Thursday, March 31, 2011

Meet Your Colleague: A Q&A with Professor of History Arlin Migliazzo

Name: Arlin Migliazzo

Job title: Professor of History

Department: History

How long have you worked at Whitworth? 27 1/2 years

What do you like best about your job? The opportunity to teach the most important subject with great colleagues to great students at a great university

In what ways do your gifts and abilities help meet the needs of the campus community you serve? I hope that I have been able to contribute to our discussions regarding our mission and what a quality education should look like at a church-related university.

Favorite book: Hard to narrow down. I really like the Space Trilogy by C. S. Lewis

Favorite movie: Older – either “Hollywood Canteen” with Joan Leslie or “Unconquered” with Gary Cooper; newer – the “National Treasure” films

Favorite food: Pressure-cooked Swiss steak like my mom used to make

Favorite quote: “Do not fear death so much, but rather the inadequate life,” by Bertolt Brecht

Favorite music: American folk/mountain music from any era – they call it Americana these days

Favorite animal: I’ve always thought California sea otters were cool.

Guilty pleasure: Pretty much anything chocolate, ridiculously hokey monster movies, and ABBA.

Hobbies: Gardening, traveling, and visiting historical sites, family members, and friends – though not necessarily in that order

Best vacation ever: The next one

Birth place: South Gate, California (a few miles south of downtown L.A.)

We’d be surprised to know that…I was once asked to audition for the old Dating Game show on TV.

I collect…fountain pens.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? So many places . . . but I’d really like to visit Italy to see where my dad’s family lives.

What cartoon character best describes you? The Great Gonzo of the Muppets – odd but strangely intriguing

If you could try anything and not fail, what dream would you attempt? I’d still like to play center field for the Los Angeles Angels.

What is your favorite sound? It’s a tie between a campfire, waves crashing on the beach, water trickling over rocks in a creek, and the crack of a baseball on the sweet spot of a wood bat

What is your life motto? Two – “Life is pushing out the boundaries of the comfortable,” and “God’s Kingdom is very large.”

If the whole world was listening, what would you say? “Strive to live an authentic life.”

Favorite childhood book: Black Beauty

Favorite childhood TV shows: Early on probably the original “The Mickey Mouse Club” or one of the 1950s westerns (“Cheyenne,” “The Cisco Kid,” “Sugarfoot,” “Hopalong Cassidy,” or “The Roy Rogers Show”), although the way Commander Cody could fly was great; later – “Mission: Impossible,” “I Spy,” and “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”

Least favorite word: Pulchritude

If you could go on a road trip with anyone (from the past or present), who would you choose and where would you go? I’d love to have a conversation with Abraham Lincoln as he travels to Pennsylvania to deliver the Gettysburg Address.

Best high school class subject: Literature

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Accounting Students to Conduct Department Auditing Project April 11-15

As is our practice each spring, we are partnering with our senior accounting students in Margie LaShaw’s Principles of Auditing class on a mutually beneficial audit project. We provide the students with an opportunity to use their auditing skills and they help the university’s internal control testing.

The audit project will take place the week of April 11-15 and will be coordinated by Tara Lambert, our senior accountant for audit and tax, as part of her internship for the Whitworth MBA Program. Students will visit departments to monitor and report on their procedures in the following areas:
  • Cash management
  • Budget review procedures (this activity is closely related to our external auditors’ recommendation from last year to verify that department managers are monitoring their budgets)
  • Various internal controls to monitor risk management
Tara will contact selected departments ahead of time to schedule appointments for the students’ work. We thank you in advance for your cooperation and openness to our students. If you have any question or concerns, please call Luz Merkel at x4225.

New WhitNet Budget-Review Process for Departments

Whitworth’s external auditors have reported that the university needs to do a better job making sure that departments are reviewing their budget activity on a regular basis and reporting any issues to the business office. To address this issue, the business office and the information systems office have developed a new procedure that will expedite the review process and facilitate any necessary follow-up with the business office.

From now on, as we close each month in Datatel, the system will send an e-mail to those who have been designated by their supervisors as being responsible for reviewing departmental budget activity. The e-mail will inform budget officers and reviewers that there is budget data ready for their review through WhitNet. To view the data, reviewers need to go to their Financial Section in WhitNet and find the new line item: Budget Review.

