E-Colleague

Nick Willis (Mathematics) and his wife Jillian welcomed a daughter, Sadie Joy Willis, on Aug. 15. She was born at St. Vincent Hospital and weighed 8 pounds, 14 ounces while measuring 20 inches long. She joins big sister Lucy.

Aug. 24   Mark Selid, Jane Sweet
Aug. 26   Sheila Bartlett, Elizabeth Hamilton, Terah Moore
Aug. 27   Karlyn Fleming
Aug. 28   Andy Dunn, John Natzke
Aug. 31   Sondra Creason
Sept. 4    David Manock
Sept. 5    Robert Nava

Anna Philipsen returned to George Fox in July to work as the assistant director of alumni relations, replacing Vickie Timmons, who retired. Since 2005, Anna has been self-employed as a graphic designer, musician and tutor. She also gained graphic design and marketing experience with a medical manufacturing company in 2009-10. While a student at George Fox, she worked in the university relations and IT offices and also served as the ASC activities director and Mr. Bruin fundraiser coordinator. Anna graduated from George Fox in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree focusing on art (graphic design) and health education. She lives in Dayton with her husband Josiah and attends New Horizons Church in McMinnville.

In July, the university welcomed Tony Pruitt to work in a new position – as a media production specialist III in IT. For the past two years, Tony has owned and operated his own video production company, Storybox Productions, in Newberg. He also worked for three years as a sales representative for Professional Video and Tape of Tigard, Ore. His hiring marks a return to George Fox, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in communications/video production in 1995. He lives in Newberg with wife Debbie and children Abby (14) and Jon (13). They attend 2nd Street Community Church in Newberg.

Matt Bontrager joined Print Services as a print room coordinator in July, replacing Steve Edwards. He comes to the university from Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, Calif., where he was the security systems administrator in 2008-09. Before that, he worked for a year as director of product development and marketing for Chris Skaggs’ web development company in Newberg, Code-Monkeys. He formerly worked as a deputy sheriff in Williamson and Maury counties in Tennessee. Matt attended the Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy, graduating with honors in 1999. He lives in Newberg with wife Kristin, an administrative assistant in the university’s engineering department, and children Madison (an incoming freshman), Jordan (a senior at C.S. Lewis Academy) and Cameron (a freshman at C.S. Lewis Academy).

Christee Wise is transferring from Career Services to the undergraduate teacher education department, where she will work as an administrative assistant III.

Joel Perez (Student Life) presented some of his doctoral findings at the Association of Christians in Student Development conference at Messiah College in June. The workshop title was “Why Diversity at a Christian College?”

Sue Newell (Social Work) accepted a position on the board of directors for All God’s Children International, an adoptions and women and child development organization, and attended the group’s board meeting in Chicago in June.

John Gorlorwulu (School of Business) was selected for a one-year appointment as an economic advisor for Africa with USAID, a government agency that provides economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide. He will be taking a leave of absence this academic year to serve in that post.

Paul Anderson (Religious Studies) spent the summer as a visiting professor at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) in Germany. Up to the end of August, Paul will do research and teach three seminars at Mainz University. He recently took part in the international summer school, “The Historical Jesus – A ‘Fourth Quest’ for Jesus?” at the Faculty of Protestant Theology at JGU Aug. 2-5. In addition to teaching at Mainz University, Anderson has been lecturing at universities in the area, including Nijmegen, Marburg and Münster. Also, his reflections on his dialogue with Marcus Borg at Reedwood Friends Church in May, “A Fourth Quest For Jesus … So What, and How So?,” were posted on the Bible and Interpretation website. In addition, his essay “An Apology for Authentic Spirituality” was published in the latest issue of Quaker Religious Thought.

Ed Higgins (English) published a flash-fiction piece, “Texas Hold ’em,” in the July 2010 issue of the e-zine Short, Fast, and Deadly.

Nate (Tilikum) and Lissa (Admissions) Forbes welcomed a daughter, Charlotte Ocean, on July 7. She was born at Sunnyside Hospital in Clackamas and weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces while measuring 20 ½ inches long.

Jennifer Macnab (Office of the Registrar) and her husband, Andrew Brost, welcomed a daughter, Anna Elizabeth Brost, on July 11. She was born at St. Vincent’s Hospital and weighed 7 pounds, 2 ounces while measuring 20.5 inches long. Anna is the couple’s first child.

