Of Mind & Heart Newsletter: October 1996

An update from Whitworth University President Bill Robinson

Walking away from the blazing colors of campus after a week of perfect weather is excruciating. But I am once again airborne and I have my fingers crossed that the warmth and color will not have departed when I return. I'll be racking up big travel miles this fall as a result of great news from the National Science Foundation. I'll say more about that below. I hope this letter finds you enjoying God's autumn art exhibition. The Mac Hall maples provide a colorful background for the ultimate Frisbee games that fill my window each afternoon, and I am reminded of what a privilege it is to work in such a pretty spot.

Academic Affairs

A couple of weekends ago, several of us saw another sign of the advances in academic technology at Whitworth. As Leonard Oakland, Dale Soden, Bonnie Robinson and I were having coffee in Seattle with 1996 grad Rachel Hornor, we discovered she had beamed up the website set up by Philosophy Professor Forrest Baird for his C.S. Lewis course, and was doing the reading and participating in the bulletin board chats. In like manner, Assistant Professor of Psychology Noel Wescombe has involved David Myers, '64, author of his course textbook, in chat sessions. Within the next few years, we'll have alumni around the world patching into regular Whitworth courses.

The $225,000 Murdock student/faculty research grant, which links students and faculty in significant scientific projects, is underway. Our science faculty and students are excited about the opportunities created by this very generous grant.

Several weeks ago the National Science Foundation called to inform us that our $1.1 million Eric Johnston Science Center renovation proposal would be recommended for funding. Because all NSF grants require institutional matches, the development staff and I have been busy looking for potential donors who could provide funds for the match. We'll find out sometime in November if the NSF recommendations will be funded, and at that time we will let them know how we plan to meet the matching requirement. Not only is an NSF grant of this magnitude a great funding opportunity, but it also reinforces Whitworth's strong reputation in the natural sciences.

Two other academic grants in progress are providing faculty support. A CAPHE grant recently brought Ken Zahorski, from the Office of Faculty Development at St. Norbert's College in Wisconsin, to work with our faculty on their changing roles in a student-centered, high-tech environment. And a Lilly Endowment mentoring grant is helping 14 second- and third-year faculty to develop themselves in ways that are particularly suited to the Whitworth mission.

Thanks to an anonymous donor (a wonderful, relatively new friend of Whitworth), we now have downlink capacity through a satellite dish sitting on the flat roof in the back of the library. Library Director Hans Bynagle reports that uses include foreign language broadcasts for our language classes and video conferences from around the world.

Faculty Development Day this fall will feature author and writing specialist Barbara Walvoord, who has helped us develop our writing-across-the-curriculum program. Several of us received an e-mail from Heather Edberg, '94, now doing graduate work in chemistry at UW, in which she told how this writing program helped her.

The members of our Theatre Department have seen quite a response to the Festival of Christian Drama they initiated last year. Recognizing that the arts exert a powerful influence on culture, and that Christian drama is an important way to portray the love of Christ, Rick Hornor and Diana Trotter have scheduled a second festival for this spring and are receiving perusal scripts from around the country. Send Diana or Rick a note at mail station #0305 if you have questions to ask or support to give.

Admissions & Enrollment

Our annual Sneak Preview took place last weekend. We hosted approximately 150 high school seniors for a two-day schedule of typical college activities. This is a very good program, with a high percentage of participants enrolling at Whitworth in the fall term following their visit.

For the fifth consecutive year, our freshman-to-sophomore retention rate rose. This year checked in at almost 83 percent, which is considered quite good. Finances and academic difficulty continue to be the major reasons students do not return. As the freshman academic profile has risen, our return rate has climbed along with it. A big article in The Spokesman-Review pointed out the challenges that costs are creating at Whitworth, Gonzaga and EWU, but presented our retention record very favorably.

A task force on improving our admittance-to-enrollment yield has met four times, and we are ready to consider recommended changes. Examining admissions, registration, and financial aid data has been very interesting. As we move toward specific program alterations, we will be guided by the following assumptions: 1) We will have to work harder and more strategically with our accepted students; 2) We must use our financial aid investments where they will yield the greatest returns; 3) We need to find a way to increase the total number of financial aid dollars. This third assumption will require a higher level of gift income and/or an even more efficient college operation if we are to avoid raising tuition aggressively. Parents and alumni, we would appreciate any of your suggestions. If you have access to e-mail, send a message to fpfursich@whitworth.edu and Fred, our dean of enrollment services, will forward your ideas to the rest of us on the task force.

Finances

A blockbuster gift of $1 million to colleges and universities in the Washington Water Power service area resulted in an unrestricted gift from WWP to Whitworth for $75,000. Thanks to CEO Paul Redmond for initiating this idea, and to the employees of WWP, who created the profit that made the gift possible. This company is a leader in supporting education in our region.

