A u g.
02
G e or g e F ox U n i v e r s i t y
Colleague
Next Issue: Aug. 23
P r e s i d e n t ’s P r o l o g u e
You've probably been asked by friends and
family about the cost of tuition at George Fox.
The cost of higher education is an important
topic. Governor Ted Kulongoski has mandated
that the topic be considered in its broadest
sense in both public and independent
institutions in Oregon. He recently appointed
an Access and Affordability Work Group to
study the issue. In fact, this group met recently
at the university's Portland Center.
The issue of cost seems more important to
most people than the issue of quality. Seldom
do people ask me to tell them about what a
George Fox education will bring them or their
child. Instead, the questions focus on how much
financial aid is available, apparently independent
of our “product.”
Education, by its very nature, is expensive,
especially when done well. Higher education is
labor-intensive. In recent years, the cost of
higher education has been exacerbated by
rapidly increasing technology costs, higher
expectations from traditional undergraduate
students for services, and costs of educational
materials.
George Fox faces a dilemma presented by the
inherently high cost of our “product,” financial
pressures felt by most families, and the
commitment to the highest quality education
for our students. A George Fox education is
well worth its “sticker price.” Our students
receive an excellent education and are wellprepared for further study and/or careers.
But where does the money come from? The
answer, of course, for George Fox is tuition
revenue. Tuition, fees, room, and board account
for more than 90 percent of the university's
annual operating budget. George Fox works
with each student individually to package
financial aid that reflects both the student's
financial need and academic ability. When all is
said and done, however, we do need some real
cash from outside the institution to make
payroll and to pay all the other bills.
It is a myth that independent colleges like
George Fox serve only the wealthy. Oregon's
independent colleges and universities serve, on
average, students from lower socio-economic
backgrounds than the state schools. George
Fox is a bargain, at least relative to other
institutions. George Fox students graduate with
less debt, on average, than students graduating
from Oregon's state institutions. While our
sticker price may be higher than a state
school's, there are other factors that influence
cost. Our students spend an average of slightly
more than four years earning their degree. At
many public schools, students need to pay for
five or more years to get all the classes they
need. That additional year of school also cuts
into a student's earning power. As you
encounter family and friends who are
considering a higher education, encourage them
Send news items to rfelton@georgefox.edu
Flood of Freshmen
George Fox is on the verge of breaking
records for new incoming traditional
undergraduate students.With significant
increases in nursing and engineering
students, the university has 395 incoming
freshmen enrolled. Including transfers,
readmits, and English Language Institute
students, the admissions office has 520
new students enrolled, a 12 percent
increase from last year at this time.The
goal was 470.The largest previous
incoming undergraduate class was 504.
Diamonds out of the
Rough
Physical Plant employees recently installed
a drainage system in the softball field and
leveled and upgraded the baseball field
drainage system. A foundation also was
added to the batting cage outbuilding. All
projects were previously scheduled and
were not related to the baseball team's
national championship.
ATM Near You
George Fox has installed ATMs in
Heacock Commons on the Newberg
campus and on the second floor of the
Portland Center. Both are managed by the
University Store.There is a $1.50
transaction charge to cover the lease costs.
Avoiding Computer
Viruses and Hoaxes
To keep from being affected by the 60,000
known viruses and hundreds of hoaxes:
1) Make sure you have an antivirus
program installed and updated. If you're
not sure your computer is protected,
contact the IT Service Desk (ext. 2569).
2) Make it a habit to not open
attachments from strange e-mails - even
from someone you know.
3) Don't fall for a stranger's message. If
you think a warning is real, forward it to
the Service Desk (servicedesk@george
fox.edu) before you take action.
4) IT sends its alerts from the
servicedesk e-mail account. If you receive
a message from a different address that
claims to be from IT, you can delete it.
For more information, visit
http://it.georgefox.edu/virus
Congressional
Discernment Project
Paul Anderson (Religion) received a
$300,000 Lilly Grant for the university,
funding a four-year project designed to
Colleague • Aug. 2, 2004
Volume 11
No. 30
E m p l oy e e N e w s l e t t e r
Deadline for Copy: Aug. 17
apply Quaker decision-making theory and
method to interdenominational settings in
hopes of producing a more unified
Christian movement.The George Fox
University Congregational Discernment
Project has three parts.The first is a
national conference on "Discerning the
Leadership of Christ" to be held in
Colorado Springs Jan. 16-18, 2005. It
continues with a two-year consultation
between pastors and scholars.The final
element is publishing material generated
over the course of the project. Paul is
drawing together a local resource
committee including Chuck Conniry
(Seminary), Janis Balda (Management)
and others.
