The Daily Bruin

All Newberg, Portland, Salem and Redmond offices are closed today (Friday) for the spring break holiday.

The Office for Spiritual Life invites students to “Pray 4 Today,” a prayer initiative that begins next week, on March 30.

The idea is simple: We are looking for four people to sign up to pray per day for the remainder of the spring semester. How you pray, where you pray, and for what or whom you pray are up to you – but will you consider joining us?

If you are interested, please sign up here. Questions? Contact our office at spirituallife@georgefox.edu. Thanks!

In light of recent events, George Fox will not hold commencement ceremonies on campus on Saturday, May 2 (traditional undergraduates) or the following week (ADP/grad programs).

The university is working on plans to allow graduates to celebrate their achievements, but any decisions will be dictated by how the COVID-19 pandemic evolves in the coming weeks.

For more details, visit the university’s coronavirus response page.

As of today (Wednesday), Mail Services will be open three days a week: Monday, Wednesday and Friday, between the hours of 8 a.m. and noon. The service window will be open to hand packages to customers between the hours of 10 a.m. and noon.

The adjacent room for sending packages out will be open as needed. Have all outgoing packages brought to Mail Services by no later than 11 a.m. These changes take effect immediately and will resume until we revert to our regular schedule on a date to be determined.

Please contact Richard Silver (rsilver@georgefox.edu) with any questions.

Our financial aid office is here to serve students throughout the current COVID-19 situation. While we are not available in person, we are ready to meet needs in a variety of ways:

• Schedule a phone appointment here (or video by request)
• Email or call our office or your financial aid counselor directly. If your counselor is unavailable, leave a message and we will return your call.
• Submit documents online, by email (finaid@georgefox.edu), fax or mail
• We are available to answer questions related to family financial changes and the 2020-21 academic year
• The Department of Education also has a helpful FAQ for students, parents and borrowers.

Don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any questions. We are here to help!

What are your worries? Where is your hope? Professor Nijay Gupta reflects on Matthew 6 in the Portland Seminary’s newest “Hope in the Midst of Crisis” devotional series episode. You can watch it here.

Be encouraged and be well.

Oregon’s governor yesterday issued a statewide order for citizens to stay home except when traveling for essential work, buying food and similar critical supplies, or returning to their own homes. 

As part of the “Stay Home, Save Lives” campaign, the governor issued the following guidelines …

Do:

• Stay home as much as possible (kids, too)
• Stay at least six feet away from others
• Go out only for essentials (groceries, medical care)
• Exercise outside (hiking, biking) only if you can be six feet apart from others
• Have video and phone chats
• Drop food off to neighbors who can’t go out

Don’t:

• Gather in groups
• Get together with friends (no drinks or dinners)
• Have play dates for kids
• Make unnecessary trips

Good news: APA is offering free access to the 7th edition manual and other resources during the COVID-19 pandemic. You can access it here.

If you need online writing assistance, the Portland Writing Center is open for all graduate and degree completion students: wc.georgefox.edu. Contact Jennie Harrop (jharrop@georgefox.edu) with any questions.

Take a two-minute break each day this week to listen to the contributions of five of our faculty during George Fox University’s takeover week of the Academic Minute podcast (available at academicminute.org). Each will discuss an aspect of their teaching or scholarship.

Sharing will be (in the order they will appear, Monday through Friday) Tricia Hornback (College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences), Nate Peach (College of Business), Debby Thomas (College of Business), Lorretta Krautscheid (College of Behavioral and Health Sciences) and Nathan Slegers (College of Engineering).

Questions? Contact Laura Hartley at lhartley@georgefox.edu.

The Bruin Store will be closed this week (March 23-27). Please contact Paige Jacobs at pjacobs@georgefox.edu with any questions.

Amidst the tumult of the coronavirus, the Portland Seminary faculty has created a video devotional series, “Hope in the Midst of Crisis,” we hope will comfort you.

First up is the seminary dean, Roger Nam, who reflects on the comforting role of God’s sovereignty in the Exodus plague narratives. You can listen here.

Throughout the year, the Office of Spiritual Life has been studying the Gospel of John in Vespers. To continue our study, our office is offering daily readings from John on our social media platforms @gfuspil on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Questions? Contact Stephanie Lopez at slopez@georgefox.edu.

A website designed for George Fox veterans has gone live on the student life site. It provides the latest information for veterans’ education benefits, community events, and links to local, state and federal organizations.

If you have any questions, please contact the faculty advisor for the Veterans United Association, Wendy Flint, at wflint@georgefox.edu.

Mail Services will be operating during its regular business hours Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. If you have any questions, contact Richard Silver at rsilver@georgefox.edu.

The Portland Writing Center remains open this spring, with Zoom, email and phone appointments for graduate and degree completion students.

For more information about the services we provide or to schedule an appointment, visit our website. Questions? Contact Jennie Harrop at jharrop@georgefox.edu.

Beginning tomorrow (Thursday), the university’s libraries will pivot to fully online; however, the Murdock Library’s 24/7 space will remain open via card access.

If you need to check out a Chromebook or other physical items, please come by today. If you are unable to come today, send an email to circadmin@georgefox.edu to make arrangements to get the items you need.

Due dates for all items are automatically being extended through at least May 1. Updates and more information about services are available on our webpage.

Following is a summary of library hours beginning Thursday:

• Murdock Library: Closed
• Murdock Library 24/7 Space: Open to university students/faculty/staff via card access
• Portland Center Library Service Desk: Closed
• Portland Center Library Space: Open based on Portland Center hours

Questions? Contact Ryan Ingersoll at ringersoll@georgefox.edu.

The School of Physical Therapy’s Glow for Africa 5K Run is postponed. The new date will be announced in the coming weeks.

We apologize for any inconvenience. Questions? Contact Linda Dallof at ldallof@georgefox.edu.

Throughout the year, the Office of Spiritual Life has been studying the Gospel of John in Vespers chapel. To continue our study, our office is offering daily readings from the Gospel of John on our social media platforms @gfuspil on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

Questions? Contact Stephanie Lopez at slopez@georgefox.edu.

In light of recent events, the accounting department will be canceling its remaining free tax preparation and e-filing assistance sessions for the George Fox community. The original dates scheduled were March 19, April 4, and April 9.

This decision comes as a result of the fact student volunteers will not be on campus as they take precautions associated with the coronavirus. We apologize for any inconvenience.

If you have questions, contact Seth Sikkema at 503-554-2813.

The Murdock Library will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and the 24-hour space will remain open when the library is closed.

The Portland Center Library will be open Monday, Wednesday and Friday, from noon to 5 p.m. The hours are subject to change based on student employee availability. Visit the Portland Center Library page for updates.