The Daily Bruin

The Academic Affairs team invites you to a Portland Center Lunch and Learn event, “In the Trenches of Hybrid Learning”

•Tuesday, Feb. 15, 1 to 2 p.m., Portland Center, Room 285A. (Community Lunch or bring your own brown bag)

A panel of presenters, MaryKate Morse, Darla Samuelson, Carol McLaughlin, Kent Yinger, and Gloria Doherty, will share their experience of hybrid learning from the perspective of faculty, student and administrator.

RSVP here

Have questions about Monday’s chapel speaker? Great. There are more opportunities for discussion besides Monday night’s panel talk. Ray Aldred is speaking in chapel again on Wednesday, and there will be a talk-back after chapel in the Cap and Gown Room.

Also, Rev. Aldred is speaking at the Intellectual Feast on Tuesday at 4 p.m. in the Hoover Lounge (second floor). Please join the conversation. Ray is helping us ask questions and talk about important matters of life, creation and Creator.

These valuable coupon books are still good for 10 more months. Get one while they last at the discounted price of $15 at the Information Desk on the first floor of the Stevens Center. You’ll receive $30 in bonus savings cards when you purchase a book.

To George Fox staff:

Your Staff Development Committee knows you are one in a million … and proof will appear on your desk/workspace on Feb. 15!

How does our relationship to the land affect our relationship to God and to others? That is the central question of the Spring Theological Conference this week, Monday through Wednesday (Feb. 7-9).

Join this important discussion at the following events:

• Monday Chapel: Ray Aldred (Cree) asks whether there is a theology of the land.
• Monday Panel: Richard Twiss, Ray Aldred and Randy Woodley respond to questions about God and Land, Lemmons 8 (Calder Lecture Hall), 8 p.m.
• Tuesday Intellectual Feast: Ray Aldred presents “Does God Love the Land?”,  Hoover Lounge, 4 p.m.
• Wednesday Chapel: Ray Aldred presents “Stories of the Land”

Please be aware that the scholarship application for traditional undergraduates returning in 2011-12 is delayed. We are working through some technical issues with access. Please look to E-nnouncements for information when we make it live. We are sorry for the delay.

– Student Financial Services

How can art forms function as theological media, conveying spiritual realities in ways words cannot? The question will be the topic of a George Fox Evangelical Seminary seminar on Wednesday, Feb. 9, at the Portland Center.

Author Dan Kimball and author and theologian Maggi Dawn will speak at the event, the latest installment of the seminary’s Ministry in Contemporary Culture Seminar series. The half-day event is scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon in Room 155.

The seminar, entitled “A New Creation: The Fusion of Ministry and Creative Arts,” will address the ways in which Christ-followers have used media throughout the ages and present some new ways these media can be used today. Kimball is the author of several books on church leadership and culture, including They Like Jesus, But Not The Church and The Emerging Church. He is also on staff at Vintage Faith Church in Santa Cruz, Calif.

Dawn is based at the University of Cambridge, where she is chaplain and Fellow in Theology at Robinson College. She recently published a book, The Writing on the Wall, which explores some of the most influential stories and ideas from the Bible and the ways they have been woven into Western culture.

Online registration is available at seminary.georgefox.edu and can be found by clicking the “News and Events” link on the left side of the screen. More information about the seminar is available by contacting Jean Oehm Miller at ext. 6150.

The university community is invited to join us for a showing of a “trashy movie” Wednesday (Feb. 2) night. Our Faith and Film Series is Garbage Dreams. Follow the story of these Egyptian “Trash boys” to find out why there is a revolution taking place in Egypt right now. Come watch this short film (53 minutes) and then we can do a little trash-talking about how this affects us where we live.

Join us at 9 p.m. in Hoover 105.

Are you interested in attending Kaleo for a discounted price? All Kaleo volunteers receive $10 off of their ticket price and a free Kaleo T-shirt! Volunteers will be used at various times during the event. Kaleo, a conference for those who minister to youth, is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 26, in Bauman Auditorium. More information about the event is available here.

