The Daily Bruin

Undecided about your major? A Majors Fair is scheduled from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Friday, Oct. 16. Come to both the Hoover and EHS atriums to visit with representatives from all departments on campus. Learn more about the majors that are offered by each department and stop by the Career Services booth to ask questions. The event is available to all students.

All First Year Seminar students are required to attend and receive signatures from three different booths to validate their attendance. Questions? Contact Jessie Sarver at jsarver05@georgefox.edu.

Bruin Heritage Week is just around the corner – October 12-17.  Bruin Heritage Week includes the annual Survivor van, Blue Zone games, and the first ever Heritage Display! Stay tuned for a schedule of events to come.

Email bruinheritage@georgefox.edu for more information.

Scholars: Is a PhD in your future? Visit with Roger Nam of George Fox Evangelical Seminary on Wednesday, Oct. 14, at the seminary fair in the Hoover lower lobby. The fair runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

See a play in the city with fellow members of the George Fox community. The Northwest’s premier Latino arts and culture organization, The Miracle Theater, will present a bilingual performance of Canta Y No Llores at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 30, and Multicultural Services has 20 reserved tickets. Visit the Office of Student Life (third floor of Stevens) and pay cash or check for a $10 ticket. This is half off the regular cost.

Every fall, the dead are commemorated in a lively show of dance, music and theatre in Portland’s longest-running Day of the Dead celebration. This year, in honor of Oregon’s 150th birthday, Los Muertos return singing familiar tunes that hearken back to another era when times were tough and tradition was one of the few things folks could call their own. For online info, visit milagro.org.

This is opening night and the audience is invited to stay afterward for a complimentary reception catered by a local restaurant.

For accommodations or questions, contact Shelley Yonemura, director of Multicultural Student Programs, at syonemur@georgefox.edu or stop by Student Life.

As announced in June, PeopleSoft works on a calendar year to track support staff and administrators’ vacation carryover balances, rather than on a fiscal year as it did with IFAS. As a result of this change, employees did not lose any vacation after June 30 if they carried balances into July that were greater than one year’s accrual. This change resulted in all staff and administrators having an extra six months (July-December 2009) to use any extra vacation.

If a balance of more than one year of vacation accrual remains after December time sheets and time-off reports are processed (in January), the employee will lose the portion that exceeds one year’s accrual.

To determine your accrual rates and how much you may need to use by Dec. 31, HR has prepared a chart and instructions for support staff and one for administrators to be used along with the information on your Sept. 30 pay statement. It also provides useful information about the balances on your monthly pay statements. To learn more, visit georgefox.edu/offices/hr/EmployeeBenefits/beneforms.html.

If you have any questions after you have reviewed your vacation balance, please contact HR for assistance.

Shane Roghaar, our TIAA-CREF representative, will be on the Newberg campus Oct. 27-28, with sessions scheduled in the Executive Dining Room. You may make an appointment with him to discuss your investments. See the invitation posted on the HR/Benefits web page: georgefox.edu/offices/hr/benefits.html. Employees in other locations may contact Shane to arrange a telephone consultation at 503-452-6981.

Interested in grad school? Be sure to check into any one of a number of events being offered next week:

• Join Career Services in the “Career Commons” blog at careers.georgefox.edu, where the topic will be on grad school information and questions between Oct. 12-23

• On Tuesday, Oct. 13, a “Getting Into Grad School” prep-shop will be held in Hoover 210 from noon to 1 p.m. and is available by webinar at that same time

• On Wednesday, Oct. 14, a Seminary Fair is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Hoover’s lower lobby

• Career Center graduate school resources and guidance available in Stevens 220.

Questions? Contact Career Services at careers@georgefox.edu or call 503-554-2330.

Career Services is hosting a prep-shop and webinar on getting into grad school from noon to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 13, in Hoover 210. Led by Career Services graduate assistant Chloe Lee, who has an MA and is also a  PsyD student at George Fox, the event will cover using a time line for admissions; taking the grad exams; selecting grad schools; preparing a curriculum vitae, cover letter and essay; obtaining recommendations; finding financial aid; and practicing for an admissions interview.

The prep-shop will be available by webinar at that same time. Contact Career Services at careers@georgefox.edu or ext. 2330 ASAP to get on one of our lists. The webinar has limited slots and is reserved for distance School of Professional Studies audiences first, but there will be a webinar waiting list available for Newberg campus participants. The deadline to sign up is noon Monday, Oct. 12.

Sorry about the previous link, but this is the updated link for The Crescent poll about biblical interpretation:

http://bit.ly/3V3CKn

Bruin discount cards are here! Expect to receive them in your mailbox sometime this week. Use your Bruin discount card for great deals at Abby’s Pizza, Pogy’s Subs, Doran Automotive and more.

Working toward the goal of “fitness, friendship and fun,” Ruth Baker is initiating a walking club for George Fox women employees and spouses of men employees beginning Monday, Oct. 12. You are welcome to walk as often as you would like Monday through Friday each week.

Here is the schedule:

6 a.m.*
7:45 a.m.**
Noon*
5:30 p.m.*

*Meets on George Fox track
**Meets at North Valley Friends Church track

Choose a walking group that fits your schedule or create a new one, and feel free to bring a friend. A point person to greet and walk with others is still needed for the 5:30 p.m. group, so please e-mail Peggy Kilburg if you would like fill that need.

