Of Mind & Heart Newsletter: November 2005

An update from Whitworth University President Bill Robinson

I'm supposed to write this a week from today, but I'm on a plane trying to redeem some time, and I'm still glowing over Parents' Weekend, which ended yesterday. At the risk of sounding like raspy old Joe Cocker, everything was beautiful! October's angular sun put a spotlight on deciduous leaves that hung on stubbornly until they could do some showing off for our visitors. In perfect weather, a record number of families and friends feasted on a poignant theatre production of Our Town, victorious athletics contests, stimulating classes, and, most of all, warm moments with their students. There couldn't have been more love anywhere -- except for Division Street, where local merchants were seen calling for backup Brinks' trucks. Our students have such great families, and we really appreciate the fact that so many of you came to visit your scholars. They were all in the library just before you got here.

Academics

Faculty Development Day looked at some of the ways in which Christian scholars have related to the secular academy. George Marsden, professor of history at Notre Dame, provided a public lecture on the role of fundamentalism in American religion. We also heard from Harold Heie, senior fellow at the Center for Christian Studies at Gordon College, and from Ronald White, historian at San Francisco Theological Seminary, former Whitworth chaplain, and author of Lincoln's Greatest Speech: The Second Inaugural. These three joined our own James Waller (Psychology) and Julia Stronks (Political Studies) in presenting the ways in which we can cross the sometimes artificial and sometimes real divide between Christian and secular scholarship.

Faculty members and students have been busy sharing their ideas with local, regional, national and international audiences. Here's a sample of recent presentations:

Kerry Breno (Chemistry) presented "Modern Qualitative Analysis via Name Reactions in the Organic Chemistry Lab" to the Washington College Chemistry Teachers Association.
Pamela Corpron Parker, '81, (English) presented "Elizabeth Gaskell, Literary Tourism and Cranford" to the United Kingdom Gaskell Society.
Richard Stevens (Physics) presented "Fibonacci Numbers as Hands-On Analogues to Quantum Numbers" to the American Association of Physics Teachers.
Ginny Whitehouse (Communication Studies) presented "Requiring Student Participation in Research Pools: Muddying the Waters" to the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
And in what I find to be the most mystifying title in the history of humankind, student Richard Harwood (Math/Computer Science) presented his summer research project, "A Genetic Algorithm for the Minimum Tollbooth Problem," to the American Mathematical Sectional Meeting.

Advanced technology continues to offer new and exciting teaching methods. Eight business majors from the School of Global Commerce & Management are participating in an international online simulation in preparation for their Jan Term class in Thailand. The students represent Thailand as delegates in online negotiations of important global challenges. Ours is one of 13 international teams, with most university teams representing countries other than their own. It's fascinating to watch the Finland team struggle with capturing the voice of South Africa while the Taiwan team walks in the shoes of Nigeria. Students can listen in as others represent their home countries, and during one of the online conferences a Whitworth student said to Professor Mary Alberts (SGCM), "I never knew that other countries felt this way about the U.S."

Two of our music groups present their fall concerts this month. You'll get this after the jazz ensemble turns Cowles Auditorium into the palace of swing where jazz is king; I'll give you my unbiased review next month. You can, however, hear the Whitworth Wind Symphony present its fall concert, in conjunction with the college's Women Composers' Series, on Sunday, Nov. 20, at 4 p.m. in Cowles Memorial Auditorium. Admission is free. You'll love it! The Wind Symphony will also appear at the 2006 Washington Music Educators All-State Conference. While the ensemble has performed at regional conferences of the College Band Directors National Association and the Music Educators All-Northwest Conference, this is its first invitation to perform at "All-State."

Enrollment

Our application deadline for early-action admission is Nov. 30. Students who have their applications completed by the deadline will be notified of their admission status before Christmas. We have already received more than 400 applications, so encourage your students to apply soon if they are interested in an early decision.

Student Life

In addition to their 700 guests at Parents' Weekend, students enjoyed special eventssuch as Step Afrika, a troupe of African American dancers who did lively step routines and traditional African dance and drumming, and the annual Mac haunted house. Getting the Mac Hall Halloween citizenship award was the dude (name withheld for obvious reasons) who spent several motionless hours in an open casket with nothing but an iPod. When asked to comment on his contribution he reported, "My nose itched and I got tired of the music." This is the kind of passion that makes Mac Hall great.

