It’s February! That means it’s time to start thinking about ordering textbooks again. Due dates are: March 1 for May/summer courses, and April 1 for fall courses. All orders must be placed using the online order form, located here.
E-mail Sandy Gidding at sgidding@georgefox.edu if you have questions. Thanks in advance for your help.
Two years ago, effective Jan. 1, 2011, the payroll (Social Security) tax was temporarily reduced by 2 percent. Although it stayed in effect a year longer than originally intended, that reduction came to an end on Dec. 31.
As a result, and all other things about your pay being equal, your net pay today will be at least 2 percent less than it was in December. Income tax rates were also revised, so you may see a change in your net pay due to that as well.
It is time to think about someone to nominate for February Employee of the Month. Is there someone you love having for a colleague, whether in your department or another department? If someone comes to mind, please consider submitting a nomination via e-mail to Peggy Kilburg by Wednesday, Feb. 20, with a summary of this person’s recent contributions and any other information that makes this person deserving of this award.
The President’s Executive Leadership Team will select a recipient from among the nominees. The winner will be honored with a citation and a $100 VISA gift card at our next community meeting scheduled for Feb. 28.
Congratulations again to Mark Pothoff on being named December Employee of the Month and to Emily Maynard as the choice for January Employee of the Month.
Find out what Marketing Communications is up to and how we can work together to make George Fox the “Christian university of choice in the West.” The department will present at the next “Let’s Work Together” series on Monday, Feb. 11, from noon to 1 p.m. in the Cap and Gown Room.
The Staff Development Committee’s “Let’s Work Together†series features a different university department each session. In a brown-bag lunch setting, you’ll receive a fun and interactive presentation from the highlighted department addressing what they do, what they can do for us, and what we can do for them.
Watch your E-nnouncements for more information and reminders about this great series! Hope to see you Feb. 11.
Questions about the series itself? Contact Molly Hickok at mhickok@georgefox.edu.
If you did not give permission to receive your W-2 online, it will be in your campus box today, Thursday, Jan. 31 (unless you normally receive your pay statements at your home address).
Most of the information on the form is fairly easy to understand or explained in the fine print on the reverse; but you can find additional, helpful information at this link.
Over the years, many of our friends among faculty and staff have expressed an interest in learning to do pottery. For a limited time this spring, the art department will be offering small-group lessons at a time and price intended to make it both possible and affordable for our colleagues to explore this artistic medium.
Classes will be taught by our studio intern, Josie Silberbach, whose work many of you admired at the Christmas sale in the Bruin Den. Aspiring potters may elect to take as few as half a dozen lessons, or to work weekly through the end of the semester, depending on your budget, time and interest.
Space will be limited, so if interested, don’t wait to contact Josie directly via e-mail. For answers to any questions, or to arrange for a place in class, write to jsilber22@gmail.com.
If you are a benefits eligible employee and there is any possibility that you will use tuition remission during next academic year (fall 2013, spring 2014 and/or summer 2014 semesters), whether for yourself, a spouse, and/or dependent(s), a Tuition Remission Request Form for each person needs to be submitted no later than Friday, Feb. 1. Â
Please go to this page for the link to instructions for completing the Tuition Remission Request Form(s) and to the forms themselves. Please note: Â There is a separate form for the Adult Degree Program and the Elementary Education Degree completion program. Â nd finally, please be sure to read the instructions page before you begin completing a Tuition Remission Request Form.
There is still time to register to take a Science Outreach class this semester! Classes begin the week of Feb. 4. To read about the classes being offered and to register, visit our website at this link.
For those of you who have been giving via payroll deduction, your 2012 giving information for tax purposes is noted on your December pay stub in the “Self Service” section of PeopleSoft.
If you have made a gift separate from payroll and would like a 2012 charitable gift receipt, please contact Kristi Hagen via e-mail at khagen@georgefox.edu or via phone at ext. 2111.
Thank you for your generous giving to George Fox’s mission where, in a Christ-centered community, you participate with students being prepared spiritually, academically and professionally to think with clarity, act with integrity, and serve with passion.
Be encouraged by what your giving means, not only to our students today, but also to those who will benefit from our students’ service and leadership tomorrow.
The fourth faculty “Coffee & Conversation†of the year, titled “Collaboration: Partnering with Adjunct Faculty,†is set from 10:40 to 11:30 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 4, in Hoover 104.
In this session, Melanie Springer Mock and Gary Tandy will share their experience working with and supporting Writing 110 adjunct faculty, and Mark Ocker will discuss how adjuncts teaching in the Adult Degree Program are supported.
Questions? Contact Gary Sehorn at gsehorn@georgefox.edu.
Come support the theatre department by attending our winter production, Mrs. Packard. The show runs Thursday through Sunday, Feb. 7-10, and Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 14-16, in Wood-Mar Auditorium. All shows begin at 7:30 p.m. with the exception of the Sunday, Feb. 10, show, scheduled as a 2 p.m. matinee.
Tickets can be purchased online at theatre.georgefox.edu or by calling 503-554-3844.
All George Fox students may receive a complimentary ticket for Thursday evening performances. All faculty and staff are entitled to one complimentary ticket for any show of the run. Tickets are available for pick-up in the Box Office located in the Pennington House. Box Office hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. Online tickets can be purchased at any time.
