The Daily Bruin

Several ushers are needed for both the undergraduate and graduate/Professional Studies commencement ceremonies on Saturday, April 26. Ushers will take tickets, hand out programs, direct graduates’ family and friends to their seats, and help make graduation a special event for all involved. All university employees who participate as ushers will be paid $25 per ceremony through payroll.

There are three opportunities for involvement:

Traditional Undergraduate Ceremony
Time commitment: 12:30-4:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 26
Location: Wheeler Gymnasium

Traditional Undergraduate Ceremony
Time commitment: 12:30-2:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 26
Location: Bauman Auditorium

Graduate/Professional Studies Ceremony
Time commitment: 5:30-9:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 26
Location: Wheeler Gymnasium

Those interested in participating should contact Andrea Byerley (Academic Affairs) at abyerley@georgefox.edu or at ext. 2140.

The group Partners in Diversity will sponsor an event, “Breakfast for Champions,” from 7:30 to 10 a.m. on Friday, April 4, in Portland Center’s Room 155.

The event allows for networking and education on diversity matters with business and education leaders in the greater Portland area. Breakfast begins at 7:30 a.m., keynote speaker Robin Baker will address the group at 8 a.m., and Perry L Gruber, program and communications manager for Community Solutions, Intel Corporation, will follow with a presentation about corporate responsibility and diversity.

For more information, contact Burel Ford (Multicultural Services) at ext. 2318 or at bford@georgefox.edu.

The deadline to nominate anyone for the Administrative Staff Member of the Year and/or Support Staff Member of the Year awards is Wednesday, March 26.

Please submit your nomination(s) today. Simply state why you think your nominee is deserving of the award – his or her contributions to the university, its students, and its employees. Indicate what was done, who was impacted, and how this impact was and can be observed. In other words, what makes this person stand out in your mind?

Winners will each receive a plaque and a $500 check at the employee appreciation event on May 7. Nominations can be e-mailed  to Peggy Kilburg at Box 6108 or delivered to the Human Resources office by Wednesday.

If you plan to nominate anyone for the Administrative Staff Member of the Year and/or Support Staff Member of the Year awards, please submit your nomination no later than Wednesday, March 26.

A form can be used but is not required. Simply state why you think your nominee is deserving of the award -  his or her contributions to the university, its students, and its employees. Indicate what was done, who was impacted, and how this impact was and can be observed. In other words, what makes this person stand out in your mind? Winners will each receive a plaque and a $500 check at the employee appreciation event on May 7.

Nominations can be e-mailed to Peggy Kilburg (Human Resources) or mailed to HR, Box 6108.

The university’s offices and libraries will be closed on Friday, March 21, to observe Good Friday. Newberg and Portland libraries also will be closed over Easter weekend.

The First Avenue Career and Graduate School Fair is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, April 3, at the University of Portland’s Chiles Center. The event will feature more than 160 recruiters and give students the opportunity to learn about numerous job opportunities and the nonprofit industry at a special presentation. Please encourage your students to attend.

Students may sign up in Career Services (STV 325; ext. 2330) or visit olapcfirstavenue.org.

Portland Center IT support during Spring Break (March 24-27) will be available 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.  Monday through Thursday by calling the Service Desk at ext. 2569.

Bruce Arnold, Portland Center IT Specialist will be in Utah with one of the undergraduate Spring Serve trips.  Prayers for the team as they interact with our Mormon sisters and brothers would be appreciated.

A senior capstone project, Universi(tee) Design and Printing, is available to create T-shirts for groups, sports teams, or dorm floors. The business custom designs and prints inexpensive T-shirts and other apparel for any situation. All proceeds go to the Patrick Kibler Memorial Fund.

E-mail the business within the next two weeks to receive items before the end of the semester:  universitee@gmail.com.

It’s time to nominate individuals for the Staff Development Committee. Visit the web-nomination form and choose four names you would like to nominate for the committee. To be eligible to serve, members must be employed at least three-quarters time over nine months and have been employed for at least one year. Elected members will serve a three-year term. Elections will be held in April.

Please make your nominations no later than Thursday, March 27.

If you would like a paper copy of the nomination form, contact Patty Findley (Athletics). Patty will mail you a paper copy. Once you fill it out, return it to Patty at Box 6147 no later than March 27.

If you need assistance with the web-nomination form, contact Jere Witherspoon (Student Life).

For more information about the Staff Development Committee, visit the committee’s website.

Your time is running out to complete the library survey and be eligible for the survey prizes. The survey ends Wednesday, March 19. Please follow this link and give us your opinion by taking the library survey: survey.libqual.org/index.cfm?ID=629358.

Those who participate will be entered into a drawing for iPod Shuffles and Amazon gift cards.

