A message from University Communications: If you have a few updates to your office or department webpage, submit them online at Web Update Request Form. If you need a new or updated directory photo, contact Design Manager Lynn Anselmi at lynnanselmi@spu.edu.

In the winter issue of the School of Education's newsletter On Point, explore how SOE is seeing beyond the horizon and read the latest Message From the Dean. Subscribe to On Point to stay up to date on recent SOE highlights and achievements.

The 10th of each month is the last day to make changes to your upcoming payroll check. Do you need to add or remove your spouse and/or children from your health care plans? If so, contact Human Resources (HR) to complete the appropriate form. Changes might include events that are expected to impact your benefits and deductions, such as your spouse or children gaining or losing coverage due to employment, birth, marriage, etc.

Additionally, any changes to your 403b account may take up to seven days to be provided to SPU for processing, so please contact Transamerica by the first of the month prior to your requested change. For changes to your 403(b) account, contact Transamerica Retirement Solutions at 1-888-676-5512 (5 a.m.–6 p.m. PST), or 1-800-755-5801. If you have any other benefits-related changes, call Cherylin Shdo in HR at 206-281-2816.

The Faculty/Staff Bulletin is published every Monday during the academic year or Tuesday if Monday is a holiday. The next deadline is Thursday, Jan. 9, and the next issue will be published Monday, Jan. 13.

If you have information or event news, send it as soon as possible with an image or graphic to Bulletin editor Tracy Norlen at fsb-editor@spu.edu. Submissions may be edited for clarity.

Bo Lim, professor of Old Testament, contributed the essay, “Reading in Context,” to the edited volume, The State of Old Testament Studies: A Survey of Recent Research, eds. H. H. Hardy II and M. Daniel Carroll R. (Baker Academic, 2024). His essay describes the shift in biblical studies away from historical approaches and maps the diverse field of contextual biblical interpretation.

Several essays by Jason Thornberry were recently published. Rathalla Review published his personal essay, "Pyromania," in the Fall 2024 issue, This is the 16th personal essay taken from his memoir, Things Move Fast. Another personal essay from his memoir, "Byron's Band," was published in December in the Maryland Literary Review. World Literature Today published the first chapter of his novel, Good Enough for Now. Also in December, he was a featured reader for the Linden Review, the biannual literary journal produced by the University of Nebraska at Omaha. At a virtual launch party, he read his personal essay, "Pastor and Plant," about a heavy metal symposium at his Christian middle school in the early 1980s. Jason is a writing professor and office coordinator in the School of Education.

Bill Nagy, emeritus professor of education, presented a paper at the annual meeting of the Literacy Research Association in Atlanta, Georgia. The paper was titled, "Morphemes are not units of meaning."

Articles on the Church Councils of Hispania by Alberto Ferreiro, professor emeritus of history, were published in the Lexikon für Konziliengeschichtsforschung. The articles are Braga II (572), Egara (614), Barcelona II (599), Toledo (597), Narbonne (589), Zaragoza II (592), and Huesca (598). Alberto was also featured along with scholars from Germany, France, Italy, Portugal, and Spain in a documentary on the life and legacy of Priscillian of Avila (d.385), which aired in Spain on Dec. 4. Priscillian was executed as a "heretic" in 385 by a usurper Roman emperor in Trier (Germany), though he was hailed by many in his day as a martyr. The church condemned the execution. Priscillian was the subject of Alberto's Weter Lecture in 1991.

Please join the Office of Human Resources in welcoming Ashley Alter, program coordinator, Center for Faithful Business, School of Business, Government, and Economics.

An op-ed by Peter Wehner published on Dec. 24, 2024, in The New York Times contained a quote from Kerry Dearborn, professor emerita of theology. The op-ed, titled "Why it Matters that Jesus Came from a Dysfunctional Family," was also published in Belief.net. 

Professor of Psychology Paul Youngbin Kim was interviewed in a Psychology Today article, "Why Perfectionism Is a Trap," published in the November 2024 issue and online.

Becky Le Shana, wife of former Seattle Pacific President David Le Shana, died on November 5, 2024, at the age of 92. The Le Shanas served at SPU from 1982 through 1991. Here is her official obituary.

Rebecca (Becky) Ann Le Shana passed from this life into her eternal home at the age of 92 years, on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, at the Thompson Peak Medical Center in Scottsdale, Arizona. In her final moments, she was surrounded by her husband, David, her four children and their spouses, and a number of her grandchildren.

Becky was born on December 23, 1931, in Muncie, Indiana, and lived her younger years in and around Celina, Ohio. She gave her heart to Jesus Christ as a young girl, grew up in the Friends Church (maintaining her membership there as an adult), and later attended Free Methodist, Nazarene, and Presbyterian churches. Her simple but deep faith, even through great difficulty and painful moments, provided a guide and assurance for her and foundational encouragement to her family and friends.

Becky attended Taylor University in Upland, Indiana, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in education in 1953. While there during her freshman year, she met and fell in love with her husband, Dave. After graduation, they served in ministry and leadership together at churches in the Midwest, at Taylor University, Long Beach Friends Church in California, and at three educational institutions in the Pacific Northwest: George Fox College (now University), Seattle Pacific University, and Western Evangelical (now Portland) Seminary. George Fox University honored both Becky and Dave in 2006 in the naming of the David and Rebecca Le Shana Residence Hall, and along with Dave, she received the distinguished Legion of Honor alumni award from Taylor University in 2010.

Of utmost importance to Becky was her family. Becky and Dave married on June 8, 1951, enjoying over 73 years of marriage. After retirement, they moved to the Scottsdale/Phoenix area in 2005. She loved and prayed for her extended family members every day by name.

Becky is survived by her husband, Dave; four children and their spouses, Debbie (and Jeff) Rickey, Jim (and Jeanine) Le Shana, Cathy (and Dave) McIntyre, and Christy (and Brian) Gardner; 10 grandchildren, Jon (and Angela) Rickey, Alison (and Kyle) Westerlind, David (and Tiffani) Rickey, Jason (and Stephanie) Le Shana, Jonathan (and Amelia) Le Shana, Jared Le Shana, Joy Le Shana, David (and Sophie) McIntyre, Megan McIntyre, Michael McIntyre, and Daniel Gardner; and 13 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, Lewis and Joy Swander, a young brother, and a newborn son.

A memorial service was held January 3, 2025, at Pinnacle Peak Presbyterian Church in Scottsdale, Arizona.