Of Mind & Heart Newsletter: October 2003

An update from Whitworth University President Bill Robinson

The next 36 hours look to be pretty crazy. Between this morning and tomorrow night I have to write this Mind & Heart, prepare a speech, fly to L.A., give the speech, then fly back just in time for Pirate Night. I hope I don't blow the speech. That's a lot of travel to be bad. Last night about 25 students came over for dessert. One mentioned what a drag it is to study all night then bomb a test. Exactly. But sometimes fatigue, distraction, bad biorhythms, and bad-speech flashbacks can leave me pretty empty-headed. Yesterday morning I gave a five-minute devotional on God's gift of newness. It's not hard for me to remember that God redeems my soul, but I forget that God redeems my yesterday. One of God's better promises is do-overs. Through the prophet Isaiah God said, "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!" We want our students' mistakes to teach them, not bury them. As we move more deeply into this new academic year, I hope all of us at Whitworth are invigorated by the awareness that a clean slate is not the exclusive property of early September. God's sweet gift of newness just keeps coming at us.

Academics

Weyerhaeuser Hall is rising and filling in daily. In August I had the joy of showing the site to Annette Weyerhaeuser. On so many fronts, it was exhilarating for me. Annette and my late mother were such good friends at Vassar College that my sister is named after Annette. So I was already feeling the sense of family that Annette seems to stir in me. But the highlight of the day was when she said, "I wish Dave could have seen this. He would be so thrilled with what has happened on this campus." Dave and Annette Weyerhaeuser are two of God's greatest gifts to Whitworth, and our new academic building will serve as daily reminders of their leadership.

The heavens are now at our fingertips. While the Walker Construction folks were in the neighborhood working on Weyerhaeuser Hall, they took one of their cranes to the Eric Johnston Science Center and plopped a dome on one of the most advanced telescopes in our region. Thanks to funding from the Carl M. Hansen Foundation and the Johnston-Fix Foundation, we'll have this new equipment operational by next summer. Richard Stevens, the Physics Department chair, reports that the Celestron 14-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope with a CCD (charge-coupled device) camera is capable of compensating for light pollution, and can even view objects in our solar system during daylight hours. Moreover, anyone with an Internet connection will be able to explore the universe with us, sitting in front of his or her own computer. Amazing.

Backing up the generosity of so many of you who support Whitworth is a pretty steady flow of grants that support our academic program. This month Rose Sliger, '02, program coordinator in the Weyerhaeuser Center, received a $30,000 grant from the Office of the Superintendent for Public Instruction that will enable her to make a video documentary out of the amazing CD she did on the Japanese Americans in the Inland Empire during World War II. Also, Kent Jones (Computer Science) received an equipment grant from Xilinx Corporation, for software and circuit boards.

It is rare that I meet a public-school administrator without hearing some kind of lavish compliment about the teachers that Whitworth prepares. Now the administrators who think so highly of Whitworth can enroll in a new M.Ed. program being offered by Graduate Studies in Education. The program is designed around the Interstate School Leaders' Licensure Consortium standards, which fit well with Whitworth's mission to endow the principals we train with a very student-centered philosophy. Whitworth's program was the first one approved by the Washington State Board of Education.

Whitworth's new entrepreneurship program, funded by a grant from the Herbert B. Jones Foundation, held a fall kickoff for students and businesspeople. Prior to the event, Larry Stanley, of Empire Bolt and Screw, convened the newly formed advisory board, which includes Chris Brandkamp, Cyan World, Inc.; Nathan Brown, The Morgan Leigh Group; Marcus da Silva, Vivato; Nigel Davey, SIRTI; Michelle Dickman, TriGeo Network Security; Steve Duvoisin, Duvoisin & Associates, LLC; Bill Kalivas, IT for INTEC; Lon Jasper, Jasper Enterprises; and Kim Pearman-Gilman, Avista. I know these folks from my work with the Spokane Chamber of Commerce, and this is a high-powered, creative group. We thank them.

Internationally known jazz trumpeter and Grammy winner Nicholas Payton will perform in concert with the Whitworth Jazz Ensemble on Saturday, Nov. 8, at 8 p.m. in Cowles Auditorium. Tickets are $10 and available from Tickets West, the Whitworth Music Office, and at the door. Director Dan Keberle says this will be one of Whitworth's most exciting and entertaining guest-artist concerts ever. Payton will also present a free clinic, open to the public, on Friday, Nov. 7, at 5:15 p.m. in the Music Building. I love jazz, probably because my dad did. He was a trumpeter at Louisiana State University during Huey Long's governorship. For Christmas when I was a small kid, I gave my dad an Al Hirt album and some toothpaste. He particularly liked the album. I wish he could be here.

