The Daily Bruin

This May, unplug and experience the monastic life.

The Monastic Life Retreat offers George Fox students a rare chance to immerse themselves in contemplative Christian traditions through direct participation in the daily rhythm of Western monasticism at Our Lady of Guadalupe Trappist Abbey.

Over two weeks in May, students will join monks in prayer, work and study, practicing lectio divina and contemplative prayer, attending conferences led by different monks, and observing periods of communal silence.

Participants will also experience singing chants in the choir, community meals, and service activities, all while disconnecting from personal technology to deepen their spiritual journey in a monastic environment.

Here are some more details:

• Info & Application
• Apply by Sunday, Jan. 18
• Retreat dates are May 11-24
• Credit: 0-3 credits of THEO 485 Special Topics: Monastic Life Retreat
• Cost: $1,375 covers tuition and two weeks’ room and board
• Enrollment is limited due to abbey capacity, so apply soon!

For more information, contact retreat facilitator Bryan Boyd at bboyd@georgefox.edu.

The Office of Spiritual Life would like to invite students and employees to join together for a day of service, learning and reflection. The event is set for MLK Day on Monday, Jan. 19, from 9 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.

Fill out this form to register. Undergraduate students who participate will be eligible for elective chapel credit.

Contact spirituallife@georgefox.edu with any follow-up questions.

Unwrapping a new phone this holiday season? Make sure you update your Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) settings to avoid getting locked out of your George Fox accounts.

How to Prepare Multi-Factor Authentication for a New Phone

If you have any issues setting this up, you will need to call the Service Desk at 503-554-2569 for assistance.

Please plan accordingly, as the Service Desk will be closed for the break:

• Closed: Dec. 24 through Jan. 4
• Regular Hours Resume: Jan. 5, 2026

You are invited to an Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) Forum at George Fox on Friday, Feb. 13.

Join us as we explore the profound connection between attention, skilled craft, and genuine freedom, drawing from philosopher-mechanic Matthew Crawford’s seminal work The World Beyond Your Head. We will examine the practices of skilled craftsmen to uncover a philosophy of attention that pushes back against a disembodied culture.

A Day of Discussion & Doing
This forum will be a mixture of seminar-style discussion and practical activities on a working farm and vineyard. Please be sure to wear work clothes!

All participants receive:

• A free copy of Crawford’s book The World Beyond Your Head: On Becoming an Individual in an Age of Distraction
• A free dinner at Lady Hill Farm

Space is limited, so sign up today! To learn more and/or to reserve your spot, email Travis Pickell at tpickell@georgefox.edu.

Workspace Studio

Gemini as a collaborator is great, but when will it actually do things? This answer is…now! Get a taste of agentic AI as a co-worker that can act on your behalf.

• Let Gemini highlight the most important emails from your unread backlog and send you a chat message with the details.
• Let Gemini check your documents and send you notes to prepare you for that important conversation on today’s calendar.
• Not sure how to get started? Just tell Gemini what you’d like to automate and it will build a starter flow for you. Examples are also provided.

Workspace Studio is available to everyone in the George Fox community!

AI Studio

Have you heard of “Vibe Coding?” With just a prompt, you can create your own app and include advanced AI tools!

Unlike our other Google Workspace AI tools, use of AI Studio is not automatically covered under our data protection agreement with Google, so its availability is initially limited. If you’d like to make an AI Studio app, please reach out to IT to get started! Learn more here.

Contact the IT Service Desk at servicedesk@georgefox.edu with any questions, or check the IT: AI website.

Spiritual Life welcomes you to swing by Barclay House before you head off for break to pick up a copy of the liturgy book we’ve been using in chapel this fall semester. They are free for students, faculty and staff. Feel free to pick up one for yourself and another for your family and friends!

Please note Hadlock’s hours over the holiday break:

• Saturday, Dec. 13: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Sunday, Dec. 14: Closed
• Monday through Friday, Dec. 15-19: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Weekends: Closed
• Dec. 23 through Jan. 2: Closed

Regular hours resume Jan. 10.

Friendly reminder: Bookstore rentals are due tomorrow (Friday). The Bruin Bookstore will be open Saturday, Dec. 13, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for winter commencement.

Spring 2026 course materials are available, so shop ahead online and select “in-store pickup.” Your texts will be ready when you return in January!

