E-Colleague

Marla Sweningson (Student Financial Services) is now a financial aid counselor. She formerly worked as a student account specialist.

Brent Weaver’s (Performing Arts) Advent cantata for chorus, organ, winds and percussion was performed at Central Congregational Church of Atlanta Dec. 14 in honor of its retiring choral director. The church commissioned the work in 2001 through a grant from the American Composers Forum.

Jim Steele’s (Management) article “360 Degree Feedback Enhances Executive Education” was featured in Revolve: Centering on 360s, a newsletter for organizational development professionals. Steele also recently traveled to Phoenix for a working session as a member of the examination forms review committee for the Human Resources Certification Institute.

Joel Perez (Student Life) presented “Tools in the Cultural Competency” to all the faculty and staff at Northwest University in Kirkland, Wash., on Jan. 7.

Paul Anderson’s (Religious Studies) article, “The Light of Christ Leads Followers in the Process of Individual and Corporate Discernment,” was published in the Friends’ Voice in December, and his interpretation of Revelation 17:1-14 was published in the January issue of Interpretation. Also, Paul presented “The Mission of the Christ-Centered Quaker College” at the Quaker Theological Discussion Group in Boston in November, and there he also participated in a review of the book Psychological Insights into the Bible, in the Psychology and Biblical Studies Section of the national Society of Biblical Literature meetings. At those meetings his book, The Fourth Gospel and the Quest for Jesus, was reviewed in a major session of the John, Jesus, and History Group, and he responded to the reviews. Paul’s books will be featured at the Search for Meaning: Pacific Northwest Spirituality and Theology Book Festival, hosted by Seattle University in February.

Mike Richeson joined marketing communications as a senior writer this month. He worked previously at the The Daily Inter Lake newspaper in Kalispell, Mont., where he was a county and outdoors reporter for the past year. Previously, Mike served as editor and chief photographer for the Bigfork Eagle newspaper in Bigfork, Mont. (2006-07), and, before that, as a sports, features and health reporter at The Daily Inter Lake (2005-06). Also, since 2003, he has done writing and design work for publications produced for Multnomah University in Portland. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biblical studies from Multnomah in 2005. Mike plans to move to Newberg.

Kenn Willson (Performing Arts) performed a concert and taught master classes at the Accademia Pianistica della Marche in Recanati, Italy, on Oct. 24-25. He performed his “Encounters with Beethoven” concert and taught six students from the piano academy in master classes. He was hosted by Gianluca Luisi and the piano academy. Luisi, who visited George Fox in 2007, plans a return trip to the university Feb. 15, 2009, to hold master classes with George Fox piano students and perform a recital.

Ed Higgins’ (Writing/Literature) poem “Epistemology” was published in the December issue of Friends Journal (Vol. 54, #12, p. 10). The poem was published previously in 2007 issues of Poets Against War and George Fox Journal.

Paul Anderson’s (Religious Studies) essay, “From One Dialogue to Another — Johannine Polyvalence from Origins to Receptions,” was published in Anatomies of Narrative Criticism; The Past, Present, and Future of the Fourth Gospel as Literature last fall. Paul also wrote an essay, “Honest to John!,” that responded to four major reviews of his book The Fourth Gospel and the Quest for Jesus in the October issue of The Journal for Greco-Roman Christianity and Judaism, and his report, “John and Qumran,” was published in the fall issue of HENOCH: Studies in Judaism and Christianity from Second Temple to Late Antiquity. Paul also contributed a new foreword to Jesus: What Manner of Man, by Henry J. Cadbury, reprinted by Wipf & Stock in the fall. Finally, Paul represented his class as a distinguished alumnus of Malone College for its homecoming in October.

Taylor Martin, a 2008 graduate of George Fox, has returned to the university to work as an undergraduate admissions counselor. Since earning bachelor’s degrees in both psychology and Christian ministries in the spring, he served as the activities coordinator for the Rose Schnitzer Manor at Cedar Sinai Park from May until August. He also gained experience as an activities and social events worker as an intern at Friendsview Retirement Manor from December of 2007 until April of 2008. Taylor lives in Beaverton with wife Kaleigha, who also graduated from George Fox in the spring. The couple attends Northside Community Church in Newberg.

