Of Mind & Heart Newsletter: November 1998

An update from Whitworth University President Bill Robinson

A couple of days ago, Bonnie and I were talking about how more than half of our married life has been lived in two campus presidents' houses. I guess we've learned to relax in the fishbowl. By contrast, I never feel very relaxed when I address our student body. A few days ago I spoke to them about several pretty personal issues, and my knees were banging together a bit more than they usually do. As I think about it, I should probably be more nervous about people seeing how I live in the fishbowl than I am about them seeing how I speak in Forum. Maybe these two different anxiety levels come from thinking that what we say packs more punch than how we live. I think it's very important that students see the connection between what we say and what we do. I suspect that sometimes when we're proclaiming Whitworth's "heart and mind" slogan, the conjunction "and" gets overshadowed by those two big nouns. Whitworth is about integrated, world-view thinking and living. My prayer today is that our students see clearly the "and" in the hearts and minds of the people of Whitworth College. We also lift you in our prayers of thanks as Thanksgiving approaches. May this be a season when you feel the richness of God's presence and love.

Academics

In October, Associate Professor of Political Studies Julia Stronks delivered the annual address for the Iowa Chapter of the Association for Public Justice, at Dordt College. In the pre-election weeks she gave several talks on welfare, faith and public policy. She is also speaking to audiences in Washington, Idaho and Illinois as she promotes her upcoming book, When Christians Teach in Public Schools, co-authored with her mother, Gloria Stronks, of the Education Department at Calvin College.

Speaking of scholars, the Pew Younger Scholars for fall term have been named. Fifteen of our most able students have been chosen to work on special research projects in their areas of interest. They're matched with faculty in a variety of departments, who will mentor them in their special research. I'm amazed at the quality and significance of the work these young scholars produce. Our faculty sets the bar high, and then helps our students succeed.

At the October meeting of the board of trustees, the college's Center for Christian Faith and Learning officially became the "C. Davis and Annette Weyerhaeuser Center for Christian Faith and Learning," in honor of these great friends of the college. If you're wondering why it has taken Whitworth so long to immortalize the name of the man whom many consider to be the greatest trustee champion of Whitworth's mission, it is because Dave never allowed anything to be named after him. That changed on his 89th birthday at our board meeting, and we are thrilled. Perhaps the reason for his earlier reluctance comes from my family. Some 59 years ago, my mother decided to name my older sister after a dear college chum, Annette Black, who became Annette Weyerhaeuser. Maybe when Dave heard about how my sister Annette picked on her little brother, he said, "That's it, no more naming." I could be wrong about that, but as the president of Whitworth College and as a member of a family that has always known and loved Dave and Annette, it is with extraordinary joy that I make this announcement.

Our theatre and music departments' production of Cinderella exuded charm and fun as it showcased the remarkable acting, singing and dancing abilities of a large cast of students. It was just a wonderful production. Director Rick Hornor's fingerprints surfaced in several slight twists in the story line. Emblematic of his influence might be the one-size-fits-all bunny slipper that Cinderella lost at the ball. Kudos to music director Debbie Hansen and dance director Judy Mandeville, as well as to Andrea Frey (Cinderella herself), Danny Oakden (her prince), and the rest of an outstanding cast.

Tickets for the Nov. 21 Jazz Ensemble Pre-Concert Dessert in the HUB are now available to alumni and friends. Some of the best seats in the auditorium are reserved for dessert attendees, who also get to hear from ensemble director Dan Keberle and our featured soloist, legendary saxophonist Joe Lovano. It's worth any amount of effort to see our award-winning jazz band in concert. Also, a number of Whitworth students and faculty members will be performing in the Celebration of Women Composers: The Untapped Source, a concert at St. Mark's Lutheran Church at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 22. Finally, we are very excited about the Whitworth Wind Ensemble's Fall Concert this weekend. I'll give you a review in December of the concert by this increasingly acclaimed group.

