Of Mind & Heart Newsletter: March 1998

An update from Whitworth University President Bill Robinson

It's a magnificent sunny morning with shirt-sleeve weather predicted before the day is over. Too bad I'm in Boise. Actually, I'm thrilled to be here for the day, en route to Dallas. This afternoon, our men's basketball team plays in the first round of the national tournament, and I will have the good fortune of being on hand. This is another of those months in which I find myself the typist of the Mind and Heart. I usually dictate the first draft, but when I'm traveling, everything has to move by e-mail. I'll work on this throughout the weekend, so I'll report on the games as they happen. I hope you are feeling the newness that nature heralds each spring; may we all feel the power of new life as we celebrate Christ's resurrection this Easter.

Academics

For the second year in a row (and the third time in the past five years), the Whitworth College Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Music Professor Dan Keberle, has won first place in the college/university division of the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. Also, junior saxophonist Marcus Denny won first place in the competitive tenor sax jazz-improvisation competition. The jazz band will be touring the San Francisco Bay Area with the wind ensemble from March 21-29. Both groups will also be releasing new CD recordings this summer.

Last month I referred to the research that our students are doing with members of our faculty. Because several folks asked about specifics, I thought an example might interest you. Assistant Professor of Chemistry Karen Stevens was one of our six faculty members to receive funding under the Murdock undergraduate research in science grant.The title of her portion of the grant is "Molecular Dynamics of Complex Systems Using Linked Computer Workstations." In the last 14 months, Karen has worked with the following student researchers: Angela Oates, Tony Billingsley and Kim Jewell (all of whom graduated last May), Andrea Smith (Class of 1998), and Kelly Starkweather, Steve Klopsch and Amie Kimmerly (Class of 1999). She and Angela were co-authors of a paper, "Structural and Electronic Similarities in Artificial Estrogens," a study of the possible health effects of toxic chemicals, recently submitted for publication. Kelly and Steve each made presentations at the October Murdock Undergraduate Research Conference; Kelly studied vibrations of hexane molecules and Steve studied current and prospective anti-cancer drugs. What great opportunities for our students.

In next month's edition of the Mind and Heart, I hope to be able to announce the name of our new vice president for academic affairs. By the time this issue gets in the mail, we will have hosted all three finalists on campus.

Final plans are shaping up for the first round of the Title VIB Department of Education grant dispersal. A team led by Whitworth Graduate School of International Management Director Dan Sanford (who is also the grant director) will be in Korea and other parts of Asia this July working on curriculum development in business, culture and leadership.

Tomorrow is Faculty Development Day. (It's now Thursday, and the basketball team won its Wednesday afternoon game. I'm headed for Dallas to a meeting of the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities.) Leading the Faculty Development Day gathering will be Harold Heie, director of the Center for Christian Studies at Gordon College and senior fellow at the Coalition for Christian Colleges and Universities. The faculty will be focusing on Christian scholarship, perspectives on faith and learning, and Whitworth College in the 21st century.

Master of International Management Professor John Falvey recently participated in a seminar for international business teachers from around the world who met at the Thunderbird School, in Phoenix, Ariz. The purpose of the gathering was to compare and evaluate diverse teaching methods, particularly those using new technologies.

Student Life

Our student government executives traveled to Tacoma last weekend to help launch a coalition of Washington independent college students who are working (and lobbying) for the protection and extension of student financial aid. The members of the coalition have discovered that a number of states have decided to allocate additional dollars to financial aid because they've realized that private colleges can educate a student for one-tenth of the tax dollars required to educate a public university student. Although these state grants are not targeted at students attending private institutions, this strategy has enabled interested students to enroll at independent colleges, and has thus reduced the number of students who need to be educated by heavily tax-supported public institutions. It is remarkable how students' stories about the rigors of financing their educations can influence legislators.

