The Daily Bruin

Are you interested in learning about the services that are or could be offered at the Portland Center?

Would you like to come to monthly hour-long lunch & learns to hear about topics such as:

– Video taping and uploading to iTunes U
– Webcasting, podcasting and live streaming
– Twittering, Second Life, and other avenues of social networking
– The processes some departments are using to develop successful online classes and communities
– The Portland Writing Center
– PeopleSoft training

Gloria Doherty and others would be glad to share their insights into these and other topics if there’s enough interest. Please send me an email if you think you’d like to participate.

Feel free to suggest topics, and let me know if the fourth Thursday of each month would generally be a good time for you.

Amber Russell
MBA Director, Portland
arussell@georgefox.edu

George Fox (33-9) will open the NCAA Division III Baseball National Championship Tournament against Cal Lutheran in the first round of the West Regional at Linfield College. The game, originally scheduled for Wednesday, was rescheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, May 14, because of persistent rain Wednesday.

The Bruins are the No. 4 seed in the regional, while the Kingsmen (31-9) are the No. 3 seed in the six-team field. The regional champion will advance to the eight-team NCAA Division III World Series, scheduled for Friday through Tuesday, May 22-26, at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton, Wis.

The Bruins earned the Northwest Conference’s automatic berth in the national tournament with a convincing 24-6 one-game playoff victory over co-NWC champion Pacific Lutheran on May 9.

For regional tourney information, visit the tournament site.

A special George Fox student/alumni/employee rate is available for the Spiritual Discernment As Christian Leadership Conference scheduled Sunday through Wednesday, May 31 to June 3. The special rate is $100 (minus meals, materials and lodging). Availability is limited. You may register on site or e-mail a registration form (available at georgefox.edu/discernment/conference) to Margaret Fuller (Religious Studies) at mfuller@georgefox.edu.

For May Term Independent Studies (CHMN/RELI 495 or 595, A Theology of Discernment), contact Paul Anderson (Religious Studies) before Thursday, May 14.

As announced in an e-mail from Robin Baker on Friday, the university has adopted a four-day work week policy. The full policy follows and can soon be found in the Employee Handbook as Section 2.4.3.

The university provides the option of a four-day work week to employees. This schedule provides flexibility to employees to better meet personal and family needs, and it provides good stewardship of God’s creation by reducing gas consumption. The following guidelines apply to the four-day work week policy:

• The four-day work week must be approved by the employee’s supervisor, taking into consideration the nature of the person’s duties, potential service disruption, the employee’s performance and any other relevant considerations. If a supervisor determines that a four-day work week arrangement or telecommuting is not working out satisfactorily, he or she may require an employee to resume working a standard work week.
• All offices must be covered from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
• Employees may take off either Monday or Friday, coordinating schedules with others in the department who are also working four days.
• Meetings should be scheduled on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.
• Overtime is only paid for hours worked over 40 in a week, not over eight in a day.
• Weeks that contain paid holidays will be standard work weeks for all employees.
• Employees may be required to work a standard work week to provide adequate coverage when coworker(s) are on vacation or ill, or to cover special events that will necessitate more complete coverage for particular areas within the university.
• Each director or vice president will determine whether the four-day work week is appropriate for a particular office or site, taking into consideration possible service disruption to customers and other factors.
• Summer student employees are required to work the standard work week.

Telecommuting as an alternative to a four-day work week
Some employees may choose to work four days on site and telecommute the fifth day via computer and telephone with their supervisors’ approval. The same guidelines that apply to the four-day work week will apply to telecommuting.

The university is seeking a full-time admissions counselor to do recruiting for the School of Education’s counseling program. This position is currently open only to internal (employees) applicants. Please e-mail hr@georgefox.edu to obtain a copy of the job description and transfer request if you are interested in this opening. To apply, you will need to submit the completed transfer request, cover letter and resume to Human Resources no later than Monday, May 18.

There was a formatting error on the May staff time sheet posted on the HR website last week, making it impossible to enter hours in the May 8 space. A corrected time sheet has been posted to replace the old one, so if you’ve already downloaded it before today, please download the new, improved version, copy your hours onto it and toss the first one.

Thanks so much. We apologize for the error and any inconvenience.

– Human Resources

A berth in the NCAA Division III Baseball National Championship Tournament will be on the line when George Fox takes on Pacific Lutheran in a one-game playoff at 1 p.m. Saturday, May 9, at George Fox’s Morse Field. The contest will determine the Northwest Conference’s automatic bid to the tournament.

George Fox (32-9) and Pacific Lutheran (31-8) tied for the regular-season NWC title with identical 27-5 conference records. They also split their season series, necessitating a one-game playoff. The game’s winner is assured of postseason play, while the loser will have to hope for an at-large bid to the postseason. For more details, read the release about the upcoming game.

Postage rates increase on Monday, May 11. Stamps will increase from 42 cents to 44 cents each. Purchase the “Forever Stamps” now at 42 cents each; they will be worth 44 cents each on Monday. Forever Stamps can only be purchased in books of 20.

University Mail Services has Forever Stamp books available for $8.40 (20 stamps). Remember that on Monday, that same book will cost $8.80.

If you need information regarding other classes of mail and the amount of increase, contact Sherrie Frost (Mail Services) at ext. 2556 or e-mail sfrost@georgefox.edu.

The university and the city of Newberg will co-sponsor a free housing fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, May 16, in Miller Gymnasium in the Wheeler Sports Center. The event will allow you to speak one-on-one with professionals about the housing market and what it takes to get into a home.

