Of Mind & Heart Newsletter: December 2006

An update from Whitworth University President Bill Robinson

It's early Monday morning, and I am totally without focus. My brain is like an iPod, except that it has less memory and I can't turn off the music. Beautiful anthems from the last three nights of our westside Christmas concerts won't let me go. If I didn't have to write, I would enjoy their grip. My favorite anthem is one that unites an exquisite harmony with a text that frightens me: Thou shalt know him when he comes, not by any din of drums, not by his crown, his gown, his air; thou shalt know him when he comes by the holy harmony his coming makes in thee. I'm not great at noticing inner harmony. I need the book Sensing Christ's Presence for Dummies. It's hard enough looking outward and finding a king of gentle manner, clothed in the common. But if we're trying to hear the signals within, what hope do we have amidst the racket of our lives? I met a sweet little baby named Emma this weekend. She liked me, by the way. I promise you that in a noisy, crowded room, her parents would hear her softest coo. They love her so much. They listen so carefully. May this advent be one in which loving and listening trains our ear on the chords awakened by Immanuel, on the "holy harmony his coming makes in thee."

Academics

Whitworth received two honors that show the heart of this community.

• Whitworth Theatre was recently named the recipient of the 2006 City of Spokane Bold Strokes Award, in recognition of its extraordinary achievement in changing the community through art. The Spokane Arts Commission presented the award as part of the city's October celebration of National Arts and Humanities Month. "Employing hearts as well as the minds of those they touch, the Whitworth Theatre Department is truly deserving of the City of Spokane Bold Strokes Award," said Spokane Arts Commissioner Juan Mas during the awards ceremony. What a great tribute!
  
  
• Whitworth was named to the first President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for extraordinary volunteer efforts by the college and its students to serve to serve the community and the nation. Whitworth was one of seven schools in the state to be named to the honor roll and the only Washington school to be recognized for distinguished service in response to Hurricane Katrina.  Schools receiving such recognition provided "exceptional community service over the past year, contributing their time, resources, energy, skills -- and intellect -- to serve America."

Whitworth hosted the Northwest Regional Ethics Bowl on the same Saturday that we hosted the first round of the NCAA Div. III playoffs in football. I'm sure we have really ethical football players and really tough ethics competitors. The interdisciplinary team of Amy Bernard, Alayna Brauer, Peter Burke and Noah Patterson competed against teams from schools in Washington and Montana. The team, coached by Mike Ingram (Communication Studies/Academic Affairs) and Keith Wyma (Philosophy) finished in sixth place. We're very grateful to Spokane Mayor Dennis Hession, who was a judge in the final round.

Christopher Zilar, a health-program specialist with the Spokane Regional Health District, presented a lecture, The Faces of HIV/AIDS in Spokane, on Dec. 5. Zilar addressed questions about AIDS in the Spokane community and discussed the changing numbers and demographics of those infected. But the most important topic he covered was how people can help AIDS victims locally, nationally and internationally. Many of our students are deeply committed to alleviating the horror of this disease.

Whitworth recently received a grant in partnership with The Bonner Foundation, Princeton University, and a group of 18 other academic institutions across the country. The focus of this grant will be to provide support for faculty engaging their students in community-based research. Also, six students from Whitworth's Bonner Leader Program created a week-long initiative, My Town, to challenge racism and work toward racial reconciliation both on campus and within students' home communities.

The School of Global Commerce & Management is offering an international-management emphasis in our MBA program. This concentration also provides the option for our MIM alumni to convert their degrees into MBAs in international management. Interested MIM alums should contact Director Mary Alberts at 509.777.4280 or malberts@whitworth.edu for an assessment of required credits. Also, we're now offering a five-year BA/MBA program so that we can be efficient in meeting students' needs and requirements. Applicants completing their undergraduate work with a minimum 3.75 GPA will not be required to sit for the GMAT exam. We feel this combined program will be especially attractive to international students mapping out their U.S. study plans.

Faculty have been busy sharing their scholarly work with regional, national and international colleagues. A few recent conference presentations include:

Margie LaShaw (SGCM), The State of Financial Reporting among Eastern Washington Churches, to the Christian Business Faculty Association; Margo Long (Education), Gifted 101: Getting Started in Gifted Education, to the National Association for Gifted Children; Deanna Ojennus (Chemistry), Protein Crystallization: A Multi-Week Biochemistry Lab Project with Minimal Classroom Time Constraints, to the Washington College Chemistry Teachers Association.

