Of Mind & Heart Newsletter: January 2002
An update from Whitworth University President Bill Robinson
2002. I'm ready for it. The new year always seems to renew my hope levels. Although 2001 brought many blessings to Whitworth, it was a cruel year for so many people all over the world. It's very hard for me to know how to lead our students right now. I want them filled with joy and thankful for the grace of God (or the dumb luck, depending on their worldview) that has landed them in their stations of privilege. I also want them to be horrified by the hunger and strife grinding down so many souls that wound up being born in the wrong places on this planet. When I don't know how to lead, it's a good time to be led. Tonight I walked through the dining hall for the first time since the students returned (I've been in Utah, Oklahoma and Seattle in the past week). Their optimism was infectious. Somehow they seem to have a picture of reality that unites exuberance and concern. They are often my tutors in matters of the heart, especially in their first few post-hibernation days before sleep deprivation sets in again. I pray that this will be a great year for all of you. I wish I knew how to communicate the strength and stability that your support has added to Whitworth. I am very thankful to God that you are among the people who care about our mission of mind and heart.
Academics
It was a joy to welcome our former academic vice president, Darrell Guder, back to campus as a guest lecturer. Darrell, who was at Whitworth from 1985 to 1992, is now a professor of missional and ecumenical theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. He was also very helpful to me nine years ago when I was considering a move to Whitworth. While here, Darrell spoke compellingly of the need for the Christian church to focus more clearly than ever on its gospel mission. In addition to that presentation, Darrell and Craig Van Gelder, of Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minn., spoke to pastors and members of the public as part of a program sponsored by the Weyerhaeuser Center for Christian Faith and Learning.
Academic Vice President Tammy Reid has appointed Rick Hornor, '70 (Theatre), as acting associate dean during spring semester while Gordon Jackson is away teaching for the University of Pittsburgh's Semester at Sea program. Rick is a great actor, but acting as an acting dean is a tough challenge - and I don't know if I can handle a Shakespearean dramatization of a course change, but we'll probably get one. We really appreciate Rick's willingness to step in (with flair) for Gordon. He'll do a great job.
Through the efforts of Richard Stevens (Physics), we have been granted $50,000from the Carl M. Hansen Foundation to begin work on a web-accessible telescope and dome for the science building's observation ring. We still need funding, but we are well on our way to finally having a dome on the building's roof. This telescope will allow viewing in the daylight and can be reached via the web so that high schools in the area can access the telescope from their classrooms. I heard yesterday that an asteroid capable of blowing a France-size hole in the planet recently came within 540,000 miles of Earth. I hope that this telescope can give us enough advance warning to duck if another one of those comes our way.
Barb Sanders (Education) will serve as the project director for a $40,537 grant from the Washington State Office of the Superintendent for Public Instruction for a project titled Simultaneous Renewal of Math and Science Education. This effort, an extension of last year's work with the Goodlad Institute, is a collaborative effort by our School of Education, the Mead School District, and Saint George's School, and is certain to enrich both our teacher-education program and the schools.
In November I mentioned our decision to cancel some of our international Jan Term classes because of the terrorist activities. Here are some of the classes that did take place: Forrest Baird (Philosophy) has a group of students in Greece, where he will unabashedly anoint Plato as the greatest philosopher who ever lived, which he was "for about 15 years before Aristotle dethroned him" (The World According to Leonard Oakland). Craig Tsuchida (Biology) is studying the tide pools of the Puget Sound in a marine ecology course. And Carol Smucker is hosting a class in French language and culture on the shores of Guadeloupe. I have also gotten regular reports from our son, Ben, who's on the Central America study tour, where 25 of our students will study for the next five months. The students are having a great experience one week into the trip. And, evidently, the tutors there are pretty good sports about unintentional propositions uttered in twisted Spanish. Eek.
The design work is just about complete for Weyerhaeuser Hall, our new academic building. It will provide classroom seating, including a 230-seat teaching theatre, for nearly 600 students, and will be the home of our School of Global Commerce and Management and our sociology and politics/history faculties. It will also house the Weyerhaeuser Center for Christian Faith and Learning and a proposed regional resource center, which will enable our faculty and students to focus on the serious issues of poverty in the Spokane region. I love the fact that the center for thinking about faith is right next to the center for doing about faith. How Whitworth!
