The Daily Bruin

Please take a few minutes to submit your September time sheet (support staff) or time-off report (administrators) to your supervisor right away. As always, be sure it is complete, accurate and signed by both you and your supervisor before sending it to HR at Box 6108. (If your supervisor is not available to sign it, please send a copy to HR and keep the original until it has been signed.) The link on the HR website for these documents is georgefox.edu/offices/hr/forms.html.

A tip to help you remember to do this each month: Set a recurring appointment on your Outlook calendar for the first business day of each month with a brief notation, “Turn in time sheet.” That gives you one less thing to have to remember, allowing you to save your brain space for important stuff.

Thank you.

– Human Resources

Student supervisors, please submit your students’ September time sheets to HR right away. Please be sure the student’s name is legible on each one and use the new cost center numbers. Also, don’t forget to sign the sheets, 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 hold the check until the time sheet is signed.) If a student delivers his or her own time sheet to HR, it must be in a sealed envelope — a Federal Work Study regulation.

If you happen to still have any paperwork to submit on a newly hired student, please send that in right away as well. It is necessary in order to pay students.

The Oct. 10 payroll will be the first payroll run in the new PeopleSoft system, so we anticipate it taking more time than usual. Receiving time sheets earlier than usual will be a big help.

Thanks very much.

– Human Resources

An administrative assistant II .75 FTE position (30 hours per week over 12 months) is currently open. The job is to provide administrative support to the dean and the director of the Doctor of Management program (currently Ken Armstrong and Craig Johnson, respectively) on the Newberg campus. This position is paid on Pay Range 4.

We are recruiting internally only, so it is not posted on our website, nor are we seeking external applicants.  It will be open until at least 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 7. Please contact HR to request a Transfer Request form and a copy of the job description if you are interested in applying for this position (hr@georgefox.edu or Peggy Kilburg).

You are invited to attend the artist talk and opening reception for the art exhibit “Natural Affinities,” featuring the work of Steve Tyree, Blythe Eastman and Totem Shriver. The artist talk (in Hoover 102) begins at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 30, with the opening reception to follow at 5 p.m. The exhibit runs through Oct. 23 in the Minthorne Gallery.

Andrew S. Miller, a student in the Master of Arts in Spiritual Formation program, believes that “beauty is important, especially to those who love God.” Come and enjoy the beauty he has found through his camera lens. His photographic art will be displayed through October at the Portland Center Library.

Many of you have been asking, so we wanted to let you know that the reception desk in the first floor atrium is for our receptionist, Barbara Lybarger. We are moving her workspace into that area to greet visitors and students with a friendly hello and ability to direct folks to where they need to go. The other purpose is to help with building security as Barbara will be able to see all three entrances into the building.

We are also working on maximizing space at the Portland Center to include more areas for students to use as study areas and break-out areas. This will be a slow process, but we are definitely prioritizing it as a need for you. We are hoping to add more furniture pieces as well as updating the look.

We are also working toward getting a coffeehouse put in upstairs in the student lounge area. We are still working on finding the funding for the project. We hope to be able to have it in by the end of fall semester at the latest. We will continue to offer evening meals from Bon Appetit Monday through Thursday.

We trust that you are off to a great semester!

Questions or comments can be emailed to Janis Sanford, Site Supervisor

The Portland Center will be changing the dates for our monthly community lunches.

We will now meet on Tuesdays 12 to 1 p.m. and we will meet in Room 155.

The dates are as follows:

• October 7
• November 11
• December 9
• January 13
• February 10
• March 10
• April 14

Please change your calendar accordingly. See you there!

Kambiz GhaneaBassiri, an associated professor of religion and humanities at Reed College, will speak about the complex issues surrounding Islamic extremism in the Middle East at a Liberal Arts Critical Issues event from 4:40 to 5:30 p.m. and from 7 to 7:50 p.m. Monday, Sept. 29, in Hoover 105. For more information, contact Caitlin Corning (History) at ext. 2673 or ccorning@georgefox.edu.

Cathie Smith from Entertainment Publications is once again offering George Fox employees a discount on Entertainment Books for 2009. Books are $15 (normal retail is $25). You may place your orders by contacting her at 503-381-4353 or e-mail at csmith@entertainment.com.

A bike rack was installed at the west entrance of the south building for student use. We are looking into purchasing another for the west entrance to hopefully be installed this fall.

Have a great fall semester!

It has come to our attention that some employees did not receive a fall 2008 spiritual life calendar. If you would like to have one sent to you, please contact Kayin Griffith at kgriffith@georgefox.edu or stop by our office located on the corner of Sheridan and Meridian streets and pick one up.

– Office of Spiritual Life

A faculty teaching forum, “Finding the Sweet Spot: Creating Assignments Your Students Want to Write — and You Want to Read,” will be presented by Melanie Mock (Writing/Literature) from 3:40 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1, in Hoover 104.

Writing assignments can often times be tedious exercises: both for the students who have to complete them, and for the professors who have to grade them. The forum will consider how writing assignments can engage students while also meeting course objectives; how assignment presentation influences student engagement with the assignment; and how we can construct creative writing assignments that might actually be a pleasure to read. Participants should bring one of their “favorite” writing assignments to share.