Patsy Engle, a faculty member of 12 years in the MAT program and 10 years as an adjunct professor in English, passed away from her battle with stomach cancer on Aug. 5. Please be in prayer for Patsy’s husband, Frank, their two sons, Tim and Aaron, and their extended family. A celebration of life service for Patsy is scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 12, in Bauman Auditorium. If you would like to send a card, the family’s address is: 2330 N. Main St., Newberg.

Aug. 12     Cary Griffith, Bonnie Nakashimada, Joel Perez
Aug. 13     Kathy Heininge
Aug. 16     Seth Sikkema
Aug. 17     Blair Cash, Jerrie Nelson
Aug. 18     Dennis Littlefield, Trini Marquez
Aug. 19     Jim Foster
Aug. 20    Jenna Parisi, Dee Small, Mandee Spotts
Aug. 21     Mary Olson, Creagh Schoen
Aug. 22    Tim Wheeler

Tamara Jones joined the registrar’s office as an enrollment counselor this month. She worked previously at the Oregon Health and Science University’s School of Dentistry, where she was a clinic care coordinator for the past three years. Before that, she worked for two years as a scheduling coordinator for the Universal Technical Institute of Avondale, Ariz. Tamara is currently enrolled at Portland State University, where she is earning a master’s degree in post-secondary adult and continuing education. She also holds a bachelor’s degree in social science from PSU. She lives in Newberg with husband Andy and attends Joyful Servant Lutheran Church in Newberg.

Matt Dyment joined the registrar’s office as an enrollment counselor this month. For the past two years, he’s served as a part-time youth pastor at Coast Hills Community Church in McMinnville. Before that, he worked for three years as a resident director at North Park University in Chicago, from which he earned a master’s degree in higher education administration in 2009. He also holds dual master’s degrees (MBA and management) and an MDiv degree from North Park, and earned his bachelor’s degree in business from Linfield College in 1999. He lives in McMinnville with wife Carla and 2-year-old daughter Ava and attends Coast Hills Community Church.

After spending the last three years abroad, Evangeline Pattison has returned to George Fox to serve as director of event relations. She replaces Danya Ochsner, who retired from the university earlier this month. Since last August, Evangeline worked as a K-8 teacher and education consultant in Krasnodar, Russia, for The Christian and Missionary Alliance. Before that, she spent two years as a resident assistant at Black Forest Academy in Kandern, Germany. She worked for George Fox from 2005 to 2007 as an administrative assistant in the Office of University Relations. She earned a bachelor’s degree in organizational communication from George Fox in 2005 and is currently completing the thesis for her master’s degree in education through George Fox’s School of Education. She lives in Newberg and attends Grace Chapel in Wilsonville.

Karen Rathkey joined the university to work as a payroll specialist II in the Office of Human Resources. She arrives from Linfield College, where she was an HR administrative assistant since 2005. Previously, she worked as an accountant and human resources representative for Inovise Medical Inc., of Newberg, for three and a half years. Karen, hired to replace Tory Cole, earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from George Fox in 1972. She lives in Dundee with husband Craig and three young adults, one of whom is enrolled in George Fox’s MAT program. She has two children and three grandchildren and attends Newberg Friends. She enjoys gardening, flower arranging, knitting, reading and spending time with grandchildren Noah, Emma and Jesse.

Scott Rueck, who guided the women’s basketball team to a 288-88 record in 14 seasons, announced he was leaving George Fox to become the head women’s basketball coach at his alma mater, Oregon State University. Rueck guided the Bruins to a national title in 2009 and seven Northwest Conference championships. A search is currently underway for his replacement, with the goal to hire by Aug. 1.

Rhett Luedtke (Performing Arts) is directing William Shakespeare’s As You Like It at the Idaho Repertory Theatre this summer. The show opens July 22. This is Rhett’s second year directing for IRT, as last summer in Idaho he directed Paul Slade Smith’s Unnecessary Farce.

Ed Higgins’ (English) poem, “There is nearly always,” was published in an annual literary journal, Many Mountains Moving. The poem had earlier appeared in 2009 in JMWW.

Mike Foster (Engineering) and wife Luann welcomed their second child, Titus Jeffrey, on June 22. The baby, born in Clackamas, weighed 8 pounds, 3 ounces and was 21.5 inches long. He joins an older brother, Noah (2).

