The Daily Bruin

Due to the Christmas break holiday, we will have fewer days to process the December payroll. Please have all payroll items (check requests and approvals, contracts, temporary employee timesheets, etc.) turned in to HR by 5 p.m. today (Friday, Dec. 11).

Regular employee timesheets and student timesheets for December can be locked at the end of the month as usual.

The Office for Spiritual Life is looking for several Life Group leaders for our seven-week spring Life Groups series (the weeks of Feb. 22 through April 9).

Life Groups are small groups of undergraduate students who meet together for prayer, Bible study and fellowship. Groups meet weekly for 60 to 90 minutes. This spring, all groups will meet in either a Zoom or hybrid format. (Hybrid groups will meet primarily via Zoom, but may occasionally meet outdoors as the weather, state and university regulations, and participant comfort permit.)

Throughout the pandemic, Life Groups through SpIL will also be SpIL-credit eligible in order to encourage students to engage in high-quality spiritual formation experiences that are participatory and offer ongoing community.

We welcome our employees, alumni, family members of George Fox employees and students, and members of our wonderful local churches to consider leading a group. Groups may also be co-led with an upper-classman student if the leader desires.

To sign up as a leader, please fill out this form and our office will follow up with you.

For more information, contact the Office for Spiritual Life at spirituallife@georgefox.edu.

The Finance office will be closed from Thursday, Dec. 24, through Sunday, Jan. 3, for Christmas break. Deposits that need to have a December 2020 date must be brought to our office no later than 10 a.m. on Wednesday Dec. 23. If it arrives later, it will go into a deposit in January 2021.

Please look around your desks and file cabinets to see if there are any lingering items that need to go to the bank. If you are taking extra time off during the Christmas/New Year holiday, please send your deposits over BEFORE you leave.

If you have any questions about deposits, please contact Heather Groenlund at ext. 2173. Thank you and have a very Merry Christmas!

The Finance office would like to announce the schedule for processing check requests during the shortened Christmas week:

• For check requests received in our office by 5 p.m. Friday, Dec. 18, the check will be ready Wednesday, Dec. 23.
• For check requests received Monday, Dec. 21, through Wednesday, Dec. 23, the check will be ready Jan. 8. 

Questions? Please reach out to accountspayable@georgefox.edu. Thank you!

Due to the Christmas break holiday, we will have fewer days to process the December payroll. Please have all payroll items (check requests and approvals, contracts, temporary employee timesheets, etc.) turned in to HR by 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 11.

Regular employee timesheets and student timesheets for December can be locked at the end of the month as usual.

Questions? Contact Beth Hampton at bhampton@georgefox.edu.

The November 30-day Challenge is over! Thank you everyone who participated. We hope it boosted your energy and helped you feel better. If that’s the case, you are a winner!

We also drew three prizes today, and the lucky winners are Rusty St Cyr, Linda Samek and Donna Kestek. Congratulations! Please stop by HR to pick up your prizes.

We encourage everyone to do something healthy two to three times a week regularly. It can be something as easy as taking a longer dog walk or soaking in a bathtub. We also know that sometimes it is hard to come up with new ideas or get started, so we are sharing what worked for our November Challenge participants with you.

Be well and stay hydrated!

– HR

Time to knock out your “last-minute gift” list! Today (Wednesday) and online only, get 30% off T-shirts, sweatshirts and hats from the Bruin Store. Visit our website for details. 

If you’re local, you are always welcome to pick up your order in the store (please specify at checkout)! We will be here from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and open by appointment only.

Once you receive notification that your order is ready to be picked up, call the store at 503-554-2540 and schedule a time to come in. 

The Staff Development Committee would like to invite all employees to a mini virtual Fall Staff Conference tomorrow (Wednesday) at 11 a.m. We will spend an hour of restorative time to take a deep breath from a long, stressful semester and give thanks to our God who has brought us through it. 

During this time, we’ll hear from:

• Celeste Jones, PsyD, associate professor/director of clinical training in our Graduate School of Clinical Psychology, who will share on stress management in a talk titled, “Psychologist’s Tips for Surviving and Thriving with Record-Breaking Stress Levels”
• Jamie Johnson, associate university pastor, who will share a devotional

This event is open to all employess! To access the Zoom link for your calendar, please complete this RSVP form and the link will be provided in the confirmation message.

Questions? Contact the Staff Development Committee at sdc@georgefox.edu.

The Office for Spiritual Life invites the George Fox community to observe the Advent season with our 2020 Advent Reader.

This year’s reader includes Bible passages along with music selections created by students in the George Fox music program. We pray you have a blessed Advent season as your prepare your hearts for the celebration of Jesus’ birth.

The university’s theatre program invites you to join us for a special online production of Charles Dickins’ classic A Christmas Carol, an audio show presented like an old-time radio drama, later this month.