Last month, Frank Caccavo (Biology) led a group of 11 of our science students to an undergraduate research conference funded by the Murdock Charitable Trust. The conference gave our students a chance to present their work as well as to gain exposure to good research done by their peers. Students who attended were David Clark, Kiara Cromer, Timothy Etters, Kathleen Fischer, Jeremy Garbat, Pam Johnson, Aaron Kangas, Steven Kollmansberger, Ben McDonald, Charles Shawley, and Aleksey Ustyugov.
Enrollment
Last Saturday I had a chance to chat with a group of high-school students and parents in Oklahoma City. I love listening to myself brag about Whitworth. Unfortunately, nobody else does, which is why I seldom get to do admissions work. Our Admissions Office must be doing a better job than I, because our applications are up by more than 20 percent again this year.
Campus Close-Up for high-school seniors and their parents is Feb. 17-18. Online registration is available on our website (www.whitworth.edu) in the prospective-student section. This is a very important weekend for those students trying to sort out their college decisions.
Parents, the 2002-2003 renewal FAFSA applications have been sent out from the Department of Education to continuing students. Families can submit the application either electronically or by hard copy. To apply electronically, go to www.fafsa.ed.gov. Our priority deadline for students wanting financial aid for summer is March 1. For all other students renewing their federal or need-based financial aid, the deadline is May 1. Also, January begins the application cycle for most special-application scholarships. Scholarship announcements are posted on the financial aid bulletin board in McEachran Hall, in department offices around campus for those scholarships designed for a specific major, and on our website. Students are welcome to browse these areas for scholarship information. For a free web-based scholarship search, students can also go to www.fastweb.com.
Student Life
Right now we have no snow on the ground in Spokane and NINE FEET in the mountains. This is heaven. This also has a huge influence on student life. When students aren't skiing they can participate in ice skating in Riverfront Park, cheer for our basketball and swim teams, sit in hot tubs that Outdoor Rec has rented for the Loop, pound down ice cream at the social following the Jan. 12 basketball games, attend a "pre-meet meat eat" (barbecue) before the Jan. 18 swim meet, and go on a skiing or backpacking trip to Canada at the conclusion of Jan Term. In addition to all these fun activities, there are many service and educational opportunities that our students will enjoy. One of my favorites is the annual Martin Luther King Day celebration and march in downtown Spokane.
ASWC will host a town hall meeting for all students, staff and faculty to discuss the implications of a poll that is going out this month from ASWC soliciting information about what the community at Whitworth is really like and asking how we can make this into the best living and learning environment possible.
Resources
Thanks so much for your gifts in December. We don't have the final tally as I write, but our sense is that you made it a really strong month for us and we're back on track. Our Institutional Advancement Office generates a gift report that I always read, looking at each name with a grateful heart. Thank you so much.
The other cause for celebration related to your support is that we have reached our $50-million Faith in the Future Campaign goal. Stacey Kamm Smith, '86, our associate vice president for institutional advancement, directed this effort internally, and she's beaming. The only furrow in her brow is caused by the fact that, with only six months left in the campaign, some projects still aren't funded. The big one is Weyerhaeuser Hall, for which we still need $3 million. A perfect conclusion to the campaign would be for these funds to come in from alumni and friends who have not been a part of Whitworth's financial support base. Thanks again to all of you for everything you do for Whitworth.
Athletics
Looking back on 2001, we see the best year ever in Whitworth athletics history. Great athletes led by great coaches equals great results. After going two school years without a Northwest Conference title, Whitworth won six championships - men's swimming, men's and women's track & field, men's soccer, and volleyball and football. Whitworth also picked up six coach of the year awards - Tom Dodd (swimming), two for Toby Schwarz (men's and women's track & field), Sean Bushey (men's soccer), Steve Rupe (volleyball) and John Tully (football). Two nights ago Father Bob Spitzer, a dear friend of ours and the president of Gonzaga University, was over for Bonnie's chicken soup and a few Brahms selections, which he said lifted him to heaven (must be a Jesuit shortcut). As the three of us finished our soup, Bob and I concluded that the rise in Whitworth athletics and the amazing success that Gonzaga has experienced in basketball are the results of one thing: presidential leadership. Right.