The 20th annual International Banquet, "Tour du Monde: Live Culturally Strong," sponsored by the Whitworth International Club and the college's cultural-diversity advocates, will take place Nov. 11. There's still time for you to join us. Students representing 18 countries will prepare and provide foods and entertainment from around the world.

Resources

We have just received several very generous gift pledges. Bill and Peggy Welch have pledged more than $1 million to help Whitworth complete the funding for the Dale Bruner Endowed Chair in Theology. These good friends have valued deeply the contributions to the Presbyterian Church made by our theology faculty, particularly James Edwards, '67, and Emeritus Professor Dale Bruner. Whitworth continues to be the leading Presbyterian feeder college for both Princeton and Fuller seminaries. Also, trustee Dick Cole and his wife, Liz, just established a $450,000 charitable-remainder unitrust. Finally, two very generous trustees have anonymously committed $750,000 in matching funds toward a special academic endowment. This represents a great chance for us to find folks who can generate a dollar by giving a dollar. Please let us know if you're interested in helping us out. And thanks to these wonderful friends.

Congress helps you help us: In an effort to free up private giving in a way that will help the victims of Hurricane Katrina, Congress passed a law encouraging gifts to any charitable organization between Aug. 28 and Dec. 31 of this year. The law increases the tax deduction on charitable gifts from 50 percent to 100 percent of adjusted gross income. For those ages 59 and above, the law also permits unlimited withdrawals from IRAs or other qualified retirement plans for charitable gifts. Please discuss this opportunity with your qualified tax professional or call our advancement office (509.777.3243) if you have questions about how you might help Whitworth and your tax bill at the same time.

Speaking of gifts and the like, in this Mind & Heart we've included a courtesy reply envelope for The Whitworth Fund. Rather than do a special year-end appeal, we think it's better stewardship to economize by using this newsletter, which we send out each month. I believe that most people make gifts to enable a mission they believe in, not because they get a smooth appeal. And just so you know, The Whitworth Fund works beneath the surface to hold up our mission. Costs such as those related to energy are just rocketing out of sight, and this is where The Whitworth Fund comes to the rescue. So thanks. These gifts are enormously helpful.

Last month I told you that we're building a new residence hall -- and I promised great news about its name. Well, here it is: It will be named R. Fenton Duvall Hall, to honor one of Whitworth's legends, who taught history at the college for 32 years and who, along with Clarence Simpson, established the Core program in the 1960s. Everyone who knows Fenton is excited at the prospect of 160 students occupying "his" hall beginning next autumn. Next September we'll dedicate Duvall Hall to the man whom Leonard Oakland (English) calls "one of my role models for what it means to be a real professor, and what I would like to be when I grow up." Fenton was known as loving and supportive to his students, but rigorous and challenging as well in his expectations. Leonard says he was a superb colleague, engaging others in discussions of ideas, providing a model of good teaching, and leading the earliest of Whitworth's study-abroad programs, to Italy and to France.

Athletics

This has been another great fall for Whitworth athletics. Men's golf wrapped up the fall season with a win at the Northwest Conference Fall Classic, in Oregon. Sophomore Jordan Carter fired back-to-back rounds of 68 and 69 to win individual- medalist honors with a score of 137. Andrew Parrott, Sean Thompson and Colin Fling all finished among the top six individuals with two-day scores under 150. The fall results will count toward the NWC championship race in the spring, and Jordan has already clinched a spot on the All-NWC team.

We were all nervous wrecks watching the volleyball team clinch its third NWC title in the last five years. Led by seniors Natalie Danielson, Bekah Hornor and Julie Marsh, the women are 18-3 overall and 13-1 in the conference. Danielson leads the NWC in hitting percentage, Hornor is among the leaders in assists, and Marsh is ranked first in aces. Whitworth will host one of eight NCAA Division III regional tournaments Nov. 10-12, with the winner headed to the NCAA finals in Virginia.

We also went pretty crazy watching the men's soccer team earn its second straight NWC championship with hard-fought victories over PLU and UPS. Niko Varlamos again leads the NWC in goals scored, with 12, while Todd Sabrowski has scored nine goals to go along with six assists. And Ali Seyedali leads the conference with 12 assists. Whitworth is ranked sixth nationally and first in the NCAA west region. This means that the Bucs could host matches in the NCAA tournament, as well as earn a first-round bye.