Movers & Quakers
Sean McKay this year will split his time
between IT and the School of Education.
He will help integrate technology into the
education program.
Marta Oti Sears (Multicultural Services)
became director of housing on July 1.
Comings and Goings
Jackie Harris joins the
admissions department as
office manager. Harris, a
resident of McMinnville,
has done accounting work
all over the world, serving
in Romania, Liberia,
Mauritania, and Mali as a self-employed
public accountant. Jackie, who enjoys
writing, floral design, and photography as
hobbies, earned a bachelor's degree in
business administration from the
University of Redlands (Calif.). She and
her husband, Jack, (Physical Plant) have
four daughters and attend church at Athey
Creek Christian Fellowship in Tualatin.
Marilee Jolin joins
George Fox as
undergraduate
admissions counselor
after attending the
university as a political
science student the past
four years. Marilee previously worked as a
student office assistant in the university's
Health and Counseling Center, and she
was prominent on the school's stage,
landing leading roles in four George Fox
plays. She and her husband, Matt
Mickelson, both graduated from George
Fox in May.They live in Newberg.The
couple recently celebrated their one-year
anniversary and they attend the Tigard
Community Friends Church.
The university welcomes a
writer/editor in the
communications department.
Sean Patterson, a resident
of Canby and a graduate of
Oral Roberts University,
joins George Fox after
working as the sports editor of the Canby
Herald and Wilsonville Spokesman
newspapers for the past 15 years. An avid
sports fan, Patterson enjoys playing sports and
pursuing other outdoor activities with his
family, which includes wife, Rita, daughter
Paige, 9, and son Ethan, 7. He also is active in
singing and drama at his home church, New
Life Foursquare Church, in Canby.
The university's Portland
Center welcomes Sharon
Pilon as office manager.
Sharon gained management
experience as a liaison and
administrative assistant for
Youth Life Development of
Portland, and for the past three years has
worked as a part-time consultant with
FOCUS on Foundations of Beaverton.
Previously, Sharon lived in Arizona, where she
was a writer and assistant fund-raising
manager for Family Life Communications. She
has a 26-year-old son, Jason. She and her
husband, John, live in Beaverton. She attends
Life Church in Aloha.
Jason Schwanz joined the
admissions staff as a systems
operations manager. He has
served as a senior
information technology
associate with Bates Private
Capital, Inc. since 2002.The
Newberg resident also gained experience as a
senior network technician with ComPath,
Inc., where he was responsible for the
management of high-speed Internet access at
various apartment complexes in Portland. He
graduated from George Fox in 2000 with a
bachelor's degree in business and economics:
management and information systems. Jason
joins the admissions department just as his
wife, Adrienne, leaves the department.The
Schwanz family attends Newberg Friends
Church.
Cynthia Weston has joined
the university as development
writer. Cynthia has extensive
experience as a grants
specialist. She most recently
worked as an independent
grants consultant, and did
similar work with Tri-Met during the 1980s.
She earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics at the University of California,
Riverside. She and her husband, Gregg, have
been married 31 years and have two children,
Claire, 14, and David,13.The family lives in
Lake Oswego and attends River West Church.
Cynthia enjoys playing guitar and leading
worship for women's groups and retreats.
New undergraduate
admissions counselor Mandi
Zollman is familiar to the
George Fox family. She
graduated from the university
as a psychology major this
year and was active in
numerous clubs and other activities, serving
as president of Psi Chi, as an area coordinator
of residence halls, and as a member of the
alumni council. She graduated as the
valedictorian of her class at Joseph High
School and has won several academic awards.
She lives in Newberg, where she attends
Newberg Free Methodist Church.
Glenn Anderson (Counseling) has left and
will be starting a doctoral program at Oregon
State University this fall.
Gene Dykema (Management) has retired.
Gene has taught at George Fox since 1991.
Michael Hampton (Career Services) is
leaving to become director of service learning
and career development at Western Oregon
University. His last day at George Fox is Aug. 4.