July 16     Candy Schlott
July 17     Mike Goins
July 18     Margi Macy
July 19     Patti Odenweller
July 20     Brenda Burg
July 21     Gordon Aarness
July 22     Carl Anderson
July 23     Ronecca Dockter, Mark Stone, Clyde Thomas
July 25     Sylvette Norre
July 26     Bob Dexter, Rand Michael, Mike Richeson
July 29     David Hansen
July 30     Dale Isaak, Ron Mock, Thomas Peng
July 31     Lindsay Peterson, Gary Spivey
Aug. 1      Sandy Gidding, Darcy Mize, Rob Westervelt
Aug. 2     Larry Shutts
Aug. 3     Erin Macy, Nancy Thurston
Aug. 6     Kent Yinger
Aug. 9     Robert Fisher, Shelley Yonemura

Tyler Cuddeford was hired this month as director of the forthcoming physical therapy program, projected to begin classes in the fall of 2012. A graduate of the University of Iowa, where he earned a doctorate in applied biomechanics in 2000, Tyler worked as a researcher and materials consultant with the Nike Sport Research Laboratory in Beaverton, Ore., from 2000 to 2005. For the past five years, he’s owned and operated Impact Printing, a printing, graphic design and marketing communications company in Beaverton, Ore. After earning a master’s degree in physical therapy from Pacific University in 1992, Tyler worked as a physical therapist at Oregon Health and Science University and at Shriners Hospital for Children. He also worked with the team physician for the Winter Hawks hockey team, Rockies baseball team, Portland State and University of Portland. He lives in Newberg with wife Heidi and children Abbey, Ally and Carly. The family attends Newberg Foursquare Church.

The School of Education hired Ken McChesney as an assistant professor of education this month. An adjunct in the Master of Arts in Teaching program since 2007, Ken will teach in the MAT full-time format program. He gained teaching experience for the past nine years at Amity Middle School in Amity, Ore., and before that taught at the high school level in Eugene, Ore., Lacey, Wash., and Kingman, Ariz. He’s also coached cross country and track in both Amity and Kingman. Ken earned a master’s degree in education from Western Oregon University in 2009 and a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Montana in 1990. He lives in McMinnville with wife Ellen, and three children, Madison, Camden and Matthew. They attend Sunrise Church in McMinnville.

David Collett began as a recruitment and enrollment counselor in the School of Professional Studies in June. He arrives from Corban University, where he worked as an undergraduate admissions counselor for the past year. He also worked as a telephone counselor and student life assistant while a student at Corban from 2005 to 2009. David anticipates earning a master’s degree in English literature from Northern Arizona University this December, and he holds bachelor’s degrees in English language/literature and in ministry from Corban, graduating in 2009. He lives in Portland with Kris and Paul, two of his friends from his time at Corban.

Melanie Newell was hired this month as a coordinator for the Center for Global Studies and Center for Peace and Justice. Last year, she earned a master’s degree in development studies, with an emphasis in children and youth studies and gender and development from the International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam in The Hague, Netherlands. While in Europe, she worked as an intern with Aflatoun Child Social and Financial Education. She also worked as a productions manager and editor for a web design and marketing company (2007-08) and as a teacher of at-risk children (2006-07) in Belize, Central America. The daughter of George Fox faculty members Roger and Sue Newell, Melanie earned a bachelor’s degree in theology from Seattle Pacific in 2006. She lives in Newberg and enjoys running, soccer and traveling. She also has volunteered in the Dominican Republic and Mexico and has traveled to Guatemala and Uganda. She is currently an intern with Mercy Corps in Portland.

Dayna Ochsner (University Relations) is leaving the university in July after 22 years of service. A farewell reception for her is planned from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 29, at the Edwards House. She and husband Ken plan to start remodeling their Dundee home with the help of son Brian. She also plans to paint in a new art studio Brian will build, as well as do volunteer work, garden, and, next year, travel to Alaska.

Vickie Timmons (University Relations) is leaving George Fox on July 23 after serving at the university for 24 years. She plans to volunteer, do projects around home and travel. A farewell reception for her will take place on a day to be announced.

Jeremy Stephens, Carol Namburi and John Barber left George Fox in May after a restructuring of SPS admissions and a reduction of workforce.

