News Releases

NEWBERG, Ore. – Tilikum Center for Retreats & Outdoor Ministries will offer six different summer retreats focused on family or adult ministries. The camps will begin in early May and continue until early September. Each retreat will include overnight accommodations, meals, and program activities. This year’s scheduled programs are:

· Mother/Daughter Retreat (May 9-11)
· Women’s Conference (May 16-18)
· Father/Daughter Retreat (June 6-8 or 27-29)
· Father/Son Fishing Retreat (June 13-15)
· Single Parent Family Camp (July 18-20)
· Family Camp (Aug. 29 – Sept. 1).

Specific information about each retreat can be viewed on the Tilikum website at tilikum.georgefox.edu. To register, download the registration form from the website or call 503-538-2763. Also available as a Tilikum summer service is the Challenge Course, which aims to provide growth and development opportunities for groups and can be reserved upon request.

A ministry of George Fox University, Tilikum is an interdenominational retreat, educational, and camping center located in the Chehalem Valley seven miles northwest of Newberg. Its pastoral setting includes 92 acres of tree-covered hills and green pastures, with a 15-acre lake, hiking trails, and a recreation building.

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Contact: Michelle Welton
Tilikum Retreat Center Director
503-538-2763
mwelton@georgefox.edu

NEWBERG, Ore. – Church leaders are invited to learn the practice of listening to God in community at a five-day intensive experience held Monday through Friday, May 19-23, at George Fox University.

The event is hosted by the Leadership Institute for Group Discernment, and workshop content is based on the conviction that Christian leadership works most powerfully when it helps groups discern a sense of what God is doing in their midst, moving then to carrying out God’s will in the world.

The registration fee for general participants is $400 and $200 for George Fox students. Meals, lodging, and/or airport transportation are also available for an additional cost. Participants can also gain academic credit from George Fox Evangelical Seminary or undergraduate credit from George Fox University.

The event will be led by Institute leaders Paul Anderson, Bruce Bishop, Chuck Conniry, Lon Fendall, and Jan Wood. In addition, several other leaders will be sharing about how group discernment is facilitated in their churches and traditions.

Anderson serves as a professor of biblical studies and the chair of the Department of Religious Studies at George Fox University. He is also the director of the George Fox University Congregational Discernment Project.

Bishop is the communications and resources director for Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends. Conniry is a professor of pastoral ministry and director of the doctor of ministry program at George Fox Evangelical Seminary. Fendall serves as the director of the Center of Peace and Justice and the Center for Global Studies at George Fox University. He is the presiding clerk of Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends. Wood is the executive director of Good News Associates.

The workshop is sponsored by Good News Associates in conjunction with George Fox University’s Congregational Discernment Project, the Friends Center at George Fox Evangelical Seminary, and Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends. For additional information and online registration options, visit www.goodnewsassoc.org/leadershipinstitute.

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Contact: Paul Anderson
Department of Religious Studies
503-554-2651
panderson@georgefox.edu

Corban College provost is well known in Oregon education circles for work with TSPC, Oregon University System, and the Chalkboard Task Force

NEWBERG, Ore. – Linda Samek, provost of Corban College in Salem, Ore., is returning to George Fox University as dean of the School of Education.

Samek will begin July 1. She replaces Jim Worthington, who will remain at the university as professor of education and coordinator of the reading endorsement program in the school’s Educational Foundations and Leadership Department.

As provost at Corban, Samek oversaw the college’s academic programs, the budget for all academic services, library development, and the registrar’s office. She also served on the president’s cabinet and was chair of the school’s campus-wide facilities development and usage committee. Prior to her appointment as provost in 2006, she served at Corban as dean of graduate studies, director of teacher education, and professor of education and mathematics from 2002 to 2006.

Samek previously worked as deputy director and coordinator of teacher education for Oregon’s Teacher Standards and Practices Commission (2001-2002), reporting to Executive Director David Myton, now a professor in George Fox’s Educational Foundations and Leadership Department.

Samek also was co-director of the Oregon University System’s Quality Assurance in Teaching Program, a federal grant project encompassing 16 teacher preparation programs in Oregon (2000-2001).

Samek also has served on two accreditation teams for the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. She’s been a member of various statewide task forces shaping public K-12 education, including the Chalkboard Project Task Force on Teacher and Administrator Quality and the Education Pathways Project.

