Of Mind & Heart Newsletter: September 2009

An update from Whitworth University President Bill Robinson

We're in business. Classes start today. Four days ago, 571 freshmen, 90 transfers, and several million relatives spilled onto campus pretty much all at once. And then all the non-students left. People deal with separation in different ways. It took some students about 60 minutes to pile everything into their rooms, kiss their parents, tell them "I'll see you at Thanksgiving," and vanish. While these parents wandered around wondering what happened to their kid, other students spent every possible minute with their families. It's hard to tell what it will look like in a week. The clingers might be living the dream, while the vanishers are dreaming of home. Parents are no more predictable. Some friends of ours dropped off their youngest, having totally prepared themselves to say goodbye. Two days later, dad was still sobbing as if we'd kidnapped his daughter. We raise our children to be independent, and then they have the audacity to be independent. Except they're not. And neither are we. Self-sufficiency is a myth. We need each other. Jesus did a miracle for Peter where he caught so many fish that it tore his net. He had to call for help to land all the fish. What kind of miracle is that?  Peter hits the mother lode, and the nets tear? Why didn't Jesus include the net in the miracle?  Evidently, Jesus thought it was better for Peter to get help than to "be the man" and do it himself. At Whitworth, we believe that one way we show the love of Christ is by teaching our students how to give and receive help. We want them to dream big dreams, and we stand ready to help them make those dreams reality. We think that's what it means to be Christ's body, his church, his community. For the 120th year, this is what Whitworth does.

Academics

We also welcome a large class of new faculty members including Tony Clark (History), Andy Hogue (Political Science), Melissa Rogers (Psychology), Nate Moyer, '04 (Math), Joshue Orozco (Philosophy), and Michael Rempe (Math). Visiting faculty members for this academic year include Xenobia Delgado (History), Suzie Henning (Education), Keith Knapp (Computer Science), Kristen Oja (Health Sciences), Mar Smith (Theology/Core 300), and James Uhlenkott (Education). This is an exceptional group!

This fall we have a fascinating range of Speakers & Artists:

• Talis Colberg (former student of Dale Soden) will give the annual Constitution Day lecture Sept. 17. He was appointed by then-Gov. Sarah Palin as Alaska's attorney general in December 2006 and served until he resigned in February 2009.
• Puccini Award-winning opera singer and 2009 Whitworth Young Alumni Award-winner Heather Steckler Parker, '96, and her husband, Derrick Parker, will perform on Sept. 24 in the Music Recital Hall.
• The Nickolus Meisel art exhibit opens with a reception and lecture Sept. 22 at 5 and 7 p.m. and runs until Oct. 29 in the Lied Arts Center. Meisel, a professor of art at WSU, is creating an exciting and whimsical site-specific installation in the Oliver Gallery. He will work with art students to gather materials from around campus, and together they will transform these found materials into a visual playground designed for interaction and exploration.
• Donald Miller, whom Publishers Weekly calls "an earnest evangelical who nearly lost his faith," will present a lecture on the relevance of Christian faith for everyday life at 7 p.m. Sept. 18 in Cowles Auditorium. Admission is $15. Miller, the best-selling author of Blue Like Jazz and Searching for God Knows What, is a voice that many of our Christian and non-Christian students will find helpful.
• A complete list of speakers and arts events is located at www.whitworth.edu/events.

In his new book, Participation in Christ: An Entry into Karl Barth's Church Dogmatics, Adam Neder (Theology) shows that participation in Christ was at the very core of Barth's theology. I'm no Barth scholar, but I know Barth has been both assailed and exalted for his understanding of what it means to be "in Christ." I'm anxious to read what Adam has to say about the views of this great pastor/theologian who led efforts to urge the German church to resist Hitler's march.

Meredith TeGrotenhuis Shimizu, '93, (Art) defended her dissertation,"Photography in Urban Discourse: Berenice Abbott's Changing New York and the 1930s," at Northwestern University.

Last summer, 13 faculty members from nine disciplines participated in the fifth annual Vocations of the Christian Professor workshop.This fall they will integrate Christian faith and learning in the form of assignments, readings, discussions and/or class projects. For example, last spring in the art department, Gordon Wilson challenged students in Drawing II to visually represent a worldview of significance to them, while Scott Kolbo had his students in Senior Seminar write papers integrating their worldview and artwork.

