Of Mind & Heart Newsletter: February 2010
An update from Whitworth University President Bill Robinson
When did strategic become the adjective for everything? It feels like that word has become a synonym for good, although I've yet to hear a parent say, "You're a strategic little boy." Actually, I think I might have been one of those little boys. When my mother let me choose my bed, I chose the one by the heat register. Not only did it keep me warm, but it also served as a thermometer warmer, providing me the number I needed to qualify for being too sick to go to school. That was a strategic choice. Technically, strategic refers to a course of action that leads to a desired outcome. This morning in opening convocation I talked about a king who made a non-strategic decision. When Josiah was in his eighth year as king and was only 24 years old, a priest discovered the lost Book of the Law. Josiah was appalled to learn how far Judah had drifted from God, and he was fearful about the consequential punishment that was coming. So he checked with a prophetess to see if it was too late to repent. The word came back from God. "Good for you, Josiah. You have torn your robes and wept remorsefully in my presence, but I'm not changing my mind about the punishment." So what did Josiah do? He gathered all the people and led them in a collective pledge to follow God's laws. That was not a "strategic" move. The outcome's die had been cast. Josiah obeyed the law because it was pleasing to God, not because it was strategic. We need to teach our students to think strategically, but we also need to teach them that good strategy is not the ultimate criterion for choosing a course of action. We need to lift up leaders who let conscience and morality drive their decisions – leaders like Queen Esther. She did the right thing instead of the expedient thing and declared, "If I perish, I perish." Our students have what it takes to be moral leaders. Pray that God gives them the strength and we give them the wisdom to submit all their strategies to the high test of God's pleasure.
Academics
Spring semester began with the Faculty Scholarship Celebration Luncheon. In 2008-09, more than two-thirds of our faculty engaged in scholarship that was published, presented or performed. You can find the entire list of their good work on our website at www.whitworth.edu/facultyscholarship.
Whitworth will host some great visitors for our Speakers & Artists Series. On Feb. 12, Linda Hogan, the Chickasaw Nation's writer-in-residence, will read from her work. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Robinson Teaching Theatre. February will also feature the second annual Leonard Oakland Film Festival (Feb. 18-20), as well as our close friend Ron White, one of the leading Abraham Lincoln scholars in the world, on Feb. 24. For a complete list of events, see www.whitworth.edu/events.
"Art + Text," a traveling exhibit from the international organization Christians in the Visual Arts, will run Feb. 23-April 1 in the Bryan Oliver Gallery of our Lied Center for the Visual Arts. The exhibit features works in a variety of media created by artists as a way to express their personal attitudes, opinions and faith. Join us for an opening reception Feb. 22 at 5 p.m. in the Oliver Gallery.
Three students have been selected by the George Nethercutt Foundation to serve in its 2010 Fellowship Program. Callie Gordon, '12, Aaron Korthuis, '12, and Hannah White, '11, will attend seminars and academic forums and complete an internship as part of this leadership-training opportunity in Washington, D.C. What a great place for an internship!
Physics student Sean McGuire, '10, won an award last semester for presenting his research on optical diagnostics of plasma confinement for fusion at the 51st Annual Meeting of the Division of Plasma Physics of the American Physical Society.
It's a go! The Costa Rica Center will become a thriving part of Whitworth life in fall 2010. We've begun taking applications for this semester-long experience. Two members of our Spanish faculty, Lindy Scott and Dinorah Scott, will run the CRC: Lindy will direct the center and teach Core 350, and Dinorah will oversee the teaching of Spanish.
While some traveled the world in Jan Term, most students studied on campus. Here are a few samples of campus classes featuring experiential learning: Casey Andrews (English) taught Church Drama. His students studied medieval mystery plays and contemporary liturgical drama. They also performed a play, And They Danced, about the raising of Lazarus. Brooke Kiener, '99 (Theatre), taught Theatre in Community, in which Whitworth students mentored students at Deer Park Middle School through a playwriting process. When America's best figure skaters came to Spokane this January to compete for spots on the U.S. Winter Olympics Team, they met a group of Whitworth athletic-training students and faculty (Russ Richardson, Health Sciences) that helped provide them with medical care throughout the competition. Heather Rogers (Business) taught Occupational Fraud and Abuse and participated in an IRS criminal-investigation exercise. Students, accompanied by IRS special agents, worked to solve real-world fraud cases dealing with racetrack gambling, tax evasion, embezzlement, and an unscrupulous tax-return preparer. Brad Sago (Business) taught Marketing & Consulting, in which students worked on a project for an ice cream company that donates a portion of its profits to Special Olympics. Noel Wescombe (Psychology) taught Sleep and Dreams, during which students conducted research on themselves on sleep-related issues. Interesting stuff!
