Whitworth University News

Whitworth Jazz Ensemble conducts first ever tour of New York City, New Orleans

2010-02-09T16:02:00.000-08:00

The award-winning Whitworth Jazz Ensemble recently returned to Spokane after a successful tour of New York City and New Orleans Jan. 9-20. Highlights of the tour included performing with jazz legend Lee Konitz and well-regarded jazz musicians Donny McCaslin, Ryan Keberle and Larry Panella.

While in New York City, the ensemble performed at Hunter College with McCaslin and Keberle. They also played at Nyack College Manhattan with Konitz and at La Guardia High School. While in New Orleans they performed at Fountainbleau High School and the University of Southern Mississippi with jazz professor Larry Panella.

In addition to performing, the ensemble also enjoyed going to jazz concerts at clubs in both cities, including the Maria Schneider Big Band at Birdland; Chris Potter and the Village Vanguard Big Band at the Village Vanguard; the Pedro Giraudo Band at Jazz Gallery; and Ellis Marsalis at New Orleans' Sung Harbor. They also sat in on a four-hour rehearsal of the Lincoln Jazz Center Orchestra.

"In all our jazz tours during my 20 years at Whitworth, no destinations have offered anything close to the quality and number of jazz clubs as this tour did," says Dan Keberle, director of the jazz ensemble. "The students had an incredible listening experience during their week in Manhattan, hearing many of the current top jazz artists in the world. Then we heard original Dixieland jazz music in the streets and clubs of New Orleans."

Keberle continues, "In addition to a great performance experience, this trip more than any other was one of the most educational jazz trips I have ever taken with Whitworth's jazz students."

The ensemble conducts a national or international tour bi-annually. In January 2008 and 2004 they traveled to Rome for several performances with leading Italian jazz artists, followed by a performance trip to Hawaii in March. In 2006 they traveled to Sao Paolo and Salvador, Brazil, for concerts at music festivals. Other performance residencies have included a trip to Havana, two trips to Munich, and four trips to Rome, as well as nine performances at the Melbourne (Australia) International Jazz Festival and in the surrounding area.

The Whitworth Jazz Ensemble is one component of the jazz studies program at Whitworth University. The Whitworth ensemble was the winning band in the college/university division at the 2008, 2004, 2002, 1999, 1998, 1997, and 1994 Lionel Hampton Jazz Festivals (finishing second in 2007, 2006, 2005, 2003, 2001 and 2000), and has been selected from colleges and universities in the six Northwest states to perform at seven All-Northwest and All-State Music Educators Conferences, including those in 2007and 2008. Whitworth’s program has been listed in Jazz Times magazine as one of the top jazz-education programs in the country.

The 18-piece Whitworth Jazz Ensemble performs several concerts each year on campus, as well as at jazz festivals, in public schools, at civic events, and on annual tours throughout the United States. Over the past decade the ensemble has performed in standing-room-only concerts with guest artists Lee Konitz, Terence Blanchard, Robin Eubanks, Kenny Garrett, Eric Reed, Nicholas Payton, Jimmy Heath, Byron Stripling, Bob Mintzer, Joe Lovano, Randy Brecker, Phil Woods, Steve Turre, Slide Hampton, Carl Fontana, Marshal Royal, Bill Berry, Roberto Gatto, and Enrico Pieranunzi.

Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The university, which has an enrollment of 2,700 students, offers 55 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

Contacts:

Dan Keberle, professor of music and director of the jazz ensemble, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4582 or dkeberle@whitworth.edu.

Emily Proffitt, public information officer, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or eproffitt@whitworth.edu.

Fourteen Spokane students among 33 leaders chosen for full Act Six scholarships to four Washington universities

2010-02-08T08:21:00.000-08:00

Amid a continuing national economic struggle and the specter of deep cuts proposed in state higher education funding, families of 33 diverse urban student leaders across Washington have new reason for hope and celebration this week.

The Act Six Leadership and Scholarship Initiative announced today that 14 Spokane students will join 19 students from the Puget Sound region to receive full-tuition, full-need scholarships to four Washington universities. Gonzaga University, which joined the program two years ago, will welcome its second cadre of eight students. Whitworth University, the first university to join the program in 2002, will welcome its eighth cadre of 10 students. Other participating Washington universities include Pacific Lutheran University and Northwest University. Collectively, the scholarships will provide nearly $5 million in financial aid over four years.

The newest Act Six scholars will be recognized in community celebrations in Spokane on Tuesday, Feb. 9, at 7 p.m. at Lewis and Clark High School, and in Seattle on Thursday, Feb. 11, at 7 p.m. at Mount Tahoma High School. The media and public are invited with RSVP.

Launched in 2002 by the Northwest Leadership Foundation (NLF) in Tacoma, Act Six seeks to develop urban leaders to be agents of transformation on campus and in their home communities. Since the program's inception, 12 cadres of ethnically diverse and mostly first-generation, low-income Act Six scholars from urban Tacoma, Seattle and Spokane have enrolled at five Washington universities.

