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President Emeritus Bill Robinson

  1. Whitworth University
  2. President Emeritus Bill Robinson
  3. Of Mind & Heart Newsletter
  4. Summer 2007

Of Mind & Heart Newsletter: Summer 2007

An update from Whitworth University President Bill Robinson

Warm summer greetings from Whitworth University. I've never written that before. From our breakfast nook I can see the brass lettering on our entrance. At first it looked wrong; now it looks different. Soon it will look natural. Beyond the entrance, the campus glows in the high definition of absolutely stunning summer colors. We should flip summer vacation with December through February and have classes in these sun-kissed months. And speaking of classes, we're excited for you students on the brink of your first year at Whitworth. This is an amazing place. Although most of you will say your farewells with wet eyes and noses (as you should), you are about to begin a very cool chapter of your life. I went off to college 40 years ago this September. I never quite left. Try not to be tense about getting off to a "perfect" start. You won't. In 1967, my first day of classes was a Tuesday. It felt like Monday, so I went to the Monday classrooms. I was so dumbstruck by all the new stuff that I didn't notice I had attended the wrong classes until that afternoon. Make a mental note right now: Classes start on Wednesday. Students, please know that we have already begun to pray for your time at Whitworth. We pray you will sense God's presence and our joy in helping you grow in mind and heart.

Academics

Summer gives our faculty time to engage in research, and it gives me space to catch up on reporting the scholarly activity in which they engage.

The Weyerhaeuser Center Summer Research Fellows are working on projects that specifically connect Christian faith and academic inquiry:

  • Nadine Chapman (English): "The Poet's Voice: Linguistic Imagination, Ethics, and Servant-Leadership Theory"
  • Jim Hunt (History): "John Muir's 1,000-Mile Southern Walk in 1867"
  • Laurie Lamon, '78 (English): "Broken Geography, A Struggle Between Two Memories: A Study of Contemporary Palestinian and Israeli Poetry, in Conjunction with Poetry Writing"
  • Alan Mikkelson, '00 (Communication Studies): "Discussing Religion: Understanding Communicative Practices Associated with Positive and Negative Interactions"

Faculty Research and Development Committee Summer Research Fellows include the following:

  • Scott Kolbo (Art) is using printmaking techniques to create artwork with narratives and characters who comment on human nature.
  • Pamela Corpron Parker, '81, (English) is traveling to England to research her book on literary tourism and British women of letters.
  • Pete Tucker, '91, (Computer Science) is working on processing punctuated data streams.
  • Jim Waller (Psychology) is examining the role of indigenous institutional churches in the context of genocide and violence.
  • Kirk Westre (Kinesiology) is researching a curriculum that connects servant-leadership principles to teaching health education.
  • Ginny Whitehouse (Communication Studies) is examining the influence of celebrity on media coverage of political news stories.
  • Patrick Van Inwegen (Political Science) is writing a textbook on revolutions.

Summer development grants are supporting these faculty projects:

  • Nancy Bunker (Library) is researching the work of early 19th-century women pastors in eastern Washington.
  • Brent Edstrom (Music) is writing a book on using music notation algorithms in the C++ language.
  • Melissa Sprenkle and Doug Sugano (English) are collaborating on a textbook for use in courses on literary criticism.
  • Adrian Teo (Psychology) is analyzing data from a statewide survey on behaviors of secondary-school students.

Clearly, Whitworth's faculty members do not restrict their scholarly contributions to the summer months. Last semester our faculty performed or presented at the following academic conferences:

  • Philip Baldwin (Music) presented "Orchestra Essentials: Techniques Every Violinist Must Know" at the American String Teachers National Conference.
  • Ben Brody, '97, (Music) was the co-leader of sacred music at the National Convention of the American Choral Directors' Association.
  • Sharon Mowry (Education) and Barb Sanders (Academic Affairs/Education) presented "Improving Math and Science Learning through Inquiry" at the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education.
  • Karla Morgan (Economics) presented "Trade & Economic Growth:  The Role of Trade Policy and Instability in Developing Countries" at the Allied Social Science Association.
  • Pam Parker presented "Harriet Martineau and the English Lake District" at the British Women Writers' Conference.
  • Richard Strauch (Music) conducted the Whitworth Wind Symphony (by invitation) at the Music Educators National Conference.
  • Also, last semester Jerry Sittser (Theology) wrote an article, "Protestant Missionary Biography as Written Icon," for the Christian Scholar's Review.
  • And Alan Mikkelson and two co-authors, including Arizona State University graduate student Colin Hesse, '03, published the second edition of The Biology of Human Communication.

