Of Mind & Heart Newsletter: December 2002

An update from Whitworth University President Bill Robinson

Every now and then we catch ourselves in pleasant absurdities. Last night I was sitting at my computer listening via the Internet to a University of Iowa basketball game (a close friend is the Iowa coach) while looking at my favorite art website. Preparing myself for Advent, I was relishing 15th- and 16th-century paintings of the Annunciation. Somehow the great masters managed to brush astonishment and serenity into the countenance of a young teenage girl learning that she would carry the Messiah in her womb. I sat in my chair quite divided. This box in front of me served as the portal for 500-year-old artwork to carry me back 2,000 years to the most stunning moment in human experience; the box also carried shouts of great plays by college students 1,400 miles away. It was hard not to laugh when I stepped back and looked at myself. But I was struck by the thought that God still offers greatness to ordinary young people leading ordinary lives. Greatness is often found in moments when the ordinary becomes extraordinary -- in extraordinary kindness, extraordinary effort, extraordinary compassion, extraordinary achievement, and extraordinary submission to the most mundane of God's calls. I hope this is the greatness we are calling forth from our students. Thank you for a year in which you so generously presented your greatness to Whitworth in so many moments and in so many ways.

Academics

Whitworth Dean of the Chapel and Associate Professor of Religion Terry McGonigal received the Dove of Peace Award recently from the Center for Christian-Jewish Dialogue, in Colorado Springs. "When Terry lived here in Colorado Springs, he was very widely known as a bridge-builder between the Jewish and the Christian communities," said Rabbi Howard Abel Hirsch, founding president of the Center for Christian-Jewish Dialogue. "We could think of no one who better exemplified the ideals of the center than Terry." Terry's conciliatory spirit continues as he blesses us at Whitworth.

Last month I mentioned that I would give you some great stocking stuffer ideas from this fall's faculty publications. The following titles are available through the Whitworth Bookstore or through online vendors such as Amazon.com.

Teaching as an Act of Faith, edited by Arlin Migliazzo (Politics & History), with a very helpful and meaty introduction by Arlin, and chapters by Lois Kieffaber (Physics), Lee Anne Chaney (Biology), Bob Clark (Sociology) and Mike Ingram (Communication Studies) on the integration of faith and teaching.
Law, Religion and Public Policy, by Julia Stronks (Politics & History)
The Reluctant Traveler, A Pilgrimage Through Loss and Recovery, by Diane Marr (Education)
Leading People from the Middle, by Bill Robinson (Last Friday morning when I was flipping pancakes for our kids, my next book idea came to me: Feeding People from the Griddle. Some days I think I'm a better chef than college president.)
Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing, by Jim Waller (Psychology)
The Gospel According to Mark, a commentary by James Edwards (Religion)
Comparative Politics, by Michael Le Roy (Politics & History)
Research Methods in Political Science, by Michael Corbett and Michael K. Le Roy
The Essential Guide to XML Technologies, by Ron Turner (Computer Science)

This is the time of year when music brings poignancy to our emotions. By the time you receive this newsletter, our famed Christmas concerts will have already blessed many. I thought you might also be interested in the November activities of the Whitworth Wind Symphony. Under the direction of Richard Strauch, the group held a benefit concert at a local church to raise funds for the Street Kids Project, a student-run Whitworth program. Later in the month, the wind symphony performed a fall concert that featured a recent piece, Johann de Meij's Symphony No. 1: The Lord of the Rings, as well as more familiar pieces including Percy Grainger's Irish Tune from County Derry(better known as the tune to Danny Boy). Wind symphonies can sound absolutely majestic, and majesty is what we heard at this concert.

Enrollment

In November we hosted what might be two of our most joyful annual events. At the first, the individuals and families who provide scholarships and the students who receive them joined for a real "thanksgiving dinner." Each year, this is like a reunion of people who don't know each other. Students performed and shared their gratitude with great eloquence. This year, more than 175 scholarships were given to very deserving students. The next day I received the following e-mail: "...I am paying for college by myself, due to the fact that my mom is a single parent working two jobs just to pay the bills. I wanted to let you know that it looked like I was going to have to leave Whitworth in the spring of my senior year. I had no money and wasn't being approved for the loan amount that I needed because I had already taken out so many loans. When I found out that I was approved for the Early Fifties Endowed Scholarship, I started crying. Is there any way that I can thank the donors? That scholarship has enabled me to be pretty confident that I will be able to continue school at Whitworth. I still have a bit left to pay and am trying to figure out how to cover it, but I just wanted to let you know how much the scholarship meant to me. Whitworth has had an enormous impact on who I have become as a person, and it has always been my goal to be the first person in my family to graduate from college. The financial help that Whitworth has offered me has enabled me to fulfill my dream. Thank you again."