Act Six develops leaders through a simple, but powerful, four-step strategy:

Recruit and select diverse, multicultural cadres of Washington's most promising emerging urban leaders.
Train and prepare these groups of students in the year prior to college, equipping them to support each other, succeed academically, and grow as service-minded leaders and agents of transformation.
Send and fund the teams together to select faith-based colleges in Washington on four year, full-tuition, full-need scholarships.
Support and inspire by providing strong campus support and ongoing leadership development to nurture these young people as they find their vocation and grow into the next generation of community leaders.

To date, 94 percent of the scholars in the first three cadres have graduated. Overall, 92 percent of the 107 scholars originally selected for the program have graduated or are still enrolled – reflecting graduation and retention rates that far exceed national averages. Act Six scholars have been elected student-body presidents two of the past four years at Whitworth and have been involved in numerous other leadership roles on and off campus.

"Our scholars are having a profound impact through their leadership on campus, and, as they begin to graduate, we look forward to their impact in the community," says Tim Herron, founder and national director of Act Six. "This is what we envisioned when we launched Act Six and what we are now seeing replicated around the state and nation."

Nationally, Act Six initiatives are also active at George Fox University in Newberg, Ore., and Warner Pacific College in Portland, Ore.

Following is a list of this year's Act Six recipients:

Whitworth University (Cadre Eight)
Gifti Abbo, Ferris High School
Zanovia Clark, Rogers High School (Spokane)
Michaela Cowger, Central Valley High School
Ryan Mendoza, Northwest Christian High School
Hanh Nguyen, Rogers High School (Spokane)
Helya Peyman, Ferris High School
Ingrid Sub Cuc, Ferris High School
Konstantin Tachan, North Central High School
Amber Tooley, Rogers High School (Spokane)
Mailia Yang, Lewis and Clark High School

Gonzaga University (Cadre Two)
Rene Alvarez Jr., Washington High School
Devanta Black, Highline High School
Michaela Brown, Gonzaga Preparatory School
Justin Garcia, Gonzaga Preparatory School
Myra Questel, Lakes High School
Mohamed Sambou, Evergreen High School
Leah Simeon, North Central High School
Cathy Truong, Central Valley High School

Pacific Lutheran University (Cadre Three)
Kareem Dixon, Wilson High School
Ailua Evans, Washington High School
Hodo Hussein, Highline High School
Wendy Martinez, Mount Tahoma High School
Jose Medrano, Clover Park High School
Dominic Napat, Chief Sealth High School
Laurie Reddy, Ingraham High School

Northwest University (Cadre Two)
Christian Dawson, Christian Faith High School
Martese Hightower, Bellarmine Preparatory High School
Clayton Hines, Washington High School
Justin Mburugu, Curtis High School
McKinzie Quiocho, Life Christian Academy
Illona Trofimovich, Henry Foss High School
Samantha Wallace, Washington High School
Imar White, Bellarmine Preparatory School

Following next week's celebrations, scholars begin an intensive seven-month training program that involves weekly meetings with Act Six staff, retreats and campus visits.

Learn more about Act Six online at http://www.actsix.org/.

Those wishing to attend next week's community celebrations should RSVP with Crystal Ben, Act Six assistant director, at (253) 272-0771 ext. 111 or cben@northwestleaderhip.org.

The Northwest Leadership Foundation is a faith-based non-profit headquartered in Tacoma, Wash. Since 1989, the foundation has worked to move individuals and organizations from good intentions to effective outcomes in its effort to encourage, strengthen and develop leadership for the spiritual and social renewal of the city.

Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The university, which has an enrollment of 2,700 students, offers 55 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

Contacts:

Tim Herron, Act Six national director, Northwest Leadership Foundation,
(253) 272-0771 ext.109 or therron@northwestleadership.org.

Rodney McAuley, Spokane director, Northwest Leadership Foundation,
(509) 953-8003 or rmcauley@northwestleadership.org.

Esther Louie, assistant dean for intercultural student affairs, Whitworth University,
(509) 777-4572 or elouie@whitworth.edu.

Raymond Reyes, associate mission vice president for intercultural relations at Gonzaga University, (509) 313-3667 or reyes@gu.gonzaga.edu.

Whitworth launches new course on Latinos in the U.S. in response to rising number of Latino students, growing interest in Latin American culture

2010-02-03T15:57:00.001-08:00

Other initiatives related to Latin American studies include new satellite center in Costa Rica

As of May 2008, Latinos made up 15 percent of the U.S. population, according to the most recent available statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau. Reflecting these changing national demographics, the number of Latino students at Whitworth has more than doubled since 2001, according to the university's tenth-day report. Meanwhile, the number of Spanish majors at Whitworth also has risen in recent years.

The university is responding to the growing number of Latino students, and to increasing interest in Latin American culture, by launching a class that examines Latin American culture in the U.S. The university also is opening an international study center in Costa Rica.

"Latinos in the U.S." class

In the past few years, students and modern language professors at Whitworth have expressed keen interest in a class that would concentrate on Latino culture in the U.S.; but until recently, a number of factors prevented such a class from taking shape. Those roadblocks have been removed, thanks in part to available funding, an increasing number of Spanish majors, and a professor who is willing to teach the class. As a result, this spring the university is introducing a new course, Latinos in the U.S.

