Of Mind & Heart Newsletter: January 2001

An update from Whitworth University President Bill Robinson

The first two weeks of January have been crazy, so I'm late writing this. Actually, I thought about skipping a month, but decided that "no news is not good news." So it's 6 a.m. Monday, and I'm at our daughter's apartment in Stanwood, Wash. I'll write until she wakes; then I'm hers. She is using her fresh Whitworth degree as a youth director at a Lutheran church here in town. Last night I had the enormous privilege of preaching the installation sermon for Steve Weber,'89, at Mt. Vernon Presbyterian Church, just 20 minutes from here. Steve, a member of a great Whitworth family, and his wife, Cindy, '81, will keep strong the Whitworth connection nurtured for 18 years at Mt. Vernon church by Paul, '55, and Barbara Jensen, '57. This is my first visit to see daughter Brenna, '00, and I must say it's the best alumni call I have ever made. Besides thinking about you and Brenna this morning, I hold thoughts and prayers of thanksgiving for a man who peacefully and powerfully battled the evil of racism in America. And I send warm wishes to you from Whitworth College on this Martin Luther King, Jr., Day.

Academics

January is the one month when those of us on campus have a little elbow room. Jan Term classes transport hundreds of students around the globe, and this January finds Whitworth students studying on four continents [America, Africa, Asia, and Europe] and two islands. Here are some of this year's highlights:

Off campus:

Core 350 in Hawaii. This is not the boondoggle you might think. In fact, I pity the student who mistakes it for such. Lindaman Chair Susan Bratton leads an exploration of the cultural, philosophical and intellectual contexts from which modern Western science emerged. How could one possibly ponder these thoughts anywhere but Hawaii?
Also on Oahu, Jay Kendall's business students are studying international business, comparing the ways in which ethnic, national, and regional heritage influence business organizations and practices.
The third course in Hawaii finds students participating in K-12 schools as a way of learning about contributions and traditions of an American minority culture. Gordon Watanabe (Education) is leading this course... again.
Forrest Baird (Philosophy) is teaching Asian Philosophy in Beijing. I spoke with a couple of students just before they left. They have been studying the major schools of Eastern philosophy and are really jazzed about seeing first-hand the influences of these ancient systems.
Speaking of jazzed, the jazz ensemble, directed by Dan Keberle (Music), is spending part of Jan Term in Havana, Cuba, attending a master class at the University of Havana and performing at local music clubs. I would so love to get in on that.
On the other side of the world, Gordon Jackson (Communication Studies) and John Yoder (Politics and History) have taken students to South Africa to study politics, history, and religion in the post-apartheid era. John and Gordon have taught this great course before.
Students in two courses are spending time in Germany, but for different reasons. Music and arts students are exploring performing and visual arts in Munich and Rome with Doc Evans (Music), while religion students are being led by Jim Edwards in the history and theology of the Reformed tradition in Germany and Switzerland.
Domestic off-campus courses are also popular. Barbara Loste (Modern Languages) and Ross Cutter (Emeritus Athletics) are leading classes in San Francisco, where for years our students have been involved in arts studies and multicultural school placements. Also, Jim Waller (Psychology) is leading his third Prejudice Across America study tour via Amtrak. One significant addition to this year's trip, according to Jim, is the opportunity to speak with leaders in various cities who are taking positive steps to address prejudice in their communities. If you get a chance, pick up Jim's recently published book, Prejudice Across America, describing students' experiences as they studied race relations across the country on the most recent tour. It's excellent.

Here are a few of this year's on-campus Jan Term classes:

Maasai Culture and Art, taught by Kenyan Fulbright Scholar Nicholas Sironka. This course looks at the origin and history of the Maasai.
Israeli Politics, taught by David Holt (Politics and History). Dave and his students tackle the history, politics and religion of this strife-torn region of the world.
Opera Workshop, led by Marjory Halvorson (Music). Although Marge begged me to sing the great operas and operettas in this course, I said "No." I am more than just a world-class tenor, and I fear once I cut loose on Puccini, our students will think of me only as another Pavarotti.
Women and Christianity, taught by Jeannine Graham (Religion), examines the historical, biblical, and theological foundations for perspectives, past and present, on the roles of women in expressing their faith, exercising their gifts, and exploring their sense of calling. Jeannine will cover the waterfront, addressing perspectives ranging from conservative to contemporary feminist.

