Of Mind & Heart Newsletter: April 1997

An update from Whitworth University President Bill Robinson

It is early Tuesday morning and I have just completed one of the few routines in my life. Each morning that I'm home, I call my mother in Chicago, then shoot a two- or three-sentence report on how she's doing to relatives on five continents. The whole process takes no more than 15 minutes. In the past five years, technology has totally transformed the way our world moves information. As you might expect, Whitworth has been profoundly affected by this new world of ready information. I thought you might enjoy a special look at the electronic avalanche on our campus. Before moving to the razzle-dazzle of electronic life, let me say that I hope the Easter season was a spiritually rich time for you. On campus, Holy Week provided many opportunities for contemplation, confession and celebration. Bonnie and I feel it might have been one of the best Holy Weeks we have experienced. Please accept our warmest wishes as you enter into the glories of springtime.

Academics

We are excited to learn what Lindaman Chair Susan Bratton's research project on fire ecology will teach us. She and the 14 students enrolled in her course have been funded by the Campus Compact to study the ecological effects of fire.

The Whitworth Choir's home concert was magnificent. The First Presbyterian Church of Spokane was bursting at the seams, not only from the audience, but from the fullness of the music, presented with beauty and authenticity. Thanks to Debbie Hansen for doing an excellent job this year as interim choir director.

Our new faculty president is Mike Ingram. Mike, a professor in our Department of Communication Studies, holds scholarly interests in the area of oral communication. I also want you to know that we have been blessed the past two years with Political Studies Professor John Yoder's leadership as faculty president. John has been enormously helpful to me and to the faculty in providing leadership on a number of issues. Thanks to John for a superb job.

Gordon Wilson, associate professor of art, recently had 12 artworks juried into "Christian Art in the 1990s," an international selection on CD-ROM. Additionally, four of his pieces were selected for a BBC program on Christian artists to be aired this spring.

This year's Staley Lecturer was Christian contemporary singer Kenny Marks. Feedback from the students was great, and Dean of the Chapel Terry McGonigal reported that many students had spiritual nerves touched by Kenny's music and thoughts. On a personal note, Kenny is a close friend of ours whom we hadn't seen in 15 years, so it was a fun reunion for us.

On April 24-27, Whitworth College Theatre will perform Arsenic and Old Lace. Please call (509) 466-3225 if you'd like to purchase tickets. It should be a great performance.

For those of you alumni who have found yourselves muttering that youth is wasted on the young, we have a great way for you to go back to college. The famed Core 250 study tour to Europe is now available to you from June 19 - July 5, 1998. Philosophy Professor Forrest Baird, along with Joy Baird, will trace the development of Western philosophy on a trip through Pompeii, Rome, Florence, Paris and London. All travel costs, lodging, entry fees and at least one meal per day (often two) will be covered by the $2,950 per-person fee. Space is restricted to approximately 30 people and we are certain this tour will fill up quickly. Please call our alumni director, Tad Wisenor, if you are interested in participating. We will send you an information packet when we hear from you. The Alumni Office can be reached at (509) 466-3799, or 1-800-532-4668, or e-mail Tad at twisenor@whitworth.edu.

Enrollment

Our Financial Aid Office staffers have been working feverishly. They have already sent out more than 1,000 award packages to new freshmen and will be distributing financial aid packages to returning students in May. One improvement this year is that the federal loans, both Stafford and Plus, will be disbursed electronically, making it unnecessary to sign checks over to an account. Please call the Financial Aid Office at (509) 466-3215 if you have questions.

As of April 15, our number of freshman applications is down 3 percent (1,431 vs. 1,486). Freshman acceptances are up 3 percent (1,260 vs. 1,225), and freshman deposits are up 4 percent (190 vs. 182). The quality of this year's freshman applicants is extraordinary, with 97 valedictorians in the pool. Because we have found a relationship between the quality of students and the number of schools to which they apply, we still aren't certain what the fall yield will be. STUDENT LIFE

Student government elections came to a close with a new set of ASWC officers. Robin Kolb,'98, will serve as president, Selby Hansen, '99, will serve as executive vice president, and Jason Morgan, '99, will serve as financial vice president. Congratulations to these three, and thanks to all our students for a good voter turnout. April has been jammed with student activities:

• The senior class hosted an entertaining talent show, which served as a fund-raiser for their class gift. The seniors have commissioned Art Professor Spike Grosvenor to fashion a stained-glass window for our Campus Center.
• The 17th annual Hawaiian Luau has been acclaimed as the best ever. On April 12, a sellout crowd of more than 1,000 people enjoyed an exquisite Hawaiian dinner and a never-to-be-forgotten show. I have to say that I'm always a bit nervous during Kanani Wong's flaming torches act, but this year my anxiety rose a couple of octaves as he dragged me out into the performing area to participate. As the torches drew close to my head, all I could think about was my combustible hair tonic turning my head into a ball of flames - with my few remaining hairs, which I ask to do so much, being consumed by the fire. Fortunately, I enjoyed the same fate as Shadrach, Meshach and bednego.
• The Faculty Appreciation Day reception is scheduled for April 18, followed by "Warren Peace," an outdoor Christian band concert.
• On April 19, students will be white-water rafting in Leavenworth before going to the Coeur d'Alene Resort for the annual spring formal.
• On April 26, the annual "Fund Run" will generate support for Hospice of Spokane, an organization working with the terminally ill in our community. On May 3, just prior to Bloomsday, the students host their annual Springfest downtown at Riverfront Park, with proceeds also going to Hospice.