Play Description: Illinois, 1861. Elizabeth Packard fights for her life and her dignity when her husband, Reverend Theopholis Packard, commits her to Jacksonville Insane Asylum without proof of insanity for challenging his religious fundamentalism. Based on historical events, Mrs. Packard is a penetrating story about one woman’s struggle to follow her convictions despite the enormous costs to her family, her friends and her personal dignity.
Stop by the Stevens Center (Duke) Atrium this afternoon (Friday) between 3 and 5 p.m. to say goodbye to Greg Smith, who is leaving George Fox after eight and a half years to serve as vice provost-research at Missouri University of Science & Technology. Refreshments will be provided.
Beginning Monday, Jan. 28, the U.S. Postal Service is changing some of its services and increasing postage rates. Here is a summary:
Departments: Watch for more information in your campus box regarding the tracking feature.
Questions? Contact Sherrie Frost at sfrost@georgefox.edu.
Don’t forget the all-employee meeting scheduled for today (Thursday) from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in Bauman Auditorium.
The meeting will include an update on the Stoffer Family Stadium project, including a construction timeline and renderings, and a presentation on how Bruin athletics (track and field and football), community events and student activities will benefit from this new facility.
For those at the university’s regional sites, the meeting will be available at a stream site that you can access from MyGFU. Simply log into MyGFU and click the “Community Meeting Link†located under “Staff Resources/Faculty Resources.â€
The 2012 W-2 form is now posted on MyGFU for all employees. If you have trouble opening it, you may need to disable your pop-up blocker. Call the Service Desk at 503-554-2569 for assistance.
For anyone who did not give consent for online-only delivery, your W-2 will be mailed no later than next Thursday, Jan. 31, although we anticipate it being a few days earlier. There will be an e-nnouncement to let you know the exact date if it is earlier. (You can go to MyGFU self-service anytime to give permission for future W-2s to be provided online only.)
New information included this year on W-2 forms is the amount of health plan premiums paid by the university for your coverage. This information is required by the Affordable Care Act (also referred to as health care reform), but it is information only – premiums are still pretax/not taxable.
To find other information that will likely be useful when you or your tax preparer files your tax return, please refer to instructions on the back of the form (if you receive yours in print). This information is also available via a link in self service in MyGFU. You can find GFU-specific W-2 information on this payroll forms Web page.
Questions? Contact Peggy Kilburg at pkilburg@georgefox.edu.
Please join the IT department for a farewell reception for Greg Smith on Friday, Jan. 25, from 3 to 5 p.m. in the Stevens Center (Duke) Atrium. Refreshments will be provided.
Greg is leaving the university to become the chief information officer and vice provost-research at Missouri University of Science & Technology. He had served at George Fox for the past eight and a half years.
The campus community is invited to an “Intellectual Feast” this afternoon (Tuesday) from 4 to 5 p.m. in Hoover 250. Paul Anderson (Religious Studies) will be presenting “A Bi-Optic Hypothesis.â€
Synopsis
For a century and a half, the leading gospel-composition theory among New Testament scholars (the Synoptic Hypothesis) has sought to explain possible relations between Matthew, Mark and Luke — leaving out the Gospel of John. In recent years, Anderson sought to advance a theory that explains the place of John among the gospels.
Seeing John and Mark as having two different perspectives from day one, Anderson’s “Bi-Optic Hypothesis†identifies particular relations between John and each of the other gospel traditions, leading to a new overall theory of gospel composition. Paul will outline this theory and its implications.
Coffee, tea and cookies will be provided. All are welcome!
An all-employee meeting is scheduled for this Thursday, Jan. 24, from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in Bauman Auditorium (please note location change).
The meeting will include an update on the Stoffer Family Stadium project, including a construction timeline and renderings, and a presentation on how Bruin athletics (track and field and football), community events and student activities will benefit from this new facility.
For those at the university’s regional sites, the meeting will be available at a stream site that you can access from MyGFU. Simply log into MyGFU and click the “Community Meeting Link†located under “Staff Resources/Faculty Resources.â€
Save the date! The university’s third annual Dalton Lecture will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 20, at 7:30 p.m. Due to the popularity of this lecture series, the event is moving to Bauman Auditorium.
The lecture title is “The Big Bang, Stephen Hawking and God” and will be presented by Dr. Henry F. Schaefer III, the director of the Center for Computational Quantum Chemistry at University of Georgia, a world-renowned chemist, and a Christian. Chapel credit will be given.
Dr. Schaefer will provide a second lecture on Tuesday, Feb. 19, at 7 p.m. in Hoover 105. This scientific, but lighthearted, lecture is entitled, “Third Age of Quantum Chemistry.”
The Dalton Lecture Series is sponsored by the Department of Biology and Chemistry. More information can be found on this page or by e-mailing Jane Sweet at jsweet@georgefox.edu.
If you are a benefits-eligible employee and there is any possibility that you will use tuition remission during the 2013-14 academic year (fall, spring and/or summer semesters), whether for yourself, a spouse, and/or dependent(s), a Tuition Remission Request Form for each person needs to be submitted no later than Friday, Feb. 1.
Please go to this page for the link to instructions for completing the Tuition Remission Request Form(s) and to the forms themselves. Please be sure to read this information before you begin completing a Tuition Remission Request Form.