The Whitworth women's hoops team steadfastly rejects the term "rebuilding," even though they're pretty young (eight of the 12 are freshmen or sophomores). The women are 8-4 overall and 3-0 in the NWC for the first time ever. All three of those conference wins have come on the road. This past weekend the Bucs picked up key victories at Lewis & Clark (66-52) and Willamette (67-59). While senior guard Erica Ewart and junior post Chrissy Oneal have proven to be the backbone of the team, the Pirates have gotten tremendous contributions from freshmen Tiffany Speer, Sarah Shogren and Dani Bielec. And in addition to everything else this season, Head Coach Helen Higgs has become not only the winningest women's basketball coach in Whitworth history, but the first one to reach 100 career victories (she's now at 104 and counting).
On Jan. 2, the men's basketball team took on NCAA Div. I powerhouse University of Utah. It was great of famed Utah coach Rick Majerus to schedule the game with Whitworth Head Coach Jim Hayford (who's also Majerus' friend). But things didn't go according to Utah's script. Several of us were at the game, and a quote from the next morning's Salt Lake Tribune said it all: "The Division III school from Spokane, Wash., was supposed to take home a nice paycheck and a loss to Utah. Apparently, the word never traveled north. Outmanned and undersized, Whitworth threw a major scare at the Utes, who managed to escape with a lackluster 63-57 win." David out-rebounded Goliath 32-21 and Gunner Olsen was the player of the game, leading all players with 22 points, including four second-half dunks. Two nights later, the Bucs dominated pre-season NWC favorite Lewis & Clark on the way to an 86-72 win in Portland. While Whitworth lost the next night at NWC-leading Willamette, the tired Pirates (playing their third tough game in four nights) fought hard, losing 63-60. Sophomore forward Bryan Depew continues to lead the team in scoring and rebounding, while junior guards Chase Williams and Eric Avery come through with big baskets when we need them. The 8-4 Bucs return to conference play at 1-2, but they have a great chance to win the conference since they've already played their three toughest opponents on the road.
Our swim teams haven't had a meet since I last wrote, but they've trained hard (approximately 120,000 collective meters in nine days), and they have some huge meets coming up. I'll give you the full rundown next month.
Alumni
During Spring Break, from March 16-23, the award-winning Whitworth wind and jazz ensembles will perform on tour in Oregon, California, Reno and Boise. Details are still being nailed down, but specific venues will be listed in the alumni calendar on the college website within the next few weeks.
Good things come in twos. On 2/2/02, enjoy two teams, two games, two scoops, and twice as much Pirate action for the same great price: FREE. Our annual Alumni Night at the Fieldhouse will feature the Pirate basketball teams against Lewis & Clark at 6 and 8 p.m., with an ice cream social to follow.
This year's Whitworth Institute of Ministry, July 15-19, will have as its theme Evangelism in the 21st Century. Featured speakers include Jim Singleton, senior pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Texas (and current Whitworth trustee); Rosalee Potter, associate director of evangelism and church development, National Ministries Division, PCUSA; and Darrell Guder, Henry Winters Luce Professor of Missional and Ecumenical Theology, Princeton Theological Seminary. For information, write the Whitworth Institute of Ministry, MS 1501, 300 W. Hawthorne Rd., Spokane, WA 99251; e-mail mpace@whitworth.edu; or call (509) 777-3275.
Closing Thoughts
Thanks again for your interest and support throughout 2001. I've thought a lot lately about the first words from the angels after they proclaimed "Glory to God," heralding to the shepherds Christ's blessed birth. "Peace on earth" seems to be high on the list of what Christ would bring to us if we would receive it. I think we underestimate the importance that God places on peace and unity. What God proclaims, God enables. So I hope this year we will all draw upon the peace that God made available through the Christ child. Have an absolutely great and peace-filled 2002.
