Of Mind & Heart Newsletter: May 2010

An update from Whitworth University President Bill Robinson

On May 16, we closed the book on Whitworth's 120th academic year. It was a fulfilling and eventful year, ending with a Commencement Weekend that could not have been more beautiful. Families from around the world gathered to celebrate the accomplishments of their students. The weekend began as it always does, with Friday's very moving senior communion and commissioning service. The Graduate Commencement on Saturday included the first graduates of our new Master of Arts in Theology Program. I had to miss Senior Reflections this year (for the first time), but I heard it was great. On Sunday, the Rev. Brenna Robinson Stanfield, '00, gave a Baccalaureate sermon on expectations, using the mother-son relationship between Mary and Jesus as the basis of her remarks. And, of course, Sunday afternoon's graduation was grand. This year I gave both the graduate and undergraduate commencement addresses. If you're interested, they can be found in a link on the president's page, www.whitworth.edu/president. And speaking of that page, the most exciting news since my last M&H is that the president's page is getting a new picture. I suspect you have heard by now that Beck Taylor has been named Whitworth's 18th president (www.whitworth.edu/presidentialannouncement). Bonnie and I are elated with all that Beck and Julie Taylor bring to the presidency. Beck is ideally suited to lead us in pursuing the goals of our strategic plan. I hope you will read about his impressive background and character. And I am very confident you will embrace the Taylors with the same warmth you've lavished on the Robinsons.

Academics

The Whitworthian captured what can only be described as the national championship of non-daily student newspapers. After earning seven awards at the 2009 Region 10 Mark of Excellence Awards, The Whitworthian took first place for Best All-Around Non-Daily Student Newspaper in the nation, and www.thewhitworthian.com received first place for Best Affiliated Website. More than 3,600 entries for work produced during the 2009 calendar year were submitted from around the country to the national competition. Next year's editor-in-chief, Jerod Jarvis, '11, received first place in the category of Online Opinion and Commentary. Morgan Feddes, 2009-10 editor-in-chief, said, "This national recognition is the culmination of effort from both this year's and last year's staff, and it's great to see our work rewarded." We extend huge congratulations to Morgan and the staff.

An updated version of Dale Soden's illustrated history of Whitworth, An Enduring Venture of Mind & Heart, is available in the Whitworth bookstore (www.whitworth.edu/bookstore or 509.777.3277). The new edition includes 80 additional pages and more than 150 new photographs covering the 20 years since the centennial edition was published. Dale is a great history writer. My brother, whose field is historical theology, read this new edition and said, "While many histories of institutions are like autopsies, I think Dale has done a particularly fine job of capturing the life of Whitworth over the years. If you read the text you can in a sense live vicariously through the decades."

Sean McGuire, '10, a double major in mathematics and physics, has received a full-tuition graduate scholarship and a stipend to conduct research in the Lasers and Applied Physics doctorate program at Princeton University. The award amounts to $65,000-70,000 per year for up to six years. Sean spent the last three summers conducting research at Whitworth, the University of Michigan, Princeton, and for General Atomics in San Diego. 

In other physics news, Jeff Wheeler, '11, is co-author of the article"Width-Increased Dual-Pump Enhanced Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Spectroscopy (WIDECARS)" published in the Journal of Applied Optics. This article is a result of the work he did last summer with his mentors at NASA Langley Research Center. Also, master's-in-teaching student Alec Olschner, '09, was awarded a Summer at Washington State University Engineering Experiences for Teachers grant. He'll join the WSU staff for a six-week intensive practicum that will provide him with increased engineering background that can be applied in his own classroom.  

Emily McGrady-Beach and Amanda Tufts, both '10, won the Psi Chi Undergraduate Research Award this year with the project "Optimism and Personal Growth Initiative in Abused and Non-Abused Women" presented at the Western Psychological Association. The psychology department boasts three winning students in the past two years. And Amanda, a President's Cup winner this year, is headed to Lewis & Clark College School of Law next fall on a full-ride scholarship. 

Gillian Goodrich and Blair Daly, both '10, have been awarded Fulbright English teaching assistantship grants to teach English as a foreign language in Argentina and Malaysia, respectively. Claire Swinford, '10, was named an alternate to teach English in Belgium. Since 2000, 11 Whitworth students and three Whitworth professors have been selected as Fulbright scholars. 