The hiring marks a return to George Fox for Samek, who taught at the university from 1996 to 2000 and was chair of the Department of Education from 1997 to 2000.

“I am pleased to be returning to George Fox University and the School of Education,” Samek said. “I have maintained many of the relationships established in my first tenure and am looking forward to building new connections and shepherding the SOE to the next level of excellence in education. I am grateful to Jim Worthington for his good work with the community and look forward to continued expansion of strong programs.”

In all, Samek has nearly 30 years of experience in higher education. Prior to her four-year tenure at George Fox, she worked 16 years at Corban in a variety of roles, including as chair of the school’s Department of Education and Mathematics, as an associate professor of education and mathematics, and as director of teacher education.

“Dr. Samek is an experienced administrator and I expect a very smooth transition,” Worthington said. “She knows Oregon and she knows George Fox. She is very active in the Oregon educational community and her Christian faith is well known in all the contexts of her work. She brings a proven commitment to our mission of integrating faith and learning. It’s a remarkable fit.”

Samek earned a bachelor’s degree in science education/mathematics from Oregon State, a master’s degree in math education from Portland State University, and a doctorate in educational leadership from Portland State.

George Fox University is the only Christian university in the Pacific Northwest classified by U.S. News & World Report as a national university. More than 3,200 students attend classes on the university’s campus in Newberg, Ore., and at teaching centers in Portland, Salem, and Redmond Ore., and Boise, Idaho. George Fox offers bachelor’s degrees in more than 40 majors, degree-completion programs for working adults, five seminary degrees, and 12 master’s and doctoral degrees.

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Contact: Jim Foster
Interim Provost
George Fox University
503-554-2142
jfoster@georgefox.edu

Rob Felton, Director of Public Information
503-554-2129
rfelton@georgefox.edu

NEWBERG, Ore. – More than 160 professors of Bible and religion in the Pacific Northwest will gather at George Fox University May 2-4 for the annual Pacific Northwest Regional Conference of the American Academy of Religion, Society of Biblical Literature, and the American Schools of Oriental Research.

About 90 presentations, book reviews, and responses will be made within eight different sections and three plenary sessions. Subjects will include religion and science, biblical interpretation, women and religion, religion and nonviolence, evangelical-liberal tensions in the Pacific Northwest, and understandings of creation.

In addition to the disciplinary sessions of the eight sections, in which scholars vet their hypotheses and argue solutions to religious issues, the conference hosts three plenary sessions featuring presentations by leading scholars in its three constituent groups: the AAR, the SBL, and the ASOR.

This is the first year George Fox University has hosted the conference. Last year it was held at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada. In addition to scholars from Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho, British Columbia, Alberta, and Alaska, more than a dozen scholars will be attending from other parts of country and beyond.

“There is nothing more obvious in our world today than our need to understand the role of religion in the lives of individuals and in world cultures,” says Doug McGaughey, professor of philosophy at Willamette University and the group’s regional secretary. “The academic study of religion plays a crucial role in reminding us that religion is more than just a set of feelings, more than the accident of birth into a particular religion or culture, and more than a mere list and comparison of doctrines. The gathering of the three professional organizations of our Pacific Northwest region is a crucial contribution to the careful study and understanding of religion.”

The presidential address will be given Friday at 7:30 p.m. by Paul Anderson, professor of biblical and Quaker studies at George Fox University, on his new theory explaining similarities and differences between John and the other Gospels. The presentation will advance proposals in his new book, The Fourth Gospel and the Quest for Jesus, and also Volume 1 of John, Jesus, and History; Critical Assessments of Critical Views, of which Anderson is coeditor.

The ASOR address will be given Saturday at 11 a.m. by Gloria London, research curator of the Burke Museum in Seattle, on feasts and animal sacrifice around 1200 B.C.E. in Jordan. The guest plenary lecture will be given by Robert C. Gregg of Stanford University on presentations of Sarah and Hagar in early Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

The conference will also feature the publications of Bible and religion scholars in the Pacific Northwest. Authors will be honored at a Sunday morning breakfast and their books will be available in the bookstore. Awards will be given for student-paper competitions, and young scholars in biblical studies will compete for an award leading to national recognition within the SBL. Registration and program information are available online at: www.pnw-aarsbl.org. The public is welcome.