When the reviewers have checked their budgets, they just need to select that the budget activity is approved, or select that changes/corrections are needed and provide details regarding the desired changes. Once the reviewers submit this information, the system will send an e-mail to the business office indicating the approval or that changes are needed. The system will also show which reviewers have not yet completed the review so that the business office can notify supervisors if/when their employees have completed the budget review.

We are excited about this new procedure and trust that it will help departments make budget reviewing and any necessary follow-up with the business office a more efficient process. If you have questions, please contact Kris Zimbelman at x4322.

Whitworth Welcomes Kathy Lee as Professor of Political Science

Name: Kathy Lee

Job Title: Professor of Political Science

Department: Political Science

Previous Employer/Position: Professor of Political Science at Eastern University

“Twenty one years ago Kathy Lee, a tenured assistant professor in political science at Whitworth, left to pursue a law degree and other teaching opportunities. We are happy to announce that Kathy will return to the Whitworth Political Science Department this fall to teach courses in American politics. During her time away, she has earned her J.D. degree (in addition to her Ph.D. already earned from Johns Hopkins), taught at Eastern University, in Pennsylvania, clerked for the Washington State Supreme Court, served in both the U.S. Department of Justice and in a private law firm, and has been recognized by national organizations for her excellent teaching.” - Patrick Van Inwegen, associate professor of political science

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Join us for "A Look at Life in Admissions and Financial Aid" March 28

Have you wondered how Whitworth’s applications have increased by more than 600 percent over the past decade, how admission and financial aid decisions are made, or what is included on a campus tour? These questions and many others will be answered by Vice President for Admissions and Financial Aid Fred Pfursich at a brown-bag dialogue on Monday, March 28, from 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m., in Weyerhaeuser Hall, Room 111.

The March 28 event continues the new “A Look at Life in…” monthly brown-bag dialogue, during which members of cabinet provide an overview of their areas of responsibility and then invite questions and discussion. All staff and faculty members are invited to bring their lunches and join in the dialogue.

President Beck Taylor encourages Whitworth employees to take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about areas of the university that may be unfamiliar to them. “As our community has grown, it has become harder to stay in touch with our colleagues across campus and what they are doing on a daily basis to advance our mission,” he says. “We need to work harder to be accessible and transparent, and we hope this monthly brown-bag dialogue can help in that process.”

Next month’s dialogue will feature “A Look at Life in Student Life,” with Kathy Storm, on Thursday, April 28, from 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. in the HUB, Rooms ABC.

Human Resource Services Offering Training Classes March 23

Classes include Excel, PowerPoint, campus safety, and The Three Ps of Tree Care, and a campus "admissions" tour will be offered. An all-employee potluck will take place from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in the HUB Catering Rooms.

To view a schedule of the March 23 class offerings and for more information on the potluck, click on Spring Break Training Classes.

To register for classes, follow the instructions below:

  • If on campus, click here
  • If off campus, click here
  • If prompted to log in, enter your user name and password in the following format:
      • User name: ADMIN\username (note back-slash)
      • Password: Your network password
      • Click on “Spring Training Announcement” for full details and links.
Please contact me if you have any questions, comments, or challenges with the registration or line-up. The day will be sprinkled with fun baseball themes and “prizes.” I hope to see you there!

Laura Reber
Training Specialist
Human Resource Services and Information Systems
509-777-4284
lreber@whitworth.edu

Campus Parking Lots to Be Cleaned March 21-25

Facilities Services will be cleaning campus parking lots during Spring Break, March 21-25, and requests your cooperation. Please refer to the March 2011 Parking Lot Sweeping Map and plan to bike, walk, carpool – or park elsewhere – on the day when your regular parking area is scheduled to be closed for sweeping. Lots will be cleaned weather-permitting (we will be unable to sweep if it is raining or snowing).

Thanks in advance for your assistance in keeping our campus beautiful! Please call x3254 if you have any questions.

Suzanne Sherman
Facilities Services
x4202

Meet Your Colleague: A Q&A with Associate Registrar Mark Baker

Name: Mark Baker, '04

Job title: Associate Registrar 

Department: Registrar’s Office

How long have you worked at Whitworth? 6 years

What do you like best about your job? Two things: First, trying to figure out the “puzzle” each semester of fitting all the classes into classrooms. Second, compiling and analyzing statistics from the class schedule data and creating charts and other nerdy stuff along those lines.

