The Daily Bruin

George Fox’s Newberg, Portland, Boise, Redmond, and Salem sites will close for the Christmas holiday Monday, Dec. 24, through Wednesday, Dec. 26. Thursday and Friday, Dec. 27-28, are not paid holidays, so those taking them off need to use vacation time.

The university also will close for the New Year’s holiday Monday, Dec. 31, and Tuesday, Jan. 1. Undergraduate classes resume Monday, Jan. 7, while some graduate programs resume classes the first week of January. For Newberg and Portland library hours during the holiday break, visit library.georgefox.edu.

As of Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2008 the cost for renting university vans will be increased to $.50 per mile.

Miller Gymnasium will be completely closed from Thursday 12/20-Wednesday 12/26 for painting.

A message from IT and the Center for Teaching and Learning

To prepare for next semester:

1. Download fall grades into an Excel spreadsheet or text file as a backup. (Go to Grades under Administration.)

2. Back up your course and reset the course to clear out students, students’ uploaded files, and forum postings. Here are instructions.

3. Discontinue the use of the activity type “Journal.” Instead, create Online Text Assignments to replace all old Journal activities. Journals have been made obsolete by Moodle and are painfully slow in the current version. We will be discontinuing their use on January 14.

4. Request new courses from the Service Desk.

The Center for Teaching and Learning is offering an introductory FoxTALE workshop on Thursday, January 3, 9am – noon, in the CAI Lab, third floor of Stevens. Open lab time is also offered January 3, 1 – 4pm, in the CAI Lab. Please RSVP to Sheila Abercrombie if you would like to attend the morning class.

Podcasts of the fall 2007 faculty teaching forums are available for viewing during the Christmas break. Below is a list of topics and presenters from the fall series. To see a description of a session or to view the podcast, go to the Center for Teaching and Learning blog.

• Putting Student Evaluations to Use (Becky Ankeny)

• Inspire! (Gloria Doherty)

• Teaching Evaluations and Outcome Assessment (Chris Koch)

• Beyond the pop quiz: Classroom assessment techniques (Caitlin Corning)

• The First Day of Class: Beginning with the End in Mind (Dwight Kimberly)

• Mid-Course Adjustments: Taking the Risk to Make Necessary Change (Dirk Barram)

• Managing the load: Teaching, Research, Service (Paul Chamberlain)

Bruin coffee cart will be closed for the Christmas break starting Friday, Dec. 14, and will re-open Monday, Dec. 7.

Last-minute Christmas gift idea … We have specially bound editions of the classic devotionals, Streams in the Desert and My Utmost for His Highest. These are bound in leather, perfect for gifting. We’ve done all the work for you … they’re already beautifully wrapped and ready to go! Only$19.97 each.

Grandma, mom, sister, friend … an appropriate gift for anyone. Come in and see them. Give a gift of inspiration that will last for years to come!

The university will host its midyear commencement ceremony in the James and Lila Miller Gymnasium on the Newberg campus Saturday, Dec. 15. The commencement will start at 2 p.m., with audience seating at 1 p.m. Tickets are not required. Seating is limited to no more than 10 guests per graduate.

Nearly 190 students will take part in the ceremony. Graduates are to assemble at the Wheeler Sports Center at 1 p.m. For more information on the ceremony, visit the commencement website.

Due to the inclement weather in the Midwest, many of the textbook shipments for the Portland Center Bookstore have been delayed. We will likely not have these books available until after the Christmas break. We appreciate your understanding and patience, as this situation is beyond our control.

The Center for Teaching and Learning is sponsoring an Introduction to FoxTALE workshop and open lab time for faculty on Thursday, Jan. 3, in the CAI Lab on the third floor of the Stevens Center. An introductory class will be held from 9 a.m. to noon, and consultants will be available during open lab time from 1 to 4 p.m. Please R.S.V.P. to Sheila Abercrombie (IT) if you would like to attend the morning class.

The front office at the Portland Center will have holiday hours the next three weeks.

On Dec. 17 -21, 27-28, Jan. 2-4, the office will be open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with the exception of Wednesday, Dec. 19 and Thursday, Jan. 3, for the new student orientations, on which it will remain open until 6:30 p.m.

The front office will be closed on Dec. 24, 25, 26, 31 and Jan. 1 in celebration of Christmas and New Year.

You can donate blankets, gift cards, cleaning supplies, and/or personal hygiene items to the Vernonia flood victims.

