Of Mind & Heart Newsletter: February 2006

An update from Whitworth University President Bill Robinson

Yesterday we opened the spring semester with a ceremonious convocation that also kicked off our annual Heritage Week. The Pacific Northwest isn't exactly the most formal region in this country, so it's a big deal when we don our academic regalia. I look like a cross between Zorro and Rasputin, the mad monk, except for my hat, which makes me look like I should be flipping pizzas. But the ceremony reminds students that our calling is high and serious, and that Whitworth's birthday is cause for celebration. This year, Heritage Week highlights the role of art in Whitworth's history. I know you'll enjoy checking our website for a list of Heritage Week events at www.whitworth.edu/heritageweek. Right now we're searching for funds for a new, desperately needed visual-arts building. A liberal-arts education is incomplete without the mind-and-soul nourishment of art. For many in our community -- certainly for our family -- art has provided portals into the nature of humanity and the character of God. Thanks to all of you who, in one way or another, have given the gift of art to our students.

Academics

On the performing-arts side of the college, we were pleased to learn that the wind symphony and one of our jazz combos were selected to perform at the bi-annual Washington Music Educators All-State Conference, in Yakima on Feb. 19.

If you're in town, I hope you can enjoy some of the arts events related to Heritage Week. An exhibit in downtown Spokane will feature work from our upcoming alumni exhibit, the Whitworth Permanent Collection, and faculty and student work. Ben Frank Moss, '59, the George Frederick Jewett Professor of Studio Art at Dartmouth College, will display his work and deliver a campus lecture on Feb. 7. And the Alumni Invitational and Juried Art Exhibit will be displayed on campus through March 10 (see ALUMNI).

Angela Moses, '07, is the first recipient of the Terry Brousseau Memorial Scholarship.This scholarship for a continuing-studies student is funded by last spring's inaugural golf tournament in memory of Terry, a proud member of Cohort 14 of the organizational-management major who died suddenly just before completing his degree. Quietly and without fanfare, this rigorous degree-completion program mends the broken dreams of hundreds of adult learners who, for many different reasons, had their first college careers interrupted. Angela represents this group well, saying, "The structure of the curriculum and the dedication of the staff have aided me in finding a love of education that I didn't realize I possessed." Terry would have agreed. We'd love to have you join us on Saturday, June 10, for "Round Two" of this fund-raising golf tournament.

And you thought those 35 cups of coffee each morning did nothing more than wake you up and fatten Starbucks' quarterly earnings. Not so. The Whitworth Literacy Center received a $15,920 "Giving Voices" grant from the Starbucks Foundation and a $2,500 gift from the West Coast Hospitality Corporation (in whose hotels you can sleep off the Starbucks). These funds will allow the literacy center to acquire needed curriculum materials and provide the highest-quality service to families at a very low cost. Betty Williams (Education) provides leadership for this important outreach.

Still on the grants page, the college received a second $10,000 grant for the Bonner Leaders Program, which provides training for low-income and multicultural students who show leadership potential. These students form a cohort, commit to volunteer activities, take a series of leadership classes, and undertake internships at nonprofit organizations under the leadership of Keith Kelley (Service-Learning). This is a great program that is enriching colleges and communities across America.

Last month I mentioned some of our Jan Term courses. One of them was featured in Spokane's Spokesman-Review. Professors Gordon Wilson (Art) and Andi Donahoe, '00, (Psychology) took 17 students to New Orleans and Mississippi during Jan Term to study Southern art and to serve people affected by Hurricane Katrina. They served food to the hungry, rebuilt homes for the homeless, and cleaned up mountains of debris. You can read the moving accounts of their experiences at www.whitworth.edu/gulfcoast.

Enrollment

Both applications and deposits have already passed last year's record-breaking total,and we still have a month left before the application deadline. If you have been admitted and have not yet made your deposit, please be sure to get it in before May 1. I'm afraid we won't have room to be merciful for late deposits.

Here's a message from Wendy Olson, our director of financial aid: Our office is beginning to review files for new freshmen and transfer students for the 2006-07 academic year. New students who have applied by the March 1 deadline will begin receiving their financial-aid awards in March. Continuing students who meet the May 1 deadline for submitting the renewal FAFSA (www.fafsa.ed.gov) will receive their awards in May and June electronically.