The second event, the Corporate Sponsor Luncheon, which honors our generous corporate benefactors, also offered a great opportunity for students to say thanks to area businesses that support them through scholarships, internships and, dare I say, jobs. Spokane has superb corporate citizens!

Financial Aid Director Wendy Olson reports that renewal FAFSA applications will be sent out from the Department of Education this month to continuing students.Families can submit the renewal application after Jan. 1, 2003. Some students will be sent a PIN number instead of the paper renewal form. PINs can be used to file the renewal FAFSA form online and to sign the form electronically. Parents can obtain PINs (for their electronic signatures) by going to www.pin.ed.gov.

Student Life

November is wild for students. Among the highlights, in addition to a way-too-late Thanksgiving break, activities included:

• The volleyball team's prosperity provided lots of opportunities for students to pack the fieldhouse, as more than 1,000 people attended each of the contests. After one match, the men's and women's basketball teams also previewed their talents with a men's slam-dunk contest and the women's team crushing a group of aging, gameless, loser noonballers. We made glaciers look quick. In our defense, when coach Matt Shupper said, "Let's go out there and be competitive," we thought he said "…be contemplative." And we definitely out-contemplated them. While we thought, they scored.
• ASWC hosted a panel made up of clergy and faculty from almost every denomination to discuss women's roles from a biblical standpoint and to explore how theological viewpoints affect the roles of women in the church today.
• Residence-hall programming this month looked at gender roles, eating disorders, creating healthy relationships, and interdenominational issues.
• The International Banquet and evening of entertainment was a big success this month, as was the Kanikapila celebration from our Hawaiian Club.
• November's activities concluded with Club Night. ASWC rented a nightclub with all the lights and music, and students boogied the night away.

Resources

December is the one month when I have to be pretty shameless in asking for your support. It is the biggest month of the year for The Whitworth Fund. In order to stay on target to reach our budget of $1.3 million this year, we need gifts in excess of $500,000 this month. Behind this bold request is my daily witness of the amazing ways that our students and alumni are bringing physical and spiritual support to so many people in need. We will be really grateful for any contributions you make to this mind-and-heart mission.

I told you last month that we were privileged to have jazz great Jimmy Heath perform on campus this fall. I need to add that scores of young Spokane-area musicians were able to attend this concert because of a generous grant from The Principal Financial Group that helped to underwrite the concert in addition to providing $1,000 worth of tickets to local schools.

Faculty publications are not the only stocking stuffers for you to consider. I can tell you that I wouldn't mind having my stocking stuffed with that the final $1,000,000 pledge for Weyerhaeuser Hall. I'd go through the roof without the benefit of a chimney. Dear Elsie Fariss just pledged a $50,000 gift for the building to honor the commitment of her late husband, Mel, to international students. The office of the dean of our School of Global Commerce and Management will be named in Mel's honor.

Parents: We have completed a temporary location for the health center in the lower level of Baldwin-Jenkins. This will serve as the short-term location for the next 18 to 24 months until we are able to house the HC in a permanent spot planned for Hendrick Hall. This interim space shortens the trip for our sleep-deprived, mono-magnet BJ freshmen.

Athletics

It's transition time between fall and winter sports, and there's a ton of news. Check out our athletics website (www.whitworth.edu/Athletics/Index.htm) for more information. I have only enough room here for a factual report of our great fall teams. In January I'll give you the rundown of our winter sports. As of this writing, our men's basketball team is undefeated, our women hoopsters are 3-1, our men's swim team is 6-0, and our swimmin' women have one loss.

Varsity golf will return to Whitworth next fall. The Spokane Country Club will be the home course for Whitworth's men's and women's teams, thanks to a generous contribution from Vern and Mary Ziegler, longtime Whitworth supporters and owners of Ziggy's Building Centers. The Crimson Club is also contributing to cover costs associated with launching the program. Warren Friedrichs will coach both teams.