Al Zimmerman (Planned Giving) is leaving the university in December to serve as executive director of the Portland-based Northwest Christian Community Foundation, a conduit for generating gifts in support of a wide range of Christian ministries. Al has worked at George Fox for three years.

Sara Vulgan is now a graduate admissions counselor for the seminary. She was formerly an administrative assistant serving various programs at the Portland Center.

Ron Arnold now has a part-time contract with the MAT program in Boise after serving as an adjunct instructor.

Gary Fawver will serve as interim executive director of Tilikum until a new executive director is hired. This marks a return to Tilikum for Gary, who served as director from its founding in 1971 until 1990. A former professor at George Fox, he also served as a member of Tilikum’s long-range planning committee in 2003 and on the task force that developed a new site plan in 2007. Bedford Holmes is leaving Tilikum at the end of the calendar year to serve as executive director of Zephyr Point Presbyterian Conference Center in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, effective Jan. 1.

Lori DeKruyf and Keith Dempsey (Counseling) presented at the Western Association for Counselor Education and Supervision 2008 Conference in Palm Springs, Calif., Nov. 6-9. Keith co-presented “Multicultural and Advocacy Dimensions Model” with Manivong Ratts of Seattle University. Lori’s presentation was titled “Screening Potential School Counseling Field Placements: Practical Tools for Structuring and Evaluating Visits, and Connecting with and Equipping Site Supervisors.”

Sylvette Norre (French) was quoted in an article on continuous learning and professional development for foreign language faculty in a recent issue of The Language Educator, a journal of the American Council for the Teaching of Foreign Language. Sylvette makes reference to the Cavilam program in Vichy, France, which focuses on working with the common European language assessment tools.

Tim Rahschulte and Craig Johnson (Management) attended the International Leadership Association Conference in Los Angeles Nov. 12-15. Craig presented “Trust and the Practice of Ethical Leadership,” and Tim presented “Facilitating Leadership: A Discussion on Effective Educational Tools and Tactics that Develop 21st Century Leaders.”

Paul Otto (History) has been named to the editorial board of the new Journal of Early American History, published by Brill Academic Publishers.

Kerry Irish recently published an article entitled “Cross-Cultural Leadership: Dwight D. Eisenhower,” which appeared in a new edited work, The Art of Command: Military Leadership from George Washington to Colin Powell.

Nov. 26        Larry Weber
Nov. 28        Clella Jaffe
Nov. 29        Arden Butler, Michelle Conrad, Krissy Findley, Barbara Lybarger
Nov. 30        John Barber, Melanie Hulbert

Editor’s note: Because of technical issues associated with the conversion to PeopleSoft, birthdays no longer will be listed in e-Colleague beginning in December. The feature may be reinstated in the future.

Mandee Spotts returned to George Fox to work as an undergraduate admissions counselor. She graduated from the university in April with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Over the summer, she worked as an intern at the Murdock Charitable Trust organization. She also has worked as a teacher and coach for Northwest Basketball Camps for the past six years and, from 2005 to 2008, was employed in George Fox’s fitness center. Mandee lives in Aloha with three other recent college grads and attends Solid Rock in Beaverton.

Becky Jensen transitioned from temporary status to full time as an administrative assistant in the School of Management. She had worked in the office since May. Before that, she was women’s ministry director for Grace Baptist Church in Newberg for four years. She also served as business manager of Windmill Nursery of Sherwood from 1989 to 2002. Becky earned a bachelor’s degree in biblical literature from Multnomah Bible College in 1986. She lives in Newberg with her husband, David, and sons Nathanael, Zachary and Nicholas. She attends Northside Community Church.

Bedford Holmes (Tilikum) will be leaving George Fox at the end of the year to serve as executive director of Zephyr Point Presbyterian Conference Center in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, effective Jan. 1. Bedford has worked at Tilikum for eight and a half years.

