The Daily Bruin

Do you anticipate receiving a five-, 10-, 15-, 20-, 25-, 30-, or 35-year service award this spring? If so, please check to be sure your name is included on one of the lists below.

Awards will be presented at our annual employee recognition event on Wednesday, May 2. If your name does not appear but you believe you should receive an award, or if your name is on the list and you don’t think you should receive an award this year, contact Peggy Kilburg (Human Resources) by e-mail and include any information you think may be helpful. (If you are a rehire, your previous benefits-eligible experience at George Fox counts toward your service award.)

Your help is most appreciated to ensure that the right employees are honored at this event. Only service at half-time or above is used in determining your years of service.

• To receive a five-year award, your hire date is between Sept. 2, 2006 and Sept. 1, 2007
• To receive a 10-year award, your hire date is between Sept. 2, 2001 and Sept. 1, 2002
• To receive a 15-year award, your hire date is between Sept. 2, 1996 and Sept. 1, 1997
• To receive a 20-year award, your hire date is between Sept. 2, 1991 and Sept. 1, 1992
• To receive a 25-year award, your hire date is between Sept. 2, 1986 and Sept. 1, 1987
• To receive a 30-year award, your hire date is between Sept. 2, 1981 and Sept. 1, 1982
• To receive a 35-year award, your hire date is between Sept. 2, 1976 and Sept. 1, 1977

Five-Year: Ron Arnold, Ken Badley, Rita Boggs, Darryl Brown, Rae Casey, Keith Dempsey, Janeen Dillow, Jesse Dillow, Mike Foster, Bethany Goldman, Marcie Gowan, Robin Halverson, Marty Hunter, Lois Hutchinson, Jared Kamimae-Lanning, Robby Larson, Terah Moore, Helen Morse, James Oshiro, Thomas Peng, Terry Peters, Cathy Peterson, Steve Petzold, Rachel Powell, Tim Rahschulte, Valerie Rogers, Keith Schneider, Jane Scott, Seth Sikkema, Jim Smart, Lauri Smith, Mark Stone, Audrey Williamson

10-Year: Bryan Boyd, Carol Brazo, Susan Corbett-Furgal, Lori DeKruyf, Kristin Dixon, Kristina Findley, Janelle Freitag, Steve Gilday, Mary Johnson, Dave Johnstone, Judy Keeney, Loren Kerns, David Kerr, Mike Magill, Brian McLaughlin, Jean Miller, Jared Ocker, Tammy O’Doherty, Paul Otto, Joy Reimann, Cliff Rosenbohm, Elizabeth Todd, Larry Weber, Loren Wenz

15 Year: Dwayne Astleford, Debbie Berho, Andy Dunn, Mark McMinn, Roger Newell, Mark Terry, Dan van der Water

20-Year: George Byrtek, Gary Kilburg, Margi Macy, Dianna McIntyre, Rand Michael, Josh Nauman, Eilene Newman, Phil Smith

25-Year: Beth LaForce, Darryl McKenzie

30-Year: Steve Grant, Mark Weinert

35-Year: Paul Chamberlain, Tom Head

An all-employee meeting is scheduled for next Thursday, Feb. 16, from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in Hoover 105. Please note this earlier date, as the meeting was originally scheduled for Feb. 23.

For those at the university’s regional sites, the meeting will be available at a stream site that you can access from MyGFU. Simply log into MyGFU and click the “Community Meeting Link” located under “Staff Resources/Faculty Resources.” It is the bottom link in that section.

In addition, a chat room has been set up, and a video recording of the meeting will be available for viewing in the days following the meeting at itunesu.georgefox.edu.

Be sure to check out President Robin Baker’s latest blog posts, in which he shares his thoughts on a friend (Jim Steinfeld) who has passed away (“Honoring the Author of Our Story – Legacy of My Friend”) and the challenge colleges face in making an education affordable (“University Presidents Grapple with Affordability”).

IT is offering two webinars during the week of Feb. 6:

• Google Docs Sharing and Collaboration, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 4-4:30 p.m.
• Foxfiles, Thursday, Feb. 9, 4-4:30 p.m.

