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President's Letter

February 2010

Dear Whitworth friends,

I can't remember if I have ever written you a pure fund-raising letter. I probably have, but I don't often. Well, I’m sending one of those letters now because Whitworth has embarked on a crucial project.

For at least a century, Whitworth has been committed to the sciences as essential to an excellent liberal arts education. We have begun construction on a new Biology/Chemistry Building that renews this commitment and solidifies the university's position as one of the best Christian liberal arts schools in the country. There are three driving reasons why we have taken this bold step:

• First, more than ever, science represents an indispensible component of a strong liberal arts education. The best colleges have excellent science programs. Whitworth is certainly in that group, but we have outgrown our facilities, both in the quality of our teaching/research and in the sheer space needed.
  
  
• Second, the number of science majors has doubled in the past 10 years without adding any more classrooms or laboratories. In that same time, most of our "crossover" application schools have added new science facilities. In the last several years, we have seen a decline in the percentage of admitted, incoming biology and chemistry majors. Our lack of physical resources has put us in a weak competitive position.
  
  
• Third, strong student-faculty relationships are central to our educational mission. In the sciences, opportunities for faculty-student interaction are best achieved through collaborative research. This new facility significantly expands the quality and extent of research space that will be available for our students and professors.

Ben Spaun, '08, and Ashley Gibbs, '07, are enrolled in Harvard University's doctoral programs in physics and biophysics, respectively. Both were awarded competitive full fellowships from Harvard after turning down matching offers from Yale. Ben and Ashley are the latest in a long line of scientists, doctors, teachers, engineers and researchers who are using their Whitworth science and math degrees to advance the frontiers of knowledge and to tackle some of the world's most challenging problems. Equipped to embrace curiosity and Christian conviction as complementary rather than competing values, Whitworth alumni are needed more than ever to address ethical issues where science, faith and public policy intersect.

The Biology/ Chemistry Building currently under construction is one of the most important projects in Whitworth's 120-year history. At its completion, we expect to turn our attention to an addition and renovation of the Johnston Science Center to provide improved space for physics, math and computer science, and health science. In the 17 months left until the new building opens its doors to students, we are still working to complete funding for the project. With a price tag of nearly $32 million, this is the most expensive facility ever constructed at Whitworth, and we have currently identified a combination of debt and gifts that leaves more than $4 million to be secured. When we reach that goal, additional gifts can reduce the amount of debt required for the project.

Rarely has a single project been so vitally important to Whitworth University and to the larger community. This facility is not just important... it is urgent. I hope you will take a few moments to consider the role you might play in helping underwrite this new building. Supporting Whitworth's new Biology/Chemistry Building is an investment in a better future for Whitworth students and the world they will serve. We will follow up in the next several months with regard to specific giving opportunities. For now, there are many more project details, videos and a webcam of the construction at www.whitworth.edu/supportingthesciences.

In the Whitworth spirit,

Bill Robinson
President