George Fox University is the only Christian university in the Pacific Northwest classified by U.S. News & World Report as a national university. More than 3,200 students attend classes on the university’s campus in Newberg, Ore., and at teaching centers in Portland, Salem, and Redmond Ore., and Boise, Idaho. George Fox offers bachelor’s degrees in more than 40 majors, degree-completion programs for working adults, five seminary degrees, and 12 master’s and doctoral degrees.
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Contact:
Paul Anderson
Professor of biblical and Quaker studies
503-554-2651
panderson@georgefox.edu

NEWBERG, Ore. (April 16, 2008)— Improvisational teams will again act and entertain during George Fox University’s Theater Games, Tuesday, April 22 at 7:30 p.m. on the Newberg campus.

The annual event, held in Wood-Mar Auditorium, is a competition between improvisational teams composed of George Fox students. The audience participates by making suggestions for scenarios.

Winners are decided by a panel of celebrity judges, including President Robin Baker, psychology professor Kris Kays and chemistry professor Michael Everest.

Tickets to the event are sold at the door. Ticket prices (from free to $2 per person) are determined by dice roll. The theater department is offering to provide free pizza at 8:45 p.m. if the 250-seat auditorium is sold out. At 9 p.m., students will perform long-form improvisation for about half and hour.

George Fox University is the only Christian university in the Pacific Northwest classified by U.S. News & World Report as a national university. More than 3,200 students attend classes on the university’s campus in Newberg, Ore., and at teaching centers in Portland, Salem, and Redmond Ore., and Boise, Idaho. George Fox offers bachelor’s degrees in more than 40 majors, degree-completion programs for working adults, five seminary degrees, and 12 master’s and doctoral degrees.

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Contact:
Bryan Boyd
Associate professor of theatre
503-554-2639
bboyd@georgefox.edu

NEWBERG, Ore. – Mothers and daughters can enjoy a special weekend together during a retreat at George Fox University’s Tilikum Center for Retreats & Outdoor Ministries Friday through Sunday, May 9-11.

The featured speaker is Diane Schukar of Upword Look Ministries.

Weekend activities will include outdoor activities such as canoeing, hiking, a hayride, a campfire, challenge-course activities, and singing and worship. Craft activities also will be available.

Schukar has spoken at conferences and retreats in the Northwest as well as in Senegal, West Africa. She has a degree in Bible and psychology and has worked for many years ministering to youth, couples, and women. She will be joined by two of her daughters: Debbie, 23, and Cathy, 20.

Debbie, from Mesa, Ariz., is involved in Young Life programs, mentoring middle school students, serving as a camp counselor, and working as an intern at Wild Horse Canyon Young Life camp in Oregon. She also leads worship at her church.

Cathy is working toward a degree in business administration. She is a leader in the middle school Young Life program, speaking to youth, and giving her testimony at club meetings.

The cost is $118 for guests 10 and above. Children ages 5 to 9 are $82. The fee includes overnight accommodations, meals, and program fees. Check-in runs from 4 to 6 p.m. Friday, and the retreat concludes at 2 p.m. Sunday.

A ministry of George Fox University, Tilikum is an interdenominational retreat, educational, and camping center located in the Chehalem Valley seven miles northwest of Newberg. Its pastoral setting includes 92 acres of tree-covered hills and green pastures, with a 15-acre lake, hiking trails, and a recreation building. More information is available at tilikum.georgefox.edu.

For more information or to register, phone Tilikum at 503-538-2763.

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Contact: Michelle Welton
Retreat Center Director
503-538-2763
mwelton@georgefox.edu

NEWBERG, Ore. – The annual women’s retreat hosted by George Fox University’s Tilikum Center for Retreats & Outdoor Ministries is set to take place Friday through Sunday, May 16-18.

Tilikum’s annual women’s retreat is an opportunity for women to come together in a relaxing and comfortable atmosphere. The weekend is designed with a flexible schedule, allowing for small-group discussions, individual devotional time, workshops, exercise, arts and crafts, and time to enjoy the 92-acre property featuring canoeing, kayaking, and hiking trails.

The retreat weekend begins with dinner on Friday and concludes Sunday afternoon. Accommodations, meeting and dining space are located in the retreat center. Price includes overnight accommodations, linen service, meals, and all program activities.

The cost is $125 (shared room) or $175 (single room) with linens provided. The fee includes overnight accommodations, meals, and program costs. For those who would like to commute, the cost is $75.
Check-in begins at 5 p.m. Friday and the retreat concludes at 2 p.m. on Sunday.

