The Daily Bruin

Check out the latest blog piece from President Robin Baker, entitled “Sports and Civility.” In it, Robin reminisces about his high school days on the basketball court. He also shares about a recent experience at a couple of away basketball games.

You can read the piece at this link.

The university’s Center for Peace and Justice invites all to the 29th annual Woolman Peacemaking Forum, featuring pastor and advocate Alexia Salvatierra, on the Newberg and Portland campuses March 3-5. The theme of the event is “People of Peace: Effective Faith-Rooted Advocacy.”

Here is the schedule of events:

Monday, March 3
Missional Ecclessiology
Portland Center Room 265, 7-10 p.m.

Alexia will be speaking in this course, held at George Fox Evangelical Seminary at the Portland Center. Attendance is free and no RSVP is required.

Tuesday, March 4
Faith-rooted advocacy training session with George Fox University praxis class, 9 a.m to 3 p.m.

Held at the Tilikum Retreat Center. Alexia will lead this training session. As attendees must commit to the entire session, those interested must RSVP by email to cbaldwin@georgefox.edu to attend.

Woolman Peacemaking Forum, Main Evening Session, 7-9 p.m., Hoover 105
“Faith-Rooted Organizing: Mobilizing the Church in Service to the World”

This evening session featuring Alexia will be on the Newberg campus. Attendance is free and no RSVP is required.

Wednesday, March 5
Woolman Peacemaking Forum, Main Morning Session, 10:40-11:30 a.m. at Wednesday main chapel in Bauman Auditorium
“Faith-Rooted Organizing: Mobilizing the Church in Service to the World”

Attendance is free and no RSVP is required.

For more information on Alexia’s visit or the forum itself, visit the Center for Peace and Justice website or contact Clint Baldwin at 503-554-2685.

Textbook orders for Summer 2014 classes (including May Term) are due Saturday, March 1, and orders for Fall 2014 classes are due Tuesday, April 1. Please refer to the email sent to faculty on Monday, Feb. 17, from Linda Samek providing links to the new ordering system.

There have been several changes, so read the illustrated guide provided in one of the links before you place your orders. Contact Sandy Gidding with questions.

Thank you

On behalf of International Student Services, we would like to invite you to participate in our annual International Photo Contest!

Have you been abroad and taken fascinating pictures? If so, this is your opportunity to shine and possibly win some prizes! Please go to this link for general guidelines, and feel free to email Louis Liu at lliu11@georgefox.edu for more information.

We look forward to seeing your photos!

Support staff and administrators who did not attend an information meeting last Thursday should make time to “attend” this webinar as soon as possible. It will also be useful for those wishing to review the information. You can watch it at this link.

At the end of the webinar, it will be apparent from the audio that the actual performance review form – the Excel workbook – is being shown to the audience. The visual of the workbook could not be included in the webinar, but by now support staff and administrators should each have received it from their supervisor and can use their own copy to follow along.

Staff and administrators who have not received the workbook from their supervisors yet should email them and ask for them to be sent as soon as possible. They need to be completed and returned to supervisors by Thursday, Feb. 27. Employees and their supervisors should also be reviewing their job descriptions during this time frame – or creating them if none currently exists.

Thanks to Tyler Robertson and Mac Oxford for their excellent, quick work in creating this webinar.

This is a reminder regarding the university’s driving/transportation policy. Our priority is to have policies in place that help ensure the safety and health of all members of our community, and transportation is an important component of this.

Please take a few minutes to review the policy on this page.

There are two separate transportation policies:

1. Policy and Procedures Regarding University Vehicles

2. Policy and Procedures for Driving Personal Vehicles on University Business

You must be approved under each category to drive either a university vehicle or a personal vehicle on university business.

Step 1 – Read the policy

Step 2 – Watch the information videos on FoxTale. Use your GFU login and look for the link on the left side of the navigation bar. Enroll in the University Transportation Policy and Certification site using this enrollment key: PreparedDriver.

Step 3 – Take the quizzes that are also located in FoxTale. Use your GFU login and look for the link on the left side of the navigation bar. Enroll in the University Transportation Policy and Certification site using this enrollment key: PreparedDriver.