Occasional special walking opportunities will be offered throughout the year, including:

• Champoeg Park Walk, Saturday, Nov. 14, 10 a.m. to noon, brown-bag picnic following

• Daffodil Walk in Amity, March 2010

• Tilikum 5K/10K at Champoeg Park, April 2010

• Newberg Relay for Life, June 2010

• McMinnville Habitat for Humanity 5K/10K, September 2010

• Others as we learn about them

For more information, contact Ruth at robinandruth@comcast.net or Peggy at pkilburg@georgefox.edu.

Terry Huffman (School of Education) will present the fall 2009 Fall Faculty Lecture, “American Indian Higher Educational Experiences: Cultural Visions and Personal Journeys” at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6, in Hoover 105. The lecture series has been a George Fox tradition since 1955 and is hosted by the Faculty Development Committee.

Attention:  Students

Help the student newspaper, The Crescent, by taking the following poll: 

http://tinyurl.com/ycc3s26

Interested in experiencing life in other countries? Come to the Foxhole from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 6, and hear stories from George Fox GoED (study abroad) alums. Learn about GoED study-abroad opportunities the best way possible.

GoED representatives will also be in the Bruin Den Monday, Oct. 5, and Tuesday, Oct. 6, during lunch (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.). Swing by the table to chat and hear more about study-abroad opportunities in Africa, Thailand and Bolivia.

To set up a meeting to learn more, contact Charith Norvelle at Charith.Norvelle@fh.org or call 480-280-2218.

Michael Bevis (English Language Institute) and Thomas Peng (China and East Asia Programs) will lead a Faculty Teaching Forum addressing the educational environment of our international student population. With the increasing number of international students on campus, questions arise about how to effectively engage international students in the educational process without overextending faculty resources. Join the ongoing conversation about how to support international students in their academic endeavors.

The session is scheduled from noon to 1:20 p.m.  Thursday, Oct. 8, in Cap & Gown A (note the different location than on academic calendar).

To reserve a lunch, e-mail Jere Witherspoon (jwithers@georgefox.edu) by 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 6. Everyone is welcome to attend the session, whether bringing a lunch or reserving a lunch. Please have your lunch ready so we can begin the conversation at noon.

All faculty — full time, part time, and adjunct—are invited to attend Faculty Teaching Forums (FTFs). Video podcasts of FTFs will be available on iTunesU.

Please send an e-mail to Peggy Kilburg if you would like to nominate a support staff member or administrator for Employee of the Month for October.  Your e-mail should include the person’s name, job title, a concise but specific summary of this person’s  recent contributions (past 30 days or so) to the university, its students, and/or its employees (what was done, who was impacted, etc.), and any other information that you believe makes this person deserving of this award.

Please submit your nomination by Friday, Oct. 16. The President’s Executive Leadership Team will then select the Employee(s) of the Month from the nominations submitted. The winner(s) will be announced at the all-employee meeting on Thursday, Oct. 22, and will receive a $100 gift card to The Allison Inn & Spa, including its restaurant, Jory.

George Fox partners with three organizations which allow employee dependents to apply for tuition exchange with a variety of educational institutions. Please note that this is not the same as tuition remission. If you have questions about tuition remission, please contact Human Resources.

If you have a dependent interested in applying for tuition exchange at another university, please thoroughly read information at the following address: georgefox.edu/resources_for/employees/tuitionexchange.pdf.

Applications are submitted by the Office of Academic Affairs, on behalf of the student, between October and early spring. Tuition exchange award decisions are usually made in February or March. To apply, please send the following information to Karlyn Fleming (kfleming@georgefox.edu):

• Dependent’s name

• Dependent’s mailing address

• Last four digits of dependent’s SSN

• Dependent’s telephone number

• Which colleges/universities your dependent would like tuition exchange application sent to

• What year in college your dependent will be in fall 2010 (freshman, sophomore, etc.)

Thank you.

Attention: Former High School Key Club Members!

Though GFU does not yet have a Circle K club, you can still find out about the local Kiwanis Club of Newberg by joining us for lunch any Thursday at noon in VAC 117.

For more information contact Jim Jackson at jjackson@georgefox.edu.

GFU Theatre Honors Society is planning the fall New Playwrights Festival,and looking for plays written by students!  Scripts should in PDF or Word format and no more than 20 pages or 30 minutes in length. 

Deadline for first drafts is Monday, October 12 by 10 p.m.  Please email submissions to  Jordan Beanblossom at jbeanblossom06@georgefox.edu or Sarah Klatt at sklatt05@georgefox.edu.

Time is running out to sign up for our free eight-week series on improving your parenting skills. No matter what challenges your children are presenting you with, we offer practical skills for improving your effectiveness as a parent for children of all ages. Seating is limited, so e-mail us at GFBHC@georgefox.edu to sign up.

The classes, sponsored by the George Fox Behavioral Health Clinic, meet each Tuesday from Oct. 13 through Dec. 1 from 5:30 to 7 p.m., in the Villa Academic Complex (V103). Sorry, no childcare is available at this time.