Nov.
1
G e or g e F ox U n i v e r s i t y
Next Issue: Nov. 15
Colleague
Send news items to spatterson@georgefox.edu
P r e s i d e n t ’s P r o l o g u e
What do university presidents talk about when
left to themselves? If you've ever wondered
what you would hear if you sneaked a
microphone in their midst, don't bother. I can
report.
Melva and I just returned from a meeting of the
presidents of the Christian College Consortium
in Houghton, N.Y. These 13 presidents,
accompanied by their spouses, meet twice a
year to conduct business of the consortium. At
each of these meetings we take time for a
cracker-barrel session that lasts at least several
hours and often a complete morning or
afternoon. Each president submits a topic or
two he or she would like to be discussed.
Some of the issues are ideological in nature and
deal with big-picture ideas. This meeting
included:
• What do you do when a major donor wants
the institution to conform to his political
agenda before he will make an eight-figure gift?
(This gift could make or break the capital
campaign.)
• What are our colleges doing in the area of
Global Christianity?
• Regarding the elections:What is the
atmosphere on campus? How does it compare
to previous elections? Is there a difference
between attitudes of students and the faculty?
• To what extent do we let issues come to us
rather than taking initiative, e.g. how do we
position ourselves on the issue of same-sex
marriage?
• How can we improve the ethnic and cultural
diversity of our institutions?
Some topics relate to the practical aspects of
the university.These include:
• Do we see patterns in fall admissions?
• How are different institutions handling the
new laws regarding exempt/non-exempt
employees?
• What is the trend in “discount” tuition rates?
• How do we determine eligibility for
employee-dependent tuition waiver benefits?
• How should we respond to a specific
foundation that excludes many of our
institutions?
These discussions with Christ-centered
university presidents have great value for me.
Seldom do we reach conclusions, but the quality
of the discussion is very high. Our meetings
have clear impact on how we think about
priorities as we seek to bring appropriate
leadership to our own institutions.
These meetings always help me to think more
clearly about George Fox University. They help
me to know how we should (or want to be) like
our sister institutions and how we have to be
distinct. I am reaffirmed that we are part of a
larger entity – Christ-centered higher
education – working to enlarge God's kingdom.
Volume 11
No. 36
E m p l oy e e N e w s l e t t e r
Deadline for Copy: Nov. 9
Family Matters
Assemblage Art
More than 800 family members will be on
campus this weekend, Nov. 5-7, for the
annual Family Weekend. As part of the
event, there will be a dinner Friday night,
faculty lectures and workshops on
Saturday, a performing arts concert and
president’s reception Saturday afternoon,
and a closing chapel service on Sunday.
An art exhibition, “Heidi Petersen: New
Works,” will be on display through the
middle of November in the Lindgren
Gallery.The assemblage pieces were
created by Petersen, a Canby artist and
graduate of Biola University. Gallery
hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.
to 4 p.m.The exhibition runs through
Nov. 16.
Cultural Celebration
The Office of Multicultural Services will
host its annual Cultural Celebration Week
Nov. 8-11.The theme of this year’s event
is “Authentic Life: A World of Difference.”
Included among the activities are special
chapel services Nov. 8 and 10, “Taste of
the World” dinners each of the four
evenings, and a cultural fair on Tuesday
from 3:30 to 5 p.m. in the Ron Gregory
Atrium. Contact Burel Ford
(Multicultural Services) at ext. 2318 for
more information.
It’s Just Bazaar
Food, crafts, home décor, folk art, and
linens are just a few of the items that will
be for sale at the annual George Fox
Auxiliary Bazaar on Friday and Saturday,
Nov. 5-6, in the Ron Gregory Atrium.The
event will run from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
on Friday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on
Saturday.There is no admission charge.
Bruin Preview
Nearly 200 prospective students and 100
parents are expected on the Newberg
campus for Bruin Preview Nov. 11-12.
The visitors will get a chance to meet
faculty members, counselors, students,
and coaches while also attending classes
and getting tours of the engineering and
visual arts departments.There will also be
a performing arts showcase on Friday.
All About Art
George Fox’s visual arts department has
reserved dates for five student art shows
in the Murdock Learning Resource
Center. A ceramics show is the first of the
exhibits and is on display Nov. 1-19.
Shows to follow include sculpture (Nov.