Adrienne Schwanz (Admissions) has left
“to pursue other interests, including
motherhood.”
Becca Wages (University Communications)
has left to take a full-time position as mom.
About our People
The Confederation in Oregon for Language
Teaching has named Viki Defferding as the
Outstanding Teacher at the College Level for
2004.The award will be presented at the fall
conference.
Candy Schlott (University Store) is the new
chair of the staff development committee.
John Natzke (Engineering) presented a
paper at the International Radio Science
Union meeting held in Monterey, Calif., June
20 - 25.The paper was titled "Teaching the
Finite Difference Time Domain Method in the
Junior Undergraduate Electromagnetics
Course," and was based on research done for
the new electromagnetic fields and waves
course in the engineering major.
Plant Services on July 21 hosted a meeting of
the Oregon Independent Colleges Association
Plant Services Support personnel. Several
topics were discussed including van safety and
driver training.
In March, Paul Anderson (Religion)
attended the Faith and Order consultation of
the National Council of Churches, meeting in
Richmond, Ind., at the Earlham School of
Religion. Paul's response to Pope John Paul's
letter on Petrine Ministry was distributed to
the 45 attenders, and it will soon be
forwarded to the Vatican and to One in Christ
(an ecumenical Catholic journal) as a public
statement invited by the Director of the
NCCC Faith and Order Commission.
In May, Paul chaired two sessions of the New
Testament and Hellenistic Religions Section of
the Pacific Northwest Society of Biblical
Literature meetings held at the University of
British Columbia in Vancouver, B.C. He also
presented a paper entitled "Johannine
Dualism and Plato's Allegory of the Cave" in a
third session and led a discussion on "Jesus at
the Movies — What Works and What
Doesn't." That month, Paul also attended the
Scripture and the Disciplines Conference at
Wheaton College, along with Melanie
Mock (Wri/Lit), Paul Otto (History),
Cliff Rosenbaum (Social Work), and Mark
Colleague • June 1, 2004
Hall (Political Science).
Paul organized four sessions for the Quaker
Theological Discussion Group meetings held
on the George Fox University campus in
June. He presented a paper entitled “A
Dynamic Christocentricity-The Center of
Faithful Praxis” and moderated one of the
sessions. He also shared in a plenary Friends
Association for Higher Education panel
discussion on the topic of “Truth-Telling as
Institutions Clarify Their Missions” and edited
issue No. 102 of Quaker Religious Thought
on the subject of “A Quaker Approach to
Truth.” This issue features two essays by
George Fox University authors: “Truth as a
Way of Life” by Corey Beals (Religion), and
“Every Thought Captive to Christ” by Arthur
Roberts (Professor at Large).
Paul has received an invitation from Thomas
Gillespie, president of Princeton Theological
Seminary, to be a visiting scholar next fall as
he works on several New Testament projects
on his sabbatical. He and the family plan to
spend four months in New Jersey this fall.
In the Family
Penny Galvin, former director of alumni
relations, gave birth to a daughter. She was 8
pounds, 9 ounces, and 20 3/4 inches.
Mel Schroeder, associate professor
emeritus of theatre, and his wife, Carol, will
be leaving on Aug. 26 to teach as volunteers in
the newly formed communications program
at African Nazarene University in Nairobi,
Kenya. Mel will teach television production
courses. Carol will be a resource person in
the education department and possibly in the
library.They will return in April, 2005.This is
their first time to Africa.
Marta Oti Sears and her husband, Andy, had
a baby boy on May 12. Jonah Oti Sears
weighed in at 8 pounds 7 ounces. and was 20
inches long.
Birthdays
Aug. 2
Aug. 3
Aug. 5
Aug. 6
Aug. 9
Aug. 12
Larry Shutts
Nancy Thurston
Michele Johnson
Kent Yinger
Karie Straube
Larry Kintz
Carlos Marin
Aug. 17
Aug. 18
Aug. 19
Aug. 21
Blair Cash
Trini Marquez
Jim Foster
Mary Olson
Creagh Schoen
Aug. 22
Michael Hampton
Calendar
Fri., Aug. 13
• Noon, Auxiliary Lunch, Cap & Gown Room
Sun.-Tue., Aug. 15-17
• Faculty Conference,Twin Rocks Retreat
Center
Fri., Aug. 20
• 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Faculty and Staff
Fellowship, Heacock Commons