Student Life

Our globetrotting students aren't the only ones who had a great Jan Term. There is a ton of snow in the mountains (and none in Spokane -- perfect) that provided a huge playground for daily ski trips. Pulses also spiked as Whitworth basketball and swimming and Seahawks football racked up a stack of victories. Live bands, movies, and the chance (not to be confused with the reality) of more sleep also made student life good in Jan Term. This month will feature the annual Gospel Explosion, the Ballroom Dance Club's Spring Formal, and several awareness weeks, including Career Week and the Festival of Shalom, which will feature speakers and programs on the topic of peace and reconciliation.

Resources

I had a board meeting in southeast Florida during January that provided an opportunity for me to connect with some people who have enriched our campus. Bonnie came along, claiming, "Florida, Fairbanks -- wherever you go, I just enjoy being with you." Right, and I'm the Queen of Sheba. Anyway, we had a great dinner with John, '51, and Judy Scotford and thanked them for all the ways in which they've blessed this campus. We also spent a day with our friends Jackie and John, the latter being my most significant mentor over the past 34 years; he, too, supports Whitworth very generously. Finally, we spent two wonderful hours with Fenton Duvall, the famed Whitworth history professor (1949-1981) whose inspiration moved two of his former students to make a gift leading to the construction of our new residence hall, which will be named for Fenton. He's 93, mobile, charming and smarter than I'll ever hope to be. It was a great time.

Thanks to all of you who contributed to The Whitworth Fund. Although end-of-year giving didn't end up as high as last year, we are very thankful for the 919 gifts we received that totaled $315,604.94. Our fiscal year ends on June 30, so it would be great if you could help boost us back up to where we really need to be. You can make contributions at www.whitworth.edu/give. Your continued support of our students puts Whitworth within reach for many of them. Thanks so much.

Athletics

Whitworth's swimming teams are heading into the 2006 Northwest Conference championship meet with momentum. Over the past seven seasons, the men have won 44 consecutive Northwest Conference dual meets, finishing 7-0 this season to extend the streak. Seniors David Lillard and Loren Killgore will lead the Pirate men; sophomore David Dolphay has the top conference time in the distance freestyle events, while freshman Steve Garka has been the NWC's top sprinter.

Whitworth's swimmin' women have built confidence — and momentum — off a loss to UPS. Whitworth very nearly became the first NWC team in 10 years to beat UPS in any kind of swim meet. The Bucs fell 103-102, but won seven of the 11 events and had four key swimmers out. Sophomore Samantha Kephart has the conference's fastest time in seven different events, but she can compete in only three at the NWC championships. She will be a heavy favorite in all three races. Sophomore Katelyn Erickson is a favorite in the backstroke events, while freshman Brittany Gressett will be among the top swimmers in the sprint freestyle races.

The Whitworth men's basketball team (13-6 overall, 7-3 NWC) is in the NWC title race, thanks to amazingly balanced scoring. All five starters average double figures, led by senior Lance Pecht, who was the NWC Player of the Week each of the last two weeks of January. Junior Bryan Williams not only averages more than 10 points per game, but he ranks among the nation's Division III leaders in assists, at 5.7 per game. The top three teams in the final conference standings will advance to the NWC tournament.

The Pirate women's basketball team wrapped up January in a three-way tie for third place in the NWC. Despite playing with five new starters --- actually, six, since sophomore Alida Bower injured her knee last month -- the Bucs are 12-6 overall and 6-4 in the NWC. Sophomore Emily Hendrickson has led the Pirates' four-game win streak and was named the NWC Player of Week for the last week of January. Sophomore Holly Ridings leads the Pirates in scoring, assists and steals.

Our basketball teams share a key talent. Both lead the conference and are ranked third in the NCAA in free-throw percentage. Each team's percentage has hovered around 80 percent all season. Whitworth is the only school in NCAA Division III to have both the men and women ranked among the top 10 in this category.

Alumni

Barring anything stronger than a stiff breeze, this is the last summer when all six Village buildings will still be standing. This being the case, we've added a last-chance theme-dorm reunion to our Alumni Family Weekend festivities June 16-18. If you lived in a theme dorm in the '70s or '80s, plan now to get your friends together for one last weekend in the back corner of campus. We are finalizing the details for all of our reunions -- for classes from1946 to 1986 and for all France Study Program participants. New information will be available on the website soon, and brochures will be out in March. Visit www.whitworth.edu/familyweekend for the basics, or contact the alumni office at 509.777.3799 or 800.532.4668.