Amy Watts, senior elementary education major, was the recipient of the Distinguished Student Scholar Award from Pi Lambda Theta, an international honor society and professional association in education. This biennial award is given to just one student nationally. Amy is currently student-teaching in a fourth-grade classroom in the Mead School District.

Dylan Laug, a junior majoring in biology, has received a generous scholarship from the Center for Advanced Energy Studies, a public/private partnership of the Idaho National Laboratory, the U.S. Department of Energy, and the state of Idaho. The scholarship is given to a student who has interned at the Idaho National Laboratory and who is interested in pursuing a career in an energy-related field.

Over the summer the Weyerhaeuser Center for Faith & Learning sponsored four faculty projects:

• Keith Beebe (Theology): "Converted at Cambuslang: Experimental Religion in Scotland's Age of Reason."
• Frank Caccavo (Biology): "The Effect of Diet on the Composition of Fecal Bacteria in an Alaskan Husky Sled Dog."
• Laurie Lamon, '78 (English): "What is the Correct Way to Stand at a Memorial Ceremony?: A Study of Contemporary Arab and Israeli Poetry, in Conjunction with Poetry Writing."
• Julia Stronks (Political Science): "So You Want to be a Christian Lawyer."

Student Life

We have a geographically diverse group of new students. They come from France, Korea, Finland, Spain, Kenya, China, Switzerland, Uganda, Germany, Ghana, Canada, Norway, Jordan, India, Japan, the Netherlands, Angola and Northern Ireland. They also arrived from Montana, Alabama, Utah, Hawaii, Colorado, Alaska, Tennessee, Washington, Arizona, North Carolina, Wyoming, California, Iowa, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Idaho, Nevada, Michigan and Ohio. We even have students from Texas, a state with such rosy self-esteem that it hasn't ruled out the whole secession thing.

We extend thanks to all the parent hosts and student leaders who helped our new students move in. It went very smoothly. The Saturday-night program focused on "Traditions of the Mind and Heart." And Sunday night David Kuraya, '10, dazzled us with his magic show. By the time students finished Mock Rock last night (my ears are still ringing, literally), I'm sure they were totally ready for classes to begin.

We have been planning and coordinating with the Spokane Regional Health District and are prepared to respond to H1N1 and seasonal flu. Whitworth Health Center Director Jan Murray and her team of student medics have been training the campus community on best practices to minimize the spread of the flu virus. You can read more by clicking on "H1N1 flu preparations" in the quick links menu on our home page (www.whitworth.edu).

Resources

We really need to have a good year in The Whitworth Fund, so in each M&H I will give you one fact about TWF. That gives you information and it gives me an excuse to keep bringing it up. FACT 1: Because of the economic crisis, we awarded a record-breaking total of financial aid this year. Contributions to TWF fund those awards, so the fund directly enables students to afford Whitworth.  This is why we do phonathons. It means a great deal to our students, the beneficiaries of TWF, to say thanks and request continued support. The phonathon operation takes place in a quaint little house we own just south of campus.  Students will start calling alumni and parents in a few weeks. Even if you cannot or wish not to make a donation to TWF, these students love to hear your stories. If you have a minute to talk to a student this fall, it will make his or her day. And if your conversation ends with "The check's in the mail," even better. You can go online for proof that they really do "smile and dial": www.whitworth.edu/phonathon.

Our new residence hall, East Hall, is 100 percent occupied, and the students love it! Because we needed to use our gift funds for other projects, we financed East with debt that self-liquidates through room and board revenues. But don't you think such a prosaic name begs for someone to make a "naming contribution" to honor a professor or a relative? A big gift would reduce our debt service and free up funds for other vital programs. Plus, the Mock Rock and Yell Off chants of "East!" could be replaced by an important Whitworth name – like Stewart, Duvall and Boppell, which grace neighboring halls.

Athletics

The Whitworth cross-country team opened 2009 at the Whitman Invitational on Sept. 5. The women won the meet, competing against two teams (Whitman and Lewis-Clark State) ranked higher in the national polls. Tonya Turner raced to the individual title, while Dana Misterek was third and Joy Shufeldt was fourth. The Pirate men took third place in the meet, led by Nick Gallagher's eighth-place finish.