Women's soccer is nearing the end of the season with an overall record of 7-7-3 and a conference mark of 6-6-2. The Pirates have played well under adverse circumstances this season, including season-ending injuries to key starting players. Ashley Fisk has stepped up to lead the team with six goals scored and Marissa Williams leads the Bucs with six assists.

Our cross-country teams finished third at the NWC championships. Doug Blackburn finished third in the men's race to earn All-NWC honors for the third consecutive year. Jeff Grassley was 14th and made second-team All-NWC. Kristi Dickey and Julie Lauterbach both earned places on the first team by finishing fourth and fifth, respectively. The teams will now turn their attention to the NCAA west regional meet Nov. 12. The top two teams in each race, along with the top finishing individuals not on those teams, will qualify for the NCAA Division III championships.

The football team is 4-2 and still very much in the hunt for the postseason. The Pirates have been rolling offensively under the direction of quarterback Joel Clark. Whitworth leads the NWC in total offense, averaging 477 yards per game, and has been scoring more than 36 points per contest. Tight end Michael Allan has caught 12 touchdown passes this fall and needs only one more to tie the school record set by All-American Doug Long.

Alumni

Look for more details and tipoff times on the athletics website, but plan now to join the Pirate men hoopsters at the St. Vincent de Paul Invitational, in Burlingame, Calif., Dec. 17-18; at the California Lutheran Thrivent Financial Tournament, in Thousand Oaks, Dec. 29-30; or at the Occidental College Classic, in L.A., Jan. 2-3.

Miscellaneous

If you're in or near Spokane, don't miss the exciting art of Makoto Fujimura, on display through Dec. 9 in Whitworth's Koehler Gallery. The exhibit is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

It's that time again: The Whitworth Choir's Christmas Festival Concerts are coming up.They'll take place Dec. 2 at 8 p.m., Chapel Hill Presbyterian in Gig Harbor; Dec. 3 at 7 p.m., First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue; Dec. 4 at 3 p.m., First Presbyterian Church of Seattle; Dec. 9 at 8 p.m. and Dec. 10 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., First Presbyterian Church of Spokane. For ticket information, call Joan Lack (Music) at 509.777.3280 or e-mail her at jlack@whitworth.edu.

Upcoming Whitworth Theatre events: On the Spot Players will perform for free Nov. 20 at 9 p.m. On Dec. 11, another free show, Cootie Shots: Inoculations against Bigotry for Kids, Parents and Teachers, will be presented at 3 p.m. And also on the 11th, come see Cool Whip vs. On the Spot Players, 8:30 p.m. Admission: $1. All of these events will take place in Cowles Auditorium's Stage II.

Closing Thoughts

Immediately after our October board of trustees meeting I sent e-mails to the campus community and to my colleagues at other institutions. When I write these newsletters I think of you who read them as members of the greater Whitworth community, and for that reason I'm pasting below a condensed version of those two e-mails. I hope all of you are blessed with the peace of Christ and with grateful hearts as we enter this Thanksgiving season.

Dear friends,

Several hours ago our board took momentous action by voting to change the name of Whitworth College to Whitworth University. Immediately following the 18-14 decision, the board voted unanimously to express its strong support for the institution as we move forward to implement the name change.

Because we love Whitworth's culture and character, we will compromise neither in making this change. Though I opposed a name-change initially, what made the difference for me was realizing that the argument I'd used to reject a change now began to argue for change. Almost 20 years ago, when I became a college president, it felt misleading when colleges like Whitworth began calling themselves universities. Small, primarily undergraduate liberal-arts schools excelled in the college part of "collegiate" and lacked the "universality" of university. But now, even liberal-arts-based institutions that offer graduate and pre-professional programs --- schools like Whitworth -- are listed by U.S. News & World Report and other such organizations as regional universities. Internationally, our "college" nomenclature paints us as a secondary school, and domestically we risk being perceived as a community college that dropped "community" or a pure liberal-arts undergraduate school, like our wonderful neighbors at Whitman. Ironically, it now feels as if we've become the ones with a somewhat misleading name.

So at some point, before 2009, we're going to make the change. I'm firmly convinced that our decision is in the best interests of the college. At the moment, I'm doing a bit of grieving, but I know that this will pass in the excitement of all that lies ahead for our school. Thank you for your prayers. I believe we made this decision in a way that honors the God to whom we have dedicated our efforts and this institution. The caring, Christian liberal-arts Whitworth of the past will continue long into the future. Our name may change, but our mission stands.