CoffeeBreak is an e-newsletter distributed to Averett faculty and staff to keep them up to date on campus activities and information.

Please send information you would like included in CoffeeBreak via this form by 4:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6 for a Wednesday, Nov. 11 publication.

Laughlin Publishes Book

Dr. John Laughlin, Professor Emeritus of Religion, has published a new book, “Understanding Joshua: A Historical-Critical/Archaeological Commentary.” The book was published by Smyth & Helwys out of Macon, Ga.

Halloween Costume Contest Winners

This year’s Halloween costume contest was a hit! Thanks to all who participated as well as those who voted. This year’s winners are:

Group: Athletics – trophies

Individual: April McCubbins and daughter – Starbucks employee and cappuccino

Student: Alycia Spivey and Jessie Gomes – Power Rangers

Congratulations, everyone! (You can see all of the costumes on the university’s Facebook page by clicking here.)

Summit on the Service Year

On Oct. 4 & 5, Dr. Franks and Alexis Ehrhardt, executive director of the Center for Community Engagement and Career Competitiveness (CCECC), participated in the Virginia Governor’s Higher Education Presidents’ Summit on the Service Year, which was hosted by the Governor and First Lady of Virginia in partnership with The Franklin Project. Sixteen college presidents attended the summit, which was held at The College of William and Mary.

The Franklin Project, which is spearheading the service movement nationally, envisions a day when a year of national service is an opportunity for every young American. Higher education can play a role and Virginia is considering how the Commonwealth can take the lead in that effort. A short video linked here describes the vision and highlights the event.

Alumna Enters Mission Field

Bethany Bradshaw ’12 is headed into the mission field as an intern for Campus Crusade for Christ. Campus Crusade is an organization that ministers on college campuses around the world. This internship is just over a year and will include training, mentoring and learning how to minister to college students.

In order for Bethany to go serve in Australia for a year, she must find a team of people to partner with her in ministry by providing prayers and financial sponsorship (funds will cover her living and ministry expenses, salary, health care coverage and more). Any sponsorship you could provide, whether in large or small amounts, will help make her ministry possible. You can also sign up to provide sponsorship through a one-time-gift or through a monthly commitment. To check out the various options, and to learn more about her ministry, please go online to give.cru.org and plug in Bethany’s account number, which is 0762207.

We’re very proud of Bethany, and hope that you’ll choose to support her as she undertakes this exciting mission!

Student Accolades

The Student Life Department began recognizing students who go the extra mile in whatever they are doing on campus last fall. Each week during Student Life Staff meetings, staff members nominate students they want to recognize for their dedication to AU. Students are notified about the nomination and their chance to win a $50 Visa Gift Card. At the end of the semester, all of the names of those nominated are put into a bowl and the name of one lucky student is selected. This is the department’s way of letting the students know they appreciate all they do.

This week they would like to honor the following students for their continued support and dedication: Samantha Hall, Joshua Davis, Allison Payne, Hannah Glover, Linnea Meyer, Kwanza Dodd and Olivia Scott.

Successful Faculty/Staff Campaign

Thank you to everyone who gave during the annual Faculty/Staff Giving Campaign! We ended the campaign at 82.56 percent and yesterday we drew names for the fabulous prizes (winner of the Fitbit was Alice Obenchain-Leeson; winner of the iPad mini was Marietta Sanford; and winner of the 11 meals in the dining hall was Pamela Paynter). In addition, Dan Hayes and Buddy Rawley were egged (check out the pictures on the university’s Facebook page).

The spirit of the need still exists. If you would like to help us increase our faculty/staff giving percentage, any gift before June 30, 2016 counts toward that!

Wine and Design

Averett will be hosting Wine & Design at the Sutherlin Mansion Friday, Nov. 13 from 6-8 p.m. Art supplies, which cost $35, will be provided (wine and snacks are included). If you are interested in participating, contact Debbie Flinn at (434) 791-5680. Space is limited.

University Staff Meeting

The next university-wide staff meeting will be Thursday, Nov. 19 at 11:15 a.m. in the multipurpose room of the Student Center. Please bring canned goods, which will be donated to God’s Storehouse.

Advanced Excel Training at IALR

Averett has partnered with the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research to provide Intermediate to Advanced Excel training on Tuesday, Nov. 17 from 1-4 p.m. at the Intsitute. This is a great option for tracking inventory, work schedules, customer information and other large data sets. Also covered are macros, pivot tables, if-then formulas, conditional formats, and multi-layering formulas. If requested, they can also cover forecasting, mail mergers, creating custom invoices and calculating interest.

The cost to attend will be $25 per person, which will be charged to your individual budget area. If you are interested in attending, please contact Mark Sheets at ext. 15650 no later than Friday, Nov. 13.

Free DCA Tickets

The university has a limited number of tickets available for the Sunday, Nov. 15 Danville Concert Association event. If you are interested in seeing the Raleigh Ringers perform at 3 p.m. at George Washington High School’s auditorium contact Jennifer Hooper at 434-791-7184. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-serve basis and there is an initial limit of two tickets per person.

IDA Team Hosting Show

Come out to the Equestrian Center this weekend to support the Intercollegiate Dressage Association (IDA) team as it hosts a show Saturday and Sunday at 10 a.m. both days. Averett’s team will be competing against teams from five other schools. The show is free and open to the public.