For more information or to register visit camptilikum.org or phone Tilikum at 503-538-2763.

A ministry of George Fox University, Tilikum is an interdenominational retreat, educational and camping center located in the Chehalem Valley seven miles northwest of Newberg. Its pastoral setting includes 92 acres of tree-covered hills and green pastures, with a 15-acre lake, hiking trails and a recreation building. More information is available at www.tilikum.georgefox.edu.

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Contact: Michelle Welton
Retreat Center Director
503-538-2763
mwelton@georgefox.edu

NEWBERG, Ore. — Sixteen students from George Fox University will be included in the 2007-2008 edition of “Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges.”

George Fox faculty and staff chose the honorees by ballot, and the selections have been endorsed by editors of the directory. The students were chosen based on their academic achievements, service to the community, leadership in extracurricular activities, and continued potential success.

Since 1934, the directory has honored selected students from more than 2,300 institutions of higher education in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and several foreign nations.

Following is a list of George Fox students selected this year.

·Linnea Strandy, a history and Spanish double major from Mill Creek, Wash., earned a grade point average of 3.76, and was active in the associated student community as Christian Services Director, Young Life, and the activities committee. In 2006 she traveled on a New Orleans Spring Serve trip.

·Ryan MacKenzie, a biology major from Newberg, Ore., participated in soccer and was active in the George Fox International Club, the associated student community Chaplain’s Committee, and his church where he is a youth leader.

·Jason Wessell, a history major from Beaverton, Ore., was involved in the student newspaper and completed an internship at Portland General Electric and the Portland Development Commission in the human resources department.

·Cary Griffith, a graphic design major from Newberg, Ore., was active in the symphonic band, jazz band, brass ensemble, the International club, and men’s ministry.

·Grant Finney, a health and human performance/pre-teaching major from Tigard, Ore., was active in cross country as a four year captain, track and field as a three year captain, the Beebe Brethren Living Learning Community, the Student Athlete Action Committee, and peer advising for students in first year seminar.

·Heather Eslinger, a mathematics and computer science major from Richland, Wash., served as associated student community Supreme Court Chief Justice and was junior class representative last year.

·Chloe Hamman, a Christian Ministries major from El Cajon, Calif., was active in the student alumni council, women’s ministry, and Praxis. She was also a resident assistant and traveled on multiple serve trips.

·Hannah Johnson, an accounting major from Hillsboro, Ore., participated in the Urban Services volunteer homeless program, accounting club, VITA Tax Service Volunteer, GFU mentoring program, Christian Services, and Heart of Hope Ministries in Romania.

·Whitney Kolb, a candidate for the school of nursing from Jefferson, Ore., was active in volleyball, track and field, and the George Fox University Nursing Club. Kolb traveled on two serve trips to Africa, one to Vietnam, one to Mexico, and is coordinating another to Africa.

·Julia Scanlon, a Spanish and art double major from Newberg, Ore., earned a grade point average of 3.87 and was active in La Zona educational program, SMART reading program, Spanish lab, and camp Tilikum.

·Paige Huggler, a social work major from Spanaway, Wash., was active in a Women’s Day Center, the Outdoor club, Urban Services, the Social Work Club, the book club, and Queare Verum.

·Lindsay Hagler, an athletic training and fitness management major from Selah, Wash., was active in the Student Athlete Advisory Council, and the National Athletic Trainers Association.

·Sarah Reid, an organizational communication major from Beaverton, Ore., was active in the associated student community, and Lambda Pi Eta. Reid served as an orientation coordinator, peer advisor, and serve trip leader as well.

·Jon Maroni, a Christian ministries and biblical studies double major from Redmond, Ore., was active in the Beebe Brethren Living Learning Community, men’s ministry, and chaplain’s committee.

·Janna McKee, a political science and peace studies major from Nairobi, Kenya, was involved in residence life and the editing staff for the Undergraduate Academic Journal. And has been part of a group raising awareness about non-violence through peace projects and vigils.

·Mikaela Ameele, a psychology major from Corvallis, Ore., was active in volleyball, women’s ministry, Little Bruin’s, and the Psychology club.