Unwrapping a new phone this holiday season? Make sure you update your Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) settings to avoid getting locked out of your George Fox accounts.

How to Prepare Multi-Factor Authentication for a New Phone

If you have any issues setting this up, you will need to call the Service Desk at 503-554-2569 for assistance.

Please plan accordingly, as the Service Desk will be closed for the break:

• Closed: Dec. 24 through Jan. 4
• Regular Hours Resume: Jan. 5, 2026

Thank you to all who participated in marketing communications’ annual Deck the Halls Christmas Decorating Contest. We were so moved by the Christmas spirit throughout campus! This year brought in 18 participating departments.

Congratulations to our winners! The top three placers were:

• First place: Advancement (The “Rootin’ Tootin’ Best in the West” Award)
• Second place: Finance (The “Internationally Acclaimed Christmas” Award)
• Third place: Financial Aid (The “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Financial Aid Secrets” Award)

There were several honorable mentions across campus, including the Department of Education (The “Jim Henson Would Be Proud” Award), the Department of Social Work (The “Cozy Christmas” Award), the Maker Hub (The “Santa’s Workshop” Award), and many more.

And a huge shoutout to plant services for keeping all of campus merry and bright!

Be sure to swing by the various departments to get a look at all the work that went into making their spaces so festive.

Thank you!

Amanda Howard, Marketing, and the Christmas Committee

If severe weather makes travel to or from campus unsafe this winter, the provost will make the decision to announce a shift to remote classes. In nearly all cases, classes will continue to be offered online.

In the case of a delayed in-person start, university offices will not open until an announced time in the day, most often 10 a.m. or noon. Students are not required to report to campus prior to the announced start time, but are expected to attend class online before the start time. If in-person classes are not held that day, students are expected to attend class online. You should expect to receive information from your professors on how to access remote learning.

The following is our process for announcing when there is a delayed in-person start or a shift to remote classes and work. The provost will make the decision by 6:30 a.m. for the Newberg campus and Portland Center for daytime classes or 2:15 p.m. for evening classes. Decisions on weekend classes and at the Redmond site will be made by the professor.

Stay notified: Here’s how to find out if a decision has been made when severe weather occurs:

• Visit the George Fox flashalert.net page. This is the first site updated. Enter your email address to create an account and receive notifications from FlashAlert Messenger.
• If you wish to receive a notification on your mobile device, download the FlashAlert smartphone app for iOS or Android. Either log in or create an account if you haven’t already.
• Listen to local radio and television stations or visit their websites (this info comes via FlashAlert).
• Call the George Fox University switchboard at 503-538-8383.

More information on this change in procedure can be found on our winter weather policy page.

The holiday season represents one of the highest-risk periods of the year for cybersecurity, and new AI-generated attacks can be expected. With the increase in online shopping and package tracking, attackers are actively disguising malicious links as shipping notifications and invoices.

Your diligence remains our first and strongest line of defense. Taking a moment to verify a sender or an unusual request can prevent a major security incident for our community.

Email Safety Do’s: Verify and Protect

• Do hover your mouse over the sender’s name/address to see the full, actual email address. Watch for subtle misspellings (e.g. acme.co instead of acme.com).
• Do inspect links before clicking. Hover your mouse over the link to see the destination URL displayed, usually in the corner of your browser. If it looks suspicious, don’t click.
• Do verify any unexpected or urgent requests for confidential data, password changes or fund transfers by using a different method of communication (e.g., call the sender on a known phone number or message them on an internal chat system).
• Do treat any email requesting your password or sensitive personal/company information with maximum suspicion.
• Do report all suspicious emails immediately by using the “Report Phishing” button in the three-dot stack menu within the email, or contact servicedesk@georgefox.edu.
• Do check the time and tone of the email. Is it demanding, overly urgent or coming at a strange hour? This is a common tactic used by scammers.

Email Safety Don’ts: Avoid Risk and Reactivity

• Don’t click on links or download attachments from senders you do not recognize or from emails that seem “off,” even if they appear to come from a known colleague.
• Don’t reply to an email asking for sensitive information like passwords, credit card numbers or internal account details.
• Don’t assume an email is legitimate just because it uses company logos or appears to come from an executive (CEO, CFO, etc.). This is known as “spoofing.”
• Don’t be pressured by threats or urgency (e.g. “Your account will be suspended in five minutes!”). Scammers use fear to make you act without thinking.
• Don’t forward suspicious emails without first checking with servicedesk@georgefox.edu. We need to be able to investigate and take action.