Please contact Amy Lorenz if you are interested in volunteering (alorenz@georgefox.edu or 503-554-2134).

The Center for Peace and Justice will host a special guest and a symposium this Thursday, Feb. 3. Here are the details:

Global Urban Mission Leader Visits
Viv Grigg, international director, Urban Leadership Foundation
Faculty/Staff Roundtable Conversation
9-10:30 a.m., Executive Dining Room

*Peace Theory Course: “Considerations of alternative pedagogies along the lines of Jesus’ seminary in the slums and in relation to Grigg’s graduate urban leadership program.” 4:10 – 5:25 p.m., Ross 141

*Class is open to the public

Viv Grigg has been used to prophetically initiate many urban ministries while following Christ by living in numerous poor communities around the world. He is an assistant professor and author of numerous articles and books.

Peace and Justice Symposium (Spiritual life credit available for attending)
Speakers: Fred Gregory, special assistant to the president, international development expert, 1966 George Fox alumnus
Dot Tobey, undergraduate admissions counselor, 2008 George Fox alumna

7:15 – 8:30 p.m., Quaker Heritage Room – Second Floor Library

Join us for the third of four peace and justice symposia this academic year. Fred Gregory will take us on a journey through his 40-plus years in international development. Hear his amazing stories, learn from his experience, and be inspired by his courage and insight. Dot Tobey will share her experience working in inner city youth ministry. Hear from a recent college graduate serving God through youth ministry.

If you know of someone whose recent contributions make him or her worthy of being named February Employee of the Month, please take a few minutes to send an e-mail to Peggy Kilburg that includes a specific summary of the person’s contributions (past 30 days or so) and any other relevant information about the person.

The deadline for nominations is Thursday, Feb. 17. The President’s Executive Leadership Team will select the recipient. The award and a $100 gift card to The Allison will be presented at our community meeting on Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 22.

Bruin Madness is this Saturday at 3:30 p.m., and Wednesday (Feb. 2) is the last day to preregister and save on tickets to the indoor tailgate party and basketball games!

To find out more, to register, and to get discounted tickets, visit the Bruin Madness site.

Don’t miss the exciting tailgate party which features a delicious dinner, spirit activities, and the KidZone – an activity area specifically designed for children. Then head to Miller Gym to cheer on the Bruin basketball teams in the biggest games of the year.

Bring your family and join students, alumni, parents and friends as we celebrate being George Fox Bruins. Non-discounted tickets can also be purchased at the door.

A Scantron machine is available for use in the Center Street House (History and Political Science Department) during regular business hours. Feel free to come at any time during business hours. The machine is located in the kitchen area. Instructions are posted and the machine is very easy to use. Scantron forms are available for purchase in the bookstore.

University Relations is taking part in a prom dress donation drive for high school students in the Alaskan village of Savoonga, which will host its first-ever prom night on May 7. Please consider donating your used prom or formal dresses to the Savoonga village girls by Monday, Feb. 15.

Dresses can be dropped off at the Office of University Relations in the Pennington House (1000 Sheridan St.) on the Newberg campus. We will take responsibility to ship them to the village, located on St. Lawrence Island just below Siberia in the middle of the Bering Sea. We are also looking for men’s suit jackets and jewelry.

Contact the Office of University Relations for more information (ext. 2121 or epattison@georgefox.edu).

Student supervisors, please submit your students’ January time sheets to HR by Thursday, Feb. 3, by 3 p.m. Please do not send them through the campus mail unless you are at the Portland Center.

Please be sure the student’s name, ID number and cost center number is legible on each one. Total them. Sign them and be sure the students did as well. (If the student is not available to sign it this week, please send it without the signature, and HR will contact the student.) Please do not send students to HR to sign their time sheets.

