The Daily Bruin

Join us for a series of weekly open workshops to develop and refine Gemini prompts for use in customized Gems, Workspace Studio, and NotebookLM.

Bring your laptop to receive hands-on assistance and have your AI-related questions answered in a collaborative environment. Participants are encouraged to attend at their convenience. Please remember that utilizing Gemini through your George Fox account is essential for ensuring data security and protection.

• When: Tuesdays from noon to 1:30 p.m.
• Dates: June 23, June 30, July 7, July 14, July 21, July 28
• Where: Stevens 209

For more tips and resources, visit our George Fox IT: AI website or contact us at servicedesk@georgefox.edu.

This week, Bon Appetit will be at the Bridge Cafe through Thursday and cooking on the patio on Wednesday.

Lunch specials will be available starting at 11:30 a.m.

This week’s menu is as follows:

• Tuesday through Thursday we will be set up for a build-your-own flatbread pizza.
• On Wednesday, we will cook up smoked bacon-wrapped hot dogs grilled on the Bridge Cafe patio.

You can see the full menu at georgefox.cafebonappetit.com.

President Robin Baker likes to give you the opportunity twice a year to ask questions anonymously. Please take a moment to submit any questions you have using this form.

He plans to answer as many as possible during the all-employee meeting on July 23.

Show your Bruin spirit and be part of a favorite community tradition! Each year, George Fox participates in the Newberg Old Fashioned Festival Parade with a university float, and we’d love for you and your family to join us. This year’s parade is on Saturday, July 25.

This is a fun opportunity to connect with the community, celebrate George Fox, and enjoy the parade alongside fellow Bruins. Participants will help hand out candy, blow bubbles, and distribute other giveaways along the parade route.

Bring your family, wear your Bruin gear, and help us represent George Fox with pride!

You can sign up using this link. Questions? Contact Macey Lutey at mlutey@georgefox.edu.

Starting tomorrow (Saturday), Newberg is under an Extreme Weather Heat Watch. It is going to be hot! Your safety is our top priority, so let’s make sure we’re all prepared.

To help everyone stay cool and healthy, please follow the university’s heat protocol:

• Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate! Drink water every 20 minutes, even if you don’t feel thirsty.
• Time Your Tasks Wisely. Schedule more strenuous work for the cooler parts of the day, like the morning.
• Seek Out the AC. If your building feels too warm, head to an air-conditioned space such as Canyon Commons, Klages or Murdock Library.
• Look Out for Each Other. Between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m., check on your fellow employees and classmates every hour or two. A quick check-in can make a big difference!
• Know the Symptoms. Familiarize yourself with the signs of heat-related illnesses. You can find more information here.

Got questions about staying safe in the heat? Don’t hesitate to reach out! Contact Kim Knoernschild, our environmental health and safety specialist, at kknoernschild@georgefox.edu.

Stay cool, stay safe, and have a great weekend!

Please take five minutes to complete this anonymous survey to help us provide the best service to our clients at the Bruin Community Pantry. When you do so, you’ll be entered into a drawing for one of four $50 gift cards to Grocery Outlet!

Please make sure you click on the link at the end of the survey to type in your email to be entered into the drawing. This survey will be open from now through August. Recipients of the gift cards will be notified the first week of September.

Questions? Please contact Jere Witherspoon at jwitherspoon@georgefox.edu.

For those who desire to pray for part or all of the day in the Chapel, it will be open from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for today’s Day of Prayer. As a reminder, here are some materials to guide your time of prayer.

With the sun shining and the days at their longest, summer is the ultimate invitation to take your movement outdoors.

Whether you’re diving into the pool, hitting the hiking trails, or joining a local pickleball league, shifting your workouts outside offers massive perks for both mind and body. Beyond the excellent cardiovascular benefits of these activities, spending time in nature naturally lowers cortisol levels, reduces stress, and provides a much-needed dose of mood-boosting Vitamin D.