Lindy Scott, professor of modern languages, is teaching the new class. Scott taught a similar course at Wheaton College, where he worked before coming to Whitworth. He says the class helps develop greater cultural pride in Hispanic-American students and prompts students of various ethnic origins to study their own cultural backgrounds.

"The students who have taken the course have been almost universally amazed by the history of Hispanics in the U.S.," Scott said in a Nov. 23, 2009, issue of The Whitworthian. "They become aware of the important, positive contributions of Latinos and more appreciative of them."

The course will cover the history of Latinos in the U.S. as well as themes of acculturation, education, employment, family, immigration and religion. It has been approved to satisfy the American diversity general education requirement, which increases the likelihood that it will be offered on a recurring basis, Scott says.

"We hope that this class will help diminish stereotypes and prejudices that demean a beautiful culture," says Luis Flores, vice president of the newly formed Latino Student Union at Whitworth. "Learning the history of Latinos and the important roles they have played in this country will help shed light on their contributions to American culture and the sacrifices they have endured, which ultimately have benefited the American economy."

In the first week of the spring semester, Scott says he already has had to increase the capacity of the class to 30 students from 20 because of strong demand. If demand continues to be high, the class will likely be offered on a rotating basis every two or three years, Scott says.

Costa Rica Study Center

Seven years after the idea was first developed, an international study center – the first of its kind for Whitworth – will allow students to live and study in Costa Rica this coming fall.

The center, which will include classrooms, food services and a residence hall, is located less than an hour from the country's capital city, San José. In the program's first year, up to 30 students will be able to study at the center every semester and Jan Term. Once the program is up to full speed, more than 100 students each year will be able to take advantage of the opportunity to learn in another country, Scott says.

"This will provide an excellent opportunity for personal growth," he says. "Students will become more fluent in Spanish, see family life up close with their host families, become more informed global citizens, and learn how Costa Ricans walk their faith."

Scott also says the center will help Whitworth become more globally minded, and he hopes that eventually Whitworth will become known for operating a premiere program in Latin American studies.

Scott will be able to oversee the growth and success of the new satellite center personally. On Jan. 20, in an e-mail to the Whitworth community, Michael LeRoy, Whitworth's vice president of academic affairs, announced that Scott will be the director of the Costa Rica Center.

"Lindy takes on this role with considerable interdisciplinary experience in Latin America and strong leadership experience with student programs in México and the southern cone of Latin America," LeRoy wrote in the e-mail.

Dinorah Scott, assistant professor of modern languages and Lindy's wife, will teach Spanish, supervise Spanish courses taught by Costa Rican professors, and provide leadership for the home-stay placement program. Jan Term classes will be taught by Rick Hornor, professor of theatre; Karla Morgan, assistant professor of economics and business; and Joshue Orozco, assistant professor of philosophy.

Students may enroll in several courses, including Spanish language; Latin American history, politics and theology; ecology or environmental science; and Core 350.

"One of the biggest problems on Earth today is the growing divide between the global north and south," Scott says. "Whitworth's Costa Rica Center can play a small, but significant, role in contributing to greater communication, cooperation and healing within our world community."

Lindy Scott, professor of modern languages, Director of the Costa Rica Center, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4837 or lscott@whitworth.edu

Emily Proffitt, public information officer, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or eproffitt@whitworth.edu.

Whitworth to expand study abroad opportunities with new Costa Rica Center

2010-02-03T08:49:00.000-08:00

Classes for up to 30 students will begin this fall in an ideal location offering access to cloud forests, service learning, home stays

Less than an hour's bus ride from Costa Rica's bustling capital of San José, up a scenic mountain road to the edge of a large rain forest lies Whitworth University's newest classroom building and residence hall.

Whitworth's first international study center will begin offering classes in September for up to 30 students, advancing a long-term university goal to increase cross-cultural learning opportunities for students while also adding affordable capacity for anticipated enrollment growth.

"We've found a site that is ideal for providing students the life-changing, cross-cultural experience afforded by international study," says Michael Le Roy, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty at Whitworth. "Through our Costa Rica program, students will witness the tensions between economic development, conservation, and the global distribution of wealth in the Central American context. These connections are much clearer when students have the opportunity to immerse themselves in a culture and to cultivate a broader understanding of what it means to love one's neighbor."

Building on Whitworth's more than 30 years of experience leading study programs in Central America, the Costa Rica Center initially will offer courses that meet general education requirements for students in any major. Courses will include intensive Spanish language at various levels; history, culture and civilization of Central America; ecology of Costa Rica; and Core 350 – the capstone course in Whitworth's worldview studies program.

The center also will offer a special Jan Term Latin American studies program for freshman students admitted with honors, intensive language training for participants in Whitworth's popular Central America Study Program, and other major-specific programs still in the planning stages. In addition, students will participate in service learning, family home-stays, internships, cultural activities, and will travel to cloud forests, volcanoes and other regional sites.

Whitworth Professor of Spanish Lindy Scott will serve as director of the center, and his wife, Assistant Professor of Spanish Dinorah Scott, will teach Spanish and coordinate service-learning and family home-stays for students. The Scotts bring 20 years of experience living in and leading university study programs throughout Latin America to their roles at the center. Lindy Scott also served in the 1990s as academic dean of the Comunidad Teologica, a consortium of seminaries in Mexico City. He says he's excited about the combination of curricular and co-curricular programs to be offered at Whitworth's Costa Rica Center.