In what ways do your gifts and abilities help meet the needs of the campus community you serve? I’m easily bribed, which ends up being really handy for departments that want great classroom assignments. By the way, if you haven’t been getting good assignments for your classes, you now know the trick.

Favorite books: The Bible, Edge of Eternity (Randy Alcorn), Ministries of Mercy (Tim Keller), Pilgrim’s Progress (John Bunyan), A Gospel Primer for Christians (Milton Vincent), anything by John Piper or C.J. Mahaney

Favorite movie: If there aren’t any guys reading this I’d say “Love Comes Softly”; otherwise definitely “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy.

Favorite food: Skyline chili dogs

Favorite quote: “True humility is not thinking less of yourself, it is thinking of yourself less.”

Favorite music: Modern arrangements of hymns

Favorite animal: The cow, hands down. Pig is probably a close second, but with cheese and a side of onion rings, there just isn’t any comparison. 

Guilty pleasure: Taking quick drinks of my coworkers’ pop when they are away at lunch

Hobbies: Going on dates with my wife, reading, tickling my kids, napping, golfing

Best vacation ever: Last summer our parents watched our kids for four days while my wife and I stayed in a cottage on the Washington coast. It was so relaxing.

Birth place: Des Moines, Wash.


I collect…children (I have five, ages 5, 4, 3, 1 ½ and 4 months).

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? Probably Thailand. My wife spent a year there before we got married and loved it. We’d like to go there at some point together for a vacation.

What cartoon character best describes you? Wile E. Coyote? 

If you could try anything and not fail go to jail, what would you attempt? I can’t give you all the details, but it would involve a NASA space shuttle, a bottle of laughing gas, and a couple of pallets of Chicken in a Biskit crackers and bacon flavored Easy Cheese.

What is your favorite sound? Silence in the forest when it is snowing. When I was a student at Whitworth I really enjoyed walking through the Back 40 in the snow and praying. It is so quiet and such a great time of fellowship with the Lord. I love how everything sounds muffled when there is fresh snow everywhere.

What is your life motto? Live for the things that will still matter in 10,000 years.

If the whole world was listening, what would you say? “You can find true rest in Jesus. Your striving to earn God’s favor is in vain. Jesus has already done all of the work. Come to Him to receive his free gift of salvation and find true rest for you weary soul.”

Favorite childhood TV show commercials: 1. Slinky. “It’s slinky, it’s slinky, the fun and magical toy.” 2. Beggin' Strips. "It's BACON!" 3. Bush's Baked Beans. "Rrroll that beautiful bean footage!" 4. Grey Poupon. "Pardon me..."

If you could go on a road trip with anyone (from the past or present), who would you choose and where would you go? I think it would have been great to be a pilgrim. Super hard, and I probably would have been one of the ones who died, but I think it would have been an amazing community and group of people to be a part of. OR being an officer with Stonewall Jackson in the Civil War. He seemed like a man of very deep faith. It would have been great to know him and see his faith lived out.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Human Resource Services to Offer Training Classes March 23 during Spring Break

Classes include Excel, PowerPoint, campus safety, and The Three Ps of Tree Care, and a campus "admissions" tour will be offered. An all-employee potluck will take place from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. in the HUB Catering Rooms.

To view a schedule of the March 23 class offerings and for more information on the potluck, click on Spring Break Training Classes.

To register for classes, follow the instructions below:

  • If on campus, click here
  • If off campus, click here
  • If prompted to log in, enter your username and password in the following format:
      • User name: ADMIN\username (note back-slash)
      • Password: Your network password
      • Click on “Spring Training Announcement” for full details and links.
Please contact me if you have any questions, comments, or challenges with the registration or line-up. The day will be sprinkled with fun baseball themes and “prizes.” I hope to see you there!

Laura Reber
Training Specialist
Human Resource Services and Information Systems
509-777-4284
lreber@whitworth.edu

Join Us for “A Look at Life in Admissions and Financial Aid” with Fred Pfursich

Have you wondered how Whitworth’s applications have increased by more than 600 percent over the past decade, how admission and financial aid decisions are made, or what is included on a campus tour? These questions and many others will be answered by Vice President for Admissions and Financial Aid Fred Pfursich at a brown-bag dialogue on Monday, March 28, from 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m., in Weyerhaeuser Hall, Room 111.

