Mind & Heart Newsletter: December 2010
An update from Whitworth University President Beck A. Taylor
Julie, the kids and I just returned from attending the Whitworth Christmas Festival concerts in Seattle and Bellevue this past weekend. Not only was it the Taylor family's first trip en masse to the west side of the state (yep, all five of us went), it was our first time to experience the incredible Christmas concerts for which our choirs are famous. "Yeah, yeah, Christmas concerts. Great. Been there, done that." I'm embarrassed to admit I had that ho-hum, bah-humbug thought as my assistant put these dates on the calendar back in July, soon after my arrival. Well, by now, almost six months into my time at Whitworth, I have learned never to underestimate anything into which this university puts its collective soul. These Christmas celebrations, executed so wonderfully by our student choirs and their directors, are part of Whitworth's DNA, so I've come to learn. Hundreds of alumni, parents and members of the community packed the sanctuaries in Bellevue and Seattle to experience what I heard described over and over again as the "official beginning of our family's Advent season." That's humbling and powerful. What impressed me even more than the moving music, the expert presentation, and the efforts of so many involved with the productions, was the worshipful tone of the entire performance. The Christ Child was adored with every note and intonation. God Incarnate was glorified, the Lord's Grace among us was magnified, and our sense of hope and expectation was renewed in fresh and mysterious ways through the music and lyrics. Psalm 98, verses 1 and 4 read, "Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him. Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth, burst into jubilant song with music." We are able to sing a new song to the Lord because he first sang it to us as he humbled himself to become one of us. Emmanuel is the person we celebrate this Christmas. Thanks to our Whitworth choirs for leading us so beautifully as we worship the Christ Child.
Academics
More than 350 elementary-age children participated in the annual Whitworth Writing Rally. Lisa Laurier (Education) directed this event with the assistance of 150-plus of our students and several local teachers. Award-winning author Sally Walker shared where she gets her ideas. She read from a book she wrote as a child and talked to the children about the importance of research and how books are actually made. One student assistant wrote, "I think this type of opportunity for young people is very important. It helps them to see that anyone can aspire to be something they dream about."
Our Ethics Bowl team took second at the Northwest Regional Ethics Bowl at Microsoft, in Redmond. The team was undefeated in three rounds of competition and lost a very close final match. The Whitworth debaters' performance qualifies them for the national Ethics Bowl, in March. The team includes Peter Dolan, '11, Krister Johnson, '13, Jared Lollar, '11, Benjameen Quarless, '12, and Heather Wallace, '11. This all-star team is coached by Mike Ingram (Communication Studies/Academic Affairs) and Keith Wyma (Philosophy).
Eight teams participated in the physics department's annual pumpkin launch, and the new record for squash-slinging is approximately 300 feet, set by team Quadratic Formula. The measurement is approximate because we've never before had a team launch a pumpkin to the top of a 100-foot tree. Never at a loss for a teaching moment, the physics faculty and students quickly went to work to calculate the estimated distance.
The philosophy department (and, really, the entire university community) is benefiting this fall from the presence of visiting scholar Stephen T. Davis, '62, the Russell K. Pitzer Professor of Philosophy at California's Claremont McKenna College. Davis is teaching Philosophy of Religion, consulting with the department, and giving several public presentations. His distinguished academic career in philosophy includes numerous fellowships and leadership positions, and 16 books and nearly 100 articles of which he is author and/or editor. In the 1970s, he also directed the dissertation of Forrest Baird (Philosophy) at Claremont Graduate University. I imagine he has some interesting stories to tell about his former student. We've been truly blessed to have Stephen with us this term.
Associate Professor of Music Brent Edstrom's new book, Recording on a Budget (Oxford University Press), is now available. The book provides a comprehensive introduction to the recording arts from a budget-conscious perspective. Most musicians have developed their ears to a high level, so a special focus is placed on the development of recording technique through experimentation and the application of critical listening skills. Recording on a Budget is supported by an online resource of nearly 250 audio excerpts detailing all of the primary topics of the book. For more information, visit the Oxford Press site at www.oup.com/us and do a search on Brent Edstrom.
The Arts
Just a quick note about this section of the newsletter. I feel compelled to remind our readers that the visual and performing arts are a vital part of our academic programs at Whitworth, despite the fact that we highlight faculty and student achievements in this separate section. I am grateful for the dedication of our students and faculty who enrich our campus and community in so many important ways with their artistic and creative talents.
