The Daily Bruin

Please join the Office of Academic Affairs on Wednesday, April 28, as we say farewell and happy “second” retirement to Ken Armstrong (School of Business).

Delicious refreshments (and perhaps a “roast” or two) will be served from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in the Hoover lobby (just outside the School of Business offices). If you cannot attend Ken’s reception and want to add to the farewell wishes, please send a note to Karlyn Fleming (kfleming@georgefox.edu) by noon on Wednesday.

Please join the Office of Academic Affairs on Wednesday, April 28, as we say farewell and happy “second” retirement to Ken Armstrong (School of Business).

Delicious refreshments (and perhaps a “roast” or two) will be served from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in the Hoover lobby (just outside the School of Business offices). If you cannot attend Ken’s reception and want to add to the farewell wishes, please send a note to Karlyn Fleming (kfleming@georgefox.edu) by noon on April 28.

Thank you!
-  Academic Affairs

As mentioned in Thursday’s all-employee meeting, please be sure to check out the brand plan website to view the draft of the brand portfolio that was put together by the Marketing Team, a committee of faculty and staff.

You can access the brand portfolio at marcom.georgefox.edu/brandplan. This website is secured, so in order to access it, you must be on campus or logged into your VPN. Feedback on the brand portfolio can be sent to brandplan@georgefox.edu. The Marketing Team thanks you in advance for your participation.

What would you do with seven times more space in your inbox? George Fox e-mail will deliver that and more in early June. You can find more information on this transition at the E-Mail Conversion website.

What is changing? When will this happen? Why are we changing? Find out more on the E-Mail Conversion FAQ page.

This is a reminder that an all-employee meeting is scheduled from 3:45 to 5 p.m. Thursday, April 22, in Hoover 105.

For those at the university’s regional sites, the meeting will be available for viewing at stream.georgefox.edu/live/commmtg.sdp. For best results, use Mozilla Firefox for your web browser, and your computer must have QuickTime Player installed. Simply copy the link into the address bar of your browser. If you have any problems, contact the Service Desk at ext. 2569.

In addition, a chat room has been set up to allow for interaction. A video recording of the meeting will be available for viewing the following day at itunesu.georgefox.edu.

Following the passage of the Health Care Reform Bill in March, we anticipate some changes over the next several years, many of which remain to be seen. One change that is supposed to be effective this first year is the extension of coverage to adult “dependent” children up to age 26, regardless of marital status. Several employees have already asked about this, but it is not yet clear when this provision takes effect.

We are working with our broker, USI, to get clarification about the next steps with regard to a timeline and requirements for implementation. The law specifies that it takes effect not sooner than six months from March 23, 2010 (the date the law was signed), but it may not be effective until the new plan year following that date (April 1, 2011).

We are also waiting to hear exactly what the definition of “dependent” will be as it relates to eligibility for medical coverage through a parent. It may be different than the usual IRS definition to determine if a child can be claimed as a dependent. Additionally, it’s possible there may be litigation attempting to delay implementation of the law, which creates even more uncertainty.

We will let you know the answers to these questions as soon as they become available.

– Human Resources

An all-employee meeting is scheduled from 3:45 to 5 p.m. Thursday, April 22, in Hoover 105.

For those at the university’s regional sites, the meeting will be available for viewing at stream.georgefox.edu/live/commmtg.sdp. For best results, use Mozilla Firefox for your web browser, and your computer must have QuickTime Player installed. Simply copy the link into the address bar of your browser. If you have any problems, contact the Service Desk at ext. 2569.

In addition, a chat room has been set up to allow for interaction. A video recording of the meeting will be available for viewing the following day at itunesu.georgefox.edu.

Now is the time to submit your request for business cards. Marketing Communications will be processing a business card order soon. Place your order directly from B&B Print Source by Tuesday, April 20.

The login user ID is “gfubc” and the password is “gfu123. You may contact Danette Newkirk (Marketing Communications) if you have any questions.

Friday is last day to submit nominations for April Employee of the Month – our last employee of the month award this academic year.

Please send an e-mail to Peggy Kilburg (HR) if you would like to nominate a support staff member or administrator for April Employee of the Month. Your e-mail should include the person’s name, job title, a concise but specific summary of this person’s contribution(s) to the university, its students, and/or its employees in the past 30 days or so (what was done, who was impacted, etc.), and any other information that you believe makes this person deserving of this award.

Please submit your nomination by Friday, April 16. The President’s Executive Leadership Team will then select the Employee of the Month from the nominations submitted. The winner will be announced at the all-employee meeting on Thursday, April 22, and will receive a $100 gift card to The Allison.

What do students value and desire for their college instruction? What are students’ views of educational technology, type and amount of homework, grading, and other class-related topics? A panel of undergraduate students will share their perspectives on these questions at the final Faculty Teaching Forum of the spring semester.

Join the session “Student Voices on Teaching and Learning” from noon to 1:20 p.m. Thursday, April 15, in Cap and Gown Room A. Students scheduled to participate include Heather Clifton (non-traditional first-year elementary education major), Bret Reordan (first-year chemistry major) Caroline Aust (sophomore elementary education major), Alex Gamez (junior psychology major), Vanessa Wilkins (junior cinema and media communication major) and Timothy Fouch (senior nursing major).

To reserve a lunch, e-mail Jere Witherspoon (jwithers@georgefox.edu) by 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 13. Everyone is welcome to attend the session, whether bringing a lunch or reserving a lunch.