In this same category, I had an interesting opportunity a couple of days ago. I spent an hour talking with the Washington State Senate Democratic Caucus about leadership. The examples of grace and truth provided by Lincoln and Jesus seemed to ring true to these officials. I'm very appreciative to Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown for this opportunity. (Also, after bragging about higher education in Spokane, I couldn't resist pointing out one difference between Whitworth and Gonzaga was that our men's basketball team had a better record than the powerhouse Bulldogs. I left out the part about the schedule differences. Go, Bucs; go, Zags.)

The Christmas Festival Concert, From Out of Darkness, We Have Light, is absolutely beautiful. Featuring the choir and the women's choir, as well as accompaniment by brass, wind and percussion, the concert reminds us of God's transforming light and love. Under the superb direction of Marc A. Hafso, professor of music and director of choral activities, the program offers narration, processionals, choral and instrumental works, and great congregational carols. Debbie Hansen, associate director of choral activities, directs the women's choir, and Diana Trotter, associate professor of theatre, serves as narrator. I'm excited to hear three more performances of the concert this week in Spokane.

Enrollment

Our freshman early-action-admission-application deadline has passed, and the numbers are well ahead of last year's record-breaking levels. The staff is in the process of evaluating a ton of applications. Admission status notifications for those applicants with completed files will be sent out before Christmas.

Parents should watch their mailboxes after the start of the new year. The financial-aid office will be sending out a newsletter to keep parents up to date on the changing world of financial aid. Current students can apply for 2007-08 endowed scholarships by going to our website, www.whitworth.edu.

Student Life

November was wild before, after and even during Thanksgiving break. The Warren Peace annual benefit concert was a hit, as was Midnight Madness, which previews the basketball teams and provides Fieldhouse Fanatic shirts for all the fans. Our inaugural Cultural Awareness Week, led by Cultural Events Coordinator Delia Orosco, was great, with rich contributions from the Black Student Union, the Gospel Choir, the International Club, Unity in Action, and a bunch of others. Speakers, performers, group discussions and general cultural education culminated with the always-fabulous international banquet. The month ended with students donning their Pirate attire to cheer on Whitworth football through rain, sleet, sun and snow -- all of which showed up. I always marvel at the vibrancy of students at Whitworth. Yesterday afternoon, Bonnie and I hosted our Christmas reception in the HUB. Hundreds of students (maybe millions) filled the room with joy. I developed carpal tunnel wassail syndrome and wassail elbow working the punchbowl while liberal-arts students showed off their engineering skills assembling plates of food that defied all center-of-gravity laws.

Resources

We gathered recently for a lovely commemoration of longtime Whitworth donor Geraldine Tyler. Gerry and her late husband, Lowell, began supporting Whitworth through The Whitworth Foundation in 1985. Over the years they established numerous trusts and annuities. Because of their love for the college and our students, the Tylers named Whitworth the ultimate beneficiary of their philanthropy. These fine people left a lasting legacy with their gifts of nearly $4 million. The Lowell and Geraldine Tyler Student Loan Fund and the Lowell and Geraldine Tyler Endowed Scholarship will provide assistance to Whitworth students for years to come. We would far rather have the Tylers with us, gracing our campus and our lives, but we will remember them appreciatively every time a student is able to afford Whitworth because of their generosity.

In December we cheer for The Whitworth Fund as heartily as we cheer for our athletics teams. We're doing well so far this year, but I've never seen a good year with a bad December. The last two weeks have been unseasonably cold, and the impact that has on our utility bills makes our flexible income even more important. Having said that, huge thanks to all of you who sent gifts in response to the last Of Mind & Heart. You're great! Visit www.whitworth.edu/give for more details or to make an online gift or pledge. For those of you who traditionally make a year-end gift, please remember that our last business day this year is Friday, Dec. 29. Thanks.

Athletics

The 100th season of Whitworth football ended as the college's "winningest" season ever, with the Bucs finishing 11-1 and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Div. III playoffs. The team finished the regular season with a perfect 10-0 record, won the Northwest Conference title, and grabbed Whitworth's first postseason football victory. The Pirates received lavish conference recognition: John Tully is NWC Coach of the Year; quarterback Joel Clark is NWC Offensive Player of the Year; and linebacker Casey Clifton is NWC Defensive Player of the Year. Offensive Tackle Steve Honeyman is a CoSIDA Academic All-American, and tight end Michael Allan (who received a coveted invitation to play in the Hula Bowl) is an AFCA All-American for the second consecutive season.