22-Dec. 10), watercolors (Jan. 17-Feb. 6),
paintings (Feb. 7-27), and mixed media
(April 4-23). For more information,
contact Doug Campbell at ext. 2635.
Accreditation News
Trojan Women
George Fox University’s theatre
department will conclude its fall
production, Trojan Women, with
performances Nov. 3-6.The play, written
by Euripides some 2,400 years ago and
recently translated by Paul D. Streufert,
will be performed at 7:30 p.m. each
evening in Wood-Mar Auditorium.Tickets
are $10 for general admission, $8 for
senior citizens and alumni, and $6 for
students and children under 12. Call the
box office at 503-554-3844 for more
information.
Banding Together
George Fox and Linfield College are
teaming up for a band concert at 3 p.m.
on Sunday, Nov. 14, at Linfield College in
McMinnville. George Fox’s symphonic
band and Linfield’s concert band will
perform under the direction of Joan
Paddock of Linfield and Pat Vandehey of
George Fox.The concert will last about
90 minutes and have a patriotic theme.
There is no admission charge.To find out
more, contact Vandehey at ext. 2621.
Colleague • Nov. 1, 2004
The George Fox social work program is in
the process of seeking accreditation
through the Council on Social Work
Education (CSWE). In October, the
council’s Jack Sellers paid the university a
candidacy site visit and recommended a
full-site visit.The department, under the
direction of Cliff Rosenbohm, is now
awaiting a recommendation letter from
the CSWE, after which the university has
two weeks to respond. In February 2005,
the CSWE board will review the
recommendation and make a decision.The
program will then make official
application to the CSWE for a full-site
visit or a second annual visit in fall of
2005. Accreditation would give the
George Fox program approval from the
only national accrediting body for social
work.
Meanwhile, George Fox’s engineering
program received positive feedback from
the five-member Accreditation Board for
Engineering and Technology team that
paid a visit to the Newberg campus Oct.
10-12.The university is now awaiting a
recommendation letter from ABET, the
national accreditation board for
engineering. Upon receiving the letter,
George Fox has until June to follow through
with the recommendations.Then, in mid-July,
the ABET team that visited will present its
accreditation case to the national board in
Washington, D.C.The university will then
learn of its accreditation status in August.The
pursuit of accreditation has been a seven-year
process for the engineering program, chaired
by Bob Harder.The department awarded its
first bachelor’s degrees in engineering to
eight students in 2004.
COMINGS AND GOINGS
Jewls Krentz (School of Management) has
left the university. Her final day was Oct. 29.
Jack Merchant’s (IT) last day at George
Fox will be Nov. 5.
ABOUT OUR PEOPLE
Viki Defferding, an assistant professor of
Spanish, was awarded the Post-Secondary
Teacher of the Year award at the joint
conference of the Washington Association of
Foreign Language Teachers and the
Confederation of Oregon Foreign Language
Teachers on Friday, Oct. 8.
Tom Head (Economics) traveled to Geneva,
Switzerland, for the Oct. 15-17 board
meetings of the Quaker United Nations
Office.The Geneva-based non-governmental
organization (NGO) carries out programs in
the areas of human rights, peacemaking, and
international economics.
University president David Brandt, his wife
Melva, and four others with George Fox ties
went to see a rock star on Oct. 20.Well, not
exactly.The contingent did indeed attend a
World Affairs Council of Oregon gathering to
see U2 front man Bono, but the famous Irish
rocker didn’t sing. Rather, he was in Portland
to speak on the action America and Europe
should take to help fix the African AIDS crisis.
Joining the Brandts were George Fox
professors Janis Balda (Management), Tom
Head (Economics), Melanie Mock
(Writing/Literature) and Colleen
Richmond (Writing/Literature). Bono was
the first speaker in the council’s 2004-05
International Speakers Series.
Arthur O. Roberts, a George Fox
professor-at-large, is co-editor with Hugh
Barbour of a new edition of Early Quaker
Writings, 1650-1700, released in October by
Pendle Hill Publications.The first edition of
this anthology, published in 1973, has been
out of print for years.The new 622-page
paperback edition provides an updated
introduction, including Barbour’s review of
recent relevant books, essays, and document
collections.The main text has been retained;
it features the writings of 67 lesser-known
Friends of the 17th century. Other recently
published books by Roberts include Exploring
Heaven, with introductions by George Fox
University President David Brandt and
alumna Richard Foster, and its companion
collection of poems, “Prayers at Twilight”
(Barclay, 2003), with an introduction by
alumnus Nancy Thomas. Arthur has led
discussion groups on the topic of heaven
based on these books, most recently at the
Yachats Community Presbyterian Church. His
keynote address at George Fox last June
before the Friends Association of Higher
Education, “Every Thought Captive to Christ,”
appears in the current issue of Quaker
Religious Thought, paired with Corey Beals’
essay, “Truth as a Way of Life.” Copies of this
publication are available from Phil Smith in
the Religious Studies office.