Enrollment

Our early action admissions application deadline is Nov. 30. The early action program is for students who identify Whitworth as their first-choice college. Early action applicants will be notified of their admission status by Dec. 20. Students who apply and are admitted via the program receive preferential treatment in campus housing assignments as well as the opportunity to pre-register for fall classes. There is no fee for early action admission. Frankly, an early decision is helpful both to our applicants and to us.

Student Life

Our students hold gratefully in their hearts the many supporters who have put a Whitworth education within financial reach for them. At the fifth annual Scholarship Dinner on Oct. 11, almost 200 students had a chance to meet and thank their benefactors. It was a great night, as folks who set up special scholarships had dinner with the recipients of their generosity. Thanks to all of you who bless our students with your support.

To all the parents who made the effort to attend Parents' Weekend this year, we extend our thanks (as do all the merchants at Northtown Mall). We had more than 500 visitors, who attended events including mini-college presentations by faculty and staff, a delicious salmon lunch, big wins by the football and volleyball teams, the theatre and music departments' presentation of Cinderella, and a worship service at which parents and their students heard beautiful music provided by the Whitworth Women's Choir and the student worship team, as well as a wonderful sermon by Religion Professor Jerry Sittser on a biblical view of knowledge.

Students bade farewell to October with a flurry of activities. Events included the second annual Gospel Explosion (featuring the great choirs of African-American churches in Spokane); a 24-hour Ultimate Frisbee tournament, which involved 65 students flipping the disk around the clock; Mac Hall's traditional haunted house; and a masquerade ball hosted by the dance club, "Jubilation." November's to-do list includes juggler Ron Pearson, a senior sale at which the various talents of Whitworth staff and faculty will be up for sale (with proceeds going to the senior class gift), College Bowl, intramural basketball and indoor soccer, and a get-psyched-to-ski trip to Warren Miller's flick, Freeriders. Also, ASWC has rekindled a tradition started in the '70s, when students made short films to advertise their concession booths at campus movies. Now ASWC is sponsoring an amateur filmmaking contest, with a $300 prize.

Two incredible student-initiated service projects are sweeping the campus. One of the projects, the Central American Relief Effort (CARE), was featured on the front page of yesterday's Spokesman-Review. Two '97 graduates, Shelly and Sheila Maak, left Honduras for Spokane the day before Hurricane Mitch wreaked its unspeakable devastation. By the time the Maaks arrived here, the death and destruction were inestimable. With Shelly's help, ASWC and the greater Whitworth community rallied with huge relief efforts, collecting medicine, clothing and food. While one hand of the Whitworth students reached out to disaster-stricken Central America, the other packed Christmas boxes for needy children around the world through SERVE-sponsored Operation Christmas Child, a ministry of Samaritan's Purse.

On Oct. 30, the International Student Affairs Office and the International Club hosted an ice cream social for the participants of the Host Family program. Whitworth's host families provide international students with a place to stay during holidays and a contact to the community outside of Whitworth.

Families also provide students with a place to practice their developing English and to learn about both American culture and Christianity. And as you might expect, the host families claim that they receive more than they give. We add our thanks to these generous and caring families.

Resources

The Campus Center is gone and the HUB is back (as if any of our students ever called the WCC anything but the HUB). At our Oct. 23 Forum, Whitworth College conferred an honorary doctorate on Christina Hixson for her extraordinary life of service as the sole trustee of the Ernst F. Lied Foundation Trust. Her commitment to educating young people, particularly students in need, will bless all generations to follow. Immediately following this Forum, we dedicated the Hixson Union Building in gratitude for the role played by Ms. Hixson and the Lied Trust in supporting the construction of our magnificent new student center. Our students led the cheers.

You have been great in your support of the Whitworth Fund. Our goal for this unrestricted fund is $1,350,000. By subsidizing our operations, you provide support in the form of financial aid to our students. Thanks to all of you who have given already. And if you have made plans or a pledge to support the Whitworth Fund, we thank you too and look forward to your donation.