Important to note: Please allow a minimum of five days after passing the quiz before your expected use of a university vehicle. If you have not gone through the proper steps to complete the quiz, you will not be allowed to drive a university vehicle.

This policy applies to all employees and students.

When there is an emergency campus closure, usually due to inclement weather as was the case from late afternoon Thursday, Feb. 6, through mid-morning Monday, Feb. 10, the university’s policy indicates the following in the Employee Handbook, Section 7.1 Emergency Closure:

• If the university is closed, employees are paid as if they worked.
• If the university has a late opening and/or early closure, employees who work during the open hours are paid for a full work day.
• If employees cannot make it in, their absence is covered by the use of vacation or is unpaid if vacation is not available.
• Employees who are required to work to assist with facilities and safety issues as a result of the weather or for other reasons (such as Scholarship Competition), will be given time off within the following 30 days equal to the time they worked during the closure.

Staff should record only hours worked on their time sheets for Thursday, Feb. 6, through Monday, Feb. 10. If you were not required to be at work while the university was closed, please record only hours worked until 4 p.m. Thursday and no hours prior to 10 a.m. on Monday. You will be paid your regularly scheduled hours between those times.

When you take corresponding time off, please enter the hours taken in the Holiday row of the specific day, so that it doesn’t show as hours worked, sick leave or vacation. Then please note on the time sheet that these were “snow hours.”

Please note: Employees who happened to be on vacation or using sick leave the day of these closures should record those days/hours as vacation or sick leave, just as they would have had the campus been open.

Questions? Please email hr@georgefox.edu.

Financial affairs would like to remind all departments that it is George Fox University’s policy to deposit all monies within one week of receipt in the departments. In order to do so, financial affairs needs to receive all cash/checks within that week, and they will be deposited in the bank within 24 hours. This policy also applies to payments received for future events.

If you have questions, please contact Jan Amerson at ext. 2164. Thank you!

Now is the time to submit your request for business cards. Marketing communications will be processing a business card order soon. Place your order directly with B&B Print Source by Tuesday, March 4.

Questions? Contact Danette Newkirk at dnewkirk@georgefox.edu.

We’ve updated our Schedule of Development Events by adding a few more FoxTALE webinars providing tips and best practices on using the FoxTALE Gradebook. Check out the schedule at this link to sign up for one that works with your schedule.

– IT Educational Technology Team

What does the future hold for higher education? This week, President Robin Baker addresses the question in his blog. Feel free to read the piece here.

Wednesday, Feb. 19, is the last day you can nominate someone for February Employee of the Month.

To nominate a colleague for this month’s award, please send an email to Peggy Kilburg by day’s end 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 Visa gift card at our all-employee meeting on Thursday, Feb. 27.

The works of Beethoven will be performed on the George Fox stage when Bösendorfer Educational Artist Kenn Willson presents his “Encounters with Beethoven” concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, in Bauman Auditorium.

Employees and students are entitled to one complimentary ticket each. They can be picked up in the Box Office located in the Pennington House. Additional tickets may be purchased on this page.

Willson will perform German Dance #1, Sonata Op. 31 #3, Sonata Op. 27 #2 (“Moonlight”) and Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee (Tune: Ode to Joy). He has traveled to Vienna, Austria, and to the Piano Academy in Recanati, Italy, to perform. He is also known throughout the region for his “Encounters with Beethoven” performances. In 2005, Willson was named a Bösendorfer Educational Artist by the Viennese Piano Manufacturing Company.

The Bösendorfer Concert Series, sponsored by the music department, has brought in world-renowned classical pianists since its inception in 2007. Past performers have included Baruch Meir, Gianluca Luisi of Italy and Valentina Lisitsa of Ukraine.

There are currently three staff and administrator positions open. Listed in order of recency, they are:

• University Pastor/Dean of Spiritual Life, Inclusion, and Leadership
• Computer Support Specialist IV
• Video Producer

The link to each of these position announcements can be found at jobs.georgefox.edu. If you know of someone you believe might provide a good fit for any of these jobs, please refer the person to the website for information about the job and instructions about applying.