Jan Term students are not the only ones on the move. Alyse Eckenrode, a junior majoring in education and Spanish, learned in November that she's won a highly competitive travel grant. She'll spend spring semester in Montevideo, Uruguay, in an exchange program.

In December, the Inland Northwest Trade Council awarded the Ed Tsutakawa Scholarship to Master of International Management students Ksenya Kuznetsova of Sakhalin Island, Russia, and Sumeet Gulati of New Delhi, India. Both students are pursuing studies aimed at careers in international trade.

We welcome Christie Anderson, Keith Beebe and Gretchen Hoy to the Whitworth community. Christie is the new director of our Organizational Management Program, and Keith and Gretchen are visiting professors in religion and economics and business, respectively.

Enrollment

Last night I chatted with a high school student who wondered when a good time to visit campus might be. On Feb. 18 and 19, we'll host our Campus Close-up weekend for seniors. If you know students who might be interested, have them contact our Admissions Office at 509-777-3212 or 800-533-4668, or e-mail admissions@whitworth.edu. This is a great opportunity to experience both Whitworth and sleep deprivation.

If you find, as you get ready to fill out your federal tax form, that you need information on tax credits available to students and their parents, try this website provided by the federal Department of Education:www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/Students/taxcuts/index.html. You can obtain further information by calling the Federal Financial Aid Help Line at 800-4-FED-AID.

The Admissions Office reports that our applications are a good bit ahead of last year, and that's always good news.

Student Life

Many of our students will be participating today in the MLK March in downtown Spokane, where Whitworth will have an information table. I can't be at the march since I'm on the west side, but I attended last year and it was a warm time of reflecting on the past and committing ourselves to a future of justice for all.

Thinking about these activities in Spokane and around the country, it seems like the perfect time for me to announce this year's commencement speaker. It will be our privilege to hear from Rev. Joe Roberts, senior pastor of the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. Rev. Roberts succeeded Martin Luther King, Sr., in this pulpit and has been a giant in working for racial harmony and justice in Atlanta. We and our community are excited about hosting Rev. and Mrs. Roberts, who will be accompanied by former trustee Sam Gulley, '59, and his wonderful wife, Linda.

We will welcome approximately 12 new international students to campus for the start of the spring term. They're coming from Italy, The Netherlands, Democratic Republic of Congo, France, Spain, Korea, Ukraine, Nepal, and Lithuania. What a blessing to have these students in our midst.

I have to report one great story, assuming the student will give me a green (don't forget that color) light. Last night this freshman's parents were telling me how much their son likes Whitworth. Evidently, he likes it so much that he's decided to pretty much stay awake for the whole experience. Recently, fatigue caught up with him and he got the works, a cold, sore throat and fever. But he also started getting green around the gills. His neck looked like infection had aggressively invaded his glands. Everyone's fears were put to rest when the emergency room doctors came out of his examination, laughing, with their diagnosis. The sweat from his fever had lifted the color from his new green flannel sheets, giving him a Frankenstein-looking neck. You never know.

Resources

Thank you so much for your generosity in December. In spite of a plummeting NASDAQ and a slowing economy, we had a very strong month of giving. And because of an expense I'll mention below, we really needed your support. When we combine The Whitworth Fund with restricted gifts, the total for December exceeded $1.5 million. Symbolic of what many of you must have done was a note from Jack and Joyce Starrett, both '45, saying that this Christmas they decided to make gifts to Whitworth rather than to each other. God bless them and all of you.

I have another thank-you to extend. We're thrilled to note that 14 new endowed scholarships will be available this year for our students who so deeply need them. Each of these scholarships represents an endowment of a minimum of $25,000. Thanks to all of you who have funded these awards and good luck to the students who will vie for these wonderful financial aid funds. (If you would like information on establishing a scholarship endowment, call the Institutional Advancement Office at 800-532-4668 or visit www.whitworthfuture.com on the web).

The reason I said we needed a great December is that the college is experiencing a serious budget challenge as a result of the volatile energy market. Projections for this year are that our natural gas and electric expenses will increase by more than $250,000 over last year. This comes despite some pretty drastic measures we've taken to reduce our usage. In fact, we cut our usage by almost 20 percent over last December, even though it was colder this year. I suspect if folks weren't so cold they would strangle me for pounding down the thermostats. Actually, the spirit of conservation has been great, with students and employees alike making excellent energy-saving suggestions. But pray for warmer days ahead!