Paul Otto (History) presented “Beads of Power: Wampum and Ritual Transfers on the Early American Frontier” at the Conference on Ritual Dynamics and the Science of Ritual at Heidelberg University in Heidelberg, Germany, on Oct. 1. Paul also was quoted in a Nov. 4 Oregonian article, “The Middle-Class Muddle,” in which he provided insight into early-America’s class system.

Blair Cash (Athletics) was inducted into the Belhaven College Sports Hall of Fame in ceremonies in Jackson, Miss., Oct. 24. Blair was honored for being the school’s first sports information director. He was SID and athletic teams manager as a student (1971-76), then became the first full-time SID at the school in 1976-77.

Ed Higgins (Writing/Literature) recently served as one of three jurors for the Christian Scholar’s Review’s annual Charles Miller Award for best essay. Ed’s pick for the best 2008 essay turned out to be the selection that will be announced in a forthcoming issue of CSR. For the past several years, Ed has been George Fox’s representative to the CSR Editorial Board, and this marks the second time he has been a juror for the annual best essay award.

Nov. 11        Denise Decicco, Sean Patterson
Nov. 12        Kelly Borror
Nov. 14        Colleen Huffman, Jan Lefebvre
Nov. 15        Danielle Ambrose
Nov. 16        Carol Jaquith
Nov. 17        Sue O’Donnell
Nov. 18        Kathleen Jones, Shary Wortman
Nov. 19        Bob Hamilton
Nov. 22        Vern Choin, Dwight Kimberly
Nov. 23        Lon Fendall, Laura Simmons
Nov. 24        Mark Sundquist

Editor’s note: Because of technical issues associated with the conversion to PeopleSoft, birthdays no longer will be listed in e-Colleague beginning in December. The feature may be reinstated in the future.

Alene Horney transitioned from a temporary position to a full-time one as an administrative assistant for the School of Professional Studies at the Portland Center. She worked previously as a youth director at the Yakima Alliance Church (2007) and as an administrative assistant in the family and consumer sciences department at Central Washington University (2006). Alene earned a bachelor’s degree in interior design from Central Washington University in 2008. She lives in Newberg with her husband Joe and attends Grace Baptist Church in Newberg.

Bruce Owen joined Financial Affairs as an accountant this month. He comes from Lithia Motors, Inc., where he was an accountant for the past eight years in Medford. He also gained accounting experience as a tax preparer with H&R Block during his college years (1996-98) and as a tax consultant with a local CPA firm, Kosmatka Donnelly and Co., in 1999. Bruce earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Southern Utah University in 1998. He lives in Grants Pass with his wife, Shelli, and plans to move to the area soon. They have five children – Jessika (22), Rachel (20), Mary (18), Ruth (16) and Elijah (12). Bruce and his family attend Faith Baptist Church in Grants Pass.

Susan Hampton (Student Financial Services) is leaving George Fox on Nov. 7. She and her husband will be working at Twin Rocks Friends Camp and Conference Center in Rockaway Beach, Ore.

Darren Noble (Career Services) is leaving the university Nov. 7 to work for the State of Oregon’s Department of Human Services. He will be a training and development specialist for the Office of Investigations and Training in the director’s office.

Thomas Peng, director of the China and East Asia Studies Program, also has taken on the title of director for international recruitment. His recruitment office is located on the first floor of the Steven’s Center.

Rand Michael (Counseling) and his wife, Phyllis, were honored with the Human Rights Award at the Oregon Counseling Association’s annual banquet in Eugene Oct. 18. Each year, the association presents the award to members who have demonstrated an exemplary level of professional and personal commitment in the areas of human rights and the advancement of human dignity. The Michaels oversee TELOS international, an organization that provides culturally sensitive, holistic mental health services to under-served people and communities by offering training, counseling, and related mental health resources.

Brent Wilson (Computer and Information Sciences) published a paper, “Wanted: Trained Security Specialists,” in the Journal of Computing Sciences in Colleges (Volume 24, Issue 2, 2008) and also presented the paper at the Northwest Conference of the Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges at Southern Oregon University Oct. 11. He also was an invited panelist at the same conference on the topic “The Content and Role of the Computer Graphics Course in the Liberal Arts.”