The Mission 2000 event here on campus, hosted by Whitworth College, Whitworth Community Presbyterian Church and our presbytery, was very successful. Speakers Marj Carpenter, Alice Winter, John Perkins, Jim Singleton and Scott Sundquist excelled. Also, the 30-hour famine event sponsored by our students raised enough money to feed five families of five for one year. Thanks go to Ron Frase and Betty Stratton, who co-chaired the event, and to the conference steering committee.

Staley Lecturer John Perkins stayed four days beyond Mission 2000 to deliver this year's lectures. One of 19 children born to a poor Mississippi sharecropper, John has been a powerhouse of justice, compassion and racial reconciliation in the church and in our nation for more than 30 years. Still reeling from the sudden death in February of his 43-year-old son, Spencer (who had taken the reins of various ministries that he and his father initiated), John found fire and urgency amidst his grief when he declared that he would, and that we should, take up his lost son's vision for renewing the poverty-stricken neighborhoods of this country. John was deeply moved when he visited Westminster House; he told of how Spencer, as a young boy, brought his dad to his neighborhood Sunday school. It was there that John met his Savior, and tens of thousands of us are better because of that encounter.

March comes in like a lion with intramurals in flag football and rollerblade hockey, as well as a weekend basketball tourney. Students can also participate this month in aerobics three times a week. Personally, I find that 30 or 40 cups of black coffee before breakfast, while I concentrate on the stress the day will surely bring, gives me a great cardiovascular workout without my having to waste any of the finite number of bends left in my two legs.

The annual Senior Coffeehouse (an exhibition of the talents of our fourth-year students) boasted a standing-room-only crowd. All proceeds will go to the purchase of the senior class gift, which will be two beautiful brass benches for the campus. The show got great reviews, especially from those who performed.

The International Banquet was a great success, complete with foods from around the globe and performances by students from many countries. Watching the entertainment, I couldn't help but think of how fortunate we are that globalization at Whitworth is delivered firsthand by our wonderful international students.

There are no classes Friday due to Faculty Development Day, so the students have planned "Mega Weekend," with a fabulous swing dance Friday night featuring live music provided by Music Professor Dan Keberle and his band; then, on Saturday, students will hear from The Paperboys, a Celtic rock group. I suspect attendance at these events will be eroded by an outbreak of "road trips" if the basketball team wins tomorrow morning to move to the quarterfinals.

During spring break, the Outdoor Recreation Office is taking students to explore Yosemite Valley for the week, while the SERVE Office will sponsor service trips to a kids' camp in Seattle and to work with Native Americans in Idaho. Remember this the next time you hear generalizations about how pleasure-seeking college students waste their spring breaks.

I'm now flying back to Boise from Dallas. The basketball team won its second game on a last-second shot and is now getting ready to take on No. 1 seed Bethel College. I heard that 150 students, plus the team members' parents, who have been faithful road-trippers all season, gave huge support to the Bucs. We also appreciate the cheer squad's attendance at all of the games. Sunny, warm weather rewarded the travelers who were able to make it to Nampa.

Admissions & Enrollment

During the weekend of April 17-20, Whitworth will be hosting two separate visit programs that will bring prospective students to campus. We anticipate approximately 300 students and parents on April 19-20 at our annual Sneak Preview for high school juniors, designed to introduce prospective students to all aspects of Whitworth. The Faculty Scholarship Award Program for high-achieving 1998-99 applicants will be held April 17-18. Students who have qualified for our presidential, salutatorian, and valedictorian academic scholarships have been invited to attend this program and compete for two four-year, full-tuition scholarships. While on campus, these students will interact with faculty members, attend a special dinner at our home, begin friendships with students and faculty, and exercise their strong academic skills and interests.

Freshman and transfer applications for 1998-99 are running behind last year's pace,and we're not exactly sure why; but quite a few of the Washington schools are reporting similar declines. Fortunately, we are targeting a somewhat smaller freshman class this year, since we are currently over our ideal enrollment of 1,500 full-time undergraduates. But news of fewer applications always concerns us.