"Our courses in Latin American history and Costa Rican ecology will join together great classroom teaching by expert professors with on-site explorations of the topics, whether it be fauna or democracy," Scott says. "I am especially excited about offering our Core 350 course, which will equip students to look at Christian values and public policy issues in a Latin context. All of this will be permeated with an emphasis on service-learning projects, internships, and family home-stays where students will experience cultural differences and similarities first hand."

Scott also notes that students who participate in Whitworth's Costa Rica program will significantly affect campus life when they return. "At any given moment," he says, "we will have more than 100 students on campus who will have experienced life from a Latin American perspective. This will enrich and give flavor to every academic department and class on campus."

Whitworth's Costa Rica site includes two buildings that are undergoing remodeling and are very well suited for the university's needs. The 27-acre property also features a spring-fed stream that spills into two small ponds, a second-generation rain forest, and broad lawns where one can easily imagine Whitworth students playing Ultimate Frisbee.

The main building, formerly a French restaurant frequented by Latin American heads of state, includes space for two or three classrooms, food service, a student lounge and study areas, and an attached apartment for the on-site director. A small adjacent hotel building can accommodate up to 30 students when they're not in home stays or traveling.

Just to the north of the property lies Costa Rica's renowned Braulio Carrillo National Park, which features a dense virgin cloud forest that is home to hundreds of plant, bird and mammal species as well as the 9,534-foot inactive Barva Volcano. A short bus ride to the southwest is the city of Heredia, which has a population of about 110,000 and hosts the main campus of Costa Rica's largest university.

Le Roy says that Whitworth's longer-term plans call for the possible establishment of international centers in Africa, East Asia and Europe as growth continues in faculty expertise, on-the-ground experience and student demand for study in those regions. International centers will allow Whitworth to expand enrollment without comparable expansion of facilities and population on its home campus. Le Roy and Scott also believe Whitworth is responding to a growing student interest in cross-cultural experience.

"Studies show that after September 11, 2001, there has been a growing desire in North American youth to know more about the larger world," Scott says. "Students want to live, work and serve side by side with our international neighbors. That means speaking their language, learning about their history and customs, playing their sports and appreciating the yearnings of their hearts. An overseas study opportunity is so valuable for learning about and loving our neighbors as we gradually overcome some of our ethnocentrism."

Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The university, which has an enrollment of 2,700 students, offers 55 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

Contacts:

Lindy Scott, director of the Costa Rica Center and professor of Spanish, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4837 or lscott@whitworth.edu.

Greg Orwig, director of university communications, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4580 or gorwig@whitworth.edu.

Whitworth freshman revs NASCAR racing career

2010-01-26T08:44:00.000-08:00

When he's not studying engineering physics at Whitworth, freshman Travis Motley spends most of his time at the Toyota Speedway racetrack in Irwindale, Calif. He races NASCAR late-model stock cars for High Point Racing, a high-profile, driver-development racing team.

On Jan. 29 and 30, Motley will compete in the biggest short-track race in the country — the NASCAR Toyota All-Star Showdown. Known as the Daytona 500 of short-track racing, the race will be televised live on the Speed Channel in primetime.

Motley grew up watching his dad race off-road cars. At age 13, after years of his begging, his parents allowed him to race go-karts. A typical race weekend would begin with him and his father making the eight-hour drive from his hometown of Tucson, Ariz., to California on Thursday afternoon. Motley would practice on Friday, race Saturday and Sunday, and drive back to Tucson Sunday night.

"Sometimes we wouldn't get home until 3 a.m. on Monday, and I would go to school four hours later. But as crazy as it sounds, I loved every minute of it," Motley says. "After three years of go-kart racing, I moved up to late models and it has been more fun than I ever could have hoped for."

Those long weekends are paying off as Motley's late-model stock car career starts taking off. In the last six races of the 2009 season, he finished fifth or better in a field of 30 of the best racers on the West Coast.

Motley races roughly 20 times a year, from April to November. His late model vehicle is a 400-horsepower, 2,900-lb. purpose-built race car that resembles the cars seen in NASCAR.

Motley's goal is to race in the NASCAR Nationwide Series within five years.

"I wouldn't be where I am now without the love and support of my parents and the help of my race team, High Point Racing," Motley says. "In order continue to do what I love and to keep finishing up front, I am looking for a sponsor to partner with my race team in the 2010 season."

To learn more about Motley's racing career, visit http://www.travismotleyracing.com/ or http://www.highpointracing.com/.

Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The university, which has an enrollment of 2,700 students, offers 55 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

Contacts:

Emily Proffitt, public information officer, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or eproffitt@whitworth.edu.

Whitworth alum named national head coach of Bangladesh's squash team

2010-01-25T14:42:00.000-08:00

Whitworth University alum William Mather has been named the national head coach of Bangladesh's squash team by the Bangladesh Squash Rackets Federation. His first major tournament as head coach will be the 11th South Asian Games, to be held in Bangladesh Jan. 29-Feb. 8.

