Of Mind & Heart Newsletter: February 2000

An update from Whitworth University President Bill Robinson

It's 6 a.m. Thursday, and one of the rare times when I have to write this newsletter in one sitting. If I can wring out whatever adrenaline I have left in my system and get this done, I'm going catatonic for about 24 hours. The last month has been wild, but great. The faculty and students have wrapped up Jan Term and marched into the new semester. For me, the month included good chunks of student time (including a famed "slurpee run"), rich moments with alumni across the country, interminable meetings, preaching, speaking and a Whitworth Founder's Day convocation. Earlier this week, when I thought about writing this, I realized that it was 10 years ago this month that I wrote my first monthly newsletter, while I was president at Manchester College. Two days ago, after a good session of mumbling to myself about this writing "burden," I happened to call longtime Whitworth supporter Lou Livingston to extend our sympathies over the loss of his dear wife, Margery. As I was ready to hang up, Lou, who's in his late '90s, said, "Bill, I like that letter you write. Keep at it." I don't know anybody more qualified to say "Keep at it" than faithful Louis Livingston. So, here we go, Lou. God bless you and all the young-hearted friends of Whitworth that you represent.

Academics

Our revised Jan Term schedule went well. Because we delayed its start as a Y2K precaution, we ran classes for three-and-a-half hours a day, 30 minutes longer than normal. The hard part of this compressed schedule was the last-minute return of many of our travelers. It was the worst for Philosophy Professor Forrest Baird's Core 250 group, which returned from its jaunt through Italy, Switzerland, France and England the day before spring semester classes resumed . We all feel real sorry for this group. Sure we do.

Opening Convocation for this semester had a new look - and sound. Bagpiper Joni Appling, Class of '01, led the faculty procession, and we built the program around the theme of Founder's Day, in recognition of George Whitworth. Also marking the occasion, we awarded two new Founder's Day scholarships. Our first recipients are senior Andrea Palpant and sophomore Heidi Betcher. Building on historian Dale Soden's account of George Whitworth's career, my remarks centered on our students' career planning and preparation. We are deeply committed to seeing our students perform superbly in great careers. And it's important that they have the kinds of experiences at Whitworth that enable them to define "great career" based on their gifts and callings rather than on the pressures that society or even we at Whitworth impose upon them.

I thought you might be interested in taking a peek at a Whitworth connection in a fifth-grade classroom. Professor Doris Liebert (Education) spent a week in January helping a class get a jump on understanding the government's census plans. Drawing on her expertise with an innovative teaching method called "Storyline," Doris and teacher Melissa LaRue ('95) had the students work on creating a town, including people, schools, other buildings and landscapes. The Storyline approach, which originated in Scotland, integrates language, art, history, geography and math. In this example, the story focused on low-income citizens living in the hills near the fictional town of Rainbow River and on how the census affects individual lives. The class was divided into groups that had specific assignments, such as creating a timeline of the town, designing the front page of the town's newspaper, deciding laws and special events, establishing a census bureau, and promoting tourism. "In order for learning to be memorable, it must be meaningful - and that's exactly the purpose of Storyline," says Doris, whose article about this technique appeared in the November/December issue of Social Studies and the Young Learner.

And speaking of Whitworth teachers out there, Karen Baldwin ('90) was recently elected to the Washington Music Educators Association Hall of Fame. The WMEA Hall of Fame was established with the express purpose of recognizing honorees for their outstanding contributions to the advancement of music education in Washington state. Congratulations, Karen!

Our students and faculty continue to distinguish themselves in the academic world.Next month I'll report several notable activities and honors. In the past few Mind and Hearts I haven't had much room for athletics and student life because of my emphasis on our academic activity (which, by the way, is the exact opposite of how I spent the first few years of my undergraduate career). So I'm playing a little catch-up in this letter.

Enrollment

This is a big time of year for our admissions folks. As of Feb. 1, our deposits were up 26 percent while our applications were down slightly. A dramatic rise in the number of hits on the admissions link of our website has prompted us to make it possible for students to apply on-line. March 1 is our application deadline for fall enrollment. Other important admissions dates include March 12-13, when we host the Shuttle by Whitworth program for Seattle and Portland area students; April 8-9, when top academic applicants join us for our Academic Scholarship Competition; April 30-May 1, when a group of high school juniors and their parents visit our campus during Sneak Preview; and May 1, our admission deposit deadline.

