The Daily Bruin

Patrick Allen (Provost) will present a Faculty Teaching Forum, “Engaged Teaching and Learning,” from 3:40 to 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 18, in Hoover 104 (Hoover library). Patrick will share thoughts about how good teachers engage their students in the learning process and the benefits of doing so. Participants will be invited to enter the conversation about experiences, resources and activities that foster student learning.

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 (FTFs). Video podcasts of FTFs will be available at the “Events and Resources” link on the Center for Teaching and Learning website.

Come enjoy refreshments from 4 to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 16, as Lon Fendall (Center for Peace and Justice/Center for Global Studies) shares thoughts on his biography of Mark Hatfield, Stand Alone or Come Home: Mark Hatfield as an Evangelical and a Progressive. See why mixing “evangelical” and “progressive” is not like mixing oil and water. The presentation will take place in Hoover 250.

Pictures from the university’s 10th annual Serve Day (Sept. 10) have been posted on the Web. Simply go to the homepage (georgefox.edu) and click on one of the rotating Serve Day photos at the top of the page to see a collection of pictures from the day.

A Faculty Research Forum featuring Kerry Irish (History) is scheduled at 10:40 a.m. Friday, Sept. 19, in Hoover 105 on the Newberg campus. Kerry will speak on “Dwight Eisenhower’s Cross Cultural Leadership During WWII.” A question-and-answer session will follow, and refreshments will be provided. The event is sponsored by the Faculty Development Committee.

Student employee supervisors: If you haven’t already been sending the new hire paperwork for your student employees to HR, please do so right away. This includes the offer letter for returning student employees and the offer letter and completed I-9 and W-4 forms for new students that have not worked on campus before. Please send this as each student is hired rather than waiting until you have all hires for your department.

The Oct. 10 payroll has more data entry than any other student payroll of the year because new records have to be set up for all student employees. Added to that challenge this year is the fact that this will be the first payroll run in the new PeopleSoft system. Receiving this paperwork as early as possible to avoid a backlog of data entry at the end of the month will help ensure a successful payroll and pay day on Oct. 10.

Thanks to those of you that have already been sending paperwork these last few weeks.  It is much appreciated.

– Human Resources

Our consultant from TIAA-CREF, Shane Roghaar will be available for individual retirement plan reviews. He will be in Room 296 on Tuesday, Sept. 16 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. You will need to make an appointment before the 16th.

Please sign up online–see more information on the HR Benefits Web Page: georgefox.edu/offices/hr/benefits.html

In an effort to become better stewards of God’s creation (one of the strategic planning initiatives) by saving on gas consumption, the university offered a trial four-day work week from June 16 through Aug. 15. This trial policy had the following guidelines:

1.    All offices needed to be covered from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
2.    Employees could choose to work four 10-hour days if coverage was approved by their supervisor.
3.    If approved, employees chose to take off either Monday or Friday, leaving Tuesday through Thursday to schedule departmental and cross-departmental meetings.)
4.    Overtime was only paid for hours worked over 40 in a week, not over eight in a day.
5.    The week of June 30 to July 4 was a standard, five-day week for all employees due to the holiday.
6.    It was noted that some days such as Genesis might necessitate more complete coverage for particular areas within the university.

It was understood that not every department or regional site would be able to participate and that participation would be up to the director or VP of each department or site, taking into consideration any potential service disruption to their customers.

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 the following link:
surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=gVvcSaN7Pa53KPd9Vb5mRA_3d_3d.

Thank you,
Human Resources

We are looking for volunteers to help build lunch boxes for Selah’s 600 participants. We will put the lunches together as much as we can from 3 to 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26, and then place the cold packs and sandwiches in them on Saturday from 8:15 to 9 a.m. Both lunch-building sessions will meet in the Cap and Gown Room. All volunteers will recieve $10 off their Selah registration fee.

Please contact Danya Ochsner (University Relations) at 503-554-2121 or dochsner@georgefox.edu if you are interested in helping. If you have already signed up to volunteer for Amy Lorenz (University Relations) during Selah, we would prefer that you not also volunteer for the lunch building on Saturday.

“Where do I Fit? Finding Your Piece of the Puzzle” is the theme of this year’s Staff Development Conference, scheduled from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23, at Family Life Church in Newberg. This will be a fun-filled day of learning and serving together. All staff members are expected to attend. Watch your campus mailbox for more information.

Up to three temporary administrative assistants are needed to work through January 2009 in enrollment services departments on the Newberg campus as the staff continues working hard on the PeopleSoft implementation. Each position will work an average of 20 hours per week. If you know of someone who might be a good fit for these jobs, please have the person(s) contact HR by e-mail (hr@georgefox.edu) or phone (554-2185).

The university is looking for a full-time, temporary custodian to work at the Portland Center through September, possibly longer. The work schedule for this position is 5 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. If you know of someone who might be interested in this job, please have the person(s) contact HR by e-mail (hr@georgefox.edu) or phone (554-2185).

