Of Mind & Heart Newsletter: Summer 2005
An update from Whitworth University President Bill Robinson
It's been a while since I've written one of these letters on a plane; actually it's been a while since I've written at all, but now I'm back to both flying and writing. I've spent a lot of time this summer with my head in the clouds. When I got to the Spokane airport early this morning, the parking spot I vacated last night was still open. How lame is that? But life is good. Last week we had a great Whitworth Institute of Ministry, the week before that I had the rich privilege of visiting with alumni and preaching at the 60,000-member Myung Sung Presbyterian Church, in Seoul, Korea, and the week before that our two oldest children perked up the weekend by getting married -- one on Saturday and one on Sunday. Busy month! The campus is also alive. The west end is torn up, with the tennis courts in front of the fieldhouse being transformed into a parking area and the "undeveloped" area just north of the aquatics center becoming home for six beautiful new tennis courts. We've also made a large incision on the north edge of The Loop, where generous friends have made possible the construction of a beautiful walkway (although right now it looks like we're putting in a turnpike). So life is good at Whitworth, and I hope this summer season has been refreshing for you. For those of you who will begin Whitworth this fall, know that we're anxious to welcome you, you're in our prayers, and you should start stockpiling sleep now.
Academics
Our faculty members continue to receive grants that support their teaching and research projects with students.
- Frank Caccavo (Biology) received $25,000 from Pacific Northwest Labs for a research project he'll do with an undergraduate student.
- Debbie Tully (Education) received a $3,000 grant from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction; she'll use it to provide curriculum materials for an elementary-school version of In Time of War, the video that Whitworth produced with North by Northwest Productions and Densho: The Japanese American Legacy Project, that addresses the Japanese-American experience in the Northwest during World War II.
- Kyle Usrey (School of Global Commerce & Management) received a Herbert B. Jones Foundation grant that focuses on micro-enterprise development among the working poor. The grant, the SGCM's second from the Jones Foundation, totals $33,496.
- Archivist Janet Hauck received a $17,141 grant from the Washington State Library to conserve, transcribe, microfilm, and digitize the 73 Whitworth family diaries, created between 1853 and 1907, in our collection. Fifty were written by George Whitworth, 20 by his wife, Mary, and three by their children.
Okay, here's a first. The account below is pasted from an actual e-mail that Jack Burns (Education/Leadership Studies) sent to a student. Thanks to Jack for passing along this historic reversal of fortune: Dear Kelani: My dog ate your homework! I'm not kidding. I left it on my desk when I went up for dinner. She had been in my office at home while I was grading a few of the LS 350 papers before dinner and ... I came down after dinner to find your paper in her paws, torn and partly ingested! Please e-mail me another copy of the paper and I'll try to have it graded before class.
Jim Edwards (Theology) has just published a book, Is Jesus the Only Savior? (Eerdmans, 2005), in which he that claims that the difference between "a" and "the" changes everything. "I think many people would like to say that Jesus is a savior," Jim writes. "That would allow them to breathe more easily. It's that definite article, the, that makes people nervous." In the first half of the book Jim examines the evidence of the New Testament to see how well it stands up against rigorous historical questions. In the second half he explores the relationship between Christianity and contemporary historical currents such as religious pluralism, moral relativism, postmodernism, the quest for world peace, and the relationship of Christianity to other religions, particularly Judaism. I'm anxious to read this book. Over the years I've become less confident that I know exactly who enters the gate, but I've become more confident that only the cross of Christ can open it.
The School of Education has reason to celebrate. The Graduate Studies in Education Counseling Program was reviewed by the State Board of Education and received approval as it aligns with revised state standards. The board was very complimentary of our demonstration that Whitworth students meet the 12 competency-based standards.
I can't quite picture a dog-eat-dog competition in ethics, but our students did well in the Northwest Regional Ethics Bowl. Keith Wyma (Philosophy) and Mike Ingram (Communication Studies) took 18 students from five academic majors to this annual competition at the University of Montana at which students analyze complex situations on diverse issues and then defend their solutions to related ethical problems. The interdisciplinary team of Crystal Bryan, Lisa Fox, Teresa Koeppel and Christopher Lynn took third place overall.