CALENDAR
George Fox University President David
Brandt has been named one of six college
presidents to serve on the national board of
directors of the Washington, D.C.-based
Foundation for Independent Higher Education
(FIHE). Brandt will begin his term with a
meeting in Washington, D.C., Nov. 15-16.
The organization represents 36 state and
regional college and university fund-raising
associations, with 650 private colleges that
enroll more than 1.5 million students. Brandt
will serve as the western region presidential
representative. He joins five other college
presidents, 13 state association professional
directors, eight business directors, and the
presidents of the National Association of
Independent College and Universities and the
Council of Independent Colleges. FIHE
secures financial resources to support
America’s independent colleges and develops
collaborative programs within its membership
and other organizations. It is one of the
primary voices of independent higher
education to corporate and philanthropic
organizations.The organization has raised
more than $1.4 billion, with the total growing
$35 to $50 million a year.
• Fall Theatre Production:
Trojan Women
Wood-Mar Auditorium, 7:30 p.m.
Team No. 28, representing faculty, staff and
administration, won the intramural volleyball
championship in straight sets, 30-24, 30-26,
on Oct. 25.
George Fox’s 10-member forensics team fared
well at its first competition – a Pacific
Lutheran University tournament Oct. 22-24
– by earning finalist honors in several
categories. Paul Southwick (Senior
Impromptu), Christine Grieve (Junior Prose),
Grieve and Candice Thiessen (Junior Duo),
James Thompson (Novice Extemp), and the
pair of Thompson and Blakely Spillar (Novice
Parliamentary Debate) were all finalists in
their respective disciplines.The team is
headed up by Jacki Harris (Admissions).
BIRTHDAYS
Nov. 1
Nov. 2
Nov. 4
Nov. 5
Nov. 6
Nov. 7
Nov. 10
Nov. 11
Nov. 12
Nov. 14
Dave Johnstone
Gloria Foltz
Jewls Krentz
Tom Head
John Stewart
Melissa Bullock
Jared Ocker
Kathryn Lee
Doug Campbell
Vicki Ring
Denise Decicco
Sean Patterson
Kelly Borror
Jan Lefebvre
Colleague • Nov. 1, 2004
Monday, Nov. 1
• Newberg Chapel
Richard Twiss, 10:40 a.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 2
• Faculty Lunch, Noon
Wednesday, Nov. 3
• Newberg Chapel
Richard Slimbach, 10:40 a.m.
Thursday, Nov. 4
• Fall Theatre Production:
Trojan Women
Wood-Mar Auditorium, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 5
• George Fox Auxiliary Bazaar
Ron Gregory Atrium, 10 a.m.
• Volleyball vs.Whitman
Wheeler Sports Center, 7 p.m.
• Fall Theatre Production:
Trojan Women
Wood-Mar Auditorium, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 6
• George Fox Auxiliary Bazaar
Ron Gregory Atrium, 10 a.m.
• Women’s Soccer vs. Pacific Lutheran
Morse Soccer Field, 11 a.m.
• Men’s Soccer vs. Pacific Lutheran
Morse Soccer Field, 1:30 p.m.
• Band/Choir/Orchestra Concert
Bauman Auditorium, 2 p.m.
• Volleyball vs.Whitworth
Wheeler Sports Center, 7 p.m.
• Fall Theatre Production:
Trojan Women
Wood-Mar Auditorium, 7:30 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 8
• Newberg Chapel
Cultural Celebration Week, 10:40 a.m.
• Cultural Celebration Week
Stevens 207, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 9
• Faculty Lunch, Noon
• Cultural Celebration Week
Stevens 207, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 10
• Newberg Chapel
Cultural Celebration Week, 10:40 a.m.
Thursday, Nov. 11
• Jazz Concert
Bauman Auditorium, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 14
• George Fox/Linfield Band Concert
Linfield College, 3 p.m.