Four football Bucs were named to the All-Northwest Conference First Team:quarterback Scott Biglin, wide receiver Dwayne Tawney, linebacker Jonathan Hook and free safety Jeff Riddell. Offensive lineman Isaac Larson and defensive lineman Matt Meyerson were named to the second team, and running back Billy Condon, wide receiver K.C. Dameron, cornerback Mike Anderson, and defensive lineman Daniel Jones received honorable mentions. The Bucs finished a wonderful 2002 season with a record of 7-3.

Our women's cross-country team won its first-ever NCAA West Regional title and advanced to the NCAA Div. III meet. The Pirate women edged Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 66-67 in the regionals, while the men finished sixth. Leslie Nelson, Kristi Dickey, Elizabeth Abbey, Jessica Austin and Rebecca Jamieson went to nationals, where they finished 21st in the country

Julie Weatherred, MVP of the NWC in volleyball, football players Billy Condon and Jeff Riddell, and soccer player Kurt Kagawa have been named to their respective Verizon Academic All-District 8 College Division Teams. This is a huge honor for these students.

Whitworth opened volleyball regionals at home by defeating the national champions, La Verne University. Unfortunately, the Pirates met their match with top-ranked CSU-Hayward on Saturday night. Seniors departing from this best-ever team include Julie Weatherred (All-American, two-time NWC Player of the Year), Nicole Weedman (all-conference), Jill Vaughan (all-conference, 2nd team), Michelle Etter (all-conference, 2nd team), Lindsay Wagstaff (all-conference, honorable mention), Annie Buck, Karen Robnette, and Jamie Rydbom.

This year's Pirate Night IX raised more than $30,000 for our programs. The proceeds will go toward fieldhouse improvements, which will include upgrades to facilitate winter practices for baseball and softball. Thanks to all of you generous Pirate fans!

Alumni

There a few spaces remaining for the next summer's trip to Germany with Religion Professor Jim Edwards and his wife, Janie. Find all of the details at www.whitworth.edu/alumni/germany2003.htm.

We have upcoming alumni events planned in connection with our very strong basketball teams. Jan. 4: Annual Alumni Night at the Fieldhouse. Free admission and post-game ice cream for all alumni and their families as the Pirates take on George Fox at 6 and 8 p.m. Students aren't back from break yet, so we need you, and we need you loud. Jan. 11: Between-game reception at University of Puget Sound in Tacoma. Jan. 25: Between-game reception at Lewis and Clark in Portland. Meet the coaches at both of these events, enjoy refreshments, and cheer on the Pirates in hostile territory.

Alumni gatherings:

• Feb. 2, 7 p.m.: I'll be hosting an alumni reception/conversation at National Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C.
• Feb. 2-5: Trinity Presbyterian Church, in Santa Ana, Calif., hosts an annual endowed-speaker series, and this year they have invited Religion Professor Jim Edwards.
• Feb. 9: Alumni, parents and friends are invited to First Presbyterian Church in downtown Seattle to hear from Communications Professor Ron Pyle in our continuing series of Core 650 regional programs. More information to follow.

Closing Thoughts

Terry McGonigal's award reminds us of something we often get backward. It is popular and pleasing to think that Christ reconciled to us so that we can be victorious. But the gospel is that Christ was victorious so that we can be reconciled – reconciled to God and to each other. There is a lot in the air that is provoking us to condemn others. When we do, I think we profane Christ's victory. I have been a guest of Muslims in Gaza and Jews in Jerusalem, and they were great people who need to be reconciled. But neither they nor I will ever know reconciliation if we indulge in scattershot condemnation of peoples rather than acts. As we celebrate the coming of the Prince of Peace, I hope we avoid joining those in the first century who expected a messiah of victory more than a messiah of reconciliation. Jesus brought both. Enough preaching. It's just that my heart is a little sore these days. Well, my thoracic cavity should get filled in a bit tonight when our living room will be filled with students grappling with ideas and then singing Christmas carols. And you also are my heart therapists. When I think of your warm friendship with Whitworth, it snaps me into an Advent mood. So thanks for that and thanks for your partnership in 2002.