Mather, who graduated from Whitworth in 2000 with a bachelor's degree in communication studies, was introduced to the game of squash when he moved home to Hawaii and took a position as an administrator at the Honolulu Club in 2003. A former football and track and field athlete for Whitworth, Mather picked up the game quickly and soon became one of the club's premier squash players.

"I was introduced to the game after someone noticed my swing in racquetball," Mather says. "It was all over after that. The rest of the guys at the club really pressed me to play better and I don’t like losing, so I would practice six hours a day, which helped me progress quickly. I also studied the game intensely."

Mather gave up competitive squash when he moved to Bangladesh with his wife, Rachal (Shim) Mather, '00, to work in an orphanage as a missionary from Bluewater Mission Church, in Kalihi, Hawaii. Still wanting to stay connected with the sport, he contacted the Asian Squash Federation's director of coaching and offered to volunteer with the Bangladesh team. The director of coaching then recommended him for the head coach post.

Despite the fact that none of the players on the Bangladesh team have ever played squash professionally, Mather says they are well prepared and he's looking forward to the test that the upcoming South Asian Games will present to them.

"Some of the best in the world are coming to our doorstep," he says. "Powerhouse programs such as Pakistan and India have tremendous talent and depth. You don't want to underestimate your opponent."

As a coach, Mather says he derives his inspiration from Toby Schwarz, head track and field coach at Whitworth. He also credits Jack Burns, a professor for the interdisciplinary minor of leadership studies at Whitworth, as a key mentor in his life.

"Dr. Jack Burns is one of those guys who will have a chapter of my autobiography dedicated to him. He is a great man of God who really supported me as a student and as a person," Mather says. "I wasn't a Christian, but he loved me as if I was his son. He always made time for me. In 2004, I began following Jesus and now I'm in Bangladesh."

Mather continues, "A man like Jack can be used by God to make a difference in a person's life. My wife and I are now trying to do the same according to our own spiritual gifts."

Although his main focus now is coaching, and at age 31 he's entering the twilight of most squash players' careers, Mather hasn't entirely given up his own aspirations as a player. He's training alongside his Bangladeshi players, and he's considering competing in future competitions.

"It's an opportunity and I likely will pursue it, but the development of Bangladesh is more important to me than playing," he says.

Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The university, which enrolls more than 2,700 students, offers 55 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

Contacts:

Emily Proffitt, public information officer, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or eproffitt@whitworth.edu.

Iraqi to share stories from his war-torn country during lecture at Whitworth University Feb. 11

2010-01-21T13:26:00.000-08:00

First guest speaker for university's annual Great Decisions Lecture Series also will discuss his role in counterterrorism efforts in Iraq

As the seventh anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq approaches, one of the country's native sons, Hussam Al-Khalidy, will present the first lecture in the 53rd annual Great Decisions Lecture Series at Whitworth University. The series features five speakers who focus on current political, cultural and economic subjects of interest to the international community. The public is invited to attend the lectures free of charge. Al-Khalidy will present "A Life of Struggle in Iraq," on Thursday, Feb. 11, at 7:30 p.m. in the Robinson Teaching Theatre in Weyerhaeuser Hall at Whitworth University. For more information, please call (509) 777-3270.

"We're looking forward to hearing from someone who has an on-the-ground perspective of what's been happening in Iraq," says Patrick Van Inwegen, an associate professor of political science at Whitworth. "Hussam Al-Khalidy has lived through the things we see in the news, and his experiences and point of view will help us understand some of the major foreign policy issues in Iraq and the surrounding region."

Al-Khalidy was born in Baghdad, where his life was shaped by the strife during the Iran-Iraq war and the first Gulf War, as well as by economic sanctions and sectarian violence after the U.S. invasion in 2003. He worked with coalition forces at the Bucca Prison, in the southern oil port of Basra, where he interviewed prisoners to determine whether they were involved in the insurgency. He immigrated to the U.S. last year and now lives in Spokane, where he works with the growing number of Iraqi refugees who are relocating here.

In addition to the Feb. 11 lecture, Great Decisions lectures will take place on March 11, March 18, April 8, and April 22. The lectures will begin at 7:30 p.m. and will be held in Weyerhaeuser Hall's Robinson Teaching Theatre. For information on upcoming lectures, please call (509) 777-3270. Great Decisions 2010 is sponsored by the Whitworth Political Science Department.

Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The university, which has an enrollment of 2,700 students, offers 55 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

Contacts:

Barbara Brodrick, academic program assistant, political science department, Whitworth University, (509) 777-3270 or bbrodrick@whitworth.edu.

Emily Proffitt, public information officer, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or eproffitt@whitworth.edu.

Whitworth leading effort to 'adopt' orphans, clinic, school devastated by Haiti quake

2010-01-20T09:56:00.000-08:00

Children and workers displaced from an orphanage destroyed in Haiti's powerful earthquake have captured the hearts of the Whitworth University community. Whitworth's Center for Service-Learning and Community Engagement is coordinating fundraising efforts on campus and in the Spokane community to provide food, water, medical supplies and shelter to the Three Angels orphanage, school and medical clinic in Port Au Prince.

"Seeing the devastation and the faces of those who have been impacted by the earthquake compels us to respond," says Rhosetta Rhodes, director of Whitworth's center for service-learning and community engagement. "Living out our faith requires us to respond to our brothers and sisters in need – regardless of where they are located. Whitworth has a local, national and global mission."

