The Daily Bruin

Marketing Communications will host a staff/faculty portrait session from 2 to 4 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 3, in our Le Shana Hall studio. These high-quality studio portraits will be used on the university website and will be available for professional promotional use.

Please call or e-mail Danette Newkirk (ext. 2125) to let us know what time you are planning to come. You can still come without prior notice, but your university photo ID will be required for entrance at the southwest side of the building.

The Baker family invites you and your family to please join us for our annual Christmas open house on Sunday, Dec. 5, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Edwards House, 402 S. College St.

Join us for light appetizers and holiday sweets as we celebrate the Christmas season together!

Your volunteer service would be majorly appreciated by the Randy Woodley (Seminary) family as they move this weekend. Help is needed all day/evening Saturday (especially) and Sunday, Dec. 4-5. Even a few hours would be so much help. The locations of the two homes are 4024 N. College St., and 13510 N. Roedel Road, in Newberg.

Questions? Contact Randy at rwoodley@georgefox.edu or at ext. 8052. Thanks!

– Randy Woodley

All George Fox employees can purchase Entertainment® 2011 Books at a discounted employee price. Enjoy $30 in bonus savings cards with each edition. Example copies are available for viewing at the Information Desk in the Stevens Center (see Barbi Doran).

Order yours (Portland and/or greater Oregon) for only $20 (retail price $35). Call Susan Lowry-Nix at Entertainment Publications at 503-753-7045 or e-mail her at slowry-nix@entertainment.com to order your copy.

In response to an incident in which 43 volunteer public health workers were illegally arrested in the Philippines, George Fox has scheduled events next week to bring awareness to the prisoners’ plight.

A brief version of the story will be told in Monday’s chapel, and those who wish to learn more or tangibly respond are invited to a gathering Monday, Nov. 29, at 7 p.m. in the Pennington lobby. The meeting will provide a more extensive explanation of the situation of the Morong 43 and give attendees an opportunity to sign letters to both the president of the Philippines and Oregon state senators.

In addition, student leaders will wear yellow T-shirts that match those worn by the prisoners, with each of the 43 shirts on campus representing an individual prisoner. On Wednesday after chapel, these 43 will gather around the Centennial Tower for a few minutes of prayer for the Morong 43. All are welcome to join. After this, the 43 shirts will be passed on to other community members. This passing on of shirts will continue every day throughout the week.

The events are to support the volunteer public health workers illegally arrested in the Philippines in February – victims of political impunity and injustice. Melanie Newell (Center of Peace and Justice) had the opportunity to visit with some of the prisoners last month. When asked what can be done to help, they answered, “Tell people about us. Our hope lies in those who hear our story, those who know about us.”

A second training session for the new enhanced financial reports has been scheduled, as the first session is now full. The second session is set from 10 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 1, in Stevens 307.

This session will give a quick overview of the new reports and how to run them. There will be time for questions and individual assistance. You will need to R.S.V.P. soon to confirm your attendance, as space is limited. (R.S.V.P. to Debbie Cash, who will be doing the training).

New enhanced financial reports are now available to you in the PeopleSoft menu located under “GFU Reports” in your PeopleSoft reports menu. The “Budget Summary” report is similar to what you have had in the past, but now includes purchase order requests (encumbrances) in the calculations. This will be very helpful in your planning process. In the report “Budget Detail” you will find a wealth of details not previously available. In addition, a restricted fund report is now available.

A training session has been scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 30, from 10 to 11 a.m. in Stevens 307 so you can learn more about what can be found in these reports. This session will give a quick overview of the new reports and how to run them. There will be time for questions and individual assistance. You will need to R.S.V.P. soon to confirm your attendance, as space is limited. (R.S.V.P. to Debbie Cash, who will be doing the training).

Additional training sessions may be scheduled as needed. Until then you can use this link to find a “cheat sheet” on our website that will help you to get started right away using these enhanced reports. Questions? Contact Debbie Cash at ext. 2171.

These new reports have come about through significant effort and tenacity over a long period of time by individuals in financial affairs, institutional technology, and Chris Payne, our PeopleSoft consultant.

Please use all of your stationery items with the outdated oval-shaped logo items by July 1, 2011. After that time, only stationery with the updated logo may be used externally.

You may contact Danette Newkirk in Marketing Communications if you have any questions regarding stationery usage.

The university will be closed Thursday and Friday, Nov. 25-26, for the Thanksgiving holiday. All offices, bookstores and libraries will be closed those two days.

It has been three years since the university participated in the Best Christian Workplaces Survey, and the executive leadership team and I would again like to receive your feedback on a variety of topics such as communication, job satisfaction, compensation, benefits, mission, and a number of other items.

If you haven’t already, please take about 10 minutes to complete this confidential, online survey between now and Dec. 10. If you would like to complete a paper copy of the survey rather than online, you can contact Chris Koch, our director of assessment, and return a completed survey to him. He will ensure that it is entered confidentially.

The Best Christian Workplaces Institute collates all employee responses and provides a valuable assessment of our organization, presenting the survey results in summary format to maintain your confidentiality. During spring semester, we will share with employees a summary of the survey results, including a comparison with the results from fall 2005 and fall 2007. We will then consider ways we can improve in any area where we may not be doing as well as we would like.