Engaging in recreational summer sports also delivers a fantastic social outlet, helping us build community and combat loneliness while keeping our bodies strong and agile.

To fully enjoy these active months, prioritizing physical safety and preventing injuries must be part of your game plan. Safeguarding your joints and muscles starts with a quick dynamic warm-up before any sudden movements, alongside wearing proper footwear tailored to your activity.

Guarding against the elements is equally vital to avoid heat-related illness; stay ahead of dehydration by sipping water continuously, apply broad-spectrum sunscreen, and schedule your highest-intensity exertions during the cooler morning or evening hours. By respecting your limits and prepping properly, you can maintain your momentum all season long without any frustrating timeouts. 

Share out this guide with helpful warm-up and cool-down techniques for summer sports with your friends and family.

The Bruin Store will be closed today (Wednesday) for the Day of Prayer. We will be open on Thursday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. 

Have you been experiencing aches or pains in your body? Injured recently? Planning on having surgery? Notice difficulty with everyday movements? Did you participate in the free PT clinic and are in need of more physical therapy?

If so, the George Fox Physical Therapy Community Clinic is here for you! Our clinic director, Catherine Cieslak, will be offering treatment sessions throughout the summer, mainly on Wednesdays and Thursdays on a part-time basis through Aug. 28, so please reach out if you’re needing guidance or treatment. We will work with your schedule and your finances to give you the care you need.

The cost is $35 per session for community members and $25 per session for George Fox students, faculty and staff. Appointments will be at the Medical Sciences Building at 448 Werth Blvd., in Newberg.

Please call 503-554-2479 and leave a voicemail, or email physicaltherapy@georgefox.edu with your information to schedule an appointment. We look forward to serving you!

Greetings! The annual Day of Prayer is tomorrow (Wednesday), and the Office for Spiritual Life is glad to share with you this resource to guide your time.

May we seek the Lord together on this Day of Prayer! The Office of People and Culture will be sending out more information about it, so stay tuned!

This week, we will be at the Bridge Cafe Monday through Wednesday and on the Maker’s Market patio on Thursday. This will be our last week at the Maker’s Market.

Lunch specials will be available starting at 11:30 a.m.

This week’s menu is as follows:

• Tuesday: Smoked spare ribs with barbecue sauce
• Wednesday: Orange chicken
• Thursday: California burrito

See the full menu at georgefox.cafebonappetit.com.

For those who desire to pray for part or all of the day in the Chapel, it will be open from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on the Day of Prayer this Wednesday, June 10. As a reminder, here are some materials to guide your time of prayer.

Our new AI-integrated MBA is even more accessible for busy professionals, including members of our own George Fox community.

Beginning this fall, students can start the program every eight weeks, making it easier to begin when the timing is right. Combined with flexible delivery formats and 12- and 24-month options, the redesigned MBA is built to fit alongside professional and personal responsibilities.

Students also complete portfolio-based projects throughout the program, graduating with tangible business deliverables they can apply in their current and future roles.

If you’ve ever considered pursuing an MBA, this could be the right time to explore what’s new. And if you know prospective students looking for a flexible, future-focused business degree grounded in faith and ethical leadership, we encourage you to share the program with them.

For more information, contact Sean Aker at saker@georgefox.edu.

With the post-commencement quiet finally settling over campus, many of our workspaces look a bit like a storm just passed through. Whether your daily home base is a traditional office desk, a service counter, a lab station, or the cab of a university vehicle, the physical environments we inhabit have a profound impact on our mental clarity.

Over the frantic spring months, it is easy to let old papers, random sticky notes, or misplaced equipment pile up, but this visual clutter acts as a silent, constant drain on our energy. Our brains naturally interpret disorganized environments as a list of unfinished tasks, keeping our nervous systems subtly on edge even when the academic year’s rush has actually slowed down.

This week, try taking just 15 minutes to gently reset your immediate environment – not as a rigid organizational chore, but as a genuine act of self-care. Toss the dead pens, wipe down your surfaces, archive the stray files crowding your laptop desktop, or return tools to their proper drawers.