Whitworth business students won an award at the annual Hogan Business Plan Competition. In the Social Enterprise category, Jessica Morgenthaler, Matt Jeffries, Greg Caster, Nan Schrag and Chelsea Chen took second place for their idea of Side-By-Side Childcare Co-op. Their plan is to develop a cooperative model childcare center in Spokane's West Central Neighborhood. The first-prize winner from another institution featured a one-stop social service facility that included a childcare center, also in West Central. The two teams exchanged cards with plans to combine their efforts to benefit the community. 

Katie Creyts (Art) was selected as one of 43 finalists out of roughly 300 artists from around the globe who submitted their artwork to the E-Merge 2010 Glass Competition. Katie's piece, made with kiln-formed glass, is titled You Could Be Working So Much Harder. Her submission can be viewed through June 19 at the Bullseye Gallery, in Portland.

Scott Kolbo (Art) is exhibiting a series of prints and video projections at the Carr Gallery, in Idaho Falls, through July 4. He will also be collaborating with young people from the community to create a giant interactive comic book story on the walls of the gallery using magnets, dry erase markers, and plenty of imagination.

Enrollment

Last year a slightly lower percentage of deposited students enrolled than we had expected. Because we thought that dip might repeat itself, we felt we had room to admit a few more students for this fall's freshman class. As it turns out, it appears we will have well over 600 freshmen, making the class easily the largest in our history. Fortunately, the additional capacity created by East Hall and the Costa Rica Center, along with strategic scheduling of classes and meals, make it possible to serve them well. Next year will be a great one.

Student Life

April was a dancing month – Arend's annual Green with Envy Dance, the lu'au, the BJ Formal, the Jubilation spring concert, the Ballroom Dance Club's All Tangoed Up in You, and the East Hall Ball. There were also many student-coordinated fund-raising events for local and national charities, including Relay for Life and the Haiti Relief Dinner and Magic Show. The Haiti Relief event was a huge success, raising more than $4,000!

Josh Boyden was elected ASWU president for 2010-11 and will be flanked by V.P. Shannon Eshoff and Financial V.P. Lindy Tep. 

May events went all the way to the finish line. Springfest began the month by going indoors with the theme of "A Pirate's Life for Me." All the proceeds went to Christ's Kitchen. The senior boat cruise on Lake Coeur d'Alene was the following weekend, but the rain drove the cruisers inside, where dancing went well into the night. Finals Week began with the distribution of the yearbook and a party where Bonnie and I signed students' yearbooks.

Resources

Whitworth Fund Fun Fact: Okay, it's not so fun right now. We're behind. We need a monster May and June. I'm not sure why we're off. It's possible that some folks diverted their Whitworth Fund gifts to projects such as the new science building. I don't know the cause, but I know if you can further support this crucial part of our budget it will really help. For several reasons this has been one of the toughest fiscal years I've experienced. I don't want my last word to be "Help!" but neither do I want my last year to be red. Thanks. And thanks for the incredible support you have given over the past 17 years at Whitworth. We've balanced every budget and done almost $100 million in projects. You have been spectacular! 

Speaking of The Whitworth Fund, I had nothing to do with The Top 10 Ways to Honor Bill  (visit www.whitworth.edu/brobchallenge to view the video by Beau Chevassus, '06), but I have to admit that there would be no greater gift to Bonnie and me than to see those alumni from my years as president become monthly givers. (It just occurred to me that I should look at the video before sending this newsletter out to 22,000 people. I'd never seen it, which suggests either I have great confidence in our staff or they're messing with me again. It's pretty funny.)

Athletics

Baseball finished strong, sweeping Whitman, to post a three-win improvement over 2009. Third baseman Landon Scott hit .465 to lead the NWC, and his batting average is the second-highest ever in school history.

During Saturday's doubleheader against Whitman, the 1960 baseball team was recognized on the 50th anniversary of the first national championship in school history. Ten of the 17 players from 1960 attended the reunion. It was great hanging out with this group at the games.

The women's tennis team finished the season 19-5 after a 5-0 loss to Texas-Tyler in the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament. It was the team's second straight trip to the national tournament.

Men's golf returned to the NCAA Division III tournament, shooting 25 strokes better in the second round than the first. But after a rough start they missed the cut for the third round. 