Corey Dugan, '11, was awarded a scholarship to study in Seville, Spain, this spring. Awbrey Gilliam, '11, and Jordon Keller, '11, received Gilman scholarships to study in Spain and Argentina, respectively, in the spring.
Pearson Education's update of its Business in Action textbook includes a story about Marina Turningrobe, a student in Whitworth Continuing Studies' Organizational Management Program. The book's "Entrepreneurship" chapter features Marina's website, which illustrates the story of Sister Sky, her company, which makes natural bath and body products based on recipes and natural plant knowledge handed down from generation to generation of Native Americans.
This spring Whitworth Theatre will present its main-stage production, Is He Dead? A NEW Comedy by Mark Twain. Adapted by David Ives and directed by Rick Hornor, '70, the play, which will be presented March 5, 6, 12, and 13 at 8 p.m. and March 7 at 2 p.m. in Cowles Auditorium, was discovered in 2002 in the Mark Twain papers at Bancroft Library, U.C. Berkeley. The finder believed that "this delightfully ebullient play . . . deserved to be rescued from the obscurity in which it has languished for more than a century." Whitworth Theatre looks forward to sharing this great find with you. Admission is $8 general; $7 for students and senior citizens.
Children and workers displaced from an orphanage destroyed in Haiti's earthquake have been embraced by the Whitworth community. Whitworth's Center for Service-Learning & Community Engagement is coordinating fund-raising efforts on campus and in the Spokane community to provide food, water, medical supplies and shelter to the Three Angels Orphanage, School and Medical Clinic, in Port Au Prince. Mitchell Flinn, '10, an MBA student at Whitworth, worked with the Three Angels Orphanage (www.threeangelshaiti.org) in 2007 and has been in regular communication with his contacts there. The children in the orphanage have been evacuated to the U.S., and Three Angels will continue to minister to the thousands of orphans who remain in Haiti.
Physics can be phast. Ask physics major Travis Motley, '13, whose propulsion labs is Toyota Speedway Racetrack, in Irwindale, Calif. Driving a 400-horsepower, 2,900-lb. car, Travis finished 12th last week in the biggest short-track race in the country – the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown, known as the Daytona 500 of short-track racing – in front of a national T.V. audience.
Iraqi Hussam Al-Khalidy will present the first lecture in the 53rd annual Great Decisions Lecture Series at Whitworth University. Al-Khalidy will present "A Life of Struggle in Iraq" on Feb. 11 at 7:30 p.m. in Weyerhaeuser Hall. "His experiences and point of view will help us understand some of the major foreign policy issues in Iraq and the surrounding region," says Patrick Van Inwegen, associate professor of political science at Whitworth.
Admissions & Enrollment
Our financial aid office is beginning to review files for new freshmen and transfer students for 2010-11. New students who have filed the FAFSA 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 electronically in May and June. Academic scholarships are renewed automatically.
Student Life
Student life is gearing up for the hiring of student leaders and for annual elections. It's a long haul, but we get great student leaders every year, so it's worth the time. February begins with Gospel Explosion, an amazing evening of music from local gospel choirs, with all proceeds going to help Kelvin Garner, a student who was seriously injured last fall and who continues to need medical assistance. The month also features the annual Soul Food Dinner, where you'll find down-home southern cooking prepared by our own Stephy Beans (Student Life), Valentine's parties, athletics, and a two-weekend presentation by Portland pastor John Mark Comer on the theme of love. Student life will also be presenting the Women of Wisdom Conference, at which several speakers and panels will address issues germane to college-age women.