As I mentioned earlier, the Alumni Invitational and Juried Art Exhibit will be on display through March 10 in three Whitworth-campus locations, the Fine Arts Gallery II, the Koehler Gallery, and the Hixson Union Building (HUB). The exhibit will feature works by Whitworth alumni who are deep into their art careers as well as those who have just begun but have already produced impressive work. The alumni invitational exhibit will feature works by five alumni, including Ben Moss, Esme Guenther, '02, and Pete Hunner, '76. The juried component of the exhibit, for which Moss will serve as juror, will feature works by 19 alumni, including Liz Bishop, '94, Keith Clerihue, '91, Russell Larson, '51, and JoAnne Roulston Nixon, '79. The exhibit reception will take place Feb. 7, from 5-7 p.m., in the fine-arts building's lobby. Moss will present a lecture, "Turning Toward the Light," at 7 p.m. in the Robinson Teaching Theatre, Weyerhaeuser Hall. For more information about Whitworth's art events, please call 509.777.3258.

Miscellaneous

Let us know if you would like to receive Mind & Heart electronically. Sometimes I highlight events that have already happened by the time this comes in the mail. So if you'd like us to shoot it to you by e-mail as soon as I'm done writing it, click on www.whitworth.edu/mind&heart and give us the e-mail address you'd like us to use.

Whitworth Theatre will be touring next month, as will the Whitworth Wind Symphony and the Whitworth Jazz Ensemble. Here's the bare-bones information. To learn more, call 509.777.3280. Information will soon be posted on our theatre and music websites, as well. Theatre (in California): March 18, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Westlake Village, 7 p.m.; March 19, El Montecito Presbyterian Church, Montecito, 6:30 p.m.; March 20, Emmanuel Lutheran Church, North Hollywood, 7 p.m.; March 22, LaCrescenta Presbyterian Church, La Crescenta, 6:30 p.m.; March 24, Malibu United Methodist Church, Malibu. Wind and Jazz (first two concerts in Oregon; all others in Washington): March 18, Lake Grove Presbyterian Church, Lake Oswego, 7 p.m.; March 19, Westminster Presbyterian Church, Portland, 3 p.m.; March 21, Central Bible Evangelical Free Church, Tacoma, 7 p.m.; March 22, Chapel Hill Presbyterian Church, Gig Harbor, 7:30 p.m.; March 23, North Creek Presbyterian Church, Bothell, 7 p.m.; March 24, Mountain View Presbyterian Church, Marysville, 7:30 p.m.; March 25, Port Townsend Presbyterian Church, Port Townsend, 7 p.m.

Closing Thoughts

Today is the beginning of Black History Month. I've always tried to make this month an occasion to consider the chains that shackle all oppressed people. I've told our students how dominant cultures have failed to provide equal opportunities to people from non-dominant groups, but in doing so I think I've sometimes allowed students to dwell on the can't-do side of those who have been disadvantaged. Two nights ago I got a call from our younger daughter, Bailley, who is a college senior in California. She and a few friends had just met with a small group of homeless people for a weekly session of singing, sharing and fellowship. She reported a deep sense of amazement at the "thanks" portion of the meeting. The joy, the small victories, the determination stunned her. She sat next to a man who struggled when his turn came to express thanks. But then, she said, a smile crossed his face and he told how for the past week he'd seen the sun rise every day. How can that not be a good thing? The guy doesn't even have a roof, but he found the beauty of God. Bailley's takeaway from this meeting wasn't just her need to help the homeless. She walked out of there recognizing what good people she had just left. That inspired me to start this month by focusing on the towering achievements of African-Americans, rather than on all that held them back. We can't let Black History Month be Black Sympathy Month or Black I-Feel-Guilty Month. As we begin this month, mourning the passing of Coretta Scott King, I hope our students and all of us will celebrate the astonishing accomplishments of Black Americans and all those who've succeeded in spite of high barriers. And after doing that, we need to get back to breaking down those barriers. Thanks to all of you who support Whitworth with your prayers, enthusiasm and resources.