Refreshments will be served. No R.S.V.P. is required.

All faculty — full time, part time and adjunct — are invited to attend faculty teaching forums. Video podcasts of the forums will be available at the “Events and Resources” link on the Center for Teaching and Learning website.

PrayerNet strengthens the university community through intercessory prayer. If you have a prayer need, please know that there are people on campus who would like to pray for you. You can send your prayer requests through the Staff Development Committee website. Submit your requests anonymously or let us know who you are.

Also, a prayer request box is located in the chapel on the Newberg campus; one will be available in the Portland Center chapel shortly. Prayer is effective and powerful!

Faculty at the Portland Center can join the faculty business meeting on Friday, Sept. 26, via video conferencing. The meeting is scheduled in PDS 281 from 10:40 to 11:30 a.m.

You can contact hybrid learning programs for more information at gdoherty@georgefox.edu.

Don’t forget about the Staff Development Committee’s non-food pantry drive on behalf of Love INC. The local community has a high demand for necessities not covered by food stamps. Please help meet those needs. Look for Love INC donation barrels on the Newberg campus in the SUB (outside the University Store), Stevens Center lobby, Hoover Atrium, Mail Services and the VAC. The Portland Center also has a barrel available for donations. The donation drive ends Oct. 22.

Needed items include toilet paper (this is the highest need), laundry detergent, dish soap, dishwasher soap, bar soap, body wash, shampoo and conditioner, razors, shaving cream, feminine products, Saran Wrap, Zip bags, garbage bags, paper towels, deodorant, lotion, toothpaste, toothbrushes and dental floss.

Don’t forget to register for Selah, the university’s women’s conference scheduled from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. this Saturday, Sept. 27, in Bauman Auditorium. Online registration will be available through Thursday, Sept. 25. For more information, visit selah.georgefox.edu or call Amy Lorenz (University Relations) at ext. 2134. We hope to see you there!

– University Relations

Should you consider purchasing long-term care insurance? You will get the opportunity to better answer this question by attending an upcoming meeting or webinar hosted by LTC Solutions, a long-term care insurance company.

With the cost of health care outpacing inflation and people living longer, people are becoming increasingly concerned about their ability to fund their retirement and long-term care needs. A long-term care policy can help protect assets, minimize dependence on family members, and control how someone receives nursing or home care.

A series of informational meetings have been scheduled. Employees attending any of the group meetings in Newberg or Portland are eligible for an iPod Touch drawing hosted by the University Store. Employees from Boise, Salem and Redmond who participate by joining the webinar also will be included in the drawing.

Following is the meetings schedule:

Friday, Oct. 3, noon to 1 p.m., Cap and Gown Room (sandwich provided)
Wednesday, Oct. 8, 9-10 a.m., VAC 117 (bagels provided)
Thursday, Oct. 9, 7-8 p.m., Hoover 102 (snack provided)
Tuesday, Oct. 14, 10-11 a.m. webinar (access instructions to come)
Wednesday, Oct. 15, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Portland 155 (sandwich provided)

For more information, contact LTC Solutions at 1-877-286-2852. To see a video about long-term care insurance, visit this link on the LTC Solutions site.

Because HR/payroll will be going live with PeopleSoft on Oct. 1, the Sept. 30 payroll will have to be finalized several days early to have time to convert the data from IFAS into PeopleSoft and check it for accuracy before Oct. 1. This means the payroll data entry deadline for this payroll will be earlier than usual.

If you have any paperwork to submit for the Sept. 30 pay day, it must be in HR no later than Thursday, Sept. 18. This includes  an overload or adjunct contract, a new W-4, retirement plan payroll reduction authorization, a direct deposit form, etc. Supervisors, any Personnel Change Forms that would impact an employee’s pay should also be submitted (with all signatures) by Thursday as well.

Forms can be faxed to HR at 503-554-2186 if you are not on the Newberg campus. Newberg campus employees, please deliver documents to HR; please do not put them in campus mail. Paperwork received after Thursday will not be processed until the October payroll.

Thank you,
Human Resources

Dr. Kambiz GhaneaBassiri, associate professor of religion and humanities at Reed College, will be speaking on the history of Islam in America from 4:40 to 5:30 p.m. and from 7 to 7:50 p.m. Monday, Sept. 15, in Hoover 105. For more information, contact Caitlin Corning (History), co-director of the Liberal Arts Critical Issues Program, at ext. 2673 or ccorning@georgefox.edu.

Today (Monday, Sept. 15) until 5 p.m. is your last opportunity to take the four-day work week survey. The president’s executive leadership team is seeking feedback from employees so an informed decision can be made whether to offer the four-day work week during the academic year. All employees who worked this summer are encouraged to provide input — those who participated as well as those who didn’t, including supervisors. (If you did not work this summer, please do not participate in the survey.)

To provide this feedback, please take just a few minutes to complete the online, anonymous survey at this link:
surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=gVvcSaN7Pa53KPd9Vb5mRA_3d_3d.