Registrar Gary Whisenand reports record enrollment for Jan Term, with 1,475 students either on campus or taking classes at one of dozens of locations around the world. By way of comparison, the number of Jan Term students six years ago was 1,195.

Student Life

February is a short but romantic month, offering rare opportunities to those of us who are short, but romantic. Student activities this month feature a Valentine's Day square dance, a hip hop concert and alternative Christian music by Over the Rhine. Also, the senior class is renting the entire ski hill at Mt. Spokane for a fund raiser on the 25th, when classes are out for Faculty Development Day, and that night the Hawaiian Club will host a dance. Only at Whitworth can you snow ski and hula in the same day. At the end of the month, Outdoor Rec is doing a three-day ski trip to Canada. A full complement of intramural and intercollegiate athletics will round out the month. British Columbia's ski resorts have also been the destination for quite a few student road trips this year. I've heard, "Great snow, great mountains, great exchange rate, not too far.you can't go wrong." But speaking of going wrong, for some twisted reason, too many of the men on this campus are sporting what can only be described as "hair abominations." Let me be quick to say that under these messes stand absolutely great guys - morally, intellectually and spiritually.but certainly not follically. Alas, they do make us laugh.

Resources

One of the resources I have probably never mentioned in this letter is the vendors who work hard on Whitworth's behalf. At the suggestion of Dave Bailey and Bill Roberts from our Physical Plant, we honored this group with a wonderful dinner at the end of January. More than 200 people who have worked on campus projects joined us as we expressed our appreciation and talked about our plans for the future. To those of you invitees who were unable to attend, we extend a hearty "Thank you" for all you do to support Whitworth.

I don't think I mentioned in the last letter that we had three new scholarships set up in December. These $25,000-plus funds established by members of the extended Whitworth family will provide annual scholarships in perpetuity to deserving students. It is almost impossible for me to communicate the importance of these funds for our students. Yesterday I spoke with a parent whose child, a valedictorian, has applied to Whitworth. It would be a great match. The big question is whether we can find the funds to put Whitworth within financial reach for students like this one. Thanks to all of you whose support helps us fund financial aid.

I want to say a special thanks to Chairman Ray Lawton and the board members of The Whitworth Foundation. These folks accomplish much for Whitworth, working with the foundation's many clients who generously include Whitworth in their financial plans.

Athletics

Our women's basketball team stands in fourth place in the Northwest Conference at 7-3 (13-6 overall). The women remain within reach of the NWC leaders after defeating Linfield, Pacific and Whitman on the road and Willamette in the Fieldhouse over the past couple of weeks. Senior Star Olson had much to do with these victories. She scored 29 points at Whitman (tying a career high) and 26 points against Willamette for a 55-point week. For her efforts, Star was named Northwest Conference Player of the Week, the second time this season she has won the award. Coach Higgs is getting great effort from all the women on this exciting team.

The men's basketball team concluded its final road trip of the season against Linfield and Pacific with a split. The Bucs currently stand at 9-11 overall and 4-8 in the NWC. It's been a hard season for the guys. Whitworth led the decade in conference win/loss percentage, so they aren't accustomed to losing. But in many respects it's been a very good season too, with all 10 players making significant contributions at one time or another. Senior Kevin McDaniel is having an excellent year and is getting strong support from juniors Ryan Nelson and Kelson Ramey. With these guys and so many good freshmen and sophomores on the team, we'll finish strong and be back on top next year.

The swim teams are getting ready for the Northwest Conference Championship meet Feb. 17-19 at Linfield College in Oregon. The Bucs have some serious momentum going after their final dual meet of the season. The men (undefeated in dual meets) pulled out a 103-96 win over UPS, handing the Loggers their first men's dual-meet loss in four years. Ben Swinehart won three races (1000 and 500 freestyle, 200 I.M.), and freshman Ryan Freeman (100 backstroke) and junior Brian Rice (100 freestyle) added to their individual victories by teaming up with Brent Rice and C.J. Skyberg to win the 200 freestyle relay. On the women's side, Katie King won the 200 and 100 freestyle, and Mindy Galbraith won the 1000 and 500 free. The final score was 127-78 UPS, the Whitworth women's only dual meet loss of the year.