Several people have asked me for information about how to do a transfer of appreciated stock. I have been of no value to these folks, because "appreciated stock" is a concept with which I am utterly unfamiliar. So if you would be willing to consider a year-end transfer of appreciated stock, please call Whitworth Fund Director Dolly Jackson at 509-777-4447, and she will send or fax you a securities transfer worksheet. It's very simple (I've heard). For those of you wanting to clean the garbage out of your portfolio, I offer you my extensive experience in three easy steps: Sell, take the losses as deductions, and send us the proceeds of your sale. Actually, last year, after transferring my one aberrant appreciated stock to Whitworth, I was not surprised to see it spike upward. I believe that's called "The Law of Everything Becoming More Valuable Within Moments of When You Get Rid of It." We really are grateful to those of you who have transferred equities to us. Several individuals have used this method to help us with the Johnston Science Center renovation. We recently received another $102,000 toward the project, and we have $240,000 to go. We're right on schedule with the construction, and are planning on a February dedication.

Athletics

This has been a wonderful season for our football program. We enter the last game of the season with a 5-4 record and several very convincing wins. Equally encouraging has been our competitiveness with the top teams in the conference. There's no doubt that all the hard work over the past several years has paid off with a very solid program. We congratulate Head Coach John Tully and his staff, and even more, we congratulate the many guys who worked incredibly hard to achieve success after getting pounded several years ago as freshmen. I'll say more next month about the players who led the effort.

One of the most exciting athletic contests I have witnessed at Whitworth was the women's volleyball team's final match of the year against Lewis and Clark. After a very difficult year that included their coach's departure late in the season, the women rallied from a 9-0 deficit with games tied at one apiece to win the match in four games. A Parents' Weekend crowd went wild with every point. We salute the members of this team and thank them for their efforts.

Women's soccer finished an up-and-down year with several tough losses and a 6-12-1 record, but the team will be ready for next fall with lots of good players returning. Stats leaders on this year's team included junior Heidi Bohnett, senior Amber Young and sophomore Suzanne Boyce. Though the record was disappointing, Head Coach Sean Bushey said, "We found a lot of satisfaction in the way we competed."

Men's soccer wrapped up the season with a couple of nice wins. The guys beat Willamette 3-1 and Linfield 3-0 (the soccer equivalent of blowouts) to finish things off nicely. Though the Bucs weren't able to pull out a winning season, they improved over last year and ended up 7-9 in conference, 9-9 overall. Season stats leaders include freshman J. J. Klaus and juniors Jace Jones and Ben Wickert.

The runnin' Bucs are still in the hunt. The women's cross-country team heads down to California this weekend for the NCAA Div. III western regional meet, with standouts Annie Scott, Katie Schlotfeldt and Dana Ryan leading the way. The men's season ended at the NWC championships, where they finished 7th. The guys, led by sophomores Justin Davis and Peter Metcalf as well as freshman Adam Thornton, weren't able to qualify for regionals, but their continuing improvement bodes well for the future.

Celebrate Crimson Club Kickoff Night at the Fieldhouse with free admission for all alumni and their families to the first home basketball double-header of the year on Dec. 4.

Miscellaneous

Summer reunions reminder: The classes of 1973-75, 1963-65 and 1953-55, along with the Class of 1949, will celebrate their reunions on campus from June 25-27, 1999. This huge multi-era reunion is made possible in large part by the opening of the second phase of the Hixson Union Building. Please call the Alumni Office at 509-777-3799 or 800-532-4668 (or e-mail Florence Young) for more information.

Dates to Remember

(Call 509-777-3799 or 800-533-4668 for information about Christmas concerts.)

Closing Thoughts

After starting this letter during a pleasant drive with Bonnie, I am finishing it in my 28th hour of trying to get from Spokane to Honolulu, with two hours yet to go. Getting back on a plane to return to the mainland tomorrow morning after this cavalcade of travel disasters is daunting. Writing this letter has helped me think about our students, who are the reason why I endure this stuff. Please keep them in your prayers. They face many challenges in the midst of these crucial years in their lives. God bless them and God bless you - especially you, Ernie.