Finances

Good news from the Whitworth Fund: We are running $33,160 ahead of where we were at the end of February 1997. Director Dolly Jackson reports that some of you have received a letter recently asking you to consider increasing your annual giving level. Please know how thankful we are for your ongoing support and remember the important part that you will play in meeting this fund's $1.25 million goal by June 30. Thanks very much.

We are sad to report that in January, Whitworth College lost its good friend Gertrude Lindsey, who has been an important supporter of student scholarships. When Gertrude's husband, Guy, died several years ago, we set up an endowed scholarship funded by a bequest from his estate. We have just learned that another bequest, from Gertrude's estate, has brought the fund total to $1.2 million. This generosity will forever help Whitworth College students, for which our students and we are most grateful.

A very special "thank you" to Whitworth trustee Ron Leighton and his wife, Sally, for their recent generous pledge of $100,000 to Whitworth. Ron, who has been on Whitworth's board of trustees since 1976, is an attorney at Gordon, Thomas, Honeywell, Malanca, Peterson & Daheim in Tacoma. Sally Leighton, also an attorney, is with the firm of Burgess, Fitzer, Leighton & Phillips. We are most grateful to Ron and Sally, and in response to their pledge, I promise not to say anything negative about Ron's deteriorating golf game, unless, of course, he fails to carry me to victory in our grudge match against trustees Dick Anderson and Mark "Ace" Toone.

Athletics

After all the hype, you don't even want to hear what happened to our men's basketball team. After winning our second-round tournament game on a last-second shot by Greg Jones, we advanced to the final eight teams and faced the No. 1-ranked team in the nation, last year's national champion, Bethel College of Indiana. In a nutshell, we played great for 38 minutes (regrettably, games last 40), leading by roughly 10 points for most of the game. Unfortunately, missed free throws and turnovers in the last two minutes allowed Bethel to score the last 11 points and take their first lead of the game with 2.2 seconds left. It was a great season, with too many highlights to list, but this was a hard way for it to end. I'll report on the honors the team and the individual guys receive in next month's letter. Congratulations to the players and to Head Coach Warren Friedrichs and assistant coaches The Weck (Rodney Wecker), Nate Williams and Dean Olenik for an amazing year, and for the second-highest national tournament finish in Whitworth basketball history.

Having established themselves as perennial national powers, the men's and women's swim teams finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the NAIA national championships.Ben Swinehart led the men's team with two second-place finishes (in the 500- and 1,650-meter freestyles) and a fourth in the 400 I.M. Brian Rice came in second in the 400 I.M., third in the 100 I.M., and sixth in the 200 breaststroke. Jeremiah Pappe was also a finalist in three freestyle events, finishing third in the 200, sixth in the 100 and seventh in the 500. The Pirate women were led by Mindy Galbraith, who finished third in both the 200 and the 1,650 free, and fourth in the 500 free. Alison Eckenroad had two fifth-place finishes, in the 500 free and 200 back, and a seventh in the 100 back. We're proud of our swimmers and of Head Coach Tom Dodd for an excellent season and a top program.

We have six spring sports (men's and women's track, men's and women's tennis, women's softball, and men's baseball). I'll give you a report on each next month.

Dates to Remember

Closing Thoughts

When Staley Lecturer John Perkins was on campus, he observed that when most people choose a church, they say, "I want a place that meets my needs." He then grumbled, "I thought the call of Christ is about meeting other people's needs." The power of John's observation was deepened for me when I remembered a note I had received just a few days earlier, from '84 grad Anita Moser Distel. After receiving a "volunteer of the year" award, Anita wrote that Whitworth was where she discovered the pure joy of helping others. "The one thing that has always stuck with me about Whitworth is the giving of self," she wrote. What a wonderful stamp this college has placed on its students. Lenten season reminds us that the source of our spirit ofservice is the One who explained that He came "not to be served, but to serve others, and to give his life as a ransom for many." May Whitworth always hold high this, the highest of standards. Have a joyous, service-filled Easter, and thank you for serving Whitworth College.