned. Be sure to attend!

Our theme this month is “Christmas,” which will include the serving of festive snack platters of cherry tomatoes, sliced cheese and rosemary in the shape of a tree, with regular and gluten-free crackers on the side. We’ll also have “Holiday Rice” (and gluten-free Chex), “Krispy Squares” (green and red M&M’s mixed in), cranberry and lime punch, and ice water.

At the Portland Center, we will have a live video feed and also serve treats in Room 235.

The library will be open over the Christmas break Mondays through Fridays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. It will be closed Saturdays and Sundays, between Dec. 24 and 27, and on Jan. 1, 2014.

Attention all 2014-15 returning students: The Scholarship Manager, the George Fox donor-funded scholarship application site, opens today (Thursday) at 8 a.m.! It will close automatically on Wednesday, Feb. 12, at 5 p.m. (no exceptions).

Scholarship Manager is George Fox’s site for returning 2014-15 traditional undergraduate students to apply for donor-funded scholarships. This process will allow you to apply for all available donor scholarships. Based on the donors’ criteria, Scholarship Manager will match you up with all scholarships for which you qualify.

To begin, follow the steps below:

• Sign in to your MyGFU account at mygfu.georgefox.edu
• Under the “Student Resources” box, click on “2014 Newberg UG Scholarships”
• This takes you to the Scholarship Manager sign-in page
• Sign in using your MyGFU username and password
• Under the heading of “Current George Fox Students” click on“Returning Student Donor Funded Scholarship Application”

Read the “Scholarship Manager Introduction” and “Application Instructions” carefully.

Please be aware that a personal statement essay is required of all applicants and an additional essay and/or references are required to be considered for the following specific scholarships: Hanson Quaker Leadership ($1,000), Miller BEST Achievement ($12,500), Sims Memorial Nursing ($1,000) and Steinfeldt Peace Studies ($1,000).

If you are graduating or plan to leave the university within or following the 2013-14 academic year, please disregard this notice.

Faculty, please inform your students of this opportunity.

Questions? Contact Terri Crawford at tcrawfor@georgefox.edu.

More than 200 students will receive undergraduate and graduate diplomas at the university’s midyear commencement ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 21, in the Wheeler Sports Center. Seating begins at 10 a.m., and the ceremony will start at 11 a.m.

Tickets are not required; however, seating is limited to 10 guests per graduate. At 10:45 a.m., a live broadcast of the ceremony will be available to watch at this link.

Jay Mathisen, the assistant superintendent of human resources and strategic planning with Bend-La Pine Schools and an alumnus of George Fox, will present “Justice as a Lens” as commencement speaker. In 2011, while the principal at La Pine High School, Mathiesen was selected as the High School Principal of the Year by the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators.

Saturday, Dec. 21, 7:30 p.m. – Women’s basketball vs. California-Santa Cruz (Wheeler Sports Center/Miller Gym)
Sunday, Dec. 22, 4 p.m. – Women’s basketball vs. Simpson (Calif.) (Wheeler Sports Center/Miller Gym)

For more information, call the sports information office at ext. 2926 or visit the George Fox sports website at gfubruins.com.

This is a reminder that faculty courier service will be suspended over Christmas break as of Monday, Dec. 23, and will resume on Monday, Jan. 13.

Questions? Contact Patty Vanier at pvanier@georgefox.edu.

Due to the very limited number of employees who will be working in the academic buildings on Monday, Dec. 23, Monday, Dec. 30, and Tuesday, Dec. 31, the buildings will be locked for your protection and security. If you plan to work on any of those days, please bring your ID card and key to campus for access to your buildings and offices.

Merry Christmas!
– Security Services

Today (Thursday) will be the last day to buy friendship bracelets for this semester! Stop by our table in the SUB during lunchtime (noon to 2 p.m.). Only $2 each!

All bracelets are handmade in the Philippines. Proceeds will go to help the families who have been impacted by Typhoon Haiyan.

Any questions? Please e-mail Chris Miller at cmiller11@georgefox.edu.

Plan to join us for the all-employee meeting tomorrow (Thursday), from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in Bauman Auditorium!

Our theme this month is “Christmas,” which will include the serving of festive snack platters of cherry tomatoes, sliced cheese and rosemary in the shape of a tree, with regular and gluten-free crackers on the side. We’ll also have “Holiday Rice” (and gluten-free Chex), “Krispy Squares” (green and red M&M’s mixed in), cranberry and lime punch, and ice water.

At the Portland Center, we will have a live video feed and also serve treats in Room 235 (please note room change from last month’s meeting).

