Of Mind & Heart Newsletter: April 2008

An update from Whitworth University President Bill Robinson

When graduating seniors return to Whitworth from their final Spring Break, their emotions really start banging into each other. They are greeted by stout little buds and blossoms and they feel the newness of spring, but they also feel old and not ready to start another cycle of anything. Seniors return to campus all revved up about moving on, but their steps get deliberate as they take final walks among the people (and trees) they have grown to love. They know they are just about done with Whitworth. But they're not sure if they want Whitworth to be done with them. Two weeks ago I had a meeting at the home of Chuck, '65, and Karlyn (Allbee, '67) Boppell, in Rancho Mirage, Calif. Because here in Spokane those "stout little buds and blossoms" were choking in snow, I naturally suggested we meet at Chuck's. And because it wasn't my house, I naturally suggested we have a barbecue for eight members of the Class of '97 who were, I heard, down there hacking their way around some desert golf courses. These guys were all freshmen during my first year at Whitworth. I remember them well. They've done a lot since graduation. Collectively, they could build you a house, give you a root canal, provide you with much-needed psychiatric care, teach and coach your kids, supply all your gear for a luxury fishing vacation, host you on that luxury fishing vacation, make sure the guy in the boat next to you (on his discount fishing vacation) has a fishing license, and find you a bigger office building, which you might need to fund your luxury fishing vacation. But we were impressed not only with what these guys had done with their Whitworth educations; we were also impressed with what Whitworth continues to do with its alums. Years, miles, joys and pains have distanced this group from graduation, but the hearts of these guys reflected a stubborn desire to honor God, follow Christ and serve humanity. The day after I returned home, one of them wrote to me and said that he is getting more from his Whitworth education now than he did when he was in college. So, as the members of the Class of 2008 begin their kick to the finish line, it feels good to be reminded that Whitworth will never really be finished with them. And we hope they won't ever really be finished with Whitworth.

Academics

Many of our faculty members do not stop teaching when the semester ends. For example, in May...

• Jim Waller (Psychology) will be one of the teachers for 20 government officials from around the world at the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation. This week-long seminar on the grounds of the Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz (Poland) works on issues of genocide warning and prevention.
• Melinda Larson, '92, (Athletic Training) will travel to Guatemala with a team from Athletes in Action (a division of Campus Crusade for Christ) to teach sports medicine to a variety of audiences including coaches, doctors and therapists. Mel is a recent recipient of the Northwest Athletic Trainers Association's Educators Award.

We have some great lectures and other events coming up on campus.

• University of Colorado Professor Jan Kreider will lecture April 10 on "Alternative Energy in the U.S. and its Global Implications."
• Our own Walter Hutchens (Business & Economics) will lecture April 24 on "China's Economic Rise: Global Challenge or Opportunity?C as part of our Great Decisions Lecture Series.
• Martin Marty, professor emeritus of the University of Chicago Divinity School and probably the most celebrated church historian in the United States, will speak on April 17.
• Gin Hammond, winner of the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Play, will perform The Syringa Tree, a one-woman play about growing up in South Africa during the 1960s, on April 15.
• Award-winning poet Christopher Howell, Whitworth's Endowed English Reader for 2008, will read from his works on Friday, April 11. Howell's eighth collection of poems, Light's Ladder, won the Washington State Book Award in 2005.

For additional information about times and venues, visitwww.whitworth.edu/speakers&artists.

If you're in Spokane on April 12, you might want to attend The Spokane Intercollegiate Research Conference. This year, Gonzaga University is hosting the event, at which students from Whitworth, Gonzaga and Eastern Washington University will present their academic work.

Mike Ingram (Academic Affairs) took 15 students from his Advanced Public Speaking class to a regional forensics tournament at Spokane Falls Community College. The team won many individual awards in speaking and debating, and they captured the first-place sweepstakes award. I taught a class to this group. I can see why they did so well!