The football team opened with a tough trip to Hardin-Simmons University, in Texas. Not only was it the longest football trip in school history (over 1,700 miles); it was against the No. 5 team in the preseason DIII poll. The Pirates led at halftime and fought hard before losing 48-31. Adam Anderson had 229 all-purpose yards.

The women's soccer team opened with a pair of impressive wins in Minnesota. The Pirates beat St. Olaf 4-0 in the first game, then defeated Gustavus Adolphus 1-0 in the second. GAC had scored 16 goals in its first two wins of the year, and had not allowed a goal. Lindsey Oakes had a goal and an assist on the weekend.

The Pirate men also played in Minnesota, earning a hard-fought 1-1 tie at Gustavus Adolphus in their season opener. The Pirates and Gusties have played twice in the national playoffs, so the close contest was not unexpected. Freshman Kekoa Mountcastle scored the equalizer in the 89th minute in his first game as a Pirate. Whitworth plays at St. Thomas today.

After a rough start, the volleyball team finished second at the Colorado College Pikes Peak Challenge with a 3-1 record in the tournament. Included in that victory total was a three-set sweep of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. Both Kaimi Rocha and Ka'ipo Rocha were named to the all-tournament team.

This time of year I like to thank folks who receive Of Mind & Heartelectronically, which helps us be more green and save some green (as in money). If you want to receive the electronic version, just go to www.whitworth.edu/mind&heart. The online version of M&H also has links to additional resources you may find helpful and interesting.

Alumni & Parents

It's not too late to register online for Homecoming Weekend events, Sept. 24-27. We'll have a breakfast honoring the new Heritage Gallery Athletics Hall of Fame inductees shortly before the grand opening of the new 170-bed East Hall. The football team has a 1 p.m. showdown with Chapman University, and we're excited that members of the 1960 national champion baseball team, the early '60s men's tennis teams, and the classes of 1989, 1999, and 2004 will be back on campus to celebrate reunions. All details are available at www.whitworth.edu/homecoming.

We hope to see you Oct. 17 at the annual dessert before Whitworth Theatre's fall production. Pierre Corneille's The Illusion, adapted by Tony Award-winner Tony Kushner, will feature Leonard Oakland in the role of the father, Pridamant. Join director Diana Trotter for a dessert conversation before the play. Details and online registration can be found at www.whitworth.edu/alumnievents.

Registration is now open for the jazz reunion Nov. 6-8, celebrating 20 years of incredible guest-artist concerts. The main event is Saturday, with a reunion mixer and dessert before the concert by renowned composer and saxophonist Lee Konitz. All of the details are at www.whitworth.edu/jazzreunion.

Miscellaneous

This year, U.S. News ranked us No. 6 in its best-values listing and tied for No. 10 on its list of best master's-level universities among 116 institutions in the 17-state Western Region. We have about a 10-year top 10 streak going, which is nice but not particularly meaningful. You simply cannot quantify the strength of our mission, faculty or campus culture, and those factors are especially important in determining whether Whitworth or any other school is best for a student. Maybe this is why the number of schools refusing to participate in the U.S. News ranking survey is rising. When you unpack the rankings, you find helpful data; but a full quarter of the score is purely subjective. I suspect we'll keep participating in the survey, but we encourage folks to recognize the limits of putting a number on the ways in which students experience a campus.

Closing Thoughts

Because some of my invaluable information suppliers and prompters were gone when I wrote the summer Mind & Heart, I failed to mention the passing of beloved faculty member Milton Johnson (Music) June 29. Milton enriched many students' lives, not to mention the souls of all those who heard his choirs. At Sunday's Legacy Luncheon (a gathering of alumni whose children are starting their careers at Whitworth), it was clear that faculty members like Milton never stop blessing their students. Certainly the details of their courses, their ideas and their challenges will fade over the years. But what never fades is the light from a faculty member who ignites a fire in the life of a student. In about 45 minutes, hundreds of new student-faculty relationships will begin. And in about 45 years, these students will return to campus with stories about how the durable impact of a faculty member never stopped blessing them. We pray Christ's blessings on all those relationships, and we thank you for your role in enabling them.