The March 28 event continues the new “A Look at Life in…” monthly brown-bag dialogue, during which members of cabinet provide an overview of their areas of responsibility and then invite questions and discussion. All staff and faculty members are invited to bring their lunches and join in the dialogue.

President Beck Taylor encourages Whitworth employees to take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about areas of the university that may be unfamiliar to them. “As our community has grown, it has become harder to stay in touch with our colleagues across campus and what they are doing on a daily basis to advance our mission,” he says. “We need to work harder to be accessible and transparent, and we hope this monthly brown-bag dialogue can help in that process.”

Next month’s dialogue will feature “A Look at Life in Student Life,” with Kathy Storm, on Thursday, April 28, from 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. in the HUB, Rooms ABC.

Whitworth Welcomes New Staff, Faculty Members

Josh Cleveland to Join Alumni & Parent Relations Office

Dear Campus Community,

I am very pleased to inform you that Josh Cleveland, ’01, has agreed to become the assistant director of the Whitworth Alumni & Parent Relations Office, effective June 1. I am grateful for the counsel and insight of the search committee (Nicole Boymook, Kim Dawson, Elizabeth Strauch and Jim Czirr) that led us to this decision.

Many of you know Josh and have had the privilege of working with him in his current role as resident director in East Hall. Josh has been a valued member of Whitworth’s residence life team since 2007; he has also served as an adjunct faculty member on the Core 150 team and co-teaches the Soul Care class in the Certification in Ministry Program. Josh received his B.A. in theology from Whitworth in 2001, and a master of divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary in 2007.

Josh brings to his new position a deep and abiding faith, passion for the mission of Whitworth, and a desire to serve and engage Whitworth’s alumni and parents. I am excited that Josh is joining our team as we work to advance the mission and influence of the institution.

Aaron McMurray, director of alumni & parent relations and annual giving


Political Science Department Hires Megan Hershey

The political science department is pleased to announce the hiring of Megan Hershey to teach courses in African politics, comparative politics and international issues. Megan is finishing her Ph.D. at Indiana University on the topic of nongovernmental organizations and AIDS and health care delivery in Kenya, where she did her field research, interviewing international NGOs. To support her field research, she received separate Fulbrights in Kenya and Tanzania; she worked previously with International Medical Corps in Liberia. Please join us in welcoming Megan to our campus this fall.

Patrick Van Inwegen, associate professor of political science

Announcements: Town hall recordings available; Grant news; Tips on using technology

Audio Recordings of Faculty/Staff Town Hall Meetings Now Available

An audio recording of the March 10 faculty/staff town hall meeting on Whitworth's 2021 strategic plan is available on the campus intranet. A recording of the March 1 faculty/staff town hall meeting is also available online (the audio files are posted on the intranet; log-in is required).

Jo Wagstaff Receives NCAA Strategic Initiatives Grant

Associate Director of Athletics Jo Wagstaff has received a $2,783 grant from the NCAA Strategic Initiatives Grant Program. The grant provides for conference travel, technology and sports medicine upgrades, and a program on social responsibility and integration.


Employee Assistance Program Offers Tips on Maintaining Boundaries When Using Technology

For ideas on maintaining boundaries when using technology, click on Employee Assistance Program Tips.

The Employee Assistance Program is for benefits-eligible Whitworth employees and their household members. The program provides professional support services to help you and your household members with personal and career-related concerns. Services are confidential and accessible 24 hours a day at no out-of-pocket cost.

To speak with an EAP professional or to schedule an appointment, please call 800.999.1077. A link to the Employee Assistance Program website is available on the Whitworth Human Resource Services page. To access the EAP website, please use the company code EAPNOW.

Meet Your Colleague: A Q&A with Custodian Annah Guidry

Name: Annah Guidry

Job title: Custodian

Department: Facilities Services

How long have you worked at Whitworth? 5 + years

What do you like best about your job? I love talking with our students and listening to their stories, hopes and dreams.

In what ways do you feel your job fulfills your sense of vocation? I have the privilege of working in an occupation that strives to make people comfortable. Whether I am cleaning so that our students have a visually pleasing environment to work/live in or simply taking the time to get to know them, I can show them God’s love.