This month's "nice move" award goes to the Whitworth trustees serving on our endowment committee. They had the wisdom to direct a significant allocation of assets to alternative investments in early 2000, thus sheltering some of our long-term investments from the recent volatility in the equity markets. Thanks to all our dedicated trustees, whose wisdom we rely upon regularly.

Athletics

In December I mentioned that I would report our fall sports honors. I didn't know what a big job it would be. Here they are:

Women's Cross-Country: First Team; Holly Weiler. Second Team: Julia Lucas, Annie Scott. Football: Sky Blake, All-America First Team, Northwest Conference First Team and NWC Defensive Player of the Year. Joining Sky on the NWC First Team: Ty McGregor, WR; Takashi Atkins, OL; Casey Lawrence, LB; Ian Sanders, DB. Second Team: Bob Adsero, OL; Shane Lyman, DL; Doug Edmonson, LB; Joel Robnett, DB. Honorable Mention: Scott Biglin, QB; Billy Condon, RB; Dwayne Tawney, WR; Scott Galbreath, DL; Jeremy Myers, DL. Sky Blake, Scott Galbreath, Ty McGregor and Scott Sulpizio were also named to the Verizon Academic All-District team. Men's Soccer: NWC First Team: Mark Lupton, Def.; Brian Hein, MF. Honorable Mention: Herbert Barbosa, For.; Matt Stueckle, Def.; Jahn Kallis, Def. Women's Soccer: NWC Second Team: Grace Grabner, MF; Heather Sale, For. Volleyball: NWC First Team: Kristen Turner, MB. Second Team: Lindsey Wagstaff, MB. Honorable Mention: Gretchen Smith, OH; Nicole Weedman, S. Also, both the men's and women's cross-country teams were GPA champions in the NWC.

It's a bit hard for me to report on our winter sports. My schedule has been so bad that I've seen only one each of the men's and women's basketball games and only one swim meet. This pains me. I got used to watching basketball when I "played" for the University of Northern Iowa.

Our swim teams are doing great. On Saturday I watched them sink the always-tough PLU squad in a dual meet. We're getting great performances from sophomore Ryan Freeman and juniors Brent Rice and Troy Schuknecht on the men's side and senior Erin Kay and sophomore Katie King on the women's team. At this point in the season both the women's and the men's teams are off to a great start at 3-0.

Our men's basketball team's fairly even record (3-2 in NWC, 7-6 overall) couldn't be more deceptive in that they've been anything but even. They are great guys and very talented, but so far, Coach Friedrichs has found that consistency is not among their list of athletic virtues. The good news is that we're above .500 in the conference and have two home games this weekend. Seniors Kelson Ramey and Ryan Nelson provide leadership and offense, while freshman Brian Depew, sophomore Chase Williams and junior transfer Gunner Olsen bring great energy and skill to the squad.

Women's hoops had a tough weekend in Tacoma, losing to UPS and PLU, but they're ready to return to winning this weekend in the Fieldhouse. Just as she has throughout her Whitworth career, senior Jamie Wakefield has been a force for the Bucs this season. Jamie currently stands 8th in scoring and 10th in rebounding on Whitworth's all-time lists.

Alumni

Check out the alumni website (www.whitworth.edu/alumni )or call the Office of Alumni and Parent Relations (509-777-3799 or 800-532-4668) for more information on the four new alumni awards being presented at Homecoming 2001. Nominations will be accepted through Jan. 31.

The Whitworth Institute of Ministry, one of the most important resources we provide for our denomination, serves pastors, music/worship directors and families through worship, theological reflection, Bible study, prayer and small-group interaction. This year's institute will focus on the theme of Making Disciples in the 21st Century, and will include keynote speakers Bob Mitchell, Jim Edwards and Karen Peterson Finch. Call 509-777-3275 for more information.

Closing Thoughts

Well, this is far and away the fastest I've ever written this newsletter. It probably shows. Actually, Brenna still isn't awake. So chatting with you for the last three hours has cost me no time with her, but I don't want to press my luck. She could be playing possum, knowing my disposition will be much better if I'm done writing. Thank you for everything. I pray that God will bless you with peace and a strong sense of Christ's presence in the new year.