Mitchell Flinn, a student in Whitworth's MBA program, worked with the Three Angels orphanage (http://www.threeangelshaiti.org/) in 2007 and with another mission organization in Haiti this past summer. He has been in regular communication with his contacts at Three Angels and has learned the children and workers survived the earthquake. The children in the orphanage have been evacuated to the United States, yet Three Angels will continue to minister to the thousands of orphans who remain in Haiti.

"The work of Three Angels' orphan ministry, school and clinic are vital to the needs of the Haitian people, plain and simple," Flinn says. "Some of the children in the orphanage have one or two parents living, but there is simply no money to take care of them. The parents face the decision of giving their child up for adoption or seeing them die of malnutrition or disease. They live in a reality most of us can barely comprehend."

Whitworth hopes to respond to immediate needs and also to build a long-term partnership to support the children and community served by the orphanage, clinic and school, Rhodes says. Collection containers will be distributed around campus for donations to the Three Angels Haiti ministry. Whitworth students also are planning a series of fundraising events, including the Black Student Union's Soul Food Dinner at 5 p.m., Feb. 12, in the HUB. Cost is $9 and all proceeds will go to the Haiti initiative.

Plans are under way to coordinate with other colleges and universities in Spokane to maximize the fundraising efforts and to "adopt" the orphan ministry, school and clinic for the long term, according to Rhodes.

"We want to focus our efforts and to build a lasting partnership so we can continue to provide assistance for the earthquake recovery and beyond," Rhodes says. "We feel called to support the comprehensive care that Three Angels is providing to children and the surrounding community. We welcome everyone in the Whitworth and Spokane communities to join in this partnership to serve our brothers and sisters in their hour of need."

The poverty, illness and educational needs of Haiti's people existed long before the earthquake and will persist long after the recovery begins, according to Flinn. Sustained prayer and financial support is necessary to make a difference, he says.

"As news coverage fades, my hope is that Whitworth will continue to pray for the nation of Haiti, for the rebuilding effort, for their government, and for the people who were struggling to survive even before this disaster," he says. "The Haitian people have a love for life, even in the face of all they have endured. This is a great opportunity to demonstrate the love of Christ to people who are desperately seeking a source of hope."

The Whitworth Center for Service-Learning and Community Engagement, celebrating its 10-year anniversary this year, engages students, faculty and staff in community service and engagement that enrich educational programs and equip students to honor God, follow Christ and serve humanity.

Contacts:

Rhosetta Rhodes, director of the center for service-learning and community engagement, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4238 or rrhodes99@whitworth.edu.

Greg Orwig, director of university communications, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4580 or gorwig@whitworth.edu.

Bill Robinson to lead his final Founder's Day Convocation as part of Whitworth's Heritage Month 2010

2010-01-13T14:29:00.001-08:00

Other events during Heritage Month to include film festival in honor of longtime English professor, lecture by noted Abraham Lincoln historian

Every February, Whitworth holds a Heritage Month celebration to commemorate its founding, on Feb. 20, 1890. Heritage Month 2010 will kick off with the university's annual Founder's Day Convocation, when students, faculty and staff gather to remember the university's past and dedicate themselves to building upon that legacy in the coming months. On Feb. 4, after 17 years of presiding over the ceremony, Bill Robinson will give his final convocation address as Whitworth's president. In September, he announced that the 2009-10 academic year would be his last at Whitworth, making him the second longest-serving and one of the most influential presidents in the school's history.

In addition to Robinson's convocation address, another focal point of the university's 120th anniversary celebration will be the second annual Leonard A. Oakland Film Festival, Feb. 18-20, which pays tribute to long-serving Professor of English Leonard Oakland. Oakland, who has taught at Whitworth for 44 years, recently moved into a half-time faculty position. He identified film studies as the area in which he wants to establish long-term funding; the university is collaborating with his friends and family to create an endowment in his name that will fund the festival.

The festival will feature showings of three major motion pictures and the showing of an Emmy award-winning documentary produced by a Whitworth alumnus and his wife. A documentary about Oakland produced by a Whitworth alumna will also be shown.

Other Heritage Month events include a lecture by Ron White, a former Whitworth staff member who has written three bestselling books on Abraham Lincoln, including his latest, A. Lincoln: A Biography. White has lectured on Lincoln at the White House, the Library of Congress and the Gettysburg battlefield. He also has been interviewed on the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.

Members of the Spokane community are invited to join Whitworth students, faculty, staff and alumni for all Heritage Month events. Admission is free unless otherwise noted. Following is more information (for complete details, visit www.whitworth.edu/heritagemonth):

Thursday, Feb. 4

Founder's Day Convocation
11 a.m., Cowles Auditorium
Each semester begins with Founder's Day Convocation, which features music and worship, faculty in academic regalia, and the honoring of top students. Whitworth President Bill Robinson and campus historian and history professor Dale Soden will speak.

Friday, Feb. 5

Thirteenth annual Gospel Explosion
7 p.m., Cowles Auditorium
Join Whitworth students and choirs from throughout Spokane for this annual campus celebration of Black History Month.