To access the survey, please click here, then enter this organization access code where requested: 2079-571

I very much appreciate you taking time to complete this survey, and I look forward to sharing the results with you in early 2011.

– Robin Baker

The Bruin Bookstore will close for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend starting at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 24. The store will reopen at 8 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 29. All the bookstore employees wish you a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

Thank you for supporting your Bruin Bookstore!

The Center for Peace and Justice and Center for Global Studies will host the second symposium of the semester on Thursday, Nov. 18. Please join us as we learn about two of our faculty members’ involvement with issues of peace and justice.

Speakers:
Ed Higgins – Professor of English
Marcella Gowan – Assistant Professor of Nursing

Time: 7:15 p.m. – Treats
Program: 7:30- 9 p.m.
Location: Quaker Heritage Room (upstairs in the library)

A question-and-answer session will follow. Chapel credit is available for those students who attend. For more information on this event, please contact peaceandjustice@georgefox.edu.

Academic Affairs has announced a new spring commencement schedule. The following schedule will be implemented next semester:

Saturday, April 30, 2011

• 10 a.m. Graduate/SPS Commencement Ceremony
• 11:30 a.m. Faculty Lunch honoring retirees, emeriti faculty, award recipients, etc. (Klages West)
• 1 p.m. Department Dessert Receptions
• 2 p.m. Graduates assemble/doors open
• 3 p.m. Traditional Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony

The midyear commencement schedule remains the same, with doors opening at 1 p.m. for the 2 p.m. ceremony. Please contact Karlyn Fleming (kfleming@georgefox.edu) in the Office of Academic Affairs if you have questions. Thank you!

Don’t forget the women’s brown bag lunch event, featuring Barbara Palmer, this Monday, Nov. 22, from noon to 1:15 p.m. in the Cap and Gown Room. All faculty, administrators and staff are invited. For those at the regional sites, the event will be streamed at this link.

Barbara is senior vice president and market executive of U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management, and has served on the university’s board of trustees for 17 years. From her wealth of experience, she will share with us her leadership journey and thoughts about mentoring and being mentored.

The event is being sponsored by the Women’s Leadership Development Committee. Please bring your own lunch. Beverages and cookies will be served.

We have extra mums in various fall colors from Bruin Preview for sale. You can purchase the chrysanthemum flowers for $5 in the admissions office (second floor of Stevens Center).

They make great Thanksgiving centerpieces!

Correction to Cultural Celebration Week schedule: The Invisible Children “Face-to-Face” Tour event is not Wednesday, but is Tuesday, Nov. 16. This event is co-hosted by the Center for Peace and Justice and Center for Global Studies and Invisible Children. The evening will include a showing of the 40-minute film Go!, which documents three American students who traveled to Uganda, met students their age, and through these relationships saw their lives changed.

In addition, two Ugandans, James and Robert, who have lived through the war and have been involved with Invisible Children’s partner school program, will share their stories and address ways in which students can respond and participate in advocating on behalf of northern Uganda’s children. This will include a talk-back session with a question-and-answer time following the film.

Please join us Tuesday from 7 to 9 p.m. in Hoover 105.

This is a reminder that all women employees – faculty, administrators and staff – are invited to a brown bag lunch with guest speaker Barbara Palmer from noon to 1:15 p.m. Monday, Nov. 22, in the Cap and Gown Room. The event will be live-streamed for all other university sites at noon PST.

Barbara is senior vice president and market executive of U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management, where she has been employed for 37 years. She has management responsibility for two offices in Portland and Vancouver. Barbara has served on the university board of trustees for 17 years and also participates on boards for Transitional Youth, United Way Campaign, Medical Teams International, and Employers for Excellence in Education.

From her wealth of experience, Barbara will share with us her leadership journey and thoughts about mentoring and being mentored.

The Women’s Leadership Development committee invites all women employees on the Newberg campus to join us for this event as we continue exploring leadership development. Please bring your own lunch. Beverages and cookies will be served.

The Health & Counseling Center is coming to the Portland Center to give flu shots from 4 to 6 p.m. on Monday, Nov 15. The cost is $15 or $1.50 if you have the GFU student insurance. FREE for employees with Regence. Call the Health Center to schedule an appointment at 503-554-2340.

This Tuesday, Nov. 16, the Center for Peace and Justice and Center for Global Studies will co-host an event with Invisible Children as part of their “Face to Face” tour. The evening will include a showing of the 40-minute film Go!, which documents three American students who traveled to Uganda, met students their age, and through these relationships saw their lives changed.

In addition, two Ugandans, James and Robert, who have lived through the war and have been involved with Invisible Children’s partner school program, will share their stories and address ways in which students can respond and participate in advocating on behalf of northern Uganda’s children. This will include a talk-back session with a question-and-answer time following the film.

Please join us from 7 to 9 p.m. in Hoover 105.

Continuing the practice begun last year to approve holiday schedules two years in advance, the 2012-13 holiday schedule has been finalized and approved. It is now available for employees to see at this link.

This link takes you to a three-page document that contains the current year’s holiday schedule on page 1, the 2011-12 holiday schedule on page 2, and the 2012-13 schedule on page 3. These holiday schedules are being provided well in advance to assist in the long-term planning of academic programs and calendars.