Of Mind & Heart Newsletter: Summer 2003
An update from Whitworth University President Bill Robinson
I'm sitting at O'Hare Airport's Gate C25, where the flight information board is reporting an on-time arrival and 100 degrees at my destination -- Spokane. It's a toss-up as to which is more rare. Of course it's dry heat, much like what you'd find in a microwave. But I love Spokane and I can't wait to get home. If I obey my laptop's "reminder" window, this flight will be one on which I write as I ride. To those of you new students and parents, the Mind & Heart is a monthly update that I send out. I try to give you the highlights of life at Whitworth. You'll read about events, achievements, faculty, staff and students -- and if I fail to mention your student, assume it's because he or she is too busy studying or saying prayers to be noticed. We are excited about this new academic year, and we're confident that the Whitworth experience will lead our students to higher levels of intellectual maturity, deeper levels of interpersonal fulfillment, and a more loving relationship with God and all creation. Thank you for caring about this place we so love.
Academics
Our big news is that the northwest border of the campus loop now displays proudly a big, ugly hole that will be home to a big, beautiful academic building. Thanks to the generosity of so many of you, we've now begun construction on what will be our premier academic building. Weyerhaeuser Hall will accommodate more than 600 students at a time, in a 240-seat teaching theatre, an 80-seat classroom, and classrooms for 30, 40 and 60 students. Faculty and staff occupants include the School of Global Commerce and Management and the departments of Politics & History and Sociology. Located on the ground floor will be a seminar room, the Weyerhaeuser Center for Christian Faith & Learning, and the Regional Learning and Resource Center, which will focus on poverty issues in the Spokane area. Assuming we receive gifts to cover the final $500,000 needed for interior furnishings, we'll inhabit the building by fall 2004.
We have just completed an extraordinary Whitworth Institute of Ministry week. Our three main speakers were nationally known pastor-professor Craig Barnes, author-pastor Eugene Peterson (best known for The Message, a very popular contemporary translation of the Bible), and author-speaker-worship scholar Marva Dawn. In addition to their enriching sessions, we also heard from several of our own faculty in a series of workshops: Jerry Sittser (Religion), Dale Soden (History), Jim Waller (Psychology) and Bill Robinson (interloper). We've heard from many people that WIM is one of the most valuable and important learning/renewal opportunities for pastors in the Presbyterian Church (USA). This year we had 350 people in attendance, with several hundred more community folks joining us for evening worship each night. Thanks to Terry McGonigal for leading this important effort.
Our students and faculty have been busy in their academic lives. Laura Bloxham (English) is one of eight co-authors of a new book that holds particular interest for colleges like Whitworth. Published by Eerdmans, the book is titled Mentoring for Mission: Nurturing New Faculty at Church-Related Colleges. Also, Julia Stronks and John Yoder (both Politics & History) each wrote guest columns that were published in both The Seattle Times and The Spokesman-Review this summer. Julia's was a response to the recent Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action. John's drew upon his expert knowledge of Liberia in a piece describing what he thought should be the U.S. role in that African country. And yesterday's mail delivered a book titled Called to Teach that included a chapter co-authored by Dale Soden (Politics & History, Weyerhaeuser Center).
I didn't have space in the last Mind & Heart to tell you of the three graduates who received our top academic award -- the President's Cup -- at Commencement in May.This award goes to those rare students who've spent all of their undergraduate years at Whitworth and finished with a 4.0 GPA. Our three recipients were Caitlin Clapp, Journalism; Annika Herbes, Political Studies and Peace Studies; and Kelsey Rice, who double-majored in English and History. All three are great young women who distinguished themselves outside the classroom as well.
Service is also very important to Whitworth. Our Servant Leadership Award went to Amy Robinson ('03, Olympia, Wash.). The Jef Olson award, for distinguished community service, was shared this year by Jena Lee ('04, Colorado Springs, Colo.) and Erik Lystad ('05, University Place, Wash.). I heard from Erik via e-mail recently, and he's in China now, having a great time; he won a $12,400 David L. Boren Scholarship that will allow him to study chemistry, as well as Chinese language and culture, at the University of Hong Kong for the 2003-04 academic year. He plans to head on to medical school and then serve as a medical missionary in China.