Under the category of "It's nicer to say goodbye than good riddance," Art Zombies, the junior art exhibit running April 1-18 in the Koehler Gallery, commemorates the influence and character of the soon-to-be-razed Whitworth Fine Arts Building. Student-artist Elizabeth Johnson describes the exhibit it as "a requiem for the aura of the building and the students who inhabit it." I've known Elizabeth for many years, and she's always appreciated funky stuff. Also, the senior art exhibit opens April 22 and runs through May 17 in the Koehler Gallery.

Our students will be active academically in April.

• Computer-science students will hear research presentations in the areas of computer security and bioinformatics at the University of Idaho; they will attend a career/vocation seminar at W.S.U., and they'll meet with employees at Seattle's Adobe Corporation, to talk about professional life after college.
• Four sociology students will attend the Pacific Sociological Association meeting this spring in Portland, Ore.
• David Howell, '08, will step down as student president for the Northwest Athletic Trainers Association, which serves athletic-training students in five states. He will remain, however, a collector's item as the recipient of a rare Bill Robinson-generated assist in intramural hoops.
• Kelly Fink, '10, will take a seat as an inaugural member of the Athletic Training Student Committee of the National Athletic Trainers Association. Kelly will also be spending this summer applying her athletic-training skills during a medical missionary trip to Kenya.

A new book, Christians, the Care of Creation, and Global Climate Change, edited by Lindy Scott (Modern Languages), offers a breath of fresh air on the complex and often controversial topic of global climate change. Lindy says, "The book is a cogent and persuasive call to love God and our neighbors by caring for creation -- especially in light of the dramatic climate changes occurring before our eyes. This book is not the final word on the subject, but it is a sincere invitation to examine the scientific evidence for global warming and to respond with individual and collective faithful actions." 

This semester, 36 academic courses and more than 300 students are actively involved in service-learning in more than 39 agencies in the greater Spokane area. One example is the Acting I class led by Brooke Kiener, '99 (Theatre). Her students help eighth graders write reflective monologues about their lives. The topics range from humorous vignettes to issues of homelessness, domestic violence, racism and alcohol abuse. You'll be able to hear a pin drop at the school assembly during which Whitworth's theatre students breathe passion, humor, and skill into the poignant monologues written by these junior-high students.

Enrollment

The financial aid office has sent out awards to all new freshmen and transfer students who applied by the priority deadline of March 1. If you know a student who is planning to start at Whitworth this fall and who has filed a FAFSA, but has not yet heard from the financial aid office, please have him or her call 800.533.4668 to speak with a staff member. Also, don't forget the May 1 deposit deadline!

In May and June, the financial aid office will e-mail 2008-09 renewal award notifications to current students. The priority deadline to file the FAFSA for need-based financial aid is May 1. Merit scholarships are renewed automatically.

Student Life

Hiring student leaders for next year consumed the last part of March, but ASWU was able to squeeze in a dodgeball tournament and a visit by a magician before Spring Break. April features ASWU elections. Campaigns are firing up. I had lunch with three students today. When I asked what they thought about the elections, they said they couldn't remember all the candidates. I was relieved to find they thought I was referring to the ASWU elections! April will also feature the Hawaiian Club's Lu'au. May will be launched by Springfest, with a Spring into the Caribbean theme; all proceeds will go to the Second Harvest Food Bank.

From ASWU President Scott Donnell:  "Spring Break was full of great road trips to various destinations: California for sports trips and sunshine, Utah for kayaking, and Colorado for rock-climbing. Now we're in the home stretch. There are six solid weeks of class before summer hits, and students are in need of a boost. Please send cards, cookies, and/or cash to keep all students from burning out and to prevent seniors from catching senioritis too early."

Resources

The Lied Center for the Visual Arts continues to rise. The structure is enclosed, and interior work has begun. To see photos, go to www.whitworth.edu/vab.

Plans are under way to build a 168-bed residence hall just north and west of Duvall Hall to open in fall of 2009. Two buildings in The Village will be removed after the completion of this facility for a net increase of about 128 beds. The new hall supports our goal of housing roughly two-thirds of our full-time undergraduate students. 

Athletics

Whitworth's men's basketball team advanced further in the NCAA Division III tournament than any previous team, falling in the sectional semifinals (Div. III's Sweet Sixteen) to Wheaton College. Ryan Symes, Whitworth's NWC Player of the Year, was named to both the D3hoops.com and NABC All-Region teams. Ryan "retired" in fine fashion, leading the Pirates with 29 points in his final game as a Buc. The Pirates finished the season with a 21-7 record.