Plan to attend meetings about the Performance Review Process today (Thursday) and/or tomorrow (Friday).

In Newberg, we’ll meet from 11 a.m. to noon today in Hoover 105. All staff and administrators on the Newberg campus should plan to attend this meeting if at all possible.

In Portland, we’ll meet from 4 to 5 p.m. this afternoon in Room 155 (please note change in location). All staff and administrators at the Portland Center should plan to attend if at all possible.

All supervisors should plan to attend training this afternoon from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. in VAC 117 OR from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. tomorrow morning (Friday), also in VAC 117.

There will be a webinar of each session for those who are unable to be there, but you are strongly encouraged to attend in person.

Don’t forget to register for the Faith and Culture Writers Conference taking place on the Newberg campus Friday and Saturday, March 7-8. A number of well-known writers will be on campus, including Sarah Bessey, Tony Kriz, Sarah Thebarge and Deidra Riggs, among others.

The current adult registration price of $75 per person is good through this Friday, Feb. 14. After that, the price increases to $85 (Feb. 15 through March 6) and $95 (March 7-8). Students can register for $30. Registration is available at faithandculturewriters.com. More info is also available here.

The event also offers the opportunity to meet with literary agents and editors. The conference is for those seeking inspiration in their writing, and in their lives. If you have any questions, please contact Melanie Springer Mock (mmock@georgefox.edu).

The works of Beethoven will be performed on the George Fox stage when Bösendorfer Educational Artist Kenn Willson presents his “Encounters with Beethoven” concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, in Bauman Auditorium.

Employees and students are entitled to one complimentary ticket each. They can be picked up in the Box Office located in the Pennington House. Additional tickets may be purchased on this page.

Willson will perform German Dance #1, Sonata Op. 31 #3, Sonata Op. 27 #2 (“Moonlight”) and Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee (Tune: Ode to Joy). He has traveled to Vienna, Austria, and to the Piano Academy in Recanati, Italy, to perform. He is also known throughout the region for his “Encounters with Beethoven” performances. In 2005, Willson was named a Bösendorfer Educational Artist by the Viennese Piano Manufacturing Company.

The Bösendorfer Concert Series, sponsored by the music department, has brought in world-renowned classical pianists since its inception in 2007. Past performers have included Baruch Meir, Gianluca Luisi of Italy and Valentina Lisitsa of Ukraine.

Please remember that if you canceled an event due to the weather over the weekend, you’ll need to resubmit a reservation request when rescheduling your event for a future date. Keep in mind that the same space may not be available next weekend.

If you need help, e-mail events@georgefox.edu or call us at extension 2027.

Don’t forget to attend the fourth annual Dalton Lecture at 7:30 p.m. tonight (Monday) in Bauman Auditorium.

Dr. Bill Newsome, PhD, an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Professor of Neurobiology at Stanford University School of Medicine, will present “Brain, Mind & Free Will: Did My Neurons Make Me Do It?” Among the questions to be discussed: “Are we just the sum of our neurons?,” “Does my brain shape me, or do I shape my brain?” and “Is freedom of choice an illusion?”

For more information, visit this link. Questions? Contact Paul Chamberlain at pchamber@georgefox.edu.

Don’t forget the employee information meetings scheduled this week. The meetings will cover the changes made to the performance review process.

In Newberg, we’ll meet from 11 a.m. to noon on Thursday, Feb. 13, in Hoover 105. All staff and administrators on the Newberg campus should plan to attend the meeting if at all possible.

In Portland, we’ll meet from 4 to 5 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, in Room 210. All staff and administrators at the Portland Center should plan to attend the meeting if at all possible.

Supervisor training is also scheduled this Thursday, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. in VAC 117. Another supervisor session will take place from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 14, in VAC 117. All supervisors are expected to attend one of these trainings.

There will also be a webinar of each session for those who are unable to attend, but we do recommend you attend in person.

If you have questions, contact Ted Allen at tallen@georgefox.edu.