The university will celebrate its 10th annual Serve Day on Wednesday, Sept. 10. More than 1,500 students and employees will fan out into local communities to assist a record 72 sites with everything from painting, weeding and cleaning projects to visiting the elderly.

All students and employees will meet on the Newberg campus quad at 8:20 a.m. and depart for work sites in Washington, Yamhill, Clackamas, and Multnomah counties at 9 a.m. The groups will return to campus by 4 p.m., at which time the day will conclude with a volunteer fair and campus-wide celebration that will feature a country fair theme. All George Fox participants also are invited for a complimentary dinner served by the Bon Appetit.

Among the carnival activities planned are a mechanical bull ride, a three-legged race, face painting, a bean-bag toss, a basketball throw, balloon animals, and more. The event will include about 20 nonprofit volunteer booths, 20 church booths and 20 student activity booths.

The schedule for the day is as follows:
7:30-8:20 a.m. – Continental breakfast for everyone on campus
8:20 a.m. – Kick-off celebration on the Centennial Clock Tower Lawn and welcome by former President Dave Brandt
9 a.m. – Groups meet at numbered stakes on lawn and depart for service site
Lunch – With your group at the service site (employees either bring your own lunch or fill out order form online)
4 p.m. (approximate) – Participants return to campus and volunteer, church and activities fair begins
4:30-7 p.m. – Serve Day celebration dinner and fun

The theme for this year’s event is “Celebrate!” and is based on Philippians 4:4-5: “Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them.”

For more information on the day, visit serveday.georgefox.edu.

Please take a few minutes to submit your August time sheet (support staff) or time-off report (administrators) right away. The work to ensure that the HR and payroll modules of PeopleSoft go live at the end of September is ramping up, and having these as early as possible to process will be very helpful.

As always, please be sure it is complete, accurate and signed by both you and your supervisor before sending it to HR at Box 6108. The link on the HR website for these documents is http://www.georgefox.edu/offices/hr/forms.html. If your supervisor is not available to sign it by Sept. 5, please send a copy to HR and keep the original until it has been signed.

Thank you,
Human Resources

With Burel Ford’s departure, the university is seeking someone to work 30 hours per week through June 30, 2009, to direct multicultural services and provide support to students. This position is being announced internally only (via this e-nnouncement) and will not be posted on the Human Resources website. If you are interested in this position, contact HR (hr@georgefox.edu) for a copy of the job description and a transfer request form. If you know someone (not a George Fox employee) who might be interested, please have him or her contact HR.

The Staff Development Committee is hosting a non-food pantry drive for Love INC from Sept. 1 through Oct. 23. The drive collects items not covered by food stamps. Please watch for a card in your campus box listing the items needed, buy a few of these things, and donate them by dropping them in the brightly decorated barrels located in lobbies on the Newberg and Portland campuses.

Thank you,
Staff Development Committee

The Portland Center will be closed Labor Day weekend starting on Friday, Aug. 29 at 5 p.m. and will re-open on Tuesday, Sept. 2.

Online price-matching at the Portland Center Bookstore … How does it work?

Bring in a valid online textbook price and we’ll match it*. We will match only like items, new for new, used for used. Remember to include any shipping cost if applicable.

Remember, at the Portland Center Bookstore you may purchase your books with your student account and you are guaranteed to get the right book and the right edition.

*We cannot match Christian Book Distributors, auction sites such as half.com or peer-to-peer membership sites. Price matching available for in- store purchases only. Price matching must be done at the point of purchase. This is offered only during the first official week of each semester.

The George Fox community is invited to the opening reception for a Willamette University art faculty exhibit in the Minthorne Gallery on Tuesday, Sept. 2. The event, featuring the art work of five Willamette faculty members, begins with an artist talk (in Hoover 102) at 4 p.m., followed by a reception from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

The Graduate Department of Counseling is holding an open house on Friday, Sept. 5 from 2 to 4 p.m. with a short program at 2:30 p.m.  The George Fox community is invited to attend along with alumni and community professionals. Please join us at the Portland North Building as we celebrate our new clinic, building, and department chair.

For more information: Contact Janelle Freitag

George Fox University employees are invited to join the George Fox Auxiliary membership.  During the academic year, the Auxiliary hosts five informational lunches, each featuring George Fox departments and programs.  In addition, the Auxiliary raises $5,000 for student scholarships through the Auxiliary holiday bazaar held the first full weekend each November.

Membership is $5 for the year. Lunches are held at noon in the Cap & Gown Room and cost $7.50 per person. This year’s lunches will be held on September 5, 2008, October 24, 2008, December 5, 2008, February 6, 2009 and April 17, 2009.

To join, please enclose your name, address, phone and email along with your $5 payment (checks made to the GFU Auxiliary) and send to campus box 6177.  Questions?  Contact Norman and Margaret Winters at 503-537-7006.