Articles

From The Director
Thankful for Family
By Robby Larson, Director of Alumni Relations
Thanksgiving is here and it is time for each of us to pause and reflect on the things that we are thankful for. Often times we find that when we take time to truly consider our many blessings, the list is significantly longer than what we might reflect on day in and day out. Near the top of most "Thankful Lists," most people would expect to find family. In my eBruin column from November 2007, I talked about how thankful I was for being back in Oregon near my parents and all four of my grandparents. For the past two years this proximity has been a tremendous blessing. In that column, I also reflected on the new family that I have found here at George Fox. This year, I continue to be thankful for both of these families and for one particular time when they overlapped. More...

View From the Alumni Board
By Brian Beals ‘65
I graduated from George Fox in 1965. Interestingly, most of the graduates of ‘65 are right now 65 years of age, or close to it. We have experienced a lot through the years. This reminds me of a bumper sticker:

"Experience is a wonderful thing.
It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again."

What an exciting new and wonderful experience we classmates encountered arriving on campus in the early ‘60s. As much as the ensuing years may have provided a sense of routine for each of us, there is now another set of new beginnings that we are engaging in: Social Security, Medicare and retirement. Reminds me of another bumper sticker:

"I’M RETIRED.
I was tired yesterday, and I’m tired again today."

More...

Campus Connection
By Kristina Kays (‘87, PsyD ‘94)
Associate Professor of Psychology
I remember tears of deep joy spilling over my cheeks on my drive down Rex Hill into Newberg on my first day as a new professor at George Fox. I have been teaching here since the fall of 2005, but I have been a part of the George Fox community since I first stepped on campus back in the summer of 1983. Shaun McNay was a student employee in the admissions department and he showed me around campus, opening up the vacant Pennington dorms to show me what my new home-to-be looked like. On that tour, I had just a glimpse of what was to be the beginning of four powerfully formative years of relating to and growing with others. More...

News

International Perspective
Amalija Laslo, a second-year George Fox University student from Serbia, says her decision to study international relations and peace studies is directly related to where she is from. "I come from a conflict region, and I’ve realized that this major … helps me to learn about this communication and relation between different cultures." Lalso shared her educational and personal experiences with Voice of America, a multimedia international broadcasting service that each week reaches an estimated worldwide audience of 134 million. To read more, click here.

George Fox’s Namesake
Arthur O. Roberts’ (‘44) book about the life and legacy of George Fox, Through Flaming Sword, marked its 50th anniversary with an updated version released in November 2008. Originally published in 1959, Through Flaming Sword recounts the passion, struggles and legacy of a man committed to authentic Christian living. Fox, desiring a kingdom of truth on this side of the "flaming sword of Eden," led a 17th-century spiritual awakening that attracted thousands of people who became known as the Society of Friends (Quakers). To read more, click here.

Professor Clark Campbell name NCSPP President Elect
Clark Campbell, a professor of psychology and director of clinical training at George Fox University, was named president elect for the National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology. The NCSPP is a national association of about 80 doctoral psychology programs across the country. It is one of three doctoral training councils in the nation. To read more, click here.

George Fox Christmas Concert, ‘O Holy Night!’
Tickets are now on sale for the university’s Christmas Concert, "O Holy Night!," presented by the Department of Performing Arts Friday through Sunday, Dec. 12-14. This year’s concert features more than 150 musicians from five ensembles in the main-stage performance, and preconcert music featuring six of the university’s chamber ensembles. The concert will have three performances.

On-campus performances will be held in Bauman Auditorium on Friday, Dec. 12, and Saturday, Dec. 13. Both performances begin at 7:30 p.m., with preconcert music starting at 7 p.m. One off-campus performance will be held at Village Baptist Church in Beaverton on Sunday, Dec. 14, at 2:30 p.m., with preconcert music beginning at 2 p.m.

Tickets may be purchased online at music.georgefox.edu, or (two weeks prior to the event) at the University Box Office by calling 503-554-3844. Tickets are $10 for adults; $8 for seniors and George Fox alumni; and $6 for students and children.

Bösendorfer Concert Series
The George Fox University Performing Arts Department is proud to feature a world-renowned pianist, Gianluca Luisi, in the Bösendorfer Concert Series at 4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 15, 2009, in Bauman Auditorium. This concert marks the return of Luisi to the Bauman stage after his performance during the first year of the concert series in 2007. "Gianluca Luisi’s extraordinary talents combined with the Imperial Bösendorfer Piano and Bauman Auditorium’s remarkable acoustics will offer attendees an unforgettable concert," according to Dr. Kenn Willson of the George Fox music faculty.

For more information about the Bösendorfer Concert Series and ticket information, call 503-554-2620, or click here. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and alumni, and $6 for students and children.