As I've mentioned, I just returned from the Seattle and Bellevue choir performances of Whitworth's Christmas Festival Concert. This can't-miss concert, Heaven and Nature Sing, will also be showcased at Spokane's First Presbyterian Church on Friday, Dec. 10, at 8 p.m., and on Saturday, Dec. 11, at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets are $18 ($15 for students and seniors 62-plus). Call 800.532.4668 for tickets, or purchase them online at www.whitworth.edu/musictickets. Tickets may also be available for purchase at the door prior to each concert. What a wonderful way to usher in the Advent season.
Dan Keberle (Music) tells me that he just found out that two of his original compositions for 17-piece jazz ensemble will be published by the University of Northern Colorado Jazz Press. Both compositions, Bill's Blues and The LK Shuffle, are on the new Whitworth Jazz Ensemble CD, also titled Bill's Blues, named in honor of President Emeritus Bill Robinson. The CD is available for $15 through the music department office. I've listened to it, and it's fantastic!
Katie Creyts (Art) directed us to a great site that mentions the work of several Whitworth and Whitworth-affiliated artists.Visit splatterspokane.blogspot.com, and read about our Community Arts in Practice class, which enlists local Girl Scouts to share their artistic skills and to study Washington's threatened wildlife. Each Whitworth student chose an endangered animal to research, and the students then worked with the Girl Scouts to design coloring-book pages that describe the animals, their status, and what readers can do to help save them. You'll also see stories about some of the recent work of Whitworth art professors Gordon Wilson and Scott Kolbo; an article about Chris Jordan, a Seattle artist who exhibited his thought-provoking work at Whitworth during Inauguration Week; and a feature about Amanda Knowles, whose work was recently on display in Whitworth's Bryan Oliver Gallery.
Five Whitworth singers from the studio of Scott Miller (Music) received awards in their respective categories during the recent National Association of Teachers of Singing Auditions at the University of Idaho. Whitworth students competed against students from the University of Idaho, Gonzaga, Washington State, Central Washington, Whitman, EWU, and several community colleges. Winners included Ira McIntosh, '12, Tatiana Kruse, '14, Connor Jacobson, '13, Jordan Kingma, '13, and MacKenzie Covington, '13.
Student Life
Our residence life staff just attended a great conference in Coeur d'Alene. The conference was presented by the Association of Inter-Mountain Housing Officers, a regional organization for professionals working in residence life, housing and student life. Two of our resident directors, Julia Price (Baldwin-Jenkins) and Meredith Devey (Arend) presented "Finding the Groove: Understanding the Process of Student Development through Media," which illustrated how Whitworth teaches student development theory to resident assistants using popular films. "Finding the Groove" was chosen as one of the top six programs delivered during the three-day conference.
November featured lots of great events as men went on the Mancation Retreat at Camp Reed, followed by the women attending Feminight, with featured speaker (and my wonderful spouse) Julie Taylor. In mid-month, students played an all-campus, four-day "tag" game of Humans vs. Zombies (the humans won, thank goodness), then danced the night away at the East Hall Ball. Finally, right before students left for Thanksgiving, Cultural Awareness Week featured events created from each of Whitworth's culture clubs as well as a fantastic talent-studded dinner courtesy of our international students.
In residence life we've begun a program called Big Questions, which features faculty members who come to weekly residence-hall Primetimes and speak on timely topics of their choice. Eric Sartell (Business & Economics) visited Stewart and talked about capitalism and Christianity. Andy Hogue (Political Science) attended a Baldwin-Jenkins Primetime, where he talked about how faith can influence our political perceptions and views.
Resources
I mentioned in my last letter that each of us is a valued and vital member of this community. Since then, you may have received a letter from me or a special e-mail from the annual giving office that explains what that means in terms of supporting Whitworth. We rely on everyone in the community to lift up Whitworth's mission and to keep a mind-and-heart education within financial reach for all who seek it. It's exciting to think of what we could accomplish if everyone were to make even a modest gift. Many of you have already responded to our requests, and we are deeply grateful for all the ways in which you've given this year. December is a – perhaps the – pivotal month in reaching our goal for The Whitworth Fund, which goes directly to student scholarships, faculty salaries, and other priorities. So, if you haven't had a chance to mail in your gift, please send it to the annual giving office, or go online to www.whitworth.edu/give. For tax-deduction purposes, all end-of-year gifts must be postmarked by Dec. 31 or submitted online by Dec. 29. Thank you again for your generosity in supporting our mission.