Favorite books: Perelandra, Out of the Silent Planet, and That Hideous Strength (The Space Trilogy by C.S. Lewis)

Favorite movie: “Pride & Prejudice”

Favorite food: Watermelon

Favorite quote: “I wanted you to see what real courage is... it’s when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.” To Kill a Mockingbird

Favorite music: Third Day

Favorite animal: Horse

Guilty pleasure: Reading for a few minutes before bed

Hobbies: Swimming, walking with a friend, and reading

Best vacation ever: One week in Washington, D.C., with my husband

Birth place: Kenosha, Wisc.

We’d be surprised to know that… I am a mom of six.

I collect…very old books.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? Australia

If you could try anything and not fail, what dream would you attempt? Become a helicopter pilot

What is your favorite sound? My children being kind to one another

What is your life motto? “I need grace and so do you.”

If the whole world was listening, what would you say? God loves you!

Favorite childhood book: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Favorite childhood TV show: “Sesame Street”

Least favorite word: Cumbersome

If you could go on a road trip with anyone (from the past or present), who would you choose and where would you go? Jane Austen and tour of the English countryside

Best high school class subject: English

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Meet Your Colleage: A Q&A with John Bujosa, HR Information System Specialist

Name: John Bujosa

Job title: HR Information System Specialist

Department: Human Resource Services

How long have you worked at Whitworth? 3.5 years

What do you like best about your job? Everything! Great supervisors, great co-workers, and a great faculty, staff, and student community that I enjoy interacting with

In what ways do your gifts and abilities help meet the needs of the campus community you serve? The skills that I acquired from being in the technology field for over 30 years and as a manager of that technology for over 20 of those 30 years; 22+ previous years in higher education. I believe my time living in Europe, mostly Turkey, offers me a perspective on people, the job, and life in general that I am blessed to have and happy to share. Throughout my career I’ve been blessed with having many different opportunities to gain varying skills, and am always willing to help and share where I can.

Favorite book: The Bible

Favorite movies:The Blues Brothers” and “West Side Story”

Favorite food: Pastelles it is a Puerto Rican dish

Favorite quote:¡Que Cosa Mas Grande!” which translates to “What a Great Thing!” It was a phrase that an aunt from Spain used in relation to the wonders and graciousness of the Lord.

Favorite music: I like all music but enjoy jazz the most.

Favorite animal: Tough to decide but it is between horses (I have three) and dogs. I never had a dog as a child but became a K-9 handler in law enforcement and have enjoyed them since. I currently have an American White Shepherd pup.

Guilty pleasure: Ice cream sundaes and banana splits

Hobbies: Car restoration, photography, videography, music, and target shooting

Best vacation ever: The best vacations I had were actually work-related, when I was stationed in Turkey in the early 1970s. I was able to travel all over Europe free of charge, thanks to space available on military flights.

Birth place: Harlem, New York

We’d be surprised to know thatI was an Eagle Scout. I also won national rifle and drill competitions two years in a row while in Naval ROTC.

I collectlots, but I’ll narrow it down: police and fire patches and badges.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? That list is pretty big but there is a mystique about Cuba that has always fascinated me, so that is on my list, as well as returning to Turkey and Spain. Ireland, New Zealand and Moscow are also on that list.

What cartoon character best describes you? Road Runner

If you could try anything and not fail, what dream would you attempt? Commercial pilot. My son is living that dream for me now.

What is your favorite sound? The sound of a powerful V-8 engine in a classic car or truck

What is your life motto? Live life to the fullest but never live it at others’ expense.

If the whole world was listening, what would you say?People! We are more alike than we are different! Let’s stop this madness and let’s go to a hockey game!”

Favorite childhood book: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Favorite childhood TV show:The Red Skelton Show”

Least favorite word: Any negative or derogatory words

If you could go on a road trip with anyone (from the past or present), who would you choose and where would you go? It would have to be with my best friend and my wife of 29 years. We both want to do a trip that includes the old Route 66 and traveling throughout all the states.

Best high school class subjects: Math and science

Don’t Miss March 10 Town Hall Meeting on Whitworth’s 2021 Vision and Strategic Plan

(If you are unable to attend, audio recordings of both faculty/staff town hall meetings are available.)