Our women's golf team did very well in its first-ever trip to the NCAA Division III tournament, at a course near Orlando, Fla. The Pirates finished 17th in the final standings. 

Nine Whitworth University student-athletes will compete in the 2010 NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The Bucs hope to make a run at a high team finish. Emmanuel Bofa's time in the 800 still leads the nation, and Jeff Kintner's shot put is the second-best in DIII.

For the third straight year, Whitworth won the NWC's McIlroy-Lewis Trophy for all-around excellence in athletics. The Pirates won nine of 18 available conference championships, aided by outstanding senior athletes Rachel Burns (tennis), Emmanuel Bofa (track & field), Nate Montgomery (basketball), all of whom received the Dennis Spurlock Award for modesty, poise and leadership; and Natalie Turner (swimming), Bryan Olson (soccer), Jeff Kintner (football/track & field), and Cody Stelzer (track & field), named Senior Athletes of the Year by Pirate Athletics.

Alumni & Parents

Bonnie and I are excited to be with many of you dear friends at our Last Gasp Tour events. We'll see you in Bel Air (May 26), Berkeley (May 27), Portland (June 3), and Seattle (June 6). Register online for the event nearest you at www.whitworth.edu/presidentsreceptions. 

Mark your calendars now for Homecoming Weekend, Sept. 24-26, 2010. All alumni are invited to campus for a weekend of fun events, reconnecting with old friends, and the opportunity to meet Whitworth's new president. We'll celebrate 5-year, 10-year and 20-year class reunions, honor our 2010 Alumni Award winners, and welcome members of CoolWhip for a reunion gathering. Up-to-date information on these and other Homecoming events is available online at www.whitworth.edu/homecoming. 

Beck Taylor's Inauguration will be held on campus Oct. 15, in conjunction with the fall board of trustees meeting. There will be an entire week of public activities culminating in the ceremony and a downtown Spokane celebration banquet. As was mine 17 years ago, Beck's goal for the inauguration is to lift up Whitworth more than it is to exalt the new president. You will love the way he elevates our mission above himself. He'll be a good Pirate!

This is the final call for registrations for the June 25-27 Mid-'60s Reunion. Members of the classes of 1963-67 are invited to campus for a wonderful weekend of reconnection. To register online, visitwww.whitworth.edu/mid60s.

Miscellaneous

We hope you'll join us July 12-16 for the 35th annual Whitworth Institute of Ministry, featuring Princeton's Luke Powery (audio clip online), Fuller Seminary's Andy Dearman, and trustees Peter Barnes, Kathy Goodrich and Jim Singleton, as well as Whitworth professors Jim Edwards, '67, and Ben Brody, '97. I'll lead the communion and commissioning service to end the week. You can register at www.whitworth.edu/wim; for more information, contact Toni Sutherland at tsutherland@whitworth.edu or 509.777.4345. 

All Spokane area alumni, parents and friends are invited to join Bonnie and me on June 27 at 2 p.m. in The Loop for an ice cream social. This event will be free of charge, and all are welcome.

Closing Thoughts

Our children came home to Spokane for a lovely and generous farewell celebration put together by Vice President Scott McQuilkin, '84, Associate Director for Donor Relations and Special Events Nancy Rau, '01, and the institutional advancement staff. We felt so honored. We feel more gratitude than we can express for all the people and the tributes. Yesterday our kids returned to their homes in Boise, Cairo, and Nashville. They will not return to the house we've loved as our home for the past 17 years. We'll miss it, but we're not sniveling about it. We would way rather lose a house than a friend, and we're not losing any friends. We are moving 10 minutes from campus. From there, we will be huge absentee cheerleaders, promoting Whitworth behind the scenes and in all the places we travel. I won't be writing any more newsletters, and I'm not sniveling about that, either. So I would like to close my 170th and last Of Mind & Heart with my final words to our graduates: When Jesus, Peter, James and John were on what is known as the Mount of Transfiguration, they heard God's voice saying, "This is my precious son; listen to him."When they came down from the mountain, the first voice they heard was that of a man crying out, "...This is my only son, look at him..." I hope Whitworth never stops hearing those two voices – the voice of God saying listen to my Son, and the voice of people saying look at our needs. It is those two voices that call us to honor God, follow Christ and serve humanity. God bless you.