The Faculty Development Committee and Office of the Chief Academic Officer invite you to Dr. Cara Wall-Scheffler's Weter Lecture on Tuesday, April 8, at 7 p.m. in Upper Gwinn. Her lecture, "The Role of the Body in a Digital Age: A Scientist's Reflection on Our Walking God," invites us to explore how studying bipedalism helps us understand our own humanity. In addition, Dr. Wall-Scheffler will provide some nuanced framing for Biblical narratives that specifically report on walking.

A message from Undergraduate Admissions: We are so thankful for the dozens of faculty and staff who helped handwrite cards to Fall 2025 admitted students. This personal touch is so valuable as these students are in the midst of deciding where to attend college next fall. Thanks to your efforts, we were able to get handwritten cards mailed to over 1,300 students! A special thank you to Dr. Grace Blum, associate professor of curriculum and instruction in the School of Education, who won the Golden Falcon Award for writing the most cards. Thank you all for your continued support and partnership with our office!

There will be a networking lunch for faculty and staff of color on Thursday, May 1, 2025, 12:30–1:30 p.m. in the Ames Library classroom. Faculty and staff who identify as persons of color, ethnic minorities, or international are welcome to attend. This lunch serves as an opportunity for fellowship, networking, and sharing concerns. Please register for this event online. If you have questions, contact Bo Lim, special sdvisor for diversity and belonging, at bolim@spu.edu.

From now through Wednesday, April 9, faculty and staff will receive two bonus meals if they purchase a Faculty/Staff Block 10 Meal Plan. That’s 12 meals for $105.00 (or $8.75 per meal)! (Limit one per person.) You can use the plan in Gwinn any time during their service hours. Meal plans can be purchased through Banner (Employee Menu > Meal Plan Order Form). Your plan will be available at 9 a.m. the next business day. Meals can be used for guests and will roll from quarter to quarter while you are employed at the University.

If you need a quick meal, these plans have two convenient to-go options:

• Meal Exchange Program: Staff can use one meal swipe to get three to-go items (an entrée, side dish, and a beverage) from Handcrafted, Pie on the Fly or Serrano Grille. To ensure ample supply, there is a limit of one Meal Exchange per day. Meal plan balances are available from the cashier, the Campus Card Website, or by downloading the free GET Mobile app where you can track your balance from your smartphone.
  
  
• Waste Watch Reuse (WWR): This option, formerly Choose To Reuse, allows you to purchase a reusable to-go container for a one-time $5 fee and fill it up with items from Gwinn to take with you.

If you have any questions, please contact Housing & Meal Plan Services at 206-281-2188 or mealplan@spu.edu.

You are invited to join SPU colleagues at upcoming planned casual gatherings as part of our "Journeying Together"!

• A time of prayer and fellowship on Wednesday, April 9, 7– 8 a.m. in McKenna 117
• Bring your own lunch and join us on Thursday, May 22, 12:30–1:30 p.m. in the SUB Fireside Room

Student teams will pitch their ideas for socially innovative businesses and organizations that make money and make a difference at the annual Social Venture Plan Competition. Come and vote for your favorite projects and encourage your students to do so as well. Your votes will decide the winner of the $1,500 People’s Choice prize. Check out the website now, and don’t miss the event on Wednesday, April 16, 2–6 p.m. in Upper Gwinn!

The Faculty/Staff Bulletin is published every Monday during the academic year or Tuesday if Monday is a holiday. The next deadline is Thursday, April 10, and the next issue will be published Monday, April 14.

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.

Dr. JoAnn Flett, executive director of the Center for Faithful Business, served as a faculty advisor to Oxford University's Leading with Character course. This online leadership course places character at the forefront of good leadership. This three-year project is a collaborative initiative between Legatum, Oxford Character Project, Oxford University, and the Harvard Human Flourishing project. The free five-week course is available at Leading with Character.com.

Associate Professor of Sociology Raphael Mondesir accompanied six undergraduate students who were invited to share their research projects at the Pacific Sociological Association (PSA) annual conference in San Francisco, March 28–29. Raphael and sociology professors Jennifer McKinney, Kevin Neuhouser, and Joshua Tom served as faculty adviors on the student's research projects. Raphael says, "This is the regional sociology conference for the West Coast, and it is very competitive — many undergraduates submit their work to the PSA, but only the most promising projects are selected every year. The students all had projects whose scientific rigor and depth of analysis were praised by the PSA organizers and roundtable moderators. The whole SPU community should be very proud of them for this accomplishment."

A new book by Rick Steele, professor emeritus of moral & historical theology, titled "Ambassadors in Chains: Four Christian Prisoners of Conscience," was just published. Rick shares insights into the book. "The book examines the surviving prison writings of four Christians from different eras who were imprisoned for taking stands against the policies and practices of their respective governments:

• Vibia Perpetua (181-203), a young Roman noblewoman from North Africa and recent convert to Christianity, who refused to worship the imperial deities
• Maximus the Confessor (580-662), a Byzantine monk and theologian, who opposed a newly hatched imperial heresy
• Thomas More (1478-1535), an English statesman, whose conscience forbade him to approve of King Henry VIII’s divorce and remarriage, and of the schism of the Church of England from the papacy
• Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), the great leader of the Civil Rights Movement

Just in case you’re interested, the book is available from the publisher in paperback and ebook format and from Amazon in paperback and Kindle format."

A new study on Wesleyan biblical hermeneutics by Rob Wall, Paul T. Walls Professor Emeritus of Scripture & Wesleyan Studies, was just published. Rob's essay, "The Way of Full Salvation: An Introduction to Wesleyan Biblical Interpretation" (pp. 1-22), stages a new collection of studies by the next generation of exceptional biblical scholars who seek to demonstrate a way of reading scripture shaped by and intended for Wesleyan ecclesial settings — congregational (e.g., FFMC), denominational (e.g., FMC), academic classrooms (e.g., SPU/SPS), faculty scholarship, clergy alliances, Bible studies, and even personal devotions. This collection, Reading Scripture in Wesleyan Ways (Abingdon Press), is edited by Professors F. David Carr (Roberts Wesleyan) and Brady Beard (Emory). Rob says the publisher promises that it will help readers of all kinds, including faculty, students, staff, and administrators, "delve deeper into how Wesleyans approach their primary source for moral and theological reflection in today’s challenging global landscape."