All faculty — full time, part time, and adjunct — are invited to attend Faculty Teaching Forums (FTFs). Video podcasts of FTFs will be available on iTunesU.

This is a good time to check your information in the Bruin Directory and get any omissions or errors cleaned up. We get our photos from the IT department, where your ID is made, so if you would like a different photo, you need to contact IT.

Directory information comes from the human resources office, so if you have corrections to your entry, contact HR at ext. 2180. Other questions can be directed to Janelle Olivarez, Bruin Directory editorial advisor, at ext. 2124.

The university’s offices and libraries will be closed on Friday, April 2, to observe Good Friday. The Newberg library will be closed Friday and Sunday but will be open between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday. The Portland Center library will be closed Friday through Sunday.

This is your last opportunity for this academic year to nominate a support staff member or administrator for Employee of the Month. As always, your e-mail should include the person’s name, job title, a concise but specific summary of this person’s recent contributions (past 30 days or so) to the university, its students, and/or its employees (what was done, who was impacted, etc.), and any other information that you believe makes this person deserving of this award.

Please submit your nomination by Friday, April 16, via e-mail to Peggy Kilburg at pkilburg@georgefox.edu. The President’s Executive Leadership Team will then select the recipient from the nominations submitted. The winner will be announced at the all-community meeting on Thursday, April 22, and will receive a $100 gift card to The Allison.

Be sure to verify that any changes you requested to your medical insurance, your cash-in-lieu of insurance and/or your dental insurance are reflected in the deductions portion of your March 31 pay statement. For flexible spending, the March 31 deduction is the last one of the current plan year so you won’t see a change in your flex spending deduction until April 30.

Amy Dee and Ken Badley (School of Education) will present “Authorizing Our Students” at a Faculty Teaching Forum from 12:40 to 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 31, in Cap and Gown A.

The session will explore ways to give students voice and choice in the courses we teach while remaining true to course objectives.

To reserve a lunch, e-mail Jere Witherspoon (jwithers@georgefox.edu) by 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 30. Everyone is welcome to attend the session, whether bringing a lunch or reserving a lunch.

All faculty — full time, part time, and adjunct — are invited to attend Faculty Teaching Forums (FTFs). The schedule of upcoming sessions is available online. Video podcasts of FTFs will be available on iTunesU.

The next two fiscal years’ holiday schedules have been finalized and approved and are now available for employees to view at:

georgefox.edu/offices/hr/2009-10_2011-12%20Holidays%20Final.pdf

Don’t forget: An all-employee meeting is set from 3:40 to 5 p.m. Thursday, March 18, in Hoover 105. As part of the meeting, President Robin Baker will give a report of the March 12-13 board of trustees meeting.

For those at the university’s regional sites, the meeting will be available for viewing at stream.georgefox.edu/live/commmtg.sdp. For best results, use Mozilla Firefox for your web browser, and your computer must have QuickTime Player installed. Simply copy the link into the address bar of your browser. If you have any problems, contact the Service Desk at ext. 2569.

In addition, a chat room has been set up to allow for interaction. A video recording of the meeting will be available for viewing the following day at itunesu.georgefox.edu.

Nominations for Support Staff Member of the Year and Administrative Staff Member of the Year for 2009 are due in HR on Monday, March 22.

If you have any colleagues you believe are deserving of this award, please take a few minutes to submit a nomination by describing each person’s unique, “above and beyond” contributions to George Fox, its students, and/or its employees in the past year. Indicate what was done, who was impacted, and how this impact was and can be observed. In other words, what makes this person stand out?

Other questions to also consider: How has this person encouraged or helped you, other employees, or students in the past year? What is it about this person’s job performance that impresses you? How has this person demonstrated Christian commitment, loyalty to George Fox, and leadership skills at the university and the broader community in the past year?

Nominations can be submitted via e-mail (hr@georgefox.edu), fax or hard copy, but they must arrive in HR by 5 p.m. on Monday.

The university’s diversity committee would like to invite you to a feedback session to be held prior to the Thursday, March 18, all-employee meeting. Join us at 3 p.m. in Hoover 105 to offer insights and ask any questions you might have pertaining to the Blueprint for Diversity. For those on the Portland, Boise, Salem and Redmond campuses, we will have the technology in place to facilitate comments and questions via the chat room.

The committee has been hard at work re-conceptualizing the Blueprint, and this past weekend, the board of trustees approved the conceptual framework of the document. We have already been meeting with several groups to gather feedback about the Blueprint and to provide ideas into how to put the Blueprint into action as we move forward.

Contact Jere Witherspoon (jwithers@georgefox.edu) if you would like a copy of the Blueprint.

Gary Tandy (English) will present “Responding Effectively and Efficiently to Student Writing” at a Faculty Teaching Forum session from noon to 1:20 p.m. Thursday, March 18, in the Cap and Gown Room.

Since grading papers and essay exams is one of the most time-consuming and challenging tasks for teachers, this session will provide guidelines and suggestions for both the process and product of responding to student writing. Questions to be addressed include: “How can I make my grading process more efficient?”, “How can I use grading rubrics effectively?” and “What grammatical and mechanical errors should I mark?”

To reserve a lunch, e-mail Jere Witherspoon (jwithers@georgefox.edu) by 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 16. Everyone is welcome to attend the session, whether bringing a lunch or reserving a lunch.

All faculty — full time, part time, and adjunct — are invited to attend Faculty Teaching Forums (FTFs). The schedule of upcoming sessions is available online. Video podcasts of FTFs will be available on iTunesU.