Kaleo 2009 – Ordinary Radicals with Shane Claiborne
The annual Kaleo conference for people who engage with youth will be held on Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009. Nationally known speaker Shane Claiborne will be speaking about Ordinary Radicals. Anyone who works or engages with youth – including youth pastors, church lay leaders, parachurch youth workers, social workers, and parents – would benefit from this conference because its aim is to affirm and bless youth workers and to offer practical training to sharpen their skills. Encourage the youth workers in your life to attend this conference, and be encouraged to attend it yourself! For more information about the conference content and registration, go to kaleo.georgefox.edu.

Homecoming 2009
Homecoming 2009 is only a few months away and we want to make sure that you join your classmates at the celebration! Taking place on campus Feb. 20-21, homecoming is a great opportunity for all alumni to return to George Fox and reconnect with old friends. Make plans now to come home to your alma mater and join in the exciting homecoming festivities.

Reunions will be held for the classes of 1939, 1949, 1969, 1979, 1984, 1989 and 1999. Affinity reunions also will take place for anyone associated with the George Fox football program and for all alumni who went through a business program at either the graduate or undergraduate level. For more information, visit the Homecoming webpage.

Announcements

Travel with GFU to Alpine Europe, Summer 2010
George Fox University is excited to announce our tour of alpine Europe to see the Passion Play at Oberammergau, Germany, in early-summer 2010. Open to all alumni, parents and friends of George Fox, our 11-day tour, departing May 31, will include visits to the beautiful alpine European cities of Frankfurt and Munich, Germany; Salzburg, Austria; and Lucerne and Interlaken, Switzerland. Among many other highlights, the tour will include travel through the Rhine Valley, Black Forest, as well as the Swiss, Austrian and Bavarian Alps. Additionally, visits are planned to Neuschwanstein and Heidelberg castles, and Rothenburg, Germany’s best-preserved medieval town. The highlight of the trip will be the Passion Play, an inspiring one-day play, dating back nearly 375 years, which is performed for sold-out audiences every 10 years in a magnificent outdoor covered amphitheater with the Bavarian Alps as a backdrop. To read the full itinerary, request more information, and register for the trip, click here.

International Students Need a Home for Christmas
As you can imagine, there are many challenges to attending school in a foreign country. One of the challenges our students face is how they spend Christmas holidays. Many of these students who live on campus have few options during these breaks. They will be permitted to stay in their campus housing, but all desire to make connections with North American families and participate in this significant season of celebrations.

Christmas is quickly approaching, and we are looking for people/families who may be interested in hosting one or two international students for all or a portion of the Christmas break. The dates of Christmas break are Dec. 20 to Jan. 10. Would you prayerfully consider having an international student stay in your home for a period of time during Christmas break? Thank you for your willingness to consider this opportunity. Many alumni have hosted international students in the past and have been a great blessing to the students and to George Fox University.

If you would like to share your home and your lives with international students during Christmas or would like more information, please contact Alex Pia (503-554-2643, apia@georgefox.edu) or Dianna McIntyre (503-554-2649, dmcintyre@georgefox.edu).

George Fox Journal Online
Recently, the fall 2008 issue of the George Fox Journal magazine was sent out to alumni and friends of the university. This redesigned issue features the 30-year anniversary of Richard Foster’s (‘64) book Celebration of Discipline, a look at the lives of George Fox’s Chinese students, and the impact that the engineering department is making beyond campus. To read these articles in the George Fox Journal Online, click here. You can also use this link to read past issues of the George Fox Journal.

Basketball Schedules Available
The Bruin basketball schedules are now available online at gfubruins.com. Pocket-sized schedule cards also are available. To request a schedule card, contact Alumni Relations at alumni@georgefox.edu and provide your mailing address. We will send it to your home.

Highlighting Our History

In 1894, the Willamette University football team traveled to Newberg by steamboat to play in Pacific College’s (later George Fox) first intercollegiate football game. One hour before the contest, the players marched from the west part of Newberg along First Street and then to the college campus. Pacific College’s first drive went to the one-foot line before being halted, but Willamette eventually won, 16-0. The Crescent story concludes:

"Our boys played a good game and hotly contested every inch of ground but they were lacking in the necessary avoirdupois to win the game. It would be interesting to see them matched with a team from Willamette of the same weight.

"The best if feeling prevailed throughout the game and the boys all seemed in the best of spirits when the game was ended. No accidents worth mentioning occurred. Lunch was served for the visitors at the hall where all went merry as a marriage occasion."

Intercollegiate football caught on and, except for five years during the late 1920s and part of World War II, the sport continued though 1969.

Editor’s Note: All former George Fox and Pacific College football players are invited to a special football affinity reunion at Homecoming 2009. For more information, click here.