While we esteem all of the research and peer presentations conducted by faculty, teaching and learning will always maintain an unrivaled place at the top of our priorities. The following faculty members were honored by their peers for excellence in teaching:

  • Academic Challenge Award: Jim McPherson (Communication Studies)
  • Academic Mentoring Award: Ginny Whitehouse (Communication Studies)
  • Collaborative Teaching Award: Jack Burns (Leadership Studies/SGCM)
  • Dean's Junior Faculty Award: Adam Neder (Theology)
  • Innovative Teaching Award: Pete Tucker

Our adult learners in the Evening Teaching Certification Program presented an oceanography science festival with activities for grades K-8. They also ran a very successful environmental-science camp for 35 kindergartners through third-graders at Manito Park as part of the EPA grant Whitworth is participating in to promote environmental education. Instructor Kathryn Picanco says the members of Cohort 5 are well on their way to becoming effective science practitioners.

Whitworth Continuing Studies graduated an excellent class this year, and among that contingent were many adult learners who demonstrated uncommon courage. Kerri York, '07, is a good example. She began a B.A. in education in 1995, then took up duties as a stay-at-home mom. In 2001 she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, but that didn't stop her from returning to our Evening Teacher Certification Program in 2005, and she kept going when her husband was deployed to Germany in 2006. Working full time, fund-raising for the MS Society, and starting an MS support group at church would have been way more than enough for most of us, but she continued to pursue her degree. And last May, I handed her a well-earned, hard-fought-for diploma. "My story isn't unique," Kerri says. "Every single person in our cohort had life happen in some fashion, and we were there to lean on each other through the good times and bad." (Kerri's favorite study method?  Reading on the treadmill as she prepared for a half-marathon. Wow.) Congratulations to Kerri and to all of her Whitworth in the Evening colleagues!

Sonja Carlson, MIM '07, was awarded a scholarship from the Spokane Chapter of Executive Women International, which is committed to the enhancement of personal and professional development and community involvement.

Whitworth music students enjoyed another successful year at MusicFest Northwest.This festival draws musicians of all ages from throughout the Northwest. Gold-medal winners included Keith Peterson, '07 (piano), Maya Lewis, '10 (flute), Molly Mason, '08 (voice), and the Whitworth Saxophone Quartet: Nathanael Ankeny, '08, Isaac Dye, '09, Matt Walsh, '08, and Dave Weaver, '08 (reed ensemble). Silver-medals winners were Maya Lewis (flute) and Mollie McComb, '10 (voice).

Enrollment

A higher percentage of accepted students than we expected will enroll this fall. We'll have enough beds, classrooms and teachers, but it will be the biggest freshman class in Whitworth history by roughly 20 students. My first clue that this would be a super-sized class came when the Whitworth Housing Office folks asked about the guest room at our house.

Student Life

Go Safari will be the theme of orientation for new students coming to the Whitworth University savannah this fall. I have no idea what this means. I do know that somehow I will be embarrassed in the orientation skit. I just hope Orientation Director Dayna Coleman-Jones has me in a role that doesn't force PETA to come to my defense. Dayna reports that "experienced trail guides (student leaders) who know how to navigate the veldt and negotiate the vine-laden forests will meet all new students at 10 a.m. on Sept. 1. Through Sunday lunch, moms and dads can attend sessions on parenting college students, and new students will be engaged in orientation activities throughout the first week of school. A full orientation mailing will arrive early in August, and the full schedule and student handbook will come online at this same time. See you soon for a bungle in the jungle!"

Whitworth's strong commitment to service was reflected last spring in campus-wide programs (including a Spring Break home-construction trip to Tijuana) and 29 service-learning courses across 15 academic departments. In just that one semester, Whitworth students devoted more than 5,500 hours to community service. Community agencies to which Whitworth students volunteered their time included the following: Anna Ogden Hall, Christ Kitchen, Corbin Senior Activity Center, Homework Helpers, Hutton Settlement, Lutheran Community Services, Second Harvest Inland Northwest, Spokane County Juvenile Court, Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery, Women's Business Center, Women's and Children's Free Restaurant World Relief.

Resources

Construction on the Whitworth Visual Arts Center began immediately after commencement, with the demolition of Lincoln and Beyond halls; may they rest in peace (or not). The contractor has spent two months removing and rerouting underground utilities, and crews will pour the first batch of concrete next week. See photos of the progress on this exciting project at www.whitworth.edu/vab.