Carol Namburi (Counseling) and Nate McIntyre (Admissions) were chosen as the university’s employees of the month.

Bruce Strom (School of Professional Studies) wrote a column, “What you need to market a small business,” for the Oct. 22 issue of the Idaho Press-Tribune.

Oct. 28        Ellen Wirtz
Oct. 29        Roger Nam
Oct. 30        Darren Noble, Janis Sanford
Nov. 1         Dave Johnstone, Polly Peterson
Nov. 4         Tom Head, John Stewart, Melissa Thomas
Nov. 5         Jared Ocker
Nov. 7         Doug Campbell
Nov. 9         Jack Lyda

Editor’s note: Because of technical issues associated with the conversion to PeopleSoft, birthdays will no longer be listed in e-Colleague beginning in December. The feature may be reinstated in the future.

Angela L. Milner began at the Portland Center as a student financial services specialist. For the past two years, she was an executive assistant to the head of school, office manager and bookkeeper at Pacific Northwest Academy in Wilsonville. Before that, she was an account administrator for Acordia Northwest in Seattle for two and a half years. Angela earned a bachelor’s degree in theatre from Oklahoma Baptist University in 1999. She lives in Newberg with her husband Jonathan and attends Imago Dei Community in Portland.

Nikki Martin resigned her administrative assistant position in Salem in September.

Gary Tiffin (EDFL) has moved from adjunct to half-time associate professor in the School of Education.


Alene Horney accepted the position she was temping in – as an administrative assistant for the School of Professional Studies at the Portland Center. She replaces Eileen Newman, who is now a library assistant at the Portland Center.

Janeen Dillow is now a library assistant II in the Murdock Learning Resource Center.

Bruce Strom (School of Professional Studies) wrote a column, “Some tips for weathering this economic storm,” for the Oct. 8 issue of the Idaho Press-Tribune.

Kevin T. Jones (Communication Arts) published “The Persuasive Function of the Visual Ideograph: The Case of Baby Samuel” in Visual Impact: The Power of Visual Persuasion, a new book published by Hampton Press. The chapter explores the role of an iconic photograph in shaping cultural ideology. In particular, Jones’ chapter examines the photograph taken of a fetus in utero during surgery and how right-to-life proponents have used the photograph to promote their agenda. Former George Fox professor Michael Graves contributed a chapter to the book as well.

Reid Kisling (Registrar) had a book chapter, “Character and Spiritual Formation,” published in Foundations of Spiritual Formation: A Community Approach to Becoming like Christ (Kregel Publications). His hope is that the text can be used as a spiritual formation textbook for college and seminary students.

Oct. 15    Amy Ocker, Gina Worley
Oct. 16    Richard Shaw
Oct. 19    Rita Boggs
Oct. 21    Teresa Arnold, Helen Morse
Oct. 22    Randy Pitts
Oct. 23    Andy Baker
Oct. 24    Ryan Dougherty, Dixie Downey, Al Zimmerman
Oct. 26    Linda Sartwell
Oct. 27    Bruce Arnold

The Tilikum Center for Retreats and Outdoor Ministries welcomes Chris Steele to serve as retreat center director. He recently moved to Oregon from Tulsa, Okla., where he was an account manager for Camp BackPack, a camp management software company. Before that, he spent four years at Camp Lebanon in Upsala, Minn., where he was a guest ministries coordinator. He also was a retreat manager, guest relations manager and guest services coordinator at the Pine Cove Christian Camps in Tyler, Texas, for seven years. Chris earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Texas at Tyler in 1994. He lives in Newberg with wife Amy, son Jack and daughter Olivia.

Shelley Yonemura joined student life to serve as interim director of multicultural services. She has worked as an English Language Institute co-curriculum programs assistant at Oregon State University the past two years, and in 2006-07 she was a study abroad advisor and graduate teaching assistant for OSU’s international education program. She also worked for two years at Linfield College as a community service coordinator from 2004 to 2006. Shelley attended Oregon State’s master’s program for college student services administration, specializing in spirituality and counseling. She earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from George Fox in 2000. Shelley lives in Newberg.