The impact of the Whitworth 2021 vision and plan will be felt across campus, so it is important that University Council receives feedback from individuals and departments across campus. One of the best ways for faculty and staff to weigh in on the plan is to attend the upcoming town hall meeting on Thursday, March 10, from 3:30-5 p.m. in Robinson Teaching Theatre.
  • Faculty and staff are welcome to participate in as much of the meeting as their schedules allow.
  • Employees, in consultation with their supervisors, can attend the March 10 town hall meeting as work time.
  • Prior to attending the meeting, employees are advised to review the plan online at www.whitworth.edu/Whitworth2021. The website also has a feedback page where individuals can offer input through an anonymous online survey or by e-mail.
An audio recording of the March 10 meeting will be available on the campus intranet for those who are unable to attend. A recording of the March 1 faculty/staff town hall meeting is currently available online (the audio file is posted on the intranet; log-in is required).

President's Office to Host March 8 Farewell Reception for Jess Dozier

The president's office will host a farewell reception for Sodexo Executive Chef Jess Dozier on Tuesday, March 8, from 3-4 p.m. in the HUB Multipurpose Room. All campus employees and students are invited to attend. Jess, who has served the Whitworth community for more than 10 years, will move to Chicago in March to assume his new position as senior manager of culinary development of the Sodexo Midwest Region. We hope you can join us at the reception to extend your congratulations to Jess on his promotion and best wishes for the future.

Retirement Medical Benefit Meetings March 8

Whitworth has added a retirement medical benefit to employees’ benefits packages. Human Resource Services is hosting informational meetings on March 7 and 8. The meetings will present information tailored for you based on your date of hire. If you were unable to take part in a March 7 meeting, please join us for one of the following March 8 meetings that will address your needs:

If you were hired by Whitworth before Sept. 1, 1991, please attend the following meeting:

Tuesday, March 8, 8-9 a.m.
Weyerhaeuser Hall, #111

If you were hired by Whitworth on or after Sept. 1, 1991, please attend the following meeting:

Tuesday, March 8, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Weyerhaeuser Hall, #111

Literacy Center Receives Grants; Whitworth Welcomes New Sociology, English Faculty Members

Literacy Center Receives Grants

The Whitworth Literacy Center has received the following grants for support and scholarships: a $3,000 grant from Red Lion Hotels and a $10,000 grant from the Williams Foundation, which is part of Williams, a natural-gas company with whom Whitworth does business.


Whitworth Welcomes New Sociology, English Faculty Members

The sociology faculty is very pleased to have Jason Wollschleger, Ph.D., join the sociology department in fall 2011. Dr. Wollschleger earned his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Washington in 2010. Most recently, he has taught at the University of Washington and at Seattle Pacific University. Please welcome Dr. Wollschleger when he joins our community this fall.                 – Raja Tanas, professor of sociology
                                                                       
The English department is pleased to announce the hiring of Michelle Smith, Ph.D., as the director of composition. She will teach courses in composition, rhetoric and literature. Michelle completed her Ph.D. in rhetoric and composition last year at Pennsylvania State University and is currently the director of the Excellence in Communication Certification Program at Penn State. This program certifies honors students in their oral, written, and visual rhetorical skills. Michelle’s dissertation and recent research study the rhetoric of social protest and Utopian communities. Please join us in welcoming Michelle to our campus this fall.           – Doug Sugano, professor of English
                                                                            

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Meet Your Colleague: A Q&A with Printing Services Assistant Barbara Grigsby


Name: Barbara Grigsby

Job title: Printing Services Assistant

Department: Printing Services

How long have you worked at Whitworth? 24 years…Financial Aid, Computer Services, and the last 14 years in the Print Shop

What do you like best about your job? It’s not the Hillbilly music or Peewee Herman or Napoleon Dynamite soundboards, hmmm. There’s never a dull moment here in the print shop! But we all work together to finish all projects successfully and on time.

In what ways do your gifts and abilities help meet the needs of the campus community you serve? I love helping the campus community. My goal every day is to get all the requests checked off for the day. I am very competitive and compete with myself on this one.

Favorite movie: “March of the Penguins”

Favorite quote: “Every day will not be good but there is good in every day.”