Brent Edstrom (Music) has just published Bill Evans: A Step-by-Step Breakdown of the Piano Styles and Techniques of a Jazz Legend. Evans was one of this country's greatest and most influential jazz pianists. This book also comes with a CD featuring Brent on the piano as he and two other musicians perform a dozen of Evans' pieces.

And while you're buying our musicians' latest stuff, pick up the new Whitworth Jazz Ensemble CD, East of the Sun, West of the Moon, from the Music Department office for $15. This recording, featuring our jazz band along with student vocalist Erin Tutty, absolutely rocks.

Enrollment

This year, 104 Gates Scholars enrolled in Washington institutions -- and 16 of them are at Whitworth. The Gates Foundation, in collaboration with the Washington Education Foundation, established the Washington State Achievers Program in 2001. In 2001, five Gates Scholars chose to attend Whitworth, followed by four in 2002.

This year's total headcount is 2,298; our full-time equivalent is 2,028, and our full-time undergraduate enrollment is 1,950 -- pretty close to ideal. We're very cautious about growth. There is, however, one source of growth we love, and we always shatter the national standards in this area. Our retention rate this year exceeded 87 percent, and our six-year graduation rate exceeded 71 percent. There aren't many things in my 10 years at Whitworth I feel better about than our progress in these areas. For a great faculty, a skilled and caring student-life staff, and your contributions to financial aid, I offer deep thanks on behalf of many successful students.

Student Life

Homecoming festivities were great! It was sunny and 80 degrees, and Jackson Williams, ASWC special-events coordinator, outdid himself. The week featured bizarre dress-up days, eating contests, and a great dance on the lawn of Hawthorne Hall.

Currently, ASWC is in the process of coordinating issue-oriented discussions for students that I'll moderate in our living room. ASWC is also preparing for the Jars of Clay/Caedmon's Call concert at the beginning of November. Sophomore Colette Reid is spending all her spare time on making this a success.

Parents' Weekend is October 24-26. You can register by calling us (509-777-3276). It should be a great weekend of theatre, sports, faculty presentations and good food. Also, there will be Sunday morning worship led by our students, with me giving the message.

Resources

Thank you for supporting our Whitworth Fund. We seem to be getting back on track. In addition to the obvious benefits your support provides our students, we also get gold stars from judges like U.S. News & World Report and grant-making foundations for the percentage of alumni who give. For that reason, our dedicated students conducting the phonathon keep making those calls. The only bad news of rising retention and graduation rates is that these big graduating classes flood the alumni denominator with quite a few debt-laden students -- some of whom still give! So you numerators out there are super-important. Thank you. May your numbers increase.

Athletics

Football is off to a 2-2 start. The Pirate defense, led by linebackers Aaron Sedler (sophomore), Mel Leary (junior), and Jonathan Hook (junior), has been outstanding. The offense continues to improve with senior Dwayne Tawney providing big plays. The two young quarterbacks, sophomore Joe Gore and freshman Joel Clark, continue to gain confidence and effectiveness as they rotate running the offense. The Pirates open Northwest Conference play Oct. 11 with a tough challenge at Willamette.

Volleyball continues to show the brilliance and inconsistency that is predictable with a very young team. With 11 freshmen/sophomores on the 12-player roster, the team has shown tremendous promise, despite its 7-9 record. Junior Katy Schrader continues to provide leadership. Freshman Angie Florence is demonstrating that she's already a dangerous player. And more than 500 of our great fans watched the Bucs win their home opener against Pacific.

The cross-country teams are looking great, coming off a sweep of the Pacific Invitational. The women won this NWC championship preview behind our incredible senior Leslie Nelson, who won her first individual title of the season. Sophomore Kristi Dickey was close behind, in fourth place. The Pirate men also won at Pacific. Freshman Michael Chuol finished second individually, followed by senior Jesse Stevick and sophomore Doug Blackburn

Women's soccer tied for its best start in school history with a 5-0 mark against non-conference opponents. The Bucs had to open NWC play with three road matches, and they lost two. But the win was an impressive come-from-behind victory over PLU, with two goals late in the second half. Freshman Jael Hagerott leads the team in assists and total points.

