Of Mind & Heart Newsletter: December 1998
An update from Whitworth University President Bill Robinson
I'm about to break a record for the fastest Mind and Heart ever written. I'm sure it will show. I'm in Seattle and have to leave in 90 minutes for the first of our six Whitworth Christmas concerts, this one in Bellevue. It's only the first week of December, but with the Christmas mail glut, we need to push this letter out early. I hope you have a blessed holiday season. More important to us than the gifts we exchange with one another are the gifts we receive from God: his Incarnate Word and the people he sends us. We believe you to be among God's good gifts. Thank you and bless you for your service.
Academics
We've now received the draft report from the accrediting team that visited campus in late September. This detailed document gives us more specific input than the brief commendations I described in October's Mind and Heart, and repeatedly refers to the high quality of our faculty and the strength of our entire institution's commitment to Whitworth's mission. Vice President for Academic Affairs Tammy Reid and I will be in Bellevue on Dec. 11 to respond formally to the report.
Barbara Sanders, assistant professor in the School of Education, has won an award from the Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges of Teacher Education. Barb will work with students in our Master in Teaching program and their mentors as they try to answer questions about curriculum, instruction and classroom management issues.
Overwhelming audience response has prompted Diana Trotter, associate professor of theatre, to lead a group of seven students on a tour of the Seattle area this January with their performance of an original, student-written script about body image called "Mirror, Mirror." (As I edit this, I find myself chuckling about a '97 theater grad who was part of a group of young alumni Bonnie and I went out with after the Bellevue concert. In spite of his shameless efforts, he wasn't able to achieve his stated goal of saying something profound enough to include in this letter; starting every sentence with "We hold these truths to be self-evident" didn't really help his case.)
A group of Whitworth's computer science students placed 16th out of 57 teams competing in a computer programming contest held at Oregon State University.Overseen by Kent Jones, assistant professor of computer science, the team faced competition made up mostly of major West Coast universities. The rules allowed each team to include a graduate student, which most of the teams did. So the accomplishment of our three undergrads - Josh Hug, Mike Bilenko and Tyler Edwards - was all the more noteworthy.
Many formal and informal meetings during the week of Nov. 16 provided spirited discussions on the origins of life and the implications for faith. Phillip Johnson, a nationally renowned author and speaker on "design theory" opened the week, and Ken Miller, a well-known and respected evolution scholar, closed it out. The net effect was positive, but I think we could have enjoyed a higher level of openness and respect had we been a little smarter in framing the discussions. We keep learning.
In last summer's Mind and Heart I mentioned that the Johnston Science Center renovation was well under way. This major project has required the science faculty to locate labs in the former dining hall and the old Student Life building, both of which were vacated when Phase II of the HUB was completed. The science faculty are temporarily sharing offices in a house across campus from the Johnston Center, close to the Fieldhouse. We thank them and our students for their tolerance during this major upheaval and dislocation. The good news is that renovations will be complete by second semester.
I was so wired that I didn't need coffee for three days after our jazz band lit it up last month with internationally acclaimed saxophonist Joe Lovano. It was a great performance. Director Dan Keberle and the Whitworth Jazz Ensemble head to Rome in Jan Term for a series of performances. Italy will never be the same.
Jan Term will find our students in many parts of the world in addition to Rome. The largest study program is heading to Guatemala, where Assistant Professor of Spanish Conny Palacios will oversee language study by 21 students beginning a four-month stay in Central America. Other programs are taking students to Alaska, San Francisco, Bolivia, Mexico, Hawaii, Israel, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, France, the United Kingdom and probably a few spots I don't have in my notes. Please pray for the safety of these and all our students and faculty who are traveling during Jan Term.
Should the U.S. Postal Service get this letter to you faster than usual, try to see the display by our junior art students in the Koehler Art Gallery from Dec. 1 to 17. I've been booked since its opening, but I'm always amazed at the quality produced by our art students, and I'll not miss this show.
Student Life
The commitment of Whitworth students to service is one this college's proudest distinguishing characteristics. During November, the students raised more than $9,000 for World Vision relief efforts in Honduras, $7,000 for Young Life relief work in Matagalpa, Nicaragua, and $185 for the Red Cross. They also loaded a 53-foot trailer with food and goods for victims of Hurricane Mitch, and assembled 161 Christmas boxes for a Samaritan's Purse program for poor children around the world. These students don't have very much money or time, but scarce resources have never been a match for giving hearts.
Our students are caught up in a bit of controversy right now as they try to decide whether to put ASWC funds toward the construction of a climbing wall on campus that the seniors have proposed to fund, in part, as a class gift. We're seeing good arguments on both sides of the issue. I prefer this kind of student activism to having them storm the administration building.
Mahalo to the parents of current students and alums from Hawai'i for your help and hospitality at the college fairs and at our Hawai'i Information Night. It was great to see you. By the way, getting home went more smoothly for me than my trip over, but the end of the big travel month went true to form. On my last day we got stuck behind an accident on the westbound San Francisco Bay Bridge, making us late for a crucial meeting downtown, causing me to let the parking meter expire, giving the city of San Francisco the joy of towing away my car, making us late for our next three appointments, which would have caused us to be late for our late flight home, which was, of course, two hours late in departing because of the driving rainstorm that was in our faces every direction we turned all day long. But back to things Hawai'ian. Kanikapila (music, food and dance) at Whitworth was a big success, with more than 100 people attending a night of good music, dance and "grinds" (food). Again, mahalo and aloha to you parents.
We bid farewell and blessings to those international students returning to their countries after this semester. Godspeed, and thank you for studying with us. The International Office celebrated Christmas with these students, their host families, and other international students a few days ago.
