涩里番

The SPU Music Department ends the academic year with a concert featuring musicians from all ensembles. Hear works performed by Concert Choir, Treble Choir, the SPU Orchestra, and special features by student instrumental and composition competition winners. The program truly celebrates the best of the SPU Music Department. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. in First Free Methodist Church.

The Workday team has just wrapped up the . The focus is on all-things-training and the many cutover processes needed to transition the HR and Finance operations from Banner to Workday. We have already started some end-user training and awareness with groups of power users, and are incorporating their feedback into our campuswide training courses and job aids (step-by-step walkthroughs). Those courses and materials will be launched in the final week of June and first week of July. We’ll also be offering catch-up training in the fall for those that will already be off-contract when we go live on July 1.

Starting next week, you’ll see weekly updates on the project and what you can do to prepare to use Workday when we go live on July 1. Please pay special attention to these messages, especially any to-do items that all employees should plan to do immediately after July 1. As always, feel free to email any questions or information for the project team to workday@spu.edu.

You can access the recordings and resources from this quarter’s Microsoft Teams Meetings for Teaching workshop series on . If you have any questions or need help accessing the materials, please reach out to etmhelp@spu.edu.

A message from Student Counseling, Health, and Wellness: SCHW would like to share how we’re celebrating Mental Health Awareness Month (May). All month, we will have sidewalk signs outside of Watson Hall which will include mental health information and small actionable steps we all can take to improve our mental health. We will also be offering free giveaways every Wednesday! We’ll host a special event called Hoppy Hour (with bunnies!) on Demaray Hall lawn on Wednesday, May 28, 4–7 p.m.

You are invited to join SPU colleagues at upcoming planned casual gatherings as part of our "Journeying Together." Bring your lunch and join us on Thursday, May 22, 12:30–1:30 p.m. in the SUB Fireside Room.

The Faculty Status Committee is offering its annual File Building Workshop for next year’s tenure, promotion, and third-year review candidates on Thursday, May 22, 3–4:15 p.m. in Demaray 255. The file building session addresses the requirements and process for each type of review. Status committee members will field questions about and describe the documentation necessary for review. Please consult your dean to see if you are eligible for review next year. If you have any questions, please contact Jennifer McKinney, chair of Faculty Status Committee.

Pearl Leung, public policy senior manager at Amazon, is the next School of Business, Government, and Economics Dean’s Speaker on Tuesday, May 20, 9–10:30 a.m. in the Library Seminar Room (2nd floor). As usual, all are welcome, but space is limited, so faculty and staff wishing to attend should RSVP to cal@spu.edu.

Leung is head of local public policy for east King County to Eastern Washington, overseeing local advocacy strategies and policy initiatives in support of Amazon's presence in these regions. A recognized civic leader with 20 years of experience in public affairs, Leung has dedicated her work to building bridges at the intersections of urban growth and community development, focusing on affordable housing, transportation, economic development, and supporting the nonprofit sector. Her distinguished leadership and community impact earned recognition from the Puget Sound Business Journal as a "40 Under 40" honoree in 2020.

Human Resources will host a series of upcoming events designed to get you ready for retirement. Whether retirement is a distant dream or just around the corner, these events are designed for you! Watch for upcoming series details and links to sign up.

Retirement Ready Seminar–This week
Join us for two informative presentations from a Transamerica retirement planning consultant and a Medicare Health Plan expert. Spouses are welcome to attend as well! No registration required.

Tuesday, May 20, 2025
4–6 p.m.
Royal Brougham Pavillion, Hendricks Falcon Club

Transamerica individual appointments
Scott Jozefowski, Retirement Planning Consultant
Thursday, May 22, and Friday, May 23, 2025
Human Resources Conference Room
Sign up for an appointment:

Medicare individual appointments
Dan McCarley, Medicare Health Plan Broker
Tuesday, May 27, 2025
Human Resources Conference Room
Sign up for an appointment:

The Faculty/Staff Bulletin is published every Monday during the academic year or Tuesday if Monday is a holiday. The next deadline is Thursday, May 22. Due to the Memorial Day holiday, the next issue will be published Tuesday, May 27. 

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.

A chapter by Carlene Brown, professor of music and director of the Music Therapy program, and Kerry Dearborn, professor emerita of theology, titled “Imagination as a Means of Freedom and Healing,” was recently published by Bloomsbury in , eds. Stephen M Garrett, Imogen Adkins, pp. 457-468.

On May 15, Professor of Art and Art History Katie Kresser hosted a special edition of Image InStudio, an event series sponsored by the arts journal, Image. She interviewed artist Bruce Herman on his new book, Makers by Nature: Letters by a Master Painter on Faith, Hope and Art from InterVarsity Press.

Dr. A. LeVon “Lee” Balzer died on May 11, 2025. He served in many positions at 涩里番 Pacific for 13 years before being in Kansas in 1988. After six years at Tabor, he became , Siloam Springs, AS, where he served for ten years.

Balzer came to 涩里番 Pacific in 1975 and was professor of biology and dean of instruction before being named dean of arts and sciences, beginning with the 1980-81 academic year. Upon his departure from SPU in 1988, the Board of Trustees recognized him by saying:

“The 13-year investment which A. LeVon Balzer has made at 涩里番 has enriched the lives of countless students, making them more disciplined and rigorous thinkers. Numerous faculty and administrative colleagues have found LeVon a wise and effective counselor and example, sensitive to their unique goals and pursuits and rigorous in his to challenge to Christian intellectual excellence, and many of the directions 涩里番 has taken in its academic course are due in great part to his thorough and gracious managerial and leadership skills as curriculum coordinator, associate school director, and academic dean. LeVon’s spiritual insights, intellectual rigor, and personal demeanor witness to a confidence in Christ’s presence and empowerment in a great diversity of settings…"

Besides the online tributes at Tabor and John Brown, an was published May 17. 

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 31, in the Cathedral of the Ozarks at John Brown University.

Keith Phillips, former athletic director, dean of the School of Physical Education and Athletics, and alumnus died on March 20, 2025, at the age of 90. He came to 涩里番 Pacific on an athletic scholarship and played baseball and basketball, graduating in 1956. He returned to SPU in 1990 and served as AD and dean for three years, where he oversaw the renovation of Brougham Pavilion and the partnership with 涩里番 Parks on the development of Interbay Stadium. He retired in 1993 and remained active in the SPU Alumni Association.

He is survived by his wife, Susie, three children, and several grandchildren and great grandchildren. A memorial service will be held Saturday, May 31, 1 p.m., at Beachwood Lounge, at Warm Beach Senior Community, 20420 Marine Drive, in Stanwood. .