Thanks to a generous gift from Judy and John Scotford, '51, our students will have a new field for soccer and Ultimate Frisbee. A treeless field is good news for Ozzie's collarbone and Kimmy's face. Four residences on the southwest corner of campus were sold and moved (and a fifth burned by our local fire department) to make room for the new playing field. The fields will be planted before students return, and now we just need to hold them back until the grass grows. You will be amazed at the expanded view this project creates for our campus.

It was another great year for The Whitworth Fund, and we are so thankful to you donors. Nearly 9,000 individual gifts and more than $1.4 million were given for the fiscal year (with nearly $250,000 received in the month of June). Unfortunately, our alumni-giving percentage slipped this year, from 25.8 to 23.5. When we're graduating large classes with skinny wallets, it's hard to keep the percentage up, so anything you alumni can give will really help. Actually, while I was writing this newsletter I got a great note from a 2004 graduate who is knee-deep in a University of Wisconsin Ph.D. program. Notably, he and his wife (also a grad) have been giving faithfully out of their very limited income. There are many like them who inspire us to be good stewards.

Whitworth friend Bea Thompson recently donated three pieces of rental property to a charitable trust worth $1 million. The benefits to Bea are that she avoids capital gains, her net income doubles, she no longer has to manage rentals, she gets a large tax deduction, and she's able to benefit her other favorite charities with this trust using The Whitworth Foundation as the trustee. But the most important part of this gift is that she is able to honor her grandfather, who taught at Whitworth while it was still a little school in Tacoma, and an aunt who was an alumna. Everybody wins. If you have an underperforming asset and you want to help, please contact The Whitworth Foundation at foundation@whitworth.edu, 509.777.3243 (Spokane) or 800.532.4668 (toll free).

Athletics

The 2007 women's track & field team had the highest cumulative team grade-point average (3.629) in NCAA Division III!

Ben Spaun, '08, has been named to the Men's 2007 ESPN The Magazine CoSIDA Academic All-America Track & Field/Cross-Country third team. Ben is a physics major with a 3.99 GPA. He excelled on the track this season, winning Northwest Conference titles in the 110-meter high hurdles and the 400 hurdles. He was also third in the NWC decathlon competition, qualifying for the NCAA DIII Outdoor Track & Field Championships, where he finished in 9th place.

A Hoopfest team of Whitworth alums known as HappyWifeHappyLife finished third overall in the open division of the largest three-on-three basketball tournament in the world. This team -- Scott Bierlink, Bryan Depew, Gunner Olsen and Chase Williams -- made the semis before losing to the eventual champions. All but Gunner are former winners of the event. These guys made up for the team of Dale Soden (History/Weyerhaeuser Center), Ken Pecka (Instructional Resources), Ron Cohn (ringer) and Airball Robinson (President's Office), which found itself with a lot of free time on the second day of the tournament.

Alumni

As I write, two of our 16 regional summer sendoff events for new students have already taken place, and the rest are coming up fast. Whitworth staff, alumni, students and parents will be hosting 10 events in three states between Aug. 2 and 5. We hope you incoming students will bring your family to one of these events if there is one in your area, as they are a great way to meet other local Whitworthians. The complete list of sendoffs can be found on the web at www.whitworth.edu/alumnievents.

The football Pirates are heading to Southern Cal to take on La Verne on Saturday, Sept. 16, and I'll be there along with Alumni & Parent Relations Director Tad Wisenor, '89. Watch for details on a pre-game event.

Final details are coming together for Homecoming Weekend, and your brochure will be mailed soon. Online registration will begin in mid-August for one of the biggest Homecomings ever. Reunions for the classes of 1987 and 1997 as well as for Young Life and the communication studies department are scheduled. In addition, we'll honor our Heritage Gallery Hall of Fame inductees and Alumni Award winners. For more info, visit www.whitworth.edu/homecoming.

Closing Thoughts

I begin my 15th year as president of Whitworth with an enormous sense of privilege. I spent the last two days with dear friends who serve as presidents of Wake Forest University and Pepperdine University. At a gathering made possible by a wonderful foundation that has faithfully supported Whitworth, we and our wives talked about life and work within this unusual calling of university president. As I listened to these superb leaders of such celebrated schools, I was reminded of how far Whitworth has to go financially. But I was also fortified in my belief that as we go about the task of finding resources that will allow us to provide our students with critically important capital improvements, our most important task is to stay faithful to our mission of providing each Whitworthian with an education of mind and heart. And to that I pledge our best efforts. I trust the peace of Christ will abide with Whitworth this year and with all of you who read this letter.