Resources
We find ourselves in the midst of blessings and challenges. The blessings:
- Good news continues to emerge about The Whitworth Fund. Our gift- processing staff was busier than ever in November. Our deep gratitude goes to all of you who send unrestricted gifts to Whitworth.
- We are also very thankful to the Lindsey family. This month we received an additional $400,000 designated for the Guy and Gertrude Lindsey Endowed Scholarship fund, bringing its total to $1.2 million.
- Trustee Harvey Bolton and his wife, Gail, added to their giving this month with a pledge of $90,000 to the Bolton Endowed Scholarship. The Boltons have given generously to the Cowles Auditorium Fund and are great supporters of The Whitworth Fund as well. We appreciate their leadership immensely.
- Trustee Marty Polhemus and his wife, Jean, long-time supporters of Whitworth, have joined the Boltons in their support of endowed scholarships. Marty and Jean will donate more than $100,000 to establish the Polhemus Scholarships.
There's more good news, but I think I'll hold it until next month. Here are some challenges:
- Recently passed legislation in Washington, D.C., to raise the minimum wage will hit our payroll with great force because of our high level of unfunded, non-work-study student employment.
- A suit brought by the ACLU against independent colleges in Washington seeks to prohibit one of the state's financial aid funds from going to students attending church-related colleges. This action has staggering implications. I'll keep you posted.
- We very much need to improve the quality of our classrooms. We have funds for a Dixon Hall remodel, but what we really need is a new classroom building that meets today's academic demands.
- We have to be relentless in building our endowment if we are to continue to be affordable to our students.
So there's our Christmas list. Unless the heavy guy who's "makin' a list, checkin' it twice" draws Whitworth's name from the office grab bag, we are going to need hard work, generous hearts and God's good grace to meet these challenges. Thanks again to those of you who have helped bring Whitworth so far.
Miscellaneous
Several spots are still available for Leonard Oakland's Core 650 tour to Paris in 1999.Call the Alumni Office (509-777-3799 or 800-532-4668) for more details.
Parents, with the end of the calendar year approaching, you might like to have information on the Federal Tax Relief Act designed to help college students and their families. You can contact your tax accountant, or try the IRS website,
or this website:
Spokane area alumni, look in your mailboxes for a postcard from the Alumni Office in January. This card will serve as a free admission ticket for you and your family to attend the second annual Whitworth Alumni Basketball Doubleheader and Ice Cream Social, on Jan. 30 against Seattle University. Look in the next Mind and Heart for more information on February alumni basketball events at road games in Walla Walla, Portland and Tacoma.
Here are a few books by Whitworth folks that would be good Christmas gifts: Face to Face: The Changing State of Racism across America, by Psychology Professor Jim Waller (Plenum Insight, New York); Journey Against One Current, by Zhi-Dao "Julia" Duan, '94, with Judy Palpant (William Carey Library); and A Grace Disguised, by Religion Professor Jerry Sittser (Zondervan).
Athletics
The men's basketball team was ahead by a point with just three minutes left in what would have gone down as one of the great upsets in Whitworth history. Leading NCAA Division I's undefeated Utah State team (which had just beaten 9th-ranked Utah and carried a 29-game home winning streak), the Bucs got beat at the free throw line in the final moments, 69-65. It's rough when your opponent shoots 25 free throws to your five. After a 1-1 split in conference games this weekend, the Bucs stand at 3-2, and in spite of losing some great players to graduation, the guys will do well this year.
The women's team had a pretty good weekend, splitting a pair of games with UPS and Lewis and Clark. UPS has some fine players, and the women struggled a bit against them, but Head Coach Helen Higgs' crew came back strong Saturday night, thumping Lewis and Clark before an appreciative Fieldhouse crowd. With the conference season just under way, the women look good.
Both the men's and women's swim teams go into their fourth weekend undefeated at 4-0. I've seen a couple meets and I think our swimmers look great, but this weekend is the big Northwest Invitational, so we'll get a better idea of how strong our teams are.
A number of our student-athletes received post-season honors. Football players Josh Parbon, Jimmy Ramirez, Matt Stueckle, Sky Blake, Mitch Ellerd and Ryan Wilson made the All-Northwest Conference first team, and RB Ben Vaday, Matt Stueckle, Ivan Gustafson, Pono Lopez, Andy Clark and John Bates were named to the second squad. (Stueckle made first team as a kicker and second team as a receiver - not too shabby.) Damian Putney, Matt Miethe, Chris Wilson and Danilo Viloria received honorable mention. In women's soccer, Amber Young and Heidi Bohnett both made All-NWC first team, while on the men's side Mark Lupton, Aron Grubb, Jace Jones and J.J. Klaus earned honorable mention. It's been a great year for our fall athletes.
Closing Thoughts
It's now Saturday morning, and the concert last night was beautiful and very moving. Because it was a more contemplative program than some have been, I found myself thinking back to my two-week study leave last summer, when I decided to write down all the ways in which the life and teachings of Jesus surprised those whom he encountered. I ran out of paper. Virtually everything from his genealogy to his ascension astonished people. It's good that things have changed. With 2,000 years to figure Jesus out, we can now explain everything about him, including how he wants the guy down the street to behave. No more surprises. How arrogant are we? One of God's biggest surprises - a lowly manger as the birthplace for his son - placed a frame of humility around the greatest gift ever given. But are we humble in the way we consider and present Jesus? We at Whitworth are "Christian scholars." I fear the world often associates both of these words with hubris and pride. May this Christmas season bring the humility of Christ into the hearts of us all, students and teachers alike. And may this holiday season bring great joy to you. We remember you with thankful, and, we hope, humble hearts.