The Pirate women's swimming team finished 10th at the NCAA Division III Women's Swimming and Diving Championships. Sophomore Natalie Turner turned in All-America performances in the 200, 500, and 1,650-yard freestyle events. She set new school and NWC records in the 500 and 1,650. Senior Samantha Kephart closed her storied career at Whitworth with a third-place finish in the 200-yard butterfly and fourth-place standing in the 100 fly -- the eighth and ninth All-America performances of her career.

Sophomore Cody Stelzer finished as the runner-up in the high jump (clearing 6'-9.75") at the NCAA Division III Indoor Track and Field Championships. He came in second at the outdoor championships last spring and finished in sixth place at last winter's NCAA indoor meet, making him three-for-three in national-championship All-America finishes.

The Whitworth tennis teams are enjoying their best season in years. The Pirate women are 12-4 overall, 10-2 in the NWC and No. 13 in the west region. Whitworth's men are 12-8 overall, 9-5 in the NWC, and No. 15 in the WR.

Weather has played havoc with the schedules of Whitworth's baseball and softball teams. The baseball team has been able to play only two of its 26 games at Merkel Field. Two home series have been moved to warmer/drier parts of the Northwest to get the games in. In spite of those difficulties, the Pirates are 11-15 overall and 10-10 in the NWC.

Snow sent the softball team to Pasco to play defending national champion Linfield.The women haven't yet been able to play at Diana Marks Field, due to the strange "spring" weather in Spokane. The Pirates went 2-6 during their Spring Break trip to California, which included games against five nationally ranked teams. Whitworth is 8-16 so far this season.

In golf, the men's team won its Spring Break match vs. Warner Southern College, in Lake Wales, Fla., by one shot (300-299). Andrew Parrott shot a 72 to lead the Pirates to victory. Senior Jordan Carter's grandparents helped arrange the Spring Break trip to Florida and provided free housing for the team. The Whitworth men came from behind to finish second at the NWC Spring Classic, keeping the Pirates tied atop the conference standings and giving the team a chance to win their fourth NWC title in a row. The Pirate women finished fifth at their NWC Spring Classic.

Finally, my apologies to Natalie Orrell for last month referring to her as Natalie Turner.N.O. earned honorable mention in the Northwest Conference for women's basketball. Mistakenly, I listed her as N.T., who repeated as NWC Outstanding Women's Swimmer. We have too many great Natalies! 

Miscellaneous

Spread the Aloha is the theme of this year's Hawaiian Club Lu'au on April 12, and you won't want to miss this spread. Dinner, which includes kalua pork, teriyaki beef, shoyu chicken, pineapple upside-down cake, sweet potatoes and fresh pineapple, begins at 5:30 p.m. and is followed by the always crowd-pleasing dance and entertainment portions of the program. Call the HUB information desk at 509.777.3796 for ticket information.

The Whitworth Choir's spring concert, Ring in the Thousand Years of Peace, takes place on Sunday, April 20, at 3 p.m., at the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, 127 E. 12th Ave. The concert, conducted by Marc A. Hafso (Music), will feature works by Charles Stanford, J.S. Bach, Healey Willan, Jonathan Dove, Robert Schumann, and Lionel Daunais. Donations will be accepted at the door. For additional info, please call the music office at 509.777.3280.

Closing Thoughts

It's Sunday night, the end of Spring Break. I started this newsletter two days ago while I was flying south. I'm now flying north. Before climbing on this plane I was chatting with a couple freshman guys (who are several rows behind me, following me, which means I am leading them -- true leadership). In 15 years they will be the alumni I mentioned in the opening paragraph. I know this because they are good, honest and eager. They are good because they spent their Spring Break in tents, camping with middle-schoolers. They are honest because when I lavished them with praise, one responded by saying, "I didn't know what I was getting into." And they're eager because they're looking forward to getting back to Whitworth. So am I. Thanks for your part in equipping our students to serve the world.