This delightful digital file for your ears (there is no visual component to it) will be available at your convenience between Friday, Dec. 18, and Sunday, Dec. 27.

Students and employees of the university are entitled to one complimentary ticket, available by contacting Kathy Harris at kharris@georgefox.edu.

Here are ticket instructions:

• Once you purchase your ticket at this link, you will be sent an access code and a link to the online audio file. Watch for the link in your email from ShowTix4U.
• Your access code can be used for a 48-hour “listening window” anytime between Dec. 18 and Dec. 27. The app allows you to rewind at any time and to listen to it as often as you’d like during your 48-hour window. Note: You will have 48 hours to listen to the production once you open the link.

For more information about the show, visit the theatre department’s website.

Your Concur reports for November are now due. Please be sure all reports are current and submit them by Thursday, Dec. 10.

If you have questions or need assistance, please contact Kathi Becker kbecker@georgefox.edu or 503-554-2166.

The Richter Committee is pleased to let you know that a series of video presentations from our 2020-21 Richter Scholars is available for viewing on YouTube. In lieu of a poster symposium during fall semester, we asked each participant to record a five- to eight-minute presentation of their research.

You are encouraged to view the videos and send your thanks, encouragement and questions to the individual scholars. Their work is outstanding, and we would like to celebrate this achievement with them. You can access the videos at this link.

Be on the lookout for a second cohort of scholars to present later in spring semester.

Effective Jan. 1, 2021, the state will implement new independent contractor guidelines. In preparation for the changes, George Fox has revamped how we evaluate independent contractors and non-employee check requests. Join one of these sessions to learn about the changes. 

Questions? Contact Amilcar Del Cid at adelcid@georgefox.edu.

Due to the Christmas break holiday, we will have fewer days to process the regular December payroll. Please have all payroll items (check requests, contracts, temporary employee timesheets, approvals, etc.) turned in to HR by 5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 11.

Regular employee timesheets and student timesheets for December can be locked at the end of the month as usual.

All George Fox employees are invited to shop at Nike and Columbia employee stores this month. Please see individual passes for more information. Please note: These passes are valid at the in-person stores only. Enjoy!

Your school ID, personal ID, and a copy of the pass are all you need to shop at the employee stores.

Nike Employee Store Pass
This pass is valid Dec. 1-7
Store Hours:
Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
Sunday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.

Columbia Employee Store Pass 
This pass is valid Dec. 4-27
Store Hours:
Monday-Sunday, 8 a.m. – 10 p.m.

Questions? Sara Reamy sreamy@georgefox.edu

We hope everyone had a relaxing Thanksgiving weekend! Today’s Wellness Wednesday edition is about gratitude. Read this interesting article about how gratitude changes you and your brain.

A quick reminder for participants in the November 30-Day challenge: Please submit your calendar entries online or directly to Aga Luptak at aluptak@georgefox.edu by this Friday, Dec. 4. We will draw prizes early next week!

Just a reminder: Please continue to use the CampusClear app daily, and be sure to report any symptoms, close contacts or positive COVID-19 tests through the COVID Reporting Form.

Thank you!
– HR

The IT Department is currently selling a variety of used computers. We have Mac laptops, iMacs, and PC laptops available, ranging in price from $25 to $325. The computers have all been reset to factory settings.

Please note that these computers are sold as is. We do not provide support or maintenance on these machines or perform updates of any kind, and cannot guarantee the manufacturers will have parts available. The iMacs come with a power supply, keyboard, and mouse, and the laptops come with a power supply. 

If you would like information on the specifications of these computers or have any questions, please contact the Service Desk at servicedesk@georgefox.edu.

The university’s theatre program invites you to join us for a special online production of Charles Dickins’ classic A Christmas Carol, an audio show presented like an old-time radio drama, later this month.

This delightful digital file for your ears (there is no visual component to it) will be available at your convenience between Friday, Dec. 18, and Sunday, Dec. 27.

Students and employees of the university are entitled to one complimentary ticket, available by contacting Kathy Harris at kharris@georgefox.edu.

Here are ticket instructions:

• Once you purchase your ticket at this link, you will be sent an access code and a link to the online audio file. Watch for the link in your email from ShowTix4U.
• Your access code can be used for a 48-hour “listening window” anytime between Dec. 18 and Dec. 27. The app allows you to rewind at any time and to listen to it as often as you’d like during your 48-hour window. Note: You will have 48 hours to listen to the production once you open the link.

For more information about the show, visit the theatre department’s website.

Faculty advisors, coaches and program directors: George Fox has generous policies that recognize and award credit for students’ skills in languages other than English.

If you have a student who grew up speaking another language or lived abroad, encourage him or her to contact Debbie Berhó at dberho@georgefox.edu to learn more; these credits are sometimes just the nudge needed to fulfill all credits for their degree!