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Robinson Legacy Bill and Bonnie Robinson lead Whitworth into its 120th year in a position of extraordinary strength. Bill sees the new biology/chemistry building as the project most critical to sustaining Whitworth's academic excellence and positive momentum. In honor of the Robinsons' outstanding leadership and service, the board of trustees has decided to name the new biology/chemistry building William P. and Bonnie V. Robinson Science Hall. IntroductionBen Spaun, '08, and Ashley Gibbs, '07, are enrolled in Harvard University's doctoral program in biophysics. Both were awarded competitive full-ride 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 conviction as complementary rather than competing values, Whitworth alumni are needed more than ever to address issues where science, ethics and public policy intersect.
Whitworth has always been committed to the sciences as essential to an excellent liberal-arts education. The university renews that commitment in its strategic vision for the future, calling for a significant investment in science facilities, state-of-the-art lab equipment, and a research endowment to solidify Whitworth's position as one of the best Christian liberal-arts universities in the country. Bill Robinson understands and articulates Whitworth's distinctive mission in a powerful way that has inspired faculty, staff, alumni and friends to lift the university to new heights. Over the past decade, Whitworth has seen a 518 percent increase in freshman applications; record levels of enrollment and retention; and significant expansion of the endowment and capital facilities. U.S. News consistently ranks Whitworth one of the 10 best regional universities and values in the western U.S.
With a rising academic profile, however, comes increased competition for top students, even as the number of college-aged students is declining nationally. For a tuition-driven institution like Whitworth, high-quality academic facilities are vitally important to maintaining strong enrollment demand and continuing the university's positive trajectory. Nowhere is the need for improved facilities greater than in the sciences. And nowhere is the response more important for Whitworth, the region and beyond.
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