Resources
Whitworth Fund Fact: I have noticed that a growing number of young alumni are making monthly contributions to The Whitworth Fund. It makes me feel great to see their names on the contributions lists every month. The best imaginable parting gift to Bonnie and me would be a monster spike in the number of monthly givers who've joined me on the commencement stage.
Many of you will receive a letter from me via e-mail regarding our new science initiative. This project, the first phase of which is the new biology/chemistry building currently under construction, is the largest and possibly the most important academic project ever undertaken at Whitworth. If you don't receive the message via e-mail, please read it online at www.whitworth.edu/scienceinitiative/presidentsletter.htm, or contact our institutional advancement folks at development@whitworth.edu or 800.532.4668 to request that a copy be mailed to you. Thanks!
Athletics
The men's basketball team is 17-2, has won 16 games in a row and is ranked No. 10 in the nation in the latest D3hoops.com poll. The Pirates are currently in first place and have a two-game lead in the Northwest Conference over Linfield. Nate Montgomery is the team's leading scorer and rebounder, Eric Beal is second in the NWC in assists per game, and David Riley is second in the conference in both three-point percentage and three-pointers per game.
The Pirate women are 10-9 overall and 6-4 in the NWC after winning their last four contests. The winning streak has moved the Bucs into a tie for third place in the NWC standings. Cassie Pilkinton leads the team in scoring and rebounding, and Leah Pomante is second in the NWC in assists-to-turnover ratio.
Both swimming teams finished the NWC dual-meet schedule with 7-0 records. The men's team has won 71 NWC dual meets in a row, an undefeated stretch of 11 seasons. The women have their own streak of 28 NWC dual wins in a row, stretching back over the last four seasons. Whitworth's men are aiming for their 8th consecutive NWC title, while the women hope to reclaim the crown they won in 2008. Natalie Turner is the three-time NWC Outstanding Women's Swimmer of the Meet, while Michael Woodward is the reigning NWC Outstanding Men's Swimmer of the Meet.
The track and field teams have begun their indoor seasons in earnest. Jeff Kintner has already posted NCAA Div. III provisional qualifying marks in the shot put, in which he finished third at last season's national championship meet.
The tennis teams have played one match each – the women at NCAA Div. I Eastern Washington, and the men against NAIA power Lewis-Clark State. The seasons get into full swing this month, with NWC matches beginning the weekend of Feb. 12-14.
Baseball will open its season this week with a three-game series at L.A.'s Occidental College, Dan Ramsay is beginning his second season as coach of the Pirates.
Alumni
February is Heritage Month, when we celebrate the 120th anniversary of our founding with a series of special events and programs. All of the details are at www.whitworth.edu/heritagemonth, but I can tell you that a new art show, the annual Gospel Explosion concert, several readings and lectures, and the second annual Leonard A. Oakland Film Festival will round out a full program for students and community alike.
Whitworth alumni, parents and friends are invited to gather together for dessert prior to the March 6 production of Is He Dead? A NEW Play by Mark Twain, which I described earlier in this newsletter. Director Rick Hornor, '70, will share the inside scoop on the production of the play and the fascinating story of its discovery and adaptation for modern audiences. The dessert begins at 6:45 p.m. and the play follows at 8 p.m. Reserve your spot at www.whitworth.edu/alumnievents.
The details are coming together for the mid-'60s reunion (classes of '63-'67), June 25-27. This will probably be my last event as Whitworth's president, which is fitting because I love this group of alumni. Registration information will be out this month, and you can always check www.whitworth.edu/mid60s for the most up-to-date information. We look forward to seeing you on campus!
Members of the classes of 1950 and 1960, as well as all alumni who graduated in 1959 and earlier, are invited to join us on campus during Commencement Weekend (May 14-16) for a reunion celebration. The class of 1950 will be honored at the 50+ reunion luncheon on Saturday, May 15. The class of 1960 will also have a reunion dinner and program the evening of May 15. If you're coming from out of town, be sure to secure your lodging soon. For available hotels, visit www.whitworth.edu/reunions or contact the alumni office at 509.777.3799 or alumni@whitworth.edu.
Closing Thoughts
Once again, I got all wound up in my opening salvo and exhausted my word count. So, I wish all of you the peace of Christ and a happy Valentine's Day.