Athletics

Halfway into the 1997 season, our baseball team is in second place in the NCIC. The Bucs took two of three from UPS a week ago, then got thumped by Gonzaga 17-3 (and we hate to get thumped by Gonzaga). The 6-2 Pirates return to action this week against Whitman and Pacific. Jason Francek and Sam Chimienti are really pounding the ball, and the Bucs look strong for the postseason.

The track and field team has two qualifiers for NAIA nationals. Trina Gumm, who won the national championship in the javelin throw as a freshman in 1995, has qualified to compete in that event again this year. And Betsy Slemp will compete at nationals in the hammer throw after a fine season of hurling the hardware. The Bucs recently finished second to defending NCIC champion Linfield in a meet held here at Boppell Field, so things are looking good for rookie Head Coach Toby Schwarz and his crew.

The women's tennis team is playing well. The women won two of three NCIC matches last weekend, defeating Whitman and Pacific and losing, for the first time this conference season, to PLU. The women now stand at 8-1 in conference, 12-4 overall. They head into the NCIC tournament this weekend in excellent shape. Joelle Staudinger, Lisa Peterson, Tara Bonelli and Lisa Benscheidt were standouts in last weekend's matches.

Men's tennis is catching up after a slow start. The Pirate men (2-6 in NCIC, 5-9 overall) also took two of three matches last week, beating Community Colleges of Spokane and Linfield before losing to a talented Willamette team. Yosef Durr, Mark Bradford, Alan Mikkelson, Rhad Brown and Scott Spooner paced the men. The Bucs travel to Forest Grove, Ore., this weekend for the NCIC tournament.

We are pleased to announce that the eighth annual Wendle Ford-Nissan-Isuzu Pirate Golf Classic will be held Friday, May 30, at the Spokane Country Club. The club has graciously given us the afternoon to play this year, which will allow us to host a prime rib dinner after golf. We have some great new prizes. Please contact Athletics Department Secretary Susan Meyer at (509) 466-3224 if you're interested in participating. Incidentally, for all you would-be Tiger Woodses out there, don't get your hopes up for the longest-drive prize. I have a new driver and have been launching monster missiles. Actually, this newfound length has enabled me to be as many as four fairways off target, so Athletics Director Scott McQuilkin has suggested that we distribute hard hats instead of baseball caps for this year's outing.

Finances

Our thanks go out to the many of you who have faithfully supported the Whitworth Annual Fund. We will soon be sending out a reminder for those of you who would like to make a fiscal-year-end contribution to the Annual Fund. The last couple of years have seen both May and June lagging behind their historical averages. We hope that this year we will reverse that trend.

Several readers of Mind and Heart have encouraged me to include suggestions for donors in all of the issues, not simply when we have an ice storm; so from now on I'll include a short list each month of stuff we need. The area I'll focus on this month will be the football/soccer field. According to the Jacklin Seed Company's agronomists, in order to get rid of our drainage problems we need two National three-plex mowers, one Toro top-dresser model, one vertical drain airfire, one Ryan Reavair aerator, and one 60-horsepower diesel tractor with a creeper gear. I have no idea what any of this is, although I do recognize the word "mower." If you can give us leads on used equipment, or if you'd like to help us purchase any of this new equipment, it would be great to hear from you.

Miscellaneous

We will welcome the classes of 1950-54 for a cluster reunion June 13-15. Luxury accommodations in Warren Hall, sumptuous cuisine from Whitworth's Marriott Food Service, a cruise on Lake Coeur d'Alene, dynamic presentations from several of us employees, and an opportunity to find out that you are the only one in your class who hasn't aged should make for a great weekend. We look forward to seeing you.

Dates to Remember

May 12-16 Finals Week
May 17 Heritage Day for Class of 1947 and 50+ alumni
Senior Reflections, 8 p.m., Cowles Auditorium
May 18 Baccalaureate, 9:30 a.m., Cowles Auditorium
Commencement, 2 p.m., Spokane Opera House
June 13-15 Classes of 1950-54 Cluster Reunion
June 27-29 Classes of 1971-73 Cluster Reunion

Closing Thoughts

Life at Whitworth is full these days. I hope all of us will be graced with life-brightening May flowers. God's best to you.