Friday, Feb. 12

o Annual Soul Food Dinner sponsored by the Black Student Union
5 p.m., Multipurpose Room in the Hixson Union Building
Admission: $9

o Simpson Duvall Endowed Reading with Linda Hogan
7:30 p.m., Robinson Teaching Theatre in Weyerhaeuser Hall
Hogan, a full-time author, served previously as professor of American Indian
studies at the University of Minnesota and professor of English at the University
of Colorado. She has published six poetry collections, seven books of prose, and
countless anthologies.

Monday, Feb. 15

The 2010 Hans Moldenhauer Memorial Lecture, "Performance of Sounding Silence: John Cage"
7:30 p.m., Multipurpose Room in the Hixson Union Building
Composer and music instructor Donivan Johnson will explore the life and music of maverick American composer and writer John Cage (1912-1992). The annual lecture focuses on contemporary music and its place in society and music education.

Feb. 18-20: Second Annual Leonard Oakland Film Festival

o Thursday, Feb. 18
Movie No. 1: Waltz with Bashir
7 p.m., Robinson Teaching Theatre in Weyerhaeuser Hall
The event will open with a short film, Saving Lives in World War II,
produced by Whitworth alumnus Doug Bocaz-Larson, '93, and his wife, Kim, who
received a recent Emmy Award in the Southwest /Rocky Mountain region for their
work on this historical documentary.

o Friday, Feb. 19
Movie No. 2: Sita Sings the Blues
7 p.m., Robinson Teaching Theatre in Weyerhaeuser Hall
The event will open with the documentary, A Portrait of Leonard Oakland, produced
by Whitworth alumna Andrea Palpant Dilley, '00.

o Saturday, Feb. 20
Movie No. 3: The Visitor
3 p.m., Robinson Teaching Theatre in Weyerhaeuser Hall
The event will open with the announcement of winners of a student-made short-film
contest and a showing of their films.

Monday, Feb. 22

"Art + Text" CIVA Traveling Exhibit
This exhibition, from the international organization Christians in the Visual Arts, features works in a variety of media created by artists as a way to express their personal attitudes, opinions and faith.
Reception: 5-7 p.m.; lecture by artist Daniel Sidell: 7 p.m.
Bryan Oliver Gallery, Ernst F. Lied Center for the Visual Arts
The exhibit runs through April 1. The gallery will be closed March 22-26.

Wednesday, Feb. 24

A lecture, "Abraham Lincoln 2010: Wisdom for Today," by Ronald C. White, Jr.
7 p.m., Robinson Teaching Theatre in Weyerhaeuser Hall
White, a former Whitworth staff member, is author of the book, A. Lincoln: A Biography, a New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times bestseller.

Contacts:

Nancy Rau, associate director, donor relations and special events, (509) 777-4250 or nrau@whitworth.edu.

Emily Proffitt, public information officer, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or eproffitt@whitworth.edu.

Whitworth athletic-training students sharpen skills at national skating championships

2009-12-31T14:00:00.001-08:00

When America's best figure skaters come to Spokane this January to compete for spots on the U.S. winter Olympic squad, they will meet a team of Whitworth University athletic-training students and faculty ready to help provide them with nearly around-the-clock medical care throughout the competition.

During the 2010 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, to be held Jan. 14-24, fourteen students will work with teams of doctors, athletic trainers and physical therapists from Group Health Cooperative, the event's official medical sponsor. The students will work under the direction of Ed Reisman, M.D., a family practice physician and former competitive skater who will serve as medical director for the championships. Reisman also is Whitworth's team physician and works closely with students in the university's nationally accredited athletic-training program that emphasizes hands-on clinical experience.

This is the second time Whitworth students will have worked at the figure skating championships. Whitworth also collaborated with Group Health to provide medical care when the championships were held in Spokane in 2007.

"Dr. Reisman knows the rigorous coursework our students receive, he has seen the quality care they provide our student-athletes, and he recognized that they were a valuable part of the medical team during the 2007 skating championships, says Russ Richardson, associate professor and director of athletic training at Whitworth."Working at the competition provides a unique learning opportunity for our students, both because of the caliber of athletes involved and because skating isn't an NCAA intercollegiate sport."

Richardson and other medical and skating experts will instruct students – 12 from Whitworth and two from Eastern Washington University – about the specific medical, biomechanical and psychological issues faced by elite figure skaters. The course will cover topics ranging range from conditioning and common injuries to the anatomy of a figure skater and a double-toe loop. Instruction will take place in the classroom and on the ice, including a simulation of an emergency response to a serious skating injury.

"Every sport has its own injury profile based on the activity of the sport," says Richardson, who has worked as an athletic trainer at international events such as Skate America, the World Cup of Wrestling, and the USA vs. Cuba Boxing Challenge. "Figure skating involves high speeds, rotary motions and an unyielding surface, which can lead to injuries that our students don't necessarily see in other sports and will need to understand for this competition."

Medical teams, each of which will include a student, will be ice-side at both skating venues, and at a medical suite in the skaters' official hotel for up to 18 hours a day that skaters are training or performing. The students will assist in providing comprehensive medical care, including initial injury assessment, application of therapeutic modalities, appropriate first aid, and preventive activities such as stretching and massage.