The men's soccer team is 4-3 overall and 1-2 in the NWC after also having to play its first three conference games on the road. After a win at Whitman, the Pirates lost hard-fought contests at UPS and PLU. Sophomore Jonathan Carlson is leading the Pirates in goals scored.

Right before press-time, I want to tuck in thanks to all of you who supported the Pirate Night auction. I don't know the final totals, but our friends who sent the Dream-Team ball and other stuff generated a pile of cash! The spirit of the night was exemplified by my friend Brenda. Her husband asked her why she doubled the bid on a used refrigerator (with a Pirate logo), pushing the price to double what it would be new, when in his wildest imagination he could not fathom how they would use it or where they would put it. She looked him straight in the eye and said, "I'm not sure, LeRoy," and then roared with laughter, triggering the same response in him. Fun!

Alumni

Homecoming kept Sodexo hopping, as seven different catered events and hundreds of diners descended on our campus. I did four welcomes on Saturday alone. From the first-ever George F. Whitworth Honors Banquet to the Sam Adams dinner (attended by a huge crew of his fans and former players, one of whom remarked, "The longer we've been gone, the better we were") to the attendance of 70+ members of the Class of '93, it was a great Homecoming with glorious weather.

Now that we have honored a wonderful Class of '03 Alumni Award winners, it is time to begin collecting nominations for 2004. All of the details can be found at www.whitworth.edu/alumni/awards.htm. Recipients of the 2003 Alumni Awards include David Martin, '62, a renowned architect who volunteers extensively with Compassion in Action, working primarily in V.A. hospitals; Colleen and Sam Adams, '51 and '52, longtime supporters of Whitworth Athletics and Young Life. Sam was a successful student-athlete who later coached football, cross-country and track and field as a member of the Whitworth staff; Mark Terrell, '94, who founded and remains active in the Cup of Cool Water Ministry, serving Spokane's street youth; and Anna Schowengerdt, '93, who has served with Catholic Relief Services, a worldwide emergency relief agency, in Liberia and Uganda. She is currently opening a new CRS office in Baghdad.

Join us for dessert on Nov. 8 at 6:45 p.m. with New Orleans trumpeter and Whitworth Jazz Ensemble guest artist Nicholas Payton. Tickets are $15 and include both the dessert and the concert. Contact the Office of Alumni and Parent Relations (509-777-3799 or 800-532-4668) for details.

Finally, now's the time to mark your calendar for our annual Christmas Festival Concerts in Seattle and Spokane. Seattle: Dec. 6, 7:30 p.m., and Dec. 7, 3 p.m., First Presbyterian Church. Spokane: Dec. 12, 8 p.m., and Dec. 13, 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., First Presbyterian Church. Call 800-532-4668 after Nov. 1 for tickets ($12).

Miscellaneous

Congratulations to Marge Halvorson, voice teacher for many years at Whitworth, for being named, along with her husband, Bill, a 2003 recipient of the Spokane Arts Commission's Arts Community Leadership Award.

I had a birthday a few days ago. I got a card from Thelma Enkema, veteran of quite a few birthdays herself. She wrote in it, "I don't know how old you are, but you don't look it." Thank you, Thelma. You are a very discriminating woman.

Closing Thoughts

I'm on my way back to Spokane, believing as I consider the meal before me that the term "airline food" is an oxymoron. L.A. is great, but the first three news flashes that greeted me this morning were about candidate Arnold's groping, Kobe Bryant feeling under the weather (I suppose a felony charge could do that), and the 405 being backed up to central Oregon. Ah, Spokane. My speech went okay, although I forgot a key part. The legacy of our late trustee Marty Polhemus and the kind invitation of current trustee Curtis Estes placed me in front of 150 Northwestern Mutual Life folks. Even with my omission I covered a lot of stuff related to corporate America and leadership, but what triggered the most knowing nods was a reference to the kind of grace and truth that John attributed to Jesus. Our students responded similarly at opening convocation. We just can't let culture's relentless stream of headlines overshadow the fact that countless students, businesspeople and everyday citizens know that principled lives of grace and truth are the lives we were made to lead. It's good to be going home to a couple thousand of those students. Thanks for caring about Whitworth.