Archive for March, 2020

Commencement will be changing

Tuesday, March 24th, 2020

In light of recent events, George Fox will not hold commencement ceremonies on campus on Saturday, May 2 (traditional undergraduates) or the following week (ADP/grad programs).

The university is working on plans to allow graduates to celebrate their achievements, but any decisions will be dictated by how the COVID-19 pandemic evolves in the coming weeks.

For more details, visit the university’s coronavirus response page.

Join the university pastors to pray for our students

Tuesday, March 24th, 2020

The university pastors and the Employee Prayer Network would like to invite you to consider joining us in a special spring semester prayer project. 

Knowing that there are many personal concerns within our student community – including physical and mental health, finances, family relationships, soul care, graduation transitions, and academic success – this is an important time for us to pray for our students purposefully, listening to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and praying with consistency.

If you would be willing to pray for the same five students each business day, from now through May 1, please send an email to Jamie Noling-Auth (jnolingauth@georgefox.edu) and the Office for Spiritual Life can provide you with a list of students. Or, if you have a specific group that you know and want to pray for, would you share those names with us?

We would love to make sure that all of our undergraduates have someone committed to praying for them in this unusual time. (As always, all student information needs to remain within our employee community in order to protect student privacy and adhere to FERPA guidelines.)

Thank you! Contact our office (spirituallife@georgefox.edu) with any questions.

Paychecks available for pick-up tomorrow

Tuesday, March 24th, 2020

Student paychecks will be available to pick up at Mail Services tomorrow (Thursday, March 26). Mail Services will be open between 8 a.m. and noon.

If you have any questions, please contact Richard Silver at rsilver@georgefox.edu.

Mail Services posts change of hours

Tuesday, March 24th, 2020

As of today (Wednesday), Mail Services will be open three days a week: Monday, Wednesday and Friday, between the hours of 8 a.m. and noon. The service window will be open to hand packages to customers between the hours of 10 a.m. and noon.

The adjacent room for sending packages out will be open as needed. Have all outgoing packages brought to Mail Services by no later than 11 a.m. These changes take effect immediately and will resume until we revert to our regular schedule on a date to be determined.

Please contact Richard Silver (rsilver@georgefox.edu) with any questions.

Info on departmental storage clean-out

Tuesday, March 24th, 2020

If you are working on campus and find yourself with downtime, consult with your supervisor and department about cleaning out and organizing your departmental storage with the goal of reducing or eliminating the need for storage space.

When going through departmental storage, please consider the following:

  • Is your storage space organized?
  • How long has an item been in storage and how often is it utilized?
  • Is it obsolete, outdated or expired?
  • Should your files or item go to another department such as Archives, Plant Services, or IT?
  • Are your files needed for accreditation or regulatory purposes?
  • Does it need more secure storage (for example, items covered under FERPA)?
  • Can your files be digitized?

Once normal operations resume, Plant Services will conduct a physical audit of all storage space on campus. Questions? Contact Dan van der Water at dvanderwater@georgefox.edu.

Financial aid office is still here for you

Tuesday, March 24th, 2020

Our financial aid office is here to serve students throughout the current COVID-19 situation. While we are not available in person, we are ready to meet needs in a variety of ways:

  • Schedule a phone appointment here (or video by request)
  • Email or call our office or your financial aid counselor directly. If your counselor is unavailable, leave a message and we will return your call.
  • Submit documents online, by email (finaid@georgefox.edu), fax or mail
  • We are available to answer questions related to family financial changes and the 2020-21 academic year
  • The Department of Education also has a helpful FAQ for students, parents and borrowers.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions. We are here to help!

Gupta offers insight in new ‘Hope in the Midst of Crisis’ video

Tuesday, March 24th, 2020

What are your worries? Where is your hope? Professor Nijay Gupta reflects on Matthew 6 in the Portland Seminary’s newest “Hope in the Midst of Crisis” devotional series episode. You can watch it here.

Be encouraged and be well.

Join a five-week Zoom Life Group

Tuesday, March 24th, 2020

The Office for Spiritual Life will be offering a five-week Life Group series, beginning the week of March 30 and ending the week of May 1. All Life Groups will take place over an electronic platform, will have no more than six students, and will include Bible reading and discussion with a Spil/Student Life group leader.

To sign up, drop us an email at spirituallife@georgefox.edu. We look forward to growing deeper in faith together!

Campus Public Safety releases bicycle policy

Tuesday, March 24th, 2020

Campus Public Safety will be rounding up any bicycles left behind on Monday, March 30, as we want to give students the chance to take them home first.

Because of the unprecedented circumstances, bicycles will not be donated this summer. Instead, we will store them until your return in the fall. If you would like us to store it beforehand, please call and give us a description and location of your bike.

Also, if it has a combination we will unlock it if you give us the combination. If it has a key the lock will be cut so we may store the bike. 

Questions? please call 503-554-2090. 