The Portland Center will be closed Friday, March 21 in celebration of Good Friday.

The buildings will also be completely closed on Saturday, March 22  and Saturday, March 29 as well.

For  questions or concerns, please contact John Newberry, Facilities Director at jnewberry@georgefox.edu

Dr. Larry Shelton is opening up his American Church History class to visitors on March 20 from 8:45 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. He has invited Randy Woodley, PhD, (ABD) to speak during that time. There will be open seating available in the rear of Room 285 for guests.

Randy Woodley is the President of Eagle’s Wings Ministry:
http://www.eagleswingsministry.com/pictures/index.htm

Thank you to the 238 people who have already turned in their yellow benefit enrollment forms. If you’re one of the 231 who have not, Friday (today) is the day. At the very least, please put the forms in campus mail (Box 6108) so you won’t get a phone call Monday afternoon.

Reminder No. 1: if you’re on Pioneer Medical, you’ll want to look up your doctors to make sure they are in the Regence network.

Reminder No. 2: If you have a debit card with your flexible spending account, you must complete the separate request form in your packet in order to re-authorize the card for 2008-09.

Reminder No. 3: Changes in flex amounts will be reflected on your April check, not March.

Thanks for sending in your forms.

– Human Resources

We are still looking for a few additional faculty and staff to serve on the oversight committee for the Liberal Arts Critical Issues fall course. This fall the topic is Islam. We will have two meetings this semester. The responsibilities of the oversight committee are to help select books to recommend to the teaching faculty and to suggest sub-topics and speakers.

If you are interested in participating, please contact Caitlin Corning (History) or D. Elizabeth Todd (Communication Arts).

It’s time to nominate individuals for the Staff Development Committee. Visit the web-nomination form and choose four names you would like to nominate for the committee. To be eligible to serve, members must be employed at least three-quarters time over nine months and have been employed for at least one year. Elected members will serve a three-year term. Elections will be held in April.

Please make your nominations no later than Thursday, March 27.

If you would like a paper copy of the nomination form, contact Patty Findley (Athletics). Patty will mail you a paper copy. Once you fill it out, return it to Patty at Box 6147 no later than March 27.

If you need assistance with the web-nomination form, contact Jere Witherspoon (Student Life).

For more information about the Staff Development Committee, visit the committee’s website.

Rick Muthiah (Student Life) will present a Faculty Teaching Forum, “From Teaching to Learning — a New Paradigm for Undergraduate Education,” from noon to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 19, in the Executive Dining Room.

“The paradigm that has governed our colleges is this: A college is an institution that exists to provide instruction. Subtly but profoundly we are shifting to a new paradigm: A college is an institution that exists to produce learning. This shift changes everything.”

These words, written by Robert Barr and John Tagg in 1995, sparked a discussion that continues across the nation. The March 19 faculty teaching forum will be a discussion about the paradigms described by Barr and Tagg.

Those who would like to read the article ahead of time can access the document through course reserves (http://catalog.georgefox.edu/search/pmut/pmut/1,1,1,B/l962~1255909&FF=pmut&1,1,,0,0). To access it, you must use your university ID barcode. An overview of the article will be provided during the session, so reading the article is not a pre-condition for participation.

To reserve a lunch e-mail Jere Witherspoon (jwithers@georgefox.edu) by 1:30 p.m. on Monday, March 17. Everyone is welcome to attend the session, whether bringing a lunch or reserving a lunch.

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.

The Thailand May Serve team is now accepting donations for a garage sale in the Ron Gregory Atrium in EHS on the Newberg campus April 12. All items must be donated by April 11. The sale will take place between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Please contact Mel Eastwold (meastwold04@georgefox.edu) or Linnea Strandy (lstrandy04@georgefox.edu) to donate. Thank you.

The George Fox Symphonic Band, directed by Pat Vandehey, will perform a free concert at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 13, in Bauman Auditorium. The band will be accompanied by the university’s Flute Ensemble and Early Music Ensemble.

The band will perform “Inglesina (The little English Girl)” by David Delle Cese, “Thus Do You Fare, My Jesus” by Alfred Reed, “Morning Star” by David Maslanka, “Vilia” by Franz Lehar, and “Symphonic Overture” by James Barnes.

The following evening, Friday, March 14, the university’s Jazz Band will perform a free concert in Bauman Auditorium at 7:30 p.m.

Due to a technical glitch, employees and students received outdated e-nnouncement and/or e-Colleague news on March 12. The mishap was a result of the system improperly categorizing 15 old e-nnouncements as new ones. The Office of Marketing and Communications apologizes for the inconvenience.

Our next community lunch will be TODAY in Room 155, 12 to 1 p.m.