For the third consecutive year, a student from our Master of International Management Program has been selected to participate in a prestigious United Nations graduate-study program. Randall Johanson was awarded an academic internship in the 43rd Graduate Study Programme at the U.N., in Geneva. Randall is one of 100 graduate students from more than 40 countries who will evaluate and make recommendations on global issues including human rights, the environment and economic development. His appointment follows those of MIM graduates Jolene Piccolo, '05, and Mike Jazskowiak, '04.
We have several new faces in academic affairs. After serving seven years as associate dean, Gordon Jackson is taking a year-long study leave before returning to the classroom in 2006. Gordon is an outstanding administrator who revamped systems and accomplished much: He ably led the college's efforts on the 1998 accreditation report and chaired the design team for Weyerhaeuser Hall, among a host of other efforts. We will miss him greatly, but our new dean of faculty, Michael Le Roy, '89, has added two half-time associate deans to his leadership team: Barbara Sanders (Education) will serve as associate dean of instruction, and Mike Ingram (Communication Studies) will be our associate dean of faculty development and scholarship and will continue to oversee faculty training and mentoring.
Kyle Usrey (SGCM) just returned from a few weeks in China leading American business/econ students in a study of profitable businesses, run by Chinese Christians, that also serve as outreach ministries. Kyle reports, "China is changing quickly and becoming a dominant player in global business; witnessing this, together with how Christians in China are working as salt and light in global commerce, is a new paradigm for an area in which the SGCM is developing expertise for courses, internships, research, and missions."
We don't say much about distance-learning opportunities at Whitworth, but we have completed our first online English-as-a-second-language endorsement program.Nineteen students from various places in Washington state are completing this much-needed training. One teacher wrote, "I've learned more from this online course than from some of the education classes I've attended in classrooms" (obviously not at Whitworth!). This pilot online program really came to the rescue for teachers in remote and rural areas who have English-language learners in their classrooms.
Student Life
New students, take note. Student life is gearing up for a baseball-themed Orientation Week, Welcome to the Majors: A League of the Mind & Heart. I just did a photo shoot for the student handbook, and I'm sure I disgraced every baseball player in Whitworth's history, not to mention all of my relatives and my good family name. New students and their parents will begin arriving for Orientation on Saturday, Sept. 3, when residence halls open at 10 a.m. Saturday and Sunday will be full of activities for both new students and their parents as we present special sessions geared toward both groups' specific needs. Parents' programming will conclude on Sunday with a family lunch, and freshmen will continue with their Orientation sessions until school begins on Wednesday. It's going to be great, and we're very excited about welcoming you to Whitworth.
Resources
Fiscal '05 ended well. We held to our spending budget and, because of your generosity, we exceeded our Whitworth Fund goal. We are so grateful to you! The past two years we have fallen short of our $1.2 million goal, but this year you contributed $1.35 million in support of student aid and several desperately needed projects. Of special significance is the fact that it looks as if we'll show a healthy increase in the percentage of alumni who made gifts. Thanks to all of you who gave to The Whitworth Fund this year.
Along with The Whitworth Fund's numbers, total giving was up this year. Again, thank you so much. Your support establishes a momentum that not only enables us to elevate the quality of Whitworth's academic experience but also boosts us in the esteem of our evaluators. Total giving for the year was more than $9.5 million. And pumping up the great news about the amount contributed is the addition of 1,111 new donors to Whitworth. Special thanks to you new alumni, parents, and friends who chose to make a gift. Overall, more than 4,700 individuals, foundations, churches and businesses supported the work and students of Whitworth this year, and we received more individual gifts than ever before. To all of you we give our deepest thanks.
Athletics
My thanks to Steve Flegel, '89, our sports information director, for compiling this month's athletics section.
We're excited to report that Whitworth's great athletics teams brought home their first Northwest Conference McIlroy-Lewis All-Sports Trophy this year. The award recognizes excellence across all fields of athletic competition, and an NWC athletics program has to have a killer year to win it. Ours did. "Winning this award is a testament to the collective quality of our teams," says Athletics Director Scott McQuilkin, '84. "When we consider the quality of programs throughout the NWC, the recognition is particularly gratifying for our students and staff." Whitworth shared the trophy-standings lead with Willamette in the fall and then took sole possession of first place after the winter season. While the Pirates earned NWC titles in men's soccer, men's swimming and men's golf in 2004-05, Whitworth won the trophy with consistent performances across the entire athletics spectrum. Five Pirates teams finished second in their standings and four others finish third. Whitworth won the trophy with 246 points, followed by Willamette (232) and Puget Sound (230).