Rodger Bufford (Graduate Psychology) made two presentations in May at the sixth annual Clinical Forum on Mental Health: Turning Knowledge into Practice, held in Bismarck, N.D. Rodger presented “Oh God: Addressing Spiritual/Religious Concerns in Psychotherapy,” a six-hour invited workshop, and “Oh No: Risk Management – Understanding and Using Legal and Ethical Guidelines to Diminish Risk of Adverse Outcomes,” a one-and-a-half-hour invited workshop.

Bill Buhrow (Health and Counseling) attended in April the Christian Association of Psychological Studies International Conference in Kansas City, Mo., where he was elected chair of the International Board of Directors for 2010-11. He also presented a breakout session, “Integrating Client Spirituality in the Treatment of Sex Abuse,” with the assistance of Kristina Kays (Psychology). He also delivered three poster presentations in collaboration with Rodger Bufford (PsyD) and seven PsyD students on the topics “Preliminary Validation of a Measure of Generosity,” “Initial Validation of the Spiritual Thoughts and Behaviors Scale” and “The Relationship Between Alcohol Use and Sexual Activity on Faith-Based Campuses.” Bill also attended the American College Health Association annual meeting in Philadelphia in June and presented a breakout session entitled “Sexual Assault: Therapeutic Considerations When Body and Beliefs Come Under Attack.”

Trini Marquez (Plant Services) traveled to Rome in April to hand-deliver a petition to the Vatican that appealed to keep San Martin de Porres, a Catholic mission in Dayton, open. The mission faced closure when the pastor of the mission’s parent church in McMinnville announced he would close the mission this fall to save money. The mission received a reprieve when the archbishop of Portland told members he would look into establishing San Martin as a full-fledged parish.

A ghazal (a Persian poetic form) written by Ed Higgins (English), titled “The Surge of Green,” was published in Little PinkShack, a quarterly online literary journal out of Los Angeles. In addition, Ed’s poem “Farming, A Handbook (for Wendell Berry)” was published in June on LITSNACK, an online literary publication.

June 22    Daniel Sweeney
June 24    Terri Crawford, Chris Steele
June 25    Mike Rader, Karen Wedeking
June 26    Lisa McMinn, Rachel Powell
June 27    Sean McKay
June 28   Dan Schutter
June 29   Mary Peterson
June 30   John Heitz
July 2      Kathy Grant
July 6      Lisa Burton
July 7      Bob Buckler
July 8      Jesse Dillow, Linda Samek, Jane Scott
July 9      Eloise Hockett, Kenn Willson
July 10    Lois Hutchinson, Beth Molzahn
July 16    Candy Schlott
July 17    Mike Goins
July 18    Margi Macy, Scott Rueck
July 19    Patti Odenweller

Joel Kelley joined Marketing Communications as a programmer in May after graduating from the university this spring with a bachelor’s degree in history. As a student, he worked this past school year as a system administrator for the computer science and information systems department, and previously, he was a student manager in George Fox’s IT department in 2007-08. Joel also lived in Egypt for four months in 2009, where he volunteered as a webmaster for the Association for the Protection of the Environment. He and his wife Melissa live in Newberg and attend 2nd Street Community Church.

Christiana Spradling joined Plant Services as a custodian at the Portland Center in April. She has worked as a night custodian at Western Oregon University the past two years and, before that, served in custodial positions in the Salem-Keizer School District and at Willamette University. Christiana attended both Chemeketa Community College and The Evergreen State College. She lives in Independence and attends Salem Alliance Church.

Colin Saxton, superintendent of the Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends, has assumed the role of interim director of the Friends Center at the seminary. The center, a joint venture between NWYM and George Fox Evangelical Seminary, offers classes with a specific Quaker focus and equips Friends leaders for service to the church. Saxton replaces Carole Spencer, who accepted a faculty position at the Earlham School of Religion in Richmond, Ind.

Martha Iancu (Communication Arts/English Language Institute) attended the 44th Annual TESOL (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) Convention in Boston March 24-27. Her two presentations were “Collectivism Meets Individualism: Techniques for a Linked Intercultural Communication Class” and “Novel-Reading Techniques for High Beginners” (a poster session). Martha commends Elizabeth Holme of Print Services for her assistance in the technical aspects of producing the poster, which may be viewed at the entrance to the conference room in Lemmons 9.