George Fox University is the only Christian university in the Pacific Northwest classified by U.S. News & World Report as a national university. More than 3,200 students attend classes on the university’s campus in Newberg, Ore., and at teaching centers in Portland, Salem, and Redmond Ore., and Boise, Idaho. George Fox offers bachelor’s degrees in more than 40 majors, degree-completion programs for working adults, five seminary degrees, and 12 master’s and doctoral degrees.

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Contact: Brad Lau
Vice President for Student Life
503-554-2315
blau@georgefox.edu

Rob Felton, Director of Public Information
503-554-2129
rfelton@georgefox.edu

Long-time administrator oversaw Anderson University’s Falls School of Business for 12 years

NEWBERG, Ore. – Ken Armstrong, former dean of the College of Professional Studies at Anderson University in Anderson, Ind., will be the new dean of George Fox University’s School of Management.

Armstrong will begin Aug. 15, allowing interim dean Dirk Barram to return to the classroom full time as professor of business.

As dean of Anderson’s College of Professional Studies from 1995 to 2003, Armstrong oversaw Falls School of Business and the university’s School of Education, School of Nursing, and Department of Computer Science. He also served as dean of the Falls School of Business from 1991 to 2003 and was instrumental in developing Anderson’s MBA and doctor of business programs. Business Reform magazine reported that Falls School of Business was voted the top Christian-college undergraduate business program in 2003 and 2004 national polls of deans of business programs at Christian colleges and universities.

Armstrong currently is the Austin/Cooper Endowed Professor of Global Business Studies at Anderson.

Armstrong brings more than three decades of experience in higher education. Prior to his appointment at Anderson, he worked for 14 years at Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, Ill., as a professor and department chair. He began his teaching career in 1972 as an assistant professor of business at Olivet.

At George Fox, Armstrong will oversee the School of Management, which incorporates the largest undergraduate program at the university, the only doctor of management program in the Pacific Northwest, and a two-track (professional and executive) MBA program.

“I think the thing that excites me the most is the opportunity to join a program that is already characterized by innovative programs and excellence in teaching,” Armstrong said. “The chance to be a part of moving this program forward is exciting and challenging to me.

“Building on the ongoing reputation and legacy of the School of Management, we will work together to define what it means to live out the ongoing values of excellence, innovation, and uncommonly good teaching in the dynamic educational environment of the early part of the 21st century.”

In addition to his work at Anderson, Armstrong has served as a consultant on strategic planning for academic institutions and private corporations. He also has traveled to Russia, Mexico, and China as part of academic initiatives.

“I am very pleased with this hire,” said Barram, interim dean. “Ken is both a good administrator as well as teacher. He brings the right set of credentials to George Fox and the School of Management. He has excellent higher education experience in the Christian liberal arts college environment, he is a very personable administrator, and he is one who will work very well with the faculty and staff in the School of Management.”

Armstrong earned a doctorate from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., specializing in strategic planning, in 1985. Previously, he earned an MBA from Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant, Mich., in 1968, and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Olivet Nazarene University in 1966.

Armstrong and his wife, Audrey, have two daughters – Shelly, who lives in Indianapolis with her husband and two children, and Rhonda, who is married and lives in Boston.

George Fox University is the only Christian university in the Pacific Northwest classified by U.S. News & World Report as a national university. More than 3,200 students attend classes on the university’s campus in Newberg, Ore., and at teaching centers in Portland, Salem, and Redmond Ore., and Boise, Idaho. George Fox offers bachelor’s degrees in more than 40 majors, degree-completion programs for working adults, five seminary degrees, and 12 master’s and doctoral degrees.
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Contact: Dirk Barram
Interim Dean, George Fox University School of Management
503-554-2822
dbarram@georgefox.edu

NEWBERG, Ore. – The George Fox University spring concert, held Friday, April 18, will feature performances by the concert choir, symphonic band, chamber singers, and the women’s chorale.

The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. There is no admission charge for the concert.

George Fox University is the only Christian university in the Pacific Northwest classified by U.S. News & World Report as a national university. More than 3,200 students attend classes on the university’s campus in Newberg, Ore., and at teaching centers in Portland, Salem, and Redmond Ore., and Boise, Idaho. George Fox offers bachelor’s degrees in more than 40 majors, degree-completion programs for working adults, five seminary degrees, and 12 master’s and doctoral degrees.

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Contact: Debbie Hawblitzel
503-554-2620
dhawblit@georgefox.edu