Federal Work Study regulations require that students delivering their own time sheets must have them in a sealed envelope.

If you happen to still have any paperwork to submit on a newly hired student who worked in January, please hand-deliver it right away — no later than Tuesday, Feb. 1. We need to set up students in the system before the time sheets arrive.

Thanks very much.

HR

It’s time to order university stationery. For order instructions, go to the marketing communications website. You will continue to purchase all non-departmental stationery (including “second-sheet letterhead”) through the university’s Print Services.

Orders are due by Tuesday, Feb. 1.

BETTER BOOKS (Better than last semester!) for sale at the Portland Center Library in the usual spot!
Hardbacks: $2
Paperbacks: $1
Sets (unless otherwise marked): $10

Don’t forget to attend the theatre department’s winter play, Doubt, by John Patrick Shanley. Performances are Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 3-5, and Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 10-12, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 6, at 2 p.m. in Wood-Mar Auditorium.

All George Fox employees receive one complimentary ticket. Students will be admitted free on both Thursdays. Your complimentary ticket is only available at the Box Office in the Bruin Bookstore. Additional tickets are $12 for adults, $8 for alumni and seniors, and $6 for students and children under 12. To purchase tickets or read a synopsis of the play, visit theatre.georgefox.edu.

W-2 forms will be available in campus boxes on Friday (except for those that normally receive their pay statements at their home addresses). Most of the information on these forms is easy to understand or explained in the tiny fine print on the reverse, but we thought it would be helpful to provide a little extra information:

• Items in Boxes 12a – 12d are required by IRS. The amount (if any) in Box12a labeled “C” is the taxable cost of your group term life insurance paid by the university in 2010. (This amount was also included in your pay as taxable income in 2010.) The amount (if any) in12b labeled “E” is the contribution you made to a supplemental retirement plan beyond the 3 percent that the university matches.

• Box 14 shows the amount of your contribution to the university-sponsored retirement plan and is labeled “TIAA” which is the IRS code/section assigned to our plan. This represents 3 percent of your pay from the time you began participation.

• Employees (and their tax preparers) often ask why the amount in Box 1 is different than the amount listed in Box 3 and 5. Because any contributions you made to the retirement plan(s) are not subject to income taxes, those amounts (shown in 12b and 14) are not included in Box 1. However, those contributions are still subject to Social Security and Medicare (FICA) taxes, so they are included in the amount shown in both Box 3 and 5. If you add the amount in Box 1 to any amounts in Boxes 12b and 14, the total will equal the amount in Box 3 and 5.

• You may find this information boring and/or confusing, but we recommend you save and keep it in a safe place, along with your W-2, so you will have both when you (or your tax preparer) files your tax return.

Finally, big kudos and many thanks to Brooke McGillivray, Melodee Powers and Karen Rathkey for their extra efforts to get these 2,400 W-2s out ahead of the legal deadline of Feb. 1.

The Justice Conference is scheduled in Bend, Ore., Feb. 11-12, and will feature 12 speakers (including Shane Claiborne and Chris Lahr) and the support of 50 organizations, including George Fox’s Center for Peace and Justice. Also featured will be hundreds of book titles, all about the biblical nature of justice (see event website at thejusticeconference.com).

World Relief is co-sponsoring this event, which will provide a great opportunity to make connections with the various people and organizations attending. It will also provide a great venue for fruitful discussions and valuable learning about justice.

Several members of our staff and faculty are already planning to attend as well as a few students. The Center for Peace and Justice is willing to provide transportation and hopefully lodging for anyone interested in attending. Right now, until the end of the month, there is a ticket special of $49. For tickets, visit this link.

Pass this information onto interested persons! It will make for an awesome weekend.

Important: We are seeking connections to a church or a venue in Bend that we could stay at Friday night. Please let Melanie Newell know if you can be of assistance.

Contact Melanie (mnewell@georgefox.edu or ext. 2686) if you wish to learn more or are interested in attending.