Whitney Scott, a George Fox graduate counseling student and school counseling intern at Scappoose High School, will be collecting donations from the George Fox Portland Center community and taking them to the collection point at SHS.

Donation boxes have been placed in the North and South Buildings of the Portland Campus. If you have any questions, please contact Whitney Scott at 503-543-6376, ext. 229.

The Third Annual Wassail Party was fabulous!

Several hundred students and employees came by the tables for treats and talks. It was so much fun to watch the students enjoy a much-needed break from learning and studying. Many of them asked us to pass along their gratitude for such a wonderful event.

Personally, I was incredibly blessed to watch our community rise up together to provide the treats and hospitality this year. It honestly was a miracle to see how the goodies and snacks multiply like “Loaves and Fishes.” We had so many goodies left over that we’re still snacking on them in the employee lounge.

Thank you to each one who generously gave to support the party. Special thanks to the Portland Center Library for ordering and paying for the wassail.

On behalf of the Portland Center community, “Thank You” to the many people who hosted the event during the day:

Sandy Chambers, Joyce Staats, Brenda Graf, Janeen Dillow, Robin Ashford, Bruce Arnold, Charlie Kamilos, Jeff VandenHoek, Amber Russell, Sara Vulgan, Kathy Grant, Vicki Ring, Janet Moats, Cindy Howard, Jennifer Overstreet, Danielle Ambrose, Melva Lloyd, Jean Borgman, and Darla Samuelson, as well as Barbara Braun and Vern Choin for their help in setting up and tearing down.

Thank you goes to each of you who made, bought or shared in the bringing of the food. You made the day!

President Robin and Ruth Baker cordially invite George Fox University friends and alumni to a traditional Christmas celebration from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 11, at the Pittock Mansion in Portland. The evening will include holiday music and festive hors d’ oeuvres and desserts. The cost is $21 per person.

Please R.S.V.P. and send payment to University Relations at Box #6049. For more information, call Amy Lorenz (University Relations) at ext. 2134 or contact her via e-mail. Online registration is also available at http://www.georgefox.edu/alumni/events.

Our next Community meeting with President Robin Baker will be Wednesday, Dec. 12, from noon to 1 p.m. in Room 155.

The courier to the Portland and Salem centers will be leaving one hour early Friday morning, Dec 7. Please have any items for the Portland or Salem centers routed to Mail Services by 8:45 a.m. on the Newberg campus.

Portland and Salem personnel, please have your items ready by 9:30 a.m. and 10:20 a.m., respectively. We apologize for any inconvenience; we will be back to the normal hours on Monday, Dec.10.

Questions? Call Sherrie Frost (Mail Services) at ext. 2556.

– Mail Services

Those who worked on the Campus Music Project would like to invite you to a festive listening party from noon to 1 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 6, in the Bruin Den on the Newberg campus.

Come enjoy free hot chocolate and candy canes while listening to the Campus Music Project’s 2006-07 CD. There also will be contests.

For those who would like to purchase the CD, entitled Growing Roots, they are available for $5 each or $8 for a pair during a holiday sale. To purchase it before winter break, e-mail Jamie Griggs on or before Dec. 11 with your office location and quantity. The CD(s) will be delivered to you and you may pay by cash or check at that time.

The CD also is available in the Foxhole between 7 and 11 p.m. or at the University Store. The project is an annual compilation of original music written, recorded, and produced by George Fox students.

The last faculty business meeting of the fall semester is scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon Monday, Dec. 10. Portland Center and Boise Center faculty can join the meeting via video conferencing.

Newberg faculty will meet in Hoover 105.

Portland faculty will meet in Room 280.

Boise Center faculty will meet in the center’s conference room from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

All proposals to be discussed have already been distributed via e-mail.

If you have not yet completed the Best Christian Workplaces survey, please take about 10 minutes to do so this week. The survey closes this Friday, Dec. 7. The link is www.bwinstitute.com/survey/login.aspx. The access code is 1680-571.

The Best Christian Workplaces Institute will present the survey results in summary format to maintain all employees’ confidentiality.

All Portland Center faculty and staff are invited to a Q&A session with provost candidate Ginger MacDonald from 10 to 11:30 a.m. Friday, Dec. 7, in Room 255. Please mark your calendars.

The provost survey will be distributed directly after her talk, and, due to the fact that the Provost Search Committee will be meeting at 4 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 7, the deadline to complete the survey will be 2 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 7.

For those of you unable to attend, the Newberg sessions will be recorded and posted online at the following link: http://media.georgefox.edu/cgi-bin/itunesustaff.pl.