Julie Lauterbach concluded her stellar cross-country career by finishing 65th of 279 finishers at the NCAA DIII Championships. Julie ran barefoot to compensate for the mud buildup at Voice of America Park, in Ohio. This was her second straight year as an individual qualifier for the national championships.

The Whitworth swimming teams have begun their conference dual-meet seasons with 3-0 records. The men have been led by David Dolphay, Bryan Clarke and Josh McDowell. The women have gotten strong performances from Samantha Kephart, Katelyn Erickson, Brittany Gresset and freshman Natalie Turner. Many of Whitworth's swimmers will compete against top-level college competition this weekend at the University of Washington Husky Invitational.

Men's basketball is doing its best to follow in the footsteps of its gridiron brothers.The Pirates are 9-0 and ranked eighth in the first regular-season Div. III Top 25 poll. The Bucs earned their first six wins while traveling 9,300 miles and missing only three days of classes. Whitworth won the Wheaton (Ill.) Lee Pfund Classic during opening weekend, then flew to Maui, Hawaii, for the US Bank-Whitworth Maui Classic. After winning that tournament, they went to L.A. and handled Whittier and Caltech before heading home and beginning the season with a couple of conference wins. Along the way, Head Coach Jim Hayford followed in the footsteps of Dick Kamm and Warren Friedrichs and became Whitworth's third men's basketball coach to surpass 100 wins.

The Pirate women's basketball team is surprising everyone, remaining undefeated after its pre-season contests and the NWC's opening weekend. Included in the women's win total is a victory over a very talented Montana Tech team that had put a scare into Div. I Montana State in an earlier exhibition game. Freshman forward Natalie Orrell has been the team's leading scorer early this season, while sophomore center Susan McDaniel has provided an inside presence the Pirates did not have last year. Head Coach Helen Higgs is closing in on her 200th victory leading the Pirates; she could reach that milestone this season.

Alumni

Saturday, Jan. 13, will be our annual Alumni Night at the Fieldhouse with free admission for alumni families, as well as a raffle and refreshments. The Bucs will play PLU. We will also have free admission for alumni on Feb. 2-3.

Miscellaneous

From the Weyerhaeuser Center for Christian Faith & Learning:

Sign up now for the Certificate in Leadership and Church Management Program, to take place at Marine View Presbyterian Church, in Tacoma, once  a month from Feb. 16-May 19. The program helps pastors gain greater insight and understanding into what it means to lead and manage a congregation and/or Christian organization. The Certificate in Teaching the Bible Program provides pastors, Sunday-school teachers and lay ministry leaders greater insight into using the Bible more effectively with children, youth and adults. Participants meet every other week (at Whitworth) from Feb. 1-May 10.

The Whitworth Preaching Clinic (Feb. 8-May 17, every other week, at Whitworth) offers an opportunity for pastors to come together with peers for the purpose of sharpening preaching skills in a safe and supportive environment. There'll be discussion of the art and dynamics of good preaching, and participants will work at strengthening and honing preaching skills. For more information on any of these programs, check out our website at www.whitworth.edu/faithcenter.

Closing Thoughts

It goes without saying that Whitworth's 100th football season provided immense excitement for the campus and community. In the middle of the picture we find a collection of players, coaches and staff who assembled a storybook season. Less noticeable is the very cool stuff around the edges: A referee called Athletics Director Scott McQuilkin, '84, to compliment the players and coaches on the way they conducted themselves in one very close game. On a flight the morning after our first NCAA tournament game, an Occidental parent noticed my Whitworth gear and said, "Whitworth has the classiest fans of any team we played."  And I received an e-mail from a sports journalist who mentioned how much he enjoys his occasional departures from Div. I sports to cover Whitworth. "I have decided there's no such thing as a ‘bad' interview at Whitworth," he wrote. "The students know who they are, they know what they want out of their athletic experience, and, inevitably, they have something else besides athletics in their lives that makes them interesting and fun."  Yes, they do. And we're grateful to all of you who participate in the enrichment of these students. You're making a great investment.