Of Mind & Heart Newsletter: March 2004
An update from Whitworth University President Bill Robinson
February was a crazy month. Much has happened in the past week alone, not all of it easy. But this morning's newspaper got me off to a great start. One of the Spokesman-Review columnists is a mentor in our Murdock-funded "Lives of Commitment" program, working with Katie Stephens,'06. While many of us gathered in a sanctuary for Ash Wednesday worship, Katie and her mentor, Rebecca Nappi, were on the streets of Spokane. With Mark Terrell, '94, they were finding, loving and feeding street kids as a part of Mark's Cup of Cool Water ministry, which he started while a student here. Well, when I woke up this morning I lingered under the sheets thinking about our students. Gradually, I began to worry, which I'm pretty sure is my spiritual gift. So I got up and brushed my teeth, as though that would help. It didn't; Rebecca's column, however, did. She told of preparing for Wednesday night by making 36 sandwiches in Katie's hall; she told how this good work was bringing hope to hopeless kids; she told of how much she'd learned from Katie; and she concluded that Katie, "is a part of an amazing generation of college students who consider service to others an integral part of life. They build houses for the poor during spring break as fearlessly as previous generations got drunk in Ft. Lauderdale. Katie thrives on her Cup of Cool Water volunteer work." Yes, she does. And she is one of many who go because they are needed. As Katie discovered about the kids she has come to befriend, "I think I thought it was their fault. Now I know most of them are on the streets because it's safer than their homes." Bless these kids, bless Katie, and bless you, as your prayers and support accompany warm offers of cool water.
Academics
March madness refers not only to basketball tournaments. It also describes what our School of Education and our Music Department have going on, as both are being visited by outside accreditation agencies. In fact, the School of Education is being reviewed by both a national agency and a team of Washington state representatives as a routine part of their re-accreditation process. These visits provide a great opportunity to learn from experts, and to showcase the excellent work that's going on here. My only concern is that the energy used to prove what we're doing is energy unavailable to do it. Speaking of excellence, Dennis Sterner, dean of the School of Education, was recently appointed to the Committee on Quality and Accountability of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. He also serves as vice chair for the Washington Professional Educator Standards Board. That can't hurt our accreditation chances!
Whitworth's music program also boasts great accomplishments. Our students just brought home the hardware from the annual Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival, in Moscow, Idaho. Under the direction of Music Department Chair Dan Keberle, the jazz ensemble won the outstanding college band award -- for the fifth time in the last eight years. In addition, two students came away with top honors: Michael Frederick, for outstanding college guitar solo (again), and Chris Parkin, for outstanding college alto saxophone solo. On campus we have enjoyed a chamber singers' concert, directed by Debbie Hansen (Music), and a concert from our Women Composers series that involved several of our music faculty. Last week soprano Heather Steckler, '95, was back in Spokane to perform in the Spokane Symphony and Chorale's presentation of Haydn's The Seasons. This morning's paper reported that her "winsome manner and beautiful voice" made for a great success. And we closed the month Sunday night by co-sponsoring jazz great Wynton Marsalis and his band at the Opera House.
Faculty members have been writing and making presentations around the country.Here's a small sample of February activities:
- Roger Mohrlang (Religion) wrote an entry on the apostle Paul for a new two-volume encyclopedia, Jesus in History, Thought and Culture (ABC-CLIO, Oxford, 2003).
- Randy Michaelis and Sharon Mowry (Education) made a presentation at the Association of Teacher Educators on research they've published in a national teacher-education yearbook. Their research was done with School of Education colleagues Barb Sanders, Dennis Sterner, and Linda Buff (one of our GSE students).
- Lindaman Chair Jim Waller (Psychology) did a Staley Lectureship at Asbury College, in Kentucky.
- Karen Stevens (Chemistry) received a $9,000 grant from the Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy that will help her department buy a new IR spectrometer.