Favorite music: Christian music, especially Michael W. Smith

Favorite animal: My Beagle dog, Bogey

Guilty pleasure: French-vanilla white-chocolate pumpkin chai tea

Hobbies: Watching sports, whether on TV or in person

Best vacation ever: My son Larry’s family trip to Disneyworld through the Make-A-Wish Foundation

Birth place: Ritzville, WA (lived in Connell, WA)

We’d be surprised to know that… I’m collecting bobble heads from all the major league baseball stadiums. We have to be there in person. So far I have 13 and two more on the way with our trip to the Mets and Phillies this summer, with a side trip to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.

I collect…In addition to bobble heads, I collect Nativity sets – I have 64 sets right now.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? Australia or take a ferry up to Alaska

What cartoon character best describes you? George(ette) of the Jungle

What is your favorite sound? My e-mail notification…it’s my three-year-old grandson’s laugh when he was one year old.

If the whole world was listening, what would you say? “Give peace a chance.”

Favorite childhood book: The Boxcar Children series

Favorite childhood TV show: There was so many good ones back then it’s hard to choose.  Unfortunately, they just don’t make them like they used to.

Least favorite words: “My bad”

If you could go on a road trip with anyone (from the past or present), who would you choose and where would you go? All the baseball stadiums with both my boys and my husband

Best high school class subject: English

What Is Your Vision for Whitworth in 2021? We Want to Know.

One of the best ways for faculty and staff to provide input for Whitworth’s 10-year vision and strategic plan is to attend the town hall meeting today from noon-1:30 p.m. in Weyerhaeuser Hall, Room 111. After a brief introduction, faculty and staff members will be invited to ask questions, make comments and provide input on the draft plan. Members of University Council will be on hand to respond to questions and listen to feedback.

A second faculty/staff town hall meeting will be held on March 10, from 3:30-5 p.m. in the Robinson Teaching Theatre. Employees, in consultation with their supervisors, can attend one of the meetings as work time.

Employees can review the plan online on a new website available at www.whitworth.edu/Whitworth2021. The website has a feedback page where individuals can offer input through an anonymous online survey or by e-mail.

The plan outlines a vision for what Whitworth will be in the year 2021 and a set of strategic goals and objectives for how to achieve that vision over the next 10 years. Faculty and staff provided valuable input into the planning process through meetings, surveys and discussions with University Council members in the fall. Since then, University Council has developed a draft plan that is now ready to be shared with Whitworth’s students, staff and faculty as well as with alumni, parents, donors, community members and other constituencies.

Whitworth Library Catalog to Undergo Maintenance March 1-3

The Whitworth Library Catalog will undergo maintenance March 1-3. During this time the catalog will be disabled (including the WIN Borrow function for obtaining materials from regional partner libraries such as Gonzaga). Patrons will still be able to check out materials and to submit standard interlibrary loan requests.

We apologize for the inconvenience. If you need assistance finding materials, please contact the library reference desk at reference@whitworth.edu or call the library at 509.777.3260.

Human Resource Services: Save the date for May celebration; Employee Wellness newsletter

Save the Date: May 16 Years of Service & Retirement Celebration

Human Resource Services will host a celebration to honor our employees with 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and, yes, 30 years of service. The celebration will take place on Monday, May 16, beginning at 5:15 p.m. We will also honor our employees who are entering the retirement phase of their lives. We will begin with appetizers in the Multipurpose Room, move into the main dining hall for our presentations and celebration, then complete the evening with dessert in the Multipurpose Room. Please save the date and join us in celebrating these milestones.


Employee Wellness Newsletter

Human Resource Services regularly shares information provided to us by recognized organizations that promote health and wellness. Please visit Employee Wellness Newsletter to read the Spokane Regional Health District newsletter for the month of March.

President's Office to Host March 8 Farewell Reception for Jess Dozier

The president's office will host a farewell reception for Sodexo Executive Chef Jess Dozier on Tuesday, March 8, from 3-4 p.m. in the HUB Multipurpose Room. All campus employees and students are invited to attend. Jess, who has served the Whitworth community for more than 10 years, will move to Chicago in March to assume his new position as senior manager of culinary development of the Sodexo Midwest Region. We hope you can join us at the reception to extend your congratulations to Jess on his promotion and best wishes for the future.