Join IT throughout the spring for 30-minute webinars on FoxTALE, FoxFiles and Google Docs. View the schedule and sign up at this link. Information on how to join each webinar will be delivered via e-mail 24 hours prior to the webinar. We’ll continue to add webinars and post additional announcements.

Questions? Contact Sheila Abercrombie at sabercro@georgefox.edu or Kandie Comfort at kcomfort@georgefox.edu.

Faculty: We are beginning our process of returning unsold textbooks to our vendors. Please notify your students that if they have not yet purchased a book for your class, they need to do that soon. We will have limited stock on hand after next week.

Questions? Contact Sandy Gidding at sgidding@georgefox.edu.

Thanks for your help.

– Bruin Bookstore

Another month is here, and with it comes the opportunity to submit a nomination for another Employee of the Month award recipient. If you know of someone whose recent contributions make him or her worthy of this honor, please take a few minutes to send an e-mail to Peggy Kilburg that includes a specific summary of the person’s contributions (past 30 days or so) and any other information that you believe makes this person deserving. Nominations are due Feb. 15.

The President’s Executive Leadership Team will select this month’s winner from the nominations submitted, and he or she will be awarded a $100 gift card to The Allison at our community meeting on Thursday, Feb. 23.

W-2s were made available in campus boxes on Friday, Jan. 27 (except for those who normally receive their pay statements at their home addresses, including adjunct faculty and temporary employees). Student W-2s will be in their boxes by early next week, and they will receive a separate e-nnouncement to that effect.

Most of the information on these forms is easy to understand or explained in the teeny, tiny fine print on the reverse, but we thought it would be helpful to provide a little extra information about the items and amounts in the various boxes on the W-2. Please go here to find this information that will likely be useful when you or your tax preparer files your tax return.

Thank you,
– HR

If you are a benefits-eligible employee and there is any possibility that you will use tuition remission during next academic year (fall 2012, spring 2013 and/or summer 2013 semesters), whether for yourself, a spouse, and/or dependent(s), a Tuition Remission Request Form for each person needs to be submitted NO LATER THAN WEDNESDAY, FEB. 1.

Please go to the Employee Benefits page on the HR website for the link to instructions for completing the Tuition Remission Request Form(s) and to the forms themselves. Please note: This year there is a separate form for the adult degree program and the elementary education degree-completion program.

And finally, please be sure to read this information before you begin completing a Tuition Remission Request Form.

If you are a benefits-eligible employee and there is any possibility that you will use tuition remission during the 2012-13 academic year (fall, spring and/or summer semesters), whether for yourself, a spouse, and/or dependent(s), a Tuition Remission Request Form for each person needs to be submitted no later than Wednesday, Feb. 1.

Please go to the Employee Benefits, Forms and Resources page for the link to instructions for completing the Tuition Remission Request Form(s) and to the forms themselves. Please note: This year there is a separate form for the adult degree program and the elementary education degree-completion program. Please be sure to read this information before you begin completing a Tuition Remission Request Form.

Questions? Contact Peggy Kilburg at pkilburg@georgefox.edu.

The Office of Financial Affairs is updating its process for employee expense reimbursements. As you know, employee expense reimbursements have always been by check, but starting Feb. 6 employees will now have the option of receiving reimbursements via direct deposit or by paper check.

The new guidelines are as follows:

Effective Feb. 6

• For those who sign up for direct deposit: If your Expense Reimbursement Form is received in the Office of Financial Affairs by Monday, your deposit will be processed on Thursday of that week. If it’s received after Monday, it will be processed on Thursday of the following week. Please note that payment may take up to 48 hours to appear in your account.

Effective March 1

• For those who choose to have reimbursements processed as a check: Checks will be cut only on the first Monday of each month. If your Expense Reimbursement Form arrives in the Office of Financial Affairs by 5 p.m. on the 20th of the month, your payment will be included in the next check run. If your paperwork arrives after the 20th of the month, it will not be processed until the following month’s check run. (Example: If your paperwork arrives before Feb. 20, the check will be cut on the first Monday in March. If your paperwork arrives after Feb. 20, your check will be cut on the first Monday of April.)