In another demonstration of Whitworth students reaching out to those in need, 27 students and 13 community members participated in the Theatre for Social Justice Institute. The majority of the participants came from an organization with which I've worked called VOICES, but there were also representatives from Christ Kitchen, St. Aloysius, the Women's Drop-in Center, the International Trade Alliance, Ray of Hope Productions, and the CREW. Many students talked about having their eyes opened and their hearts changed. Brooke Kiener, '02, led the effort and believes some real connections were made with various community organizations.
Enrollment
I suspect there are a few high-school seniors who worked on their applications this weekend in order to beat the March 1 deadline (for freshmen, not transfers). To date, we've received approximately 1,800 applications for next fall's 440 freshman spots. Applications are up significantly this year from Texas, Idaho and California, and we're also seeing increases from Alaska, Hawaii (special thanks to Pono Lopez, '00, and Cherise Asuncion, '98) and Colorado.
The staff in our Financial Aid Office has been working diligently at getting awards out to prospective freshmen. Because we realize how important financial-aid resources are to the vast majority of students as they make their final decisions about attending Whitworth, our goal is to get the awards mailed this month.
Student Life
We began the semester with intramural signups for volleyball, basketball and indoor soccer. Students are playing deep into the night and even on Saturday mornings (sleep-in time) to get all their games in before playoffs begin. This reminds me -- last Wednesday I saw Rio Three Stars, an alum who lit me up like a Roman candle in an IM basketball game not long after I came to Whitworth. I got home from the game and my son asked me how the team and I did. "We won, and I got 27 points," I beamed. He was impressed until it came out that the guy I was guarding (Rio) scored 83 points. True story. Sophomore Colette Reid, ASWC activities coordinator (who has headed up some amazing events this year), has begun a Whitworth tradition, "Half Past 9," at which, every Thursday night, students are treated to coffee and live musical acts. Also, the Outdoor Rec office is hosting a laser-tag contest this weekend and continues to rent out tons of snow equipment.
Resources
For several reasons, your gift is especially important this year. First, some surprise expenses have us anticipating a very thin margin that can't handle a hiccup. Second, if you are an alum, you can help us with our incredibly important "participation rate." Colleges are judged by the percentage of alumni who contribute to the institution. Even U.S. News & World Report uses participation as a criterion in its ranking system. So any size gift really helps us. As I mentioned last month, you now have the option of monthly electronic giving. If you're interested in this option, contact June Hanson at (509) 777-4343.
Weyerhaeuser Hall is getting a lot of work done on its viscera, so to speak. In February, mechanical equipment installation continued, painting and tilework began on the third floor, and framing continued on the first and second floors. The last risers of the teaching theatre were completed, and overhead work began on something called "acoustic clouds." We'll be in there for the start of Fall Term.
The "Saga" saga has hit another milestone. Although the name has changed over the years, from Saga to Marriott to Sodexo, we have now worked for 40 years with this same organization and group of people to provide superb food service to our students and to the campus at large. In addition to feeding us great food, Sodexo continues to support many student initiatives, including the Freshman Formal Dinner, the Caring Cans Program (1,200 pounds of food for the food bank), Cup of Cool Water Ministry, the Carrier Connections Dinner, National Nutrition Week and many, many more special events. I think that one of the best things about Sodexo is our unit manager, Jim O'Brien, who's in his 19th year here at Whitworth and who was recently named to the board of Spokane's Habitat for Humanity.
Athletics
The fieldhouse was magic Friday night. With 12 of our 15 1,000- career-point performers on hand, all-time men's basketball leading scorer Bryan Depew scored his 2,000th point as the men and women both ran their season records to 19-6. At halftime of the men's game, all 12 of the returning legends were honored. Unfortunately for the rest of the league, our women's team has no seniors, but the men had a big senior night honoring Depew, Scott Bierlink, Byron Borton, John Gebbers, Robert Johnson, and Pete Svennungsen. After the game we had more than 100 of these players and families at our house, which Bonnie had conveniently abandoned to go hear Heather Steckler sing.