Established in 1987, Whitworth's athletic-training program enrolls 50 majors in a rigorous curriculum that includes 1,200 hours of clinical experience and prepares students for certification by the Board of Certification for Athletic Training. Several graduates have been selected for internships with professional sports teams; Whitworth athletic-training alums are sought after for teaching and athletic-training positions in high-school, college and university athletic departments. A number of Whitworth athletic-training graduates have earned advanced degrees to pursue other health-care professions including physician assistants, chiropractors and physical therapists.

Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The university, which enrolls more than 2,700 students, offers 55 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

Contacts:

Russ Richardson, director of athletic training, Whitworth University, (509) 777-3244 or rrichardson@whitworth.edu.

Emily Proffitt, public information officer, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or eproffitt@whitworth.edu.

Whitworth wins large grant to start scholarship program for underrepresented students in the sciences

2009-12-21T10:02:00.001-08:00

Grant also will fund science tutoring labs, supplemental science instruction for lower-division students

As enrollment in the sciences continue to decline at schools nationwide, threatening America's long-term ability to remain competitive and secure, Whitworth University has won a $587,494 grant to support its ongoing growth in science majors. Funded by the National Science Foundation, Whitworth’s "NSF Scholars: Training Tomorrow's Scientists Today" program will help financially support a total of 48 underrepresented students majoring in the sciences over the next four years.

Whitworth is the only liberal arts university in the Northwest to receive this type of NSF funding this year. Other Northwest schools that received funding this year include Oregon State University, the University of Oregon and Idaho State University.

The National Science Board has identified a critical need for more students majoring in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Yet highly-capable minority and low-income students often have trouble remaining in the sciences, usually because they lack learning strategies to help them understand how to learn science, knowledge of how to access resources, understanding that they need to ask for help early on, and understanding the vast job opportunities in scientific fields.

Whitworth, which has bucked national trends by increasing the number of its sciences majors by 50 percent in recent years, is seeking to continue that growth by undertaking a major science initiative that includes constructing a new $32 million biology/chemistry building, which is expected to be completed by next fall. The new NSF Scholars program, which will focus on helping underrepresented students such as women, ethnic minorities and the disabled receive the help they need to pursue the sciences, also is part of the university's commitment to the sciences.

"There is a recognized need nationally to train more students in the sciences, particularly in the Pacific Northwest, which is home to a lot of high-tech businesses," says Finn Pond, professor of biology at Whitworth and principal investigator for the NSF Scholars project. "We're excited about the grant because it allows us to address that need, and because we'll be able to bring students to Whitworth who many not have been able to come here otherwise."

The goal of the NSF Scholars program is to increase the number of underrepresented students graduating with degrees in the sciences by providing financial support and integration into the academic and social systems of the university. It will build upon the Act Six Leadership and Scholarship Initiative started at the university in 2003 that has provided scholarships to urban minority and low-income students from Spokane and Tacoma, Wash. In its sixth year, Act Six has a 94 percent graduation rate, far higher than the national average of 53 percent for all students.

The NSF Scholars program will follow a cohort model similar to what is used for Act Six, and will provide $4,000 scholarships per student each year of the four-year NSF grant. The university will start with 12 students next year and will add 12 students each year thereafter. The NSF Scholar program will use student academic support and mentoring services created for the Act Six students, such as a bridge program, tutoring, and faculty and peer mentors. The cohorts also will take freshman seminar together. The NSF Scholars program will add to the Act Six model by providing peer-facilitated supplemental instruction in the freshman foundational science sequences and an interdisciplinary course designed to guide students toward learning their own specific strengths and values so that they can discover what kinds of scientific, technological, engineering, or mathematics-related vocational opportunities would fit them best.

In addition to Pond, co-investigators for the project include Assistant Professor of Chemistry Kerry Breno, Associate Professor of Physics Kamesh Sankaran, and Associate Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science Pete Tucker. Ginny Whitehouse, associate professor of communications, will be in charge of training peer instructors, tutors, and faculty mentors.

Contacts:

Lynn Noland, director, sponsored programs office, Whitworth University, (509) 777-3701 or lnoland@whitworth.edu.

Emily Proffitt, public information officer, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or eproffitt@whitworty.edu.

Whitworth singers shine at competition for the National Association of Teachers of Singing

2009-11-20T14:48:00.001-08:00

Students win a total of nine awards at regional contest

Eight Whitworth singers earned a total of nine awards in the classical voice and musical theatre categories when Whitworth hosted auditions Nov. 13-14 for the National Association of Teachers of Singing.

More than 160 students from universities across Eastern Washington auditioned in the Inland Empire Chapter of NATS. In addition to Whitworth, singers hailed from Central Washington University, Eastern Washington University, Gonzaga University, Walla Walla University, Spokane Falls Community College, Washington State University, Whitman College and Yakima Valley College.

Senior Mollie McComb received two awards, taking first place in musical theatre and second place in classical voice. Senior Ellie VerGowe took first place in classical voice. Freshman MacKenzie Covington, junior Tyler Kruse, senior Mac Merchant and freshman Kirsten Mullen all received second place in classical voice. Sophomore Ira McIntosh took second place in musical