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The SPU Music Department hosts an evening of choral music featuring the Concert and Treble choirs on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025, 7:30 p.m. at First Free Methodist Church. Join Music faculty Beth Ann Bonnecroy, Ryan Ellis, and guest director Vanessa Bruce, gospel music compose and arranger, for a program that celebrates life, resilience, hope, and faith. The concert is free and open to the public.

The Treble Choir will feature music by composers such as Tracy Wong, Susan LaBarr, and Tony Young. The Concert Choir celebrates Black History Month with Bruce and her arrangements as well as composers such as Grayson Warren Brown, Carl Haywood, and Roland Carter.

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

• Bring your own lunch and join us on Monday, March 10, 12:30–1:30 p.m. in the SUB Fireside Room. We would like to have time just to enjoy each other’s company over lunch! (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)

Planning ahead, mark your calendars for similar times together in April and May.

• 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

A message from Bryan Jones, associate vice president for admissions :Each year we try to convey to incoming students the kind of learning community they will find here at SPU. An example of this has been a project that the Undergraduate Admissions team spearheads in asking faculty to write a personal note to each admitted student for the coming fall. Because it is an “old school” type of engagement, it is often hard to quantify the rate of return on your investment of time (which we know is very valuable). Yet each year we get unsolicited feedback at our spring events, as well as from our admitted student research, that receiving a personal notecard from a SPU professor is a powerful message that they will be known and that they will begin an actual relationship with a faculty member.

As you navigate these challenging times in the life of SPU, we know that you continue to juggle so much as you care for and invest in our current students. Knowing that students, both current and prospective, are our top priority, we are going to work to keep this project manageable while still reaching out to a large yet targeted segment of our incoming students with personal notecards.

We will simply ask you to sign up for the number of cards you are able to write, and they will be delivered to you on campus.

• If you are willing and able, even to write just a few cards, please  (takes about 30 seconds to complete).
• The three faculty members who write the most cards will receive a gift from Undergraduate Admissions. All participants will be entered to win additional prizes!

Additional Information

• Most faculty will write to students within their own academic disciplines, but please know that you may still be asked to write a “general” note of welcome to students from outside your program’s majors or to those whom are undecided.
• All notecards will be pre-labeled and pre-stamped, and we will include suggested text for your note. (Though it’s a wonderful touch if you can include one of your business cards if you have them.) We are hoping to have all notecards mailed by Friday, March 7, so that our students will hear from our faculty while they are making deciding which college to attend.

Again, thank you for all that you are doing for our current students, and we thank you in advance to those who help us with personal touches of recruitment!

Faculty Notecard Testimonials

• “I had at least two students this fall tell me that the personal touch of the card was a significant factor in their decision to come to SPU.”
• “Just this week, a recent grad showed me the letter she received from a history professor when she applied.”
• “I have had multiple students write me or seek me out to mention the notecard I wrote them.”
• “A few students have sent me thank you cards and emails thanking me for the card. This has truly warmed my heart!"

A message from Human Resources: Your Transamerica retirement plan offers complimentary access to a retirement planning consultant (RPC) who can review your personal retirement strategy and discuss any other financial goals you’re working toward. RPC Scott Jozefowski is coming to SPU Feb. 27–28. This experienced professional can help you:

• Enroll in the plan
• Review and understand Your Retirement Outlook©
• Determine your contribution rate and investment mix
• Learn how life events — such as marriage, children, and buying a home — could impact your retirement strategy
• Improve your overall financial wellness

Even if retirement is years — or decades — away, having a smart strategy starts today..

Please join the Office of Human Resources in welcoming Elise Greene, manager–SPU Store & Falcon Advantage, Business and Finance.

Cross Country/Track and Field Assistant Coach Eric Hansen and Falcon Annika Esvelt were interviewed by KING5-TV about Annika's fifth year as a distance runner. The story, titled "," aired on Feb. 21. Annika won two gold medals at the recent GNAC Indoor Track & Field Championships.