Our annual Pirate Night dinner and auction has been scheduled for Friday, Oct. 6. I mention this now just in case you might have something to contribute to the event, which has been a major fund raiser for improvements to our athletics facilities and programs. If you do have an item that you wish to donate (vacations, sports memorabilia, arts and crafts, power tools, your husband's remote control device), please contact Athletics and Kinesiology Secretary Claudia Gallagher, who refers to herself as the "Pirate Night Nag," at (509) 777-3235. Thanks.

Alumni

Join Theatre Professor Diana Trotter for our Crimes of the Heart Pre-Play Dessert, March 10 at 6:45 p.m. in the HUB. The play, a classic comedy by Beth Henley, begins at 8 p.m. Cost includes dessert and play tickets. Call the Alumni Office (509-777-3799) for details.

Puget Sound Area alumni, parents and friends, watch your mail for a postcard with all of the details of the Whitworth Wind and Jazz Ensembles' tour to western Washington, March 18-25. You'll all be invited to cookie receptions with college staff after each concert on the tour. Don't miss this: Whitworth's wind and jazz groups are among the finest in the Northwest.

Join the Whitworth Jazz Combo aboard Argosy Cruise's Goodtime II for our Seattle Jazz Cruise, Sat., March 25. We will depart Pier 55 at 1 p.m. for a three-hour cruise of beautiful Elliott Bay. Enjoy refreshments, jazz, and a wonderful view of the Seattle skyline and the Olympic Peninsula. Look for more information in your mailbox soon, or call the Alumni Office (number above) for details.

It's probably too late to warn you, but you might get a call asking you about Whitworth. We have engaged a consulting firm with expertise in surveying college constituencies to help us do a better job of educating and finding resources for our students. The goal of this particular wave of research is to understand Whitworth's image among its most important friends. Among those being called are randomly selected parents of our current students. A couple of nights ago, Bonnie happened to receive a call. I guess the researcher was pretty shook up when her reply to his question about how she liked the president was, "He's a good kisser." (That's me, short and romantic.).

Kudos to our Institutional Advancement staff for receiving several awards from the Distict VIII Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (which includes Alaska, Alberta, BC, Idaho, Manitoba, Montana, NW Territories, Nunavut, Oregon, Saskatchewan, Washington and Yukon). Alumni Director Tad Wisenor, Whitworth Fund Director Dolly Jackson, Program Coordinator Nancy Rau, Director of Communications Greg Orwig, Managing Editor of Publications Terry Mitchell and Graphic Designer Su Chism all had a hand in the projects awarded. There is an abundance of talent in our Advancement Office.

Closing Thoughts

I mentioned under "Academics" that in opening convocation I spoke to our students about their careers. As is my custom, I concluded my remarks to the student body by addressing specifically our Christian students. This past summer it occurred to me that our image of God welcoming us to the other side with "Well done, thou good and faithful servant" may not always be the best way to think in terms of life and career. After Jesus fed the 5,000, he told his disciples to cross the Sea of Galilee and go to Bethsaida without him. They obeyed, and the trip was horrible. The headwinds were so bad that Jesus walked out on the sea to make sure his friends were okay, and after fishing a bold but sinking Peter out of the water, Jesus got in the boat with the disciples. The storm calmed. It strikes me that the disciples were obedient, but still struggled; that they encountered Jesus during the trip, not at their destination; that he got in the boat with them, rather than only calming the storm. Our lives, and the lives of our students, can be really hard. But that doesn't mean we're on the wrong track or that we just have to plow away by ourselves until we get to God at the goal line. We need to look for Christ in the journey. When Jesus showed up on the water, the disciples thought they were seeing a ghost. They couldn't have been more wrong. Pray for our students as they make this trip and get ready for the next one. There are a lot of phantoms out there. I hope they see Jesus.