Dave Johnstone (Student Life) wrote a review of Miroslav Volf’s The End of Memory: Remembering Rightly in a Violent World (2006), published in the Spring 2010 Journal of Education & Christian Belief. He also wrote an article, “The Gap in the Curtain: Seeing Pieces of a Residential Community’s Future,” that was published in the Winter 2010 issue of Koinonia.

Amy Dee (School of Education) and Mark McMinn were honored as the university’s 2009-10 teaching award recipients at the graduate level. Amy won the Faculty Achievement Award for Graduate Teaching, while Mark was recipient of the Faculty Achievement Award for Graduate Research and Scholarship.

Darryl Brown (Marketing Communication) was named the 2009-10 Administrative Staff Employee of the Year at the university’s employee recognition event in May. Also honored was Brenda Graf (MAT), named the Support Staff Employee of the Year.

Four of Ed Higgins’ (English) anti-war haiku, titled “Smelling of Death,” are part of the March 5-7, 2010 Search For Peace Art Exhibit sponsored by Portland’s St. Andrew Community Center and St. Pius X Parish. In addition, a story Ed wrote, titled “Five,” was published in the online German literary journal Blue Print Review. The publication’s special flash fiction issue featured stories under a 1,000 words. Ed’s micro story is about 180 words and grew out of an exercise on flash fiction in his Writing Fiction course last semester.

Former faculty member John Bowman died of a heart attack on May 6. John was a member of the music faculty at George Fox from 1980 until retiring in 2007. As professor of music, he conducted numerous George Fox choirs and the handbell ringers, as well as taught a variety of courses in the music program. He and his wife, Shari, were traveling in Germany when he died.

The university lost a longtime former professor and administrator with the death of Lee Nash on May 15. Lee arrived at George Fox in 1975 as a professor of history and later served as vice president for academic affairs and associate dean of the school in the 1980s. Even after “retiring” in the early 1990s, he taught part time and directed the university’s biennial Herbert Hoover Symposium. Lee is survived by his wife, Grayce, and children Murray, LeAnn and Torrey and their families. A memorial service for Lee is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 25, at Newberg Friends Church.

May 27    Dave Larson, Sheri Philips
May 28    Beth LaForce
May 29    Kandie Comfort, Mike Magill
May 30    Rebecca Addleman, Stephen Bearden, Amy Dee, Roger Newell
June 1      Carrie Bohl
June 4      Angie Clarkson, Nadine Kincaid
June 5      Tamara Cissna
June 6      Joyce Staats, Alan Thurston
June 7      Karen Coronado
June 8      Jeannine Graham
June 9      Mark Terry
June 10    Tim Goodfellow
June 12    Aaron Dort
June 13    Robby Larson
June 14    Michelle Cox, Loren Wenz
June 15    Esther King, Gary Tandy
June 16    Craig Taylor
June 17    Neal Ninteman
June 18    Sherri Moore-Harrison
June 19    Kristi Bronkey, Carla Hagan, Mark McMinn
June 20    Janet Herron, Christine McNeal
June 21    Sarah Baldwin, Jamie Johnson, Shari Scales

Dwayne Hood joined Plant Services as a plumber in April. For the past five years, he’s worked as a journeyman plumber for Roto Rooter. Before that, he was a warehouseman for Albertson’s for 12 years. He lives in Portland with his wife Molly and three children: Barry, Amantha and Calvin. The family attends Holy Redeemer Church in Portland.

Sue Mills returned to the university in April to work as an administrative assistant in the Murdock Learning Resource Center. She worked at George Fox previously in 2006-07, when she was an administrative assistant in the communication arts and writing/literature departments. For the past two years, she was an administrative and educational assistant for the Newberg School District. Sue earned a bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from San Francisco State University in 1993 and did post-graduate work in human resources administration at San Jose State University. She lives in Newberg with husband Jim and son Matt. They attend Newberg Christian Church.

The following faculty members have left the university to pursue other opportunities or to retire: Ken Armstrong (School of Business), Marley Brown (School of Business), Steve Cathers (School of Education), Richard Engnell (Communication Arts), Ron Mitchell (Nursing), Ron Stansell (Religious Studies) and Ellen Wirtz (Nursing).