If you want your reimbursements to be set up as direct deposit you’ll need to download, complete and submit the authorization form to the financial affairs office. The form can be found on the FAO’s Common Forms webpage.

If you have any questions, please contact Andy Dunn at adunn@georgefox.edu or ext. 2162.

Greetings from Human Resources!

Your W-2 (tax document) will go out in campus mail by Tuesday, Jan. 31.

Since these are also being transmitted to the IRS, please make sure that your home address is correct in PeopleSoft. Please go to mygfu.georgefox.edu. Log in and click “Self-Service” in the menu at the left. Choose “Campus Personal Information” and then “Addresses” to update your home address if necessary.

Questions? Contact Melodee Powers at mpowers@georgefox.edu.

Thank you!

Don’t forget the all-employee meeting scheduled for this afternoon (Thursday) from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in Hoover 105.

For those at the university’s regional sites, the meeting will be available at a stream site that you can access from MyGFU. Simply log into MyGFU and click the “Community Meeting Link” located under “Staff Resources/Faculty Resources.” It is the bottom link in that section.

In addition, a chat room has been set up, and a video recording of the meeting will be available for viewing in the days following the meeting at itunesu.georgefox.edu.

If you would like to nominate a colleague for the first Employee of the Month award for 2012, please send an e-mail to Peggy Kilburg (pkilburg@georgefox.edu) by noon on Tuesday, Jan. 17, with a summary of this person’s contributions and/or outstanding performance in the past 30 days or so.

The winner will be announced and presented with a $100 gift card to The Allison at our community meeting this Thursday, Jan. 19.

Request from Marketing Communications: If you see a George Fox advertisement online, please do not click it. Each click on an ad costs the university money, in some cases as much as $15 per click.

In most cases, an online ad that is viewed – but not clicked on – does not cost the university any money. Help us be good stewards of our limited advertising dollars.

Thank you,
Marketing Communications

The next all-employee meeting is scheduled from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19, in Hoover 105.

For those at the university’s regional sites, the meeting will be available at a stream site (to be provided in an announcement prior to the meeting). A chat room has also been set up, and a video recording of the meeting will be available for viewing in the days following the meeting at itunesu.georgefox.edu.

FoxTALE will be unavailable from 6 to 8 a.m. (Pacific Time) on Monday, Jan. 23, for scheduled maintenance. We apologize for any inconvenience. If you have questions, please contact the IT Service Desk.

The 2011-2012 Bruin Directory is almost here! The tentative date for distribution is Friday, Jan. 13. Once the books arrive on campus they will be sent out through campus mail to each department and each book will be charged to the interdepartmental account.

Please contact Carly Halverson at chalverson09@georgefox.edu with any questions.

Your name tag and business card requests should be placed no later than 5 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 12, to guarantee they are included in this week’s order. If you have questions, contact Danette Newkirk at dnewkirk@georgefox.edu.

Thank you.

The Employee Council site‘s “Readings and Resources for Managers and Supervisors” section has a new article: “Top Ten Reasons Why Large Companies Fail To Keep Their Best Talent.”

Although we aren’t a large company, the list of ideas for promoting satisfaction and development of employees is still applicable. This short article provides supervisors with ideas for encouraging employees, and gives all of us some ideas for self-development and contribution to our institution.

We’ve discovered that vacation and sick-leave balances on our Dec. 30 pay statements do not include accruals for December. This issue is the result of our December pay day being a day earlier than usual. These accruals are set up in PeopleSoft to run on the last day of the month (even if it is not a business day). At the time payroll was run for our Dec. 30 pay day, these accruals had not yet been updated, so the YTD “Earned” and “End Balance” on employees’ pay statements do not include the vacation and sick leave hours that you earned in December.

The good news is that these accruals have now been manually processed in the system, so leave balances on our Jan. 31 pay statements will correctly reflect December and January leave accruals. We will do our best to avoid this problem in the future.

And while we are on the topic of vacation and sick leave, please be sure to submit your December time sheets and time-off reports right away. Links to these forms can be found on this page.

– HR