We recently received word of a significant bequest to the college being distributed through the Miller Trust, which was established nearly 30 years ago. We are grateful to all those who have remembered Whitworth in their estate plans, and we remind you that Wyn Hill at the Whitworth Foundation does a superb job of working with financial instruments that benefit donors while securing the college's future. Having said that, I should report that when I checked my voice mail this morning from the Denver airport, I picked up a message from Athletics Director Scott McQuilkin, who offered these three statements: 1) "I hope your travels are going well." 2) "I noticed from the board report that Whitworth is the beneficiary of your life insurance policy for approximately the amount needed to complete the Pine Bowl project." 3) "We have a new bungee jump that we think you would want to be the first to try out." They love me here.

Student Life

Parents' Weekend is November 1-3. Registrations are pouring in, with the reservation deadline nearing. If you'd like to attend, please call (509) 466-3276 for more information. One of the reasons for scheduling this weekend later than usual is that we have discovered this to be the dreariest time of the semester for our students. They are tired from midterms, the weather has worsened, daylight savings has ended, and it has been a long haul since they arrived. Parents or special adult friends are just what the students need. We look forward to seeing you parents.

Homecoming festivities began with the annual powderpuff football game last Saturday, and a coffee house that same evening featuring student acts and renowned cowboy poet John Kulm. The rest of the week, following the theme "Music Memories," featured karaoke nights (an activity that I think is a stain on all of western civilization), a showing of the movie "Footloose," a dorm-decorating competition, jazz great Gene Harris performing with the Whitworth Jazz Ensemble, Bucs' football, and a dance on Saturday night featuring '80s music (another cultural plague). Special reunions were held for the classes of '96, '90-'92, and '85-'87. It was a great week.

Intramural volleyball teams and ultimate Frisbee teams are currently locked in fierce cooperation, and the ever-popular five-on-five basketball, indoor soccer, billiards and ping-pong tourneys are coming down the pike in late October.

KWRS (the Whitworth College radio station) is on the air, with its regular format and 24 specialty shows (from Christian to all-Spanish music to country) being offered this fall.

Community Building Day had about 350 students going out to various sites to do service in the Spokane community. Some very important connections and relationships were built between Whitworth and many nonprofit organizations. We hope the relationships, the spirit of service, and the work will continue throughout the year.

A 24-hour hotline has been added to our Career Services Office this fall. We also have new computerized assessment tools that will help our students in planning their majors and careers. In that vein, I just learned that approximately 20 grad schools and seminaries will be represented at our October 31 graduate studies fair.

Athletics

Our men's soccer team is amazing everyone in the league. Having lost several key players and their coach from last year, the guys started the season with all of us using the dreaded rebuilding word to describe them. Now they are just one point out of first place and battling for a national playoff spot. Congratulations to first-year coach Sean Bushey (not only for the team's success, but for his and Cindy's new baby, Isaiah, born October 1) and to his hard-working Bucs.

Ranked 14th in the country, the women's soccer team is surprising no one with its stellar play. After tying first-place Willamette, the women remain in second place in the tough NCIC. Last week, freshman Jennifer Dunford was named NCIC Player of the Week. Senior Jennifer Tissue's assault on the record books has been slowed by a muscle strain, but Coach Daman Hagerott is confident she'll be back to full strength soon.

The football team put up a valiant struggle against powerhouse PLU in the Homecoming game. Despite our players' efforts, though, the Lutes beat us 41-18. The inexperience of a very young team has resulted in inconsistent play this year. In the long run, our football program will bear the fruit of talented, hard-working coaches who are recruiting solid young men. But the growing pains aren't much fun. In my next Mind and Heart, I think I'll be reporting on some victories and giving you some of the season highlights.

The cross-country teams have performed well in big tournaments. Because of the invitational meet format that has, for the most part, replaced the dual and triangular meets in track and cross-country, our teams are often competing against Division I schools. As the season draws to a close, the conference meets will help our runners gauge their levels of achievement. A couple of weeks ago, the team members showed up at our house for dinner, and they certainly eat like winners.

Two victories this past weekend were just what our women's volleyball team needed.The players seem to be hitting their stride after a slow start. Coach Hiram Naipo has a great group of young women, and he's already excited about next year. Renee Williams, Elisha De Yoe, Brenda Clinesmith, Sherri Northington, Kori Walter and Nicole Bruner racked up strong stats in the victories.

Miscellaneous

Two quick items, because I'm out of room. First, we welcome with enthusiasm and appreciation the Whitworth College Board of Trustees for this week's meeting. We are blessed to have this leadership. Second, several of us had the joy of attending the inauguration of Phil Eaton (former Whitworth faculty member, trustee, and interim president) as president of Seattle Pacific University. Phil and Sharon will do a great job at SPU, and we wish them God's rich blessings.

Dates to Remember

Closing Thoughts

It's now Saturday, and I'm putting the finishing touches on this letter. The sunny 70s of last week have given way to the first snowfall of the year. Why Homecoming? Those who returned to their alma mater today saw many new improvements, even through the snow. But what we hope they found unchanged is our mission-based commitment to be scholars of the highest order while serving the living Christ. May God be with you.