Coronavirus Pandemic: New Oregon Restrictions

Monday, March 23rd, 2020

Oregon’s governor yesterday issued a statewide order for citizens to stay home except when traveling for essential work, buying food and similar critical supplies, or returning to their own homes. 

As part of the “Stay Home, Save Lives” campaign, the governor issued the following guidelines …

Do:

  • Stay home as much as possible (kids, too)
  • Stay at least six feet away from others
  • Go out only for essentials (groceries, medical care)
  • Exercise outside (hiking, biking) only if you can be six feet apart from others
  • Have video and phone chats
  • Drop food off to neighbors who can’t go out

Don’t:

  • Gather in groups
  • Get together with friends (no drinks or dinners)
  • Have play dates for kids
  • Make unnecessary trips

Please note restriction on spending

Monday, March 23rd, 2020

In anticipation of a temporary reduction in campus services and staff working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, finance and purchasing are asking for your help to cut or defer all spending that is not critical to the operation of the university. 

To assist with this goal, all purchases over $1,000 must have an authorized purchase order. Please limit all office supply orders to only include items that are critical to operate.

We are currently reviewing changes to credit card limits and availability, and we will communicate with affected departments/employees once those changes are finalized no later than Wednesday, March 25, 2020. 

For help, please contact:

Matt Hammar, mhammar@georgefox.edu or extension 2006 for purchase order help and information.

Kathi Becker, kbecker@georgefox.edu or extension 2166 for Visa and Concur help and information.

IDEA Center is serving students remotely

Monday, March 23rd, 2020

Amidst the ever-changing response to our current health crisis, the IDEA Center is now serving George Fox students remotely and will continue conducting operations as normally as possible. 

  • CAP Coaches and Career Coaches will continue conducting appointments with students by phone call or virtually on Zoom.
  • Our phone lines will continue to be managed by our team.
  • Students are still able to request career and academic-related appointments through Handshake or contact us for assistance.
  • Faculty: If you would like an online presentation done for one of your courses, please contact the IDEA Center staff member of your choice.

Please be patient with us during this time, as our responses may be slower than usual. We will answer all emails, phone calls, and other online requests, in the order they were received, as quickly as possible.

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us at 503-554-2331 or idea@georgefox.edu.

Wishing you the best of health during this time.
– The IDEA Center Team

President Baker reflects on developments of the past two weeks

Monday, March 23rd, 2020

In his latest blog post, President Robin Baker chronicles the events of the past two weeks, reflecting on the rapid developments in society as we coped with the spread of the coronavirus.

You can read the piece here. Toward the end, Robin offers a word of encouragement in a short video.

APA offering free access to materials

Monday, March 23rd, 2020

Good news: APA is offering free access to the 7th edition manual and other resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. You can access it here.

If you need online writing assistance, the Portland Writing Center is open for all graduate and degree completion students: wc.georgefox.edu. Contact Jennie Harrop (jharrop@georgefox.edu) with any questions.

Check out Bruin Athletics’ work-study postings

Monday, March 23rd, 2020

Hey Bruins! If you love sports and want to get paid to watch them, join the Bruin work-study team today!

We have a wide variety of positions to fill, from photography and graphic design to game management and staff writers. Head to this page to see job postings for each position, or look for our jobs on Handshake.

Questions? Contact Seth Preuss (spreuss@georgefox.edu).

Watch video to get update on chapel credits

Monday, March 23rd, 2020

The Office for Spiritual Life invites you to watch this video to learn about changes to your chapel requirement. Please let us know if you have any questions at spirituallife@georgefox.edu.

Thanks!

New issue of ‘The Crescent’ to be released Wednesday online

Monday, March 23rd, 2020

The student newspaper has moved online! The Crescent’s latest articles will be made available at gfucrescent.com on Wednesday, March 25, at noon. Stay safe and stay informed! 

Hear from our professors on Academic Minute podcast this week

Sunday, March 22nd, 2020

Take a two-minute break each day this week to listen to the contributions of five of our faculty during George Fox University’s takeover week of the Academic Minute podcast (available at academicminute.org). Each will discuss an aspect of their teaching or scholarship.

Sharing will be (in the order they will appear, Monday through Friday) Tricia Hornback (College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences), Nate Peach (College of Business), Debby Thomas (College of Business), Lorretta Krautscheid (College of Behavioral and Health Sciences) and Nathan Slegers (College of Engineering).

Questions? Contact Laura Hartley at lhartley@georgefox.edu.

PT’s auction and banquet event has been postponed

Sunday, March 22nd, 2020

The School of Physical Therapy’s banquet and auction fundraiser, originally scheduled for Saturday, April 11, has been postponed amid the uncertainty of the coronavirus. We will be sure to let you know when it’s been rescheduled.

Contact Linda Dallof (ldallof@georgefox.edu) with questions.

Bruin Store is closed this week

Sunday, March 22nd, 2020

The Bruin Store will be closed this week (March 23-27). Please contact Paige Jacobs at pjacobs@georgefox.edu with any questions.