Among those present will be:

• Credit counselors
• Property managers
• Mortgage brokers
• Real estate brokers
• Nonprofit organizations
• Savings and financial managers

Door prizes, activities for children and free refreshments are included. For more information, contact David Beam (503-537-1213) or Ian Mcleod (503-476-7975).

Do you know someone who is a great speaker or performer on the topics of diversity? Multicultural Services is seeking guests to speak/perform for the university community next academic year (or future years).

Preference for:

• Christian multicultural worldview
• Ethnically diverse musical genres (spoken word, hip-hop, Native American dancing)
• George Fox students, employees or alumni
• Local speakers/performers
• Talents with websites or recordings

Other diversity groups will be considered. If you have ideas to share, contact Shelley Yonemura (Multicultural Services) at syonemur@georgefox.edu or at 503-554-2318.

As of May 1, the university is using an enhanced version of the Centennial Tower logo on all publications and on the Web. In the new design, the cross is more prominent, the old-fashioned oval shape has been changed to a circle, the tower looks more realistic, and the striped background is gone. The changes were made to better illustrate the university’s commitment to a Christ-centered education, enhance the logo’s visual appeal, and make it easier to reproduce.

Departments can use up their existing stationery. All newly printed stationery, business cards, publications and internal communication should use the new logo. The revised logos can be downloaded at: georgefox.edu/offices/communications/creative_srv/style.html.

Mark your calendar on Tuesday, May 5 for a Portland Center employee lunch from noon to 1 p.m.

Bring your own chair and a dessert if you’d like to share. Lunch will be provided by the Portland Center from Baja Fresh.

If the weather is nice, we’ll eat together outside the west entrance of the south building-and if it’s raining, location will be announced.

The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities accreditation team visit on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 5-6, will include meetings with students and employees. Employees are encouraged to attend these meetings, either in person on the Newberg campus or by connecting via live-stream.

The meeting schedule:

Tuesday, May 5: Open Meeting, 3:30-4 p.m. in Hoover 105
Wednesday, May 6: Exiting Meeting, 2:15-2:30 p.m. in Hoover 105

For more information, contact Academic Affairs at ext. 2141.

The Portland Center Bookstore will be closed for administrative meetings on Thursday, May 7.

You can still order books online at pcbookstore.georgefox.edu.

The university will host end-of-year celebrations in both Newberg and at the Portland Center on Monday, May 4. The Newberg event will include the presentation of service awards, a prize drawing, announcement of the support staff and administrator of the year recipients, and an hor d’oeuvres and dessert reception. It will begin at 3:30 p.m. in Wood-Mar Auditorium, followed by the reception in the Ron Gregory Atrium in EHS.

At the Portland Center, refreshments will be served beginning at 10:30 a.m. in the main lobby, followed by a program at 11 a.m. in Room 155. The celebration will include the presentation of service awards to those who work at the Portland Center.

If you have not already done so, please submit your April time sheet (support staff) or time-off report (administrators) this week. Please be sure it is complete, accurate and signed by both you and your supervisor before sending it to HR at Box 6108, including your cost center and ID number. You can find your Employee ID number on Bruindata and/or on your pay statement.

If your supervisor is not available to sign your time sheet by Monday, May 4, please send a copy to HR and keep the original until it has been signed.

Link to the time-off report: georgefox.edu/offices/hr/Timeoffreport.doc

Link to April time sheet: georgefox.edu/offices/hr/TimesheetApr09.xls

April student time sheets must be in HR no later than 3 p.m. Monday, May 4, so please have them hand-delivered to HR as soon as you have processed them. If you are not on the Newberg campus, please fax your student time sheets to 503-554-2186 and then send the originals to HR in campus mail. Also, please check to be sure all of your students have submitted their time sheets to you and follow up with any who have not.

If your student has school-year hours that are continuing through the first three days of May, please include these hours on their April time sheet.

And, as always, we appreciate you checking for the following:

• Student’s name (be sure it is legible)
• Student’s ID number
• Cost center number
• Student’s signature (If the student forgot to sign it, please bring it to HR anyway. Do not send students to HR to sign time sheets.)
• Your signature

Reminder: If a student delivers his or her own time sheet to HR, it must be in a sealed envelope to comply with Federal Work Study regulations.

Thanks very much.

– Human Resources

The university will host two commencement ceremonies on the Newberg campus Saturday, May 2. The traditional undergraduate ceremony will take place in Miller Gymnasium/Wheeler Sports Center at 2 p.m., with audience seating at 1 p.m. Tickets are required for the traditional undergraduate ceremony.

The graduate, seminary and School of Professional Studies ceremony will take place in Miller Gymnasium/Wheeler Sports Center at 7 p.m., with audience seating at 6 p.m.

In addition, the baccalaureate service is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Saturday in Bauman Auditorium. Baccalaureate is an undergraduate worship service providing graduating seniors, their families, faculty, administrators, staff and other guests the opportunity to worship.

For more information, visit the commencement website.

The university’s library has added texting as part of its “Ask Us” service. Now George Fox students, faculty and staff can send questions and receive answers from librarians by using their cell phones. More information is available at georgefox.edu/offices/murdock/text.html.

To access your April online pay statement, please go to mygfu.georgefox.edu to get to the PeopleSoft login screen. Use the same user ID and password that you use to login to e-mail and Bruindata. Open “Self Service” in the menu on the left and click on “Payroll and Compensation.” You will see a list of all of your pay statements that have been processed in PeopleSoft. Click on the pay date in the far left column labeled “Check Date” to open your statement as a PDF file.

This is the last e-nnnouncment with instructions about accessing your pay statement online, so please be sure to save the instructions above if you have not already done so.

Also on this pay day, new premium amounts for optional life insurance and flexible spending account deductions go into effect.