Whitworth finished 2004-05 with four ESPN The Magazine Academic All-Americans.Senior swimmers Cory Bergman and Serena Fadel were named to their respective at-large college-division first teams this spring. These honorees are among the top 10 scholar-athletes in the nation at the college-division level, chosen from among more than 500 eligible candidates. Sarah Shogren was a second-team selection in women's basketball, and Aaron Coe was a third-team honoree in men's track and field/cross-country.
Alumni
The offices of admissions and alumni & parent relations are sponsoring a series of dessert events for new Whitworth students and their families throughout the summer.Successful events have already been held in Seattle, Portland, Tacoma and Southern California, with more to come in August, in Colorado Springs (8/5) and Denver (8/7). Thanks to the Parents' Council members who are serving as hosts and opening their homes to our new Whitworthians.
More than 300 alumni descended on the campus in June for the biggest Alumni Family Weekend in history. Volunteer Kathie Koopmans Neir, '64, was responsible for gathering the lion's share of the group, with 200 folks from the classes of 1963-1965 on site for a group reunion. Kathie's classmates recognized the gargantuan effort that she put into this, and they surprised and thrilled her by setting up a $25,000 scholarship in her name. It was a terrific weekend for all, and we look forward to another great event next year during the June 16-18 weekend.
Homecoming 2005 is coming together quickly, as it falls early in the school year, Sept.16-18. Highlights will include the George F. Whitworth Honors Banquet, the Heritage Gallery Athletics Hall of Fame Breakfast, the dedication of the Scotford Tennis Center (new home of the A. Ross Cutter Courts) and the Class of 1995's 10-year reunion. All the details are available at www.whitworth.edu/homecoming. Brochures are mailing this week.
Miscellaneous
The Whitworth Institute of Ministry, focusing on God's Shalom, provided rich insights for all of us in attendance. John Perkins, founder of Mendenhall Ministries and the John M. Perkins Foundation for Reconciliation and Development, joined noted theologians, authors and pastors Ray Bakke, Amy Sherman, John Huffman and Jin S. Kim in teaching, preaching, and conducting seminars. It was simply a great week, kicked off by our conferral of an honorary doctorate on John Perkins. I stand with many who have looked up to this saint throughout our careers.
Immediately preceding WIM, The Weyerhaeuser Center for Christian Faith and Learning hosted a conference, Effective Preaching in a Modern World. The center presented this conference to help pastors preach with passion and relevancy. Thanks to a grant from the Presbyterian Church (USA), more than 100 pastors from five states came to hear the conference's keynote speakers, theologian M. Craig Barnes, from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, and preaching expert Charles L. Bartow, of Princeton Theological Seminary. I attended four sessions and learned a ton.
Closing Thoughts
I ran out of battery on the plane. Now it's 2:04 a.m. Roughly an hour ago, the people in the hotel room next to ours must have decided the time had come to brand their kids. I guess the front-desk guy I called got them to quiet down. Bonnie, who woke up for 30 seconds to join me in sympathetic indignation, rushed right back to her gift of sleep, and now I sit here on the bathroom floor with a laptop warming my thighs. I can't really blame the maniacs in Room 831 for my insomnia. Today (yesterday, I guess) was rough. We're visiting a man I love -- a man I met when I was 22 and he was 44. When my dad died 12 years ago, this friend was left as my most abiding mentor. Yesterday his doctor told him he can't drive anymore, issuing a frontal assault on his freedom, and maybe even his dignity. My friend is such a humble man. He needs no loss of pride. For more than 33 years, I have never heard the word "honorable" without thinking about him. Now, wrongly but understandably, he seems to be feeling some kind of symbolic connection between driving and self-worth. But for me his worth has nothing to do with him sitting behind a steering wheel. More than he'll ever know, his goodness influences Whitworth College every time I show up for work. Tomorrow I'll be driving my friend around, and that's an honor for which I'd better get some sleep. The peace of Christ to all of you.