Kelly Siebe, one of our 2003 graduates who majored in communications, has been awarded a Fulbright grant to study in the Netherlands. Kelly will study at the University of Groningen. John Yoder (Politics & History) notes that the Fulbright is one of the most competitive and prestigious grants given to graduates of U.S. universities and colleges. Kelly will do a master's thesis on the relationship between colonialism and women's travel-writing during the 19th century.
At the graduate level, our Master of International Management students have received a remarkable array of jobs and awards. For example, Rafiell Jones was awarded a prestigious Presidential Management Internship. He will be leaving for Washington, D.C., this summer for a paid, two-year, postgraduate assignment with NASA. And Mike Jaszkowiak leaves for Geneva, Switzerland, this summer to participate in the 41st Geneva Graduate Study Program at the United Nations. Eighty students are selected from graduate programs around the world to develop and propose policies that address current global issues. To see what some of our other fine students have achieved, go to the MIM website at www.whitworth.edu/Academic/Department/SchoolOfBusiness/Index.asp.
We received word that Roland Wurster, a longtime faculty member in the English Department, died in Seattle on July 28. He was 95. Roland, who had served as a faculty member and then president of Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka, Alaska, taught English at Whitworth from 1957 until he officially retired in 1973. During his time at Whitworth he also served in other roles, including registrar and assistant to the dean. Also, word came that Chemistry Professor Emeritus Robert (Bob) Winniford died on July 9, in Oregon. Bob retired from Whitworth in 1984, after 21 years of teaching here. His wife, Georgine, was the director of our health center. Our prayers are with both families.
Enrollment
We're looking at another record-sized freshman class, up a bit over last year's group of 433. We were hoping to pull back by a dozen freshmen rather than add any, but matriculating a class is not an exact science. Further, the Calvinism that seeps down through our Presbyterian history gives us confidence that there are no "mistakes" in this class (not to be confused with "no mistakes by this class"). Our overall full-time undergraduate enrollment could rise by 50 students. I want to apologize up front for one more year of rather tight conditions. We're tinkering with some schedules and dining locations that should smooth out the HUB lines a bit, but we'll all have to practice some patience until we complete Weyerhaeuser Hall.
Student Life
By the time you get this Mind & Heart, new students will probably have received their orientation packages featuring this year's theme, Cast Off to the Isle of the Mind & Heart.Each package includes orientation schedules and student handbooks. Students and parents can also view these documents online through the Whitworth website. ASWC and student life will begin their student-leader training in mid-August and will be awaiting enthusiastically the arrival of all new and returning students. Our residence halls will open for new students on August 30 at 10 a.m., with strong-bodied students and some volunteer parents ready to help you move in all the stuff you brought (and move out all the stuff you can't jam into the room if you still plan to enter it). The HUB will host a welcome fair from 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. for new students and their parents. Returning students will join the festivities at 10 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 1. One of the smartest things you new students can do is put some sleep in the bank before you arrive. Your adrenal glands will be squirting non-stop for the first few days and will mask how worn down you can become. You probably don't want to put fatigue on top of fatigue before starting college. (For the first time in seven years I don't have an offspring at Whitworth, so it will take me a while to break these parenting habits.)
Resources
Thanks to so many of you, we have completed another fiscal year in the black. We're grateful to those of you who made additional year-end gifts to The Whitworth Fund, our annual fund, which still ended off significantly from what we budgeted and from our 2002 total. Fortunately, solid enrollment and a very careful eye on expenses kept us in balance. We are hoping that recent bounces in the economy will revive our unrestricted gift income. If this year comes in low again, we will have to do some serious carving on our expense budget.
On the encouraging side of gift income, our alumni-participation rate held strong, and we saw a 13-percent increase in our overall President's Club membership for the year;we welcomed 113 new members. The President's Club is a growing group of supporters who commit to giving $1,000 over the course of the year to help the college fulfill its mission of "equipping students to honor God, follow Christ, and serve humanity." Thank you so much for your support!
The summer work schedule has been full. In addition to Weyerhaeuser Hall, we have been working on the following:
- HUB storage addition: This sorely needed addition will provide more space for food-service supplies and furniture to expand the use of the entire building for campus and off-campus events.