Thank you for your partnership in keeping our community secure. Your vigilance makes all the difference.

The Office of Spiritual Life would like to invite students and employees to join together for a day of service, learning and reflection. The event is set for MLK Day on Monday, Jan. 19, from 9 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.

Fill out this form to register and view the tentative schedule! Undergraduate students who participate will be eligible for elective chapel credit.

Contact spirituallife@georgefox.edu with any follow-up questions.

On Tuesday, Dec. 9, from 5 to 9 p.m., Chipotle will be hosting a fundraiser to support our Doctor of Physical Therapy’s service trip to Uganda! There are multiple ways to get your order to support the cause:

• Tell the person at the register you are there to support the George Fox DPT trip to Uganda
• Order for pickup online using the code EXC4LTL.

If you use one of these avenues, Chipotle will donate 25% of your sale to our trip! Please tell people in the area that you know, because every order helps!

Are you interested in pursuing independent study or research this summer? The Richter Scholars program at George Fox distributes funds to support student projects and research activities that are devised, initiated and carried out by individual student scholars, with mentorship, guidance and expertise provided by a faculty mentor.

If you are interested in participating, connect with a faculty mentor now to consult with them on your proposal application. Please review the full proposal guidelines, eligibility requirements and review criteria at georgefox.edu/academics/richter.

The submission deadline is Jan. 26, 2026. All applications must be submitted through our Google Form. The link to the form will be activated on the website when the spring semester begins.

For more information, contact Hannah Greene at hgreene@georgefox.edu.

Now that December is here, it’s time to start celebrating Christmas! To commemorate the occasion, the marketing communications department has created a special webpage – complete with information about this week’s Christmas-related events, reflections on the significance of the holiday, and videos that capture the spirit of the season.

Be sure to check it out!

Get ready to spread some holiday cheer! In the spirit of the season, we’re holding a Bruin Pantry Drive at this week’s annual Christmas Extravaganza.

While we are grateful for any donation, the pantry is currently running low on several essential items that keep our students nourished. Please consider bringing one or more of the following to the Extravaganza:

• Shelf-stable milk and alternative milk products
• Gluten-free and dairy-free items
• Ramen
• Boxes of cold cereal
• Canned protein and any kind of canned meals
• Cooking and baking essentials like spices, baking soda/power, etc.
• Individual snacks

Drop off any donation at the Pantry Drive booth at Thursday’s Christmas Extravaganza and receive an extra festive treat! Thank you for making the Bruin community stronger this Christmas season!

The annual campus-wide Christmas Extravaganza is taking place this Thursday, Dec. 4, from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. All staff and faculty are invited, and families are welcome!

A Christmas tree-lighting service with carols and Scripture reading will be held inside the chapel from 4:30 to 5 p.m. A countdown to light the Christmas tree outside the chapel will follow the service.

The extravaganza begins at 5 p.m. with seasonal activities for the whole family, including “Santa’s Workshop” in the Maker Hub, horse-drawn carriage rides, music performances in the chapel, festive treats and more!

Help spread health and wellness across the globe by supporting students and faculty from the university’s School of Physical Therapy as we travel to Uganda, Africa, this May.

We will be partnering with local leaders and advocacy groups to provide training, education and instruction in the treatment and management of children/people in need of physical therapy, working with patients in rural communities.

So, grab your friends and sign up for the 2025 Christmas Jingle 5K Run/Walk on Saturday, Dec. 6, at 9 a.m.! The run will be around the George Fox campus, starting in Stoffer Stadium. Come join us dressed in your holiday cheer!

The cost is $20 for students, $30 for community members, and $10 for children under age 10. This includes a free T-shirt! Sign up at this link. All proceeds will go toward our trip.

Questions? Contact Carleigh DeLapp at cdelapp20@georgefox.edu.

This is a friendly reminder that all Bruin Bookstore rentals are due on Friday, Dec. 12. If you have any questions, please email Kristin McGuirk at kmcguirk@georgefox.edu.