This isn’t about achieving a sterile, picture-perfect workspace; it’s about intentionally creating some physical and mental breathing room for the summer months ahead. You deserve a workspace that supports your focus rather than competing for it, so give yourself permission to clear a fresh slate today.

Gabrielle Hernandez, MA, a doctoral student in clinical psychology, is inviting students and community members (ages 18 and older) to participate in a research study.

This mixed-methods study examines how cultural orientation (collectivist vs. individualistic) relates to resilience and life stressors, with the goal of informing more culturally responsive and strengths-based mental health practices.

Participation involves completing a brief online survey, which takes approximately 15 to 25 minutes to complete. All responses are anonymous, and participation is completely voluntary.

If you are 18 or older and interested in participating, please access the survey here. Your participation will contribute to research aimed at improving culturally responsive mental health care.

Disclaimer: These surveys are student generated and are not to be associated with any official research conducted by faculty and staff at George Fox University. Any views or opinions presented in these surveys are solely those of the students and do not represent those of George Fox University. The distribution of these surveys is a service provided to George Fox University students as they prepare their research required by the curriculum. Students are required to have department approval. Any questions about these surveys should be directed to the students associated with the survey in question

Final call for free physical therapy! If you have aches and pains, need to recover from an injury or surgery, or want to improve your balance, strength or endurance, this time is for you.

George Fox physical therapy students are hosting their annual free physical therapy clinic for all those interested from now through June 12. We are looking for people who want services for all kinds of conditions, including, but not limited to:

• General aches and pains
• Chronic pain
• Orthopedic surgery
• Struggles with balance/falls
• Concussion management
• Sports injuries
• Neurological events
• Vestibular issues
• General deconditioning
• Pediatrics
• Cardiovascular, and more

The DPT students are eager to serve you, so please take advantage.

Please fill out this interest form and you will be contacted to be scheduled. Thank you!

Please contact Catherine Cieslak at physicaltherapy@georgefox.edu, or call our clinic at 503-554-2479 with any questions.

Know of any great George Fox-related stories? Students making a difference in their communities? An inspiring account of someone who has overcome obstacles or has had an amazing faith journey? A professor who exemplifies the Be Known promise?

If so, we in marketing communications want to hear about it! Please complete this form with the name of the person you wish to highlight, their contact info (if possible), and a few details about what makes their story compelling. We’ll take it from there!

Some folks may be featured in our blog and/or on our website. Still others may be featured in a video or in our university magazine. In short, we’re looking for stories that communicate why George Fox is such a special place.

Thanks for taking the time to share these stories with us!

Join the Moms’ Networking Employee Resource Group for our next meeting tomorrow (Wednesday)! This group is open to all employees who are expecting (through birth, adoption or fostering), or have children from birth through eighth grade.

We’ll be gathering at 11 a.m. in Canyon Commons 101. The session fill feature a guest speaker from CPRD sharing resources on local childcare, summer camps, and recreational sports. Lunch will be provided.

If you need to be added to the calendar invite or have questions, please contact Megan Fisher at mfisher@georgefox.edu.

Serve Day 2026 is set for Wednesday, Sept. 16, and preparations are officially underway! Please help us prepare by completing this SD ’26 Employee Info Gathering Survey for all of our regular Newberg employees part time and above (and any Portland employees who would like to join in on the fun!).

We want to do our best to prioritize making serve site connections for employees that encourage longer-term, ongoing community service partnerships. Also on the form, you can note any limitations and previous serve site connections or questions you might have, and we’ll take it all into consideration when coordinating this summer.

If you’re planning to be on sabbatical, family leave, or know of a significant change that will keep you away from campus during the week of Sept. 16, you can let us know using the form, which is essential for our preparations.

The next 110 days of summer will breeze by, and before you know it, it will be time for our next highly anticipated, university-wide day of service together!

Contact serveday@georgefox.edu with all of your questions and feedback.