- Parking-lot additions and improvements: Parking and traffic congestion on campus last year were at an all time high. Through expanded paving adjacent to Boppell Hall and the Village, and more effective striping in the Dixon and Warren lot, we are adding about 50 parking stalls to the campus at a relatively low cost and without much impact to the beautiful grounds.
- Miscellaneous: We've added new furniture for Stewart Hall, done renovation work in Warren and Ballard, completed the exciting project of laying a new steam line from Dixon to the Music Building, and finished up some other small projects.
- Sub-miscellaneous but vital: We will have a new smoothie stand in the HUB for a quick, "already late for class" bite to eat. In my personal smoothie creations, I have found that it is possible to cram one's entire daily requirement of fruits and vegetables in to a morning paste-like mess and live with the illusion of a healthy foundation that gives me nutritional immunity for the rest of the day. Life is good.
Athletics
Pre-season for fall sports is starting soon. We hope the weather will cool down before two-a-days begin. My "moles" in athletics seem to vanish right before the 15-hour days of pre-season. So I'll wait until September to give you the team-by-team rundowns.
Jessica Austin and Kristen Shields have been named to the 2003 Verizon Academic All-America College Division Cross-Country/Track & Field Second Team. Kristen, a mathematics major from Grand Coulee, Wash., completed her junior year with a 4.0 cumulative GPA. Shields set a new Whitworth record (12.16) while earning All-America status in the 100 at the NCAA Division III Championships. She also set new Pirate records in the 200 and 4x100 relay this spring. Jessica, from Superior, Mont., graduated with a cumulative GPA of 3.95 in the fields of math and education. She set a new school record this spring in the 3,000 steeplechase. She was also a key runner on Whitworth's women's cross-country team, which won the NCAA West Regional and advanced to its first team appearance at the NCAA Division III Championships.
Alumni
Bonnie and I will be hosting alumni, parents and friends at a Monday evening dessert reception on Sept. 8 at First Presbyterian Church in Colorado Springs at 7 p.m. We'd love to have you join us! Let us know if you can make it. Call 509-777-3799, 800-532-4668, or register online at www.whitworth.edu/calendar/alumnicalendar.htm.
Now that I've completed a decade at Whitworth, we thought it would be fun to host graduates of the last decade (our GOLD folks) for ice cream following the first home football game of the season, on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 20. You know where I live.
A big weekend of activities awaits visiting alumni the weekend of Sept. 26-28. From the George F. Whitworth Honors Banquet on Friday to worship and brunch on Sunday, it will be a weekend packed with athletics, fun, great food and good memories. If you don't have a brochure, contact the alumni office at 800-532-4668 or check out the website at www.whitworth.edu/alumni/homecoming.htm. Online registrations are now being accepted.
Closing Thoughts
Beginning this month, we're launching an electronic version of Mind & Heart that contains links to additional information online and is easier to forward on to friends and family (which I can't imagine why anyone would do, but some folks currently get this by e-mail for that reason). To start with, all 2003 graduates will receive the electronic version, while all other recipients will continue to receive the print version. But we're happy to send you the newsletter in whichever format you prefer, or in both formats. Just log on to www.whitworth.edu/mind&heart and indicate your preference, or call June Hanson at (800) 532-4668 or (509) 777-4343. You can also give me your feedback directly by e-mailing me at wrobinson@whitworth.edu.
This has been a big summer for weddings. Must be the heat. The most famous wedding in the Bible is the one at Cana of Galilee, where Jesus performed his first public miracle -- turning water into wine. I've always thought this feat to be a rather odd way to make a first impression. Isn't it a bit holier to give sight to the blind than to turn six huge pots of water into 150 gallons of wine at a party? But I've come to believe that it was the perfect miracle in the perfect setting. It was a transforming miracle (water into wine) at a transforming event (two individuals mystically united in marriage). If you ask our board chair, Chuck Boppell, '65, why he supports Whitworth, you can count on hearing something about students being "transformed." And he's right. We are uncompromisingly committed to helping our students reach grand intellectual heights, and with remarkable frequency we see hearts joining minds in life transformations. It's inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us in this high calling.