Five swimmers, led by DIII record-holder Kevin Wang, will represent the Whitworth menat the NCAA Division III Men's Swimming and Diving Championships. Wang, a senior, is looking for his third consecutive title in the 400-yard IM, and junior Cory Bergman and sophomore Loren Kilgore hope to improve on their point-scoring performances from last year. Joining them are sophomores David Lillard and Rhys Birky, key members of four Whitworth relays at the meet. Junior Serena Fadel will represent Whitworth at the DIII Women's Championships. She will compete in the 200- and 400-yard IMs, as well as in the 200-yard breaststroke. Serena has scored in each of her two previous appearances at the NCAA championships.
As usual, I'll have a long athletics section in the April Mind and Heart. By then we'll know who received the postseason honors in the winter sports, and the spring teams will have enough contests under their belts for me to make a good report.
Alumni
On March 27, join alumni, friends and Rick Hornor, '70 (Theatre), for a matinee showing of Daisy in the Dreamtime, by the Golden Fish Theatre, at the Richard Hugo House on Seattle's Capitol Hill. Rachel Hornor, '96, is one of the featured actors in the production and will co-lead a post-play discussion with her dad, Rick. Discount tickets, as well as a play synopsis, are available online through the alumni calendar, www.whitworth.edu/calendar/alumnicalendar.
Join us Saturday evening, April 17, for the spring pre-play dessert and introduction to the spring production, An Inspector Calls. Information and registration are available online.
We also want to invite you to Saratoga Presbyterian Church in California's South Bayon Saturday, April 24, for a Core 650 event with Professor of Religion James Edwards, '67. Jim will speak on The Narrow Ridge. Brochures will be mailed soon.
If you are a recent graduate, you'll enjoy Whitworth's new online magazine for young alums. The Phase is the result of a collaborative effort between the Jan Term Article & Feature Writing class, taught by Ginny Whitehouse (Communication Studies), and the Office of Alumni and Parent Relations. Find it at www.whitworth.edu/thephase.
Miscellaneous
On February 24 our students celebrated the fact that the 2/3 of the school year paid for directly by their tuition is behind them, and the final 1/3, covered by auxiliary income streams as well as donors and the endowment, is just beginning. By highlighting this relatively obscure fact, we hope to educate students about the wonderful host of current and past supporters who have helped Whitworth attain its current level of success and continue to support its students today.
Our wind symphony & jazz ensemble won't be suffering as they spend Spring Break in Honolulu. Their venues include Kawaiahao Church, Harris United Methodist Church, Central Union Church, Centerstage at Ala Moana Shopping Center, and Waialua United Church of Christ. On Monday, March 29, at 7:30 p.m. they'll present a joint home concert in Cowles Auditorium.
Don't forget the 29th annual Whitworth Institute of Ministry July 12-16. Speakers include Vic Pentz, pastor of Peachtree Presbyterian Church, in Atlanta; Richard Mouw, president of Fuller Seminary; Becky Pentz, associate professor in the Winship Cancer Institute of Atlanta's Emory University; and Jack Fortin, of the Center for Lifelong Learning at Luther Seminary, in Minnesota. For more information or to register, call (509) 777-3275, e-mail mpace@whitworth.edu, or visit www.whitworth.edu/wim.
Closing Thoughts
I hate controversy about anything for which I have any responsibility. Frankly, I don't mind it for your stuff; in fact, I find it quite healthy if it diverts attention from the tempest in my teapot. But, alas, controversial issues dealt with openly and well can lead to important growth in the lives of our students, so it's unwise to duck them. Often, the value of grappling with difficult issues rests on how they are presented. On the surface at Whitworth right now are questions about sexuality, drugs, and several other incendiary topics. In my judgment, there have been both helpful and hurtful treatments of these issues. We need to pursue truth in a way that both protects and nourishes our convictions. But we also need to see others with a Christlike grace that preserves human dignity even while contesting ideas or practices. The best bet for personal growth in all of this is when presentations of tough issues show great respect in both form and content. Jesus made two big promises in his "will" -- peace and the Holy Spirit. We need to live by both. May this Lenten season be one of rich spiritual blessings for all of you.