Here is the agenda …

Welcome
Rob Westervelt

Employee of the Month

Devotional
Linda Samek

Achieving the Vision
Melissa Thomas, registrar
“Spring Forecast”

Patrick Kelley, director of graduate admissions
“Graduate Admissions Update”

John Smith, head coach, men’s and women’s track

Innovating to Improve Outcomes
Ted Allen, chief operations officer

Putting Students First
Jeremy Lloyd, creative content manager
“Undergraduate Major Pages”

Christ in Everything
Chuck Conniry, vice president and dean, George Fox Evangelical Seminary
“College of Christian Studies”

Closing Remarks
Robin Baker

‘Tis the season to ship packages, and we have some tips to help ensure that your package arrives safely.

1. Do not wrap the box in brown paper, grocery bags, wrapping paper, etc. (Too many times, the paper is ripped off in the handling and shipping process – and the address and postage are gone!)

• Just use a plain old box – a cereal box, a ShopVac box, an Office Depot box, etc.
• We have a wide variety of the free Priority boxes – regular and Flat Rate.
• Be sure any old address label on the box is covered with a blank adhesive label; we have free blank labels you can use – just ask a clerk.
• Put your new address label directly onto the box (or write the address on a clear side of the box).
• Another safety item: Put a copy of the address it is going to inside the box – just in case it gets torn open.

2. Use blue or black ink for the address. Do not use red ink. Red is hard to read by the U.S. Mail scanners.

If you have questions, please email Linda Sartwell lsartwel@georgefox.edu.

Heartsaver, CPR/AED and first aid classes will be available to take during the Christmas break. The eight-hour class will be split between two days during the week, or all day on a Saturday. Each class needs a minimum of six people and has a maximum of eight. The cost is $45.

Dates/Times:

• Jan. 6 and 8 (Monday and Wednesday), 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
• Jan. 7 and 9 (Tuesday and Thursday), 1-5:30 p.m.
• Jan. 11 (Saturday), 8 a.m.-5 p.m.

Where: Hoover 209

Sign up on security’s website. Contact Mark Stone in security services at 503-554-2090 for more information.

Textbook Buyback is happening all this week at the Textbook Annex located at 1109 E. Hancock St., in Newberg. Remember to visit gfubookstore.com to get a price quote before you come in to get an additional 10 percent back for your books.

Students, if you haven’t used your bike lately due to the weather, please consider taking it home this week, and then bringing it back after spring break when the weather will be more amenable for bike riding.

If that is not possible, be sure to put your bike in your room before leaving to avoid a potential theft. Christmas is also a prime time for car prowls, so please don’t leave anything valuable in your car and always keep it locked.

For more information, please contact Nadine Kincaid at nkincaid@georgefox.edu.

We are still in need of many willing servants to serve as ushers at the December commencement ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 21, in Miller Gymnasium. Hand out programs, direct graduates’ families and friends to their seats, and help make graduation a special event for all involved. All university employees who participate as ushers will be paid $25 per ceremony through payroll. The hours of commitment would be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Please let Jennifer Kepler (jkepler@georgefox.edu) know ASAP if this is something you would like to be a part of. It’s a great opportunity to see that special student graduate, volunteer in a much-needed area of service, and be a part of a special event.

Thank you for considering being involved!

The Jan. 14 visit by organic chemistry candidate Anton V. Dubrovskiy, announced in Tuesday’s Daily Bruin, has been canceled.

The service window at Mail Services (North Street Annex) will be closed on Christmas Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 24. The window will be open on the following days over the break:

• Dec. 23
• Dec. 30-31
• Jan. 2-3
• Jan. 6-10

Hours: 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on all open days listed above.

Mail Services will be closed:

• Dec. 24-27
• Jan. 1

Please join us for an organic chemistry candidate seminar by Anton V. Dubrovskiy, PhD, a postdoctoral research associate at California Institute of Technology. The title of the lecture is “Adventures in Aryne Chemistry and Total Synthesis of Ritterazine B.”

This lecture is scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 14, at 4 p.m. in EHS 102 and is sponsored by the Department of Biology and Chemistry.

Please contact Jane Sweet (jsweet@georgefox.edu) if you have any questions.

Still looking for a Christmas tree? How about a Christmas poinsettia? Christmas trees and poinsettias are available for $5 each!

The music department is selling the trees and plants that were used as decorations for this year’s Christmas Concert. If you would like one, contact Debbie Hawblitzel at ext. 2620 or e-mail her at dhawblit@georgefox.edu.

If you are on the Newberg campus today (Tuesday), please join your colleagues for the all-employee Christmas lunch in the Cap and Gown Room. Lunch will be available from 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. in order to accommodate various work schedules.

Merry Christmas!