Alumni & Parents
Mark your calendars for Whitworth reunions on campus during 2011 Commencement Weekend, May 13-15. Members of the classes of 1951 and 1961 as well as all alumni who graduated in 1960 and earlier are invited to join us on campus. Watch for more information soon, or contact the alumni office at 509.777.3799 or alumni@whitworth.edu.
Registration is now open for our upcoming President's Receptions. I'll hit the road with Director of Alumni & Parent Relations and Annual Giving Aaron McMurray, '95, for a series of regional events to meet alumni, parents and friends of Whitworth. When we were coming up with a name for these receptions, we thought The Taylor Tour had a nice ring to it. We'd love to see you in one of the following places: Washington, D.C., on Jan. 30; Portland on Feb. 5; Denver on Feb. 10; Colorado Springs on Feb. 11; La Cañada, Calif., on March 19; Irvine on March 20; the Bay Area on March 26; or Honolulu on May 22. For more information and to register, visit www.whitworth.edu/taylortour.
Sports
The football team closed out its season with a resounding 63-35 win over Puget Sound. Pirate Adam Anderson finished his brilliant career in fitting fashion, rushing for six touchdowns to tie his own single-game school record – and throwing for another score. (Adam can do it all.) In his final game for the Crimson and Black, he surpassed Mark Linden (1988-90) for the all-time school rushing-yardage record. Congratulations to Adam!
The women's cross country team earned a bid to the NCAA Division III championships and finished 17th overall. Joy Shufeldt, '13, led the way, finishing 44th. And Katie Williams, '11, was presented the prestigious Elite 88 Award by the NCAA for having the highest cumulative GPA among all competitors at the national meet. Katie exemplifies what we mean by "student athlete" at Whitworth.
Men's cross country was awarded an at-large bid to the NCAA championships and finished in 28th place. Senior Nick Gallagher made his fourth career appearance at the meet and finished in 131st place.
The men's basketball team is off to a 7-0 start, including a victory over NCAA Div. III's fifth-ranked Carthage College during a tournament win in Hawaii. Senior David Riley leads the team in scoring, averaging 19.8 points per game. The Pirates took a 20-game conference winning streak (and a 30-1 record stretching back to the beginning of the 2009-10 season) into last weekend's NWC openers (on the road) and returned to Spokane with two more decisive victories under their belts.
Whitworth's women hoopsters pulled a pair of big upsets, over nationally ranked College of Idaho and Westminster (Utah), to win the 'Yote Classic, in Caldwell, Idaho. (Those of you who are familiar with southern Idaho culture know that "'yote" is a Caldwell contraction of "coyote." Caldwellians and others from their part of the state also call the Crusaders, a local college team, the 'Saders. Hmmm.) Sophomore Emily Guthrie set a tournament record with seven three-pointers in the win over Westminster, and freshman Kayla Johnson scored a total of 43 points in the two big wins.
So far, the swimming teams are dominating their competition. That's how they roll. The swimmers swept the NWC Sprint Pentathlon and the NWC Relay Invitational to open their schedule, then won their first two dual meets at Pacific and Lewis & Clark. Sophomore Abby Pavelko and freshman Aaron Vaccaro were untouchable in the dual-meet victories.
Closing Thoughts
Some of you have heard that November was a record-setting month for snowfall in Spokane; many of you are experiencing it. Just before Thanksgiving, we experienced temperatures that hovered around 10 degrees below zero! There are currently nearly 30 inches of snow on the ground. Most Whitworthians and Spokanites will quickly tell you that "this isn't normal." Julie and I have decided that one of two things is true: Either there is no "normal" in Spokane for winter weather, or this is what people tell themselves as a coping mechanism to get them through the next 120 days of frigid winter weather. Regardless, buy stock now in companies like Sports Authority, The North Face, and Columbia, because the Taylor family will be singly responsible for their uptick in quarterly sales. Outfitting a family of five from Alabama for the new "normal" will keep these companies and our economy in good shape. One other quick lesson: those discs that kids use these days to slide down snowy hillsides should definitely be restricted to people born after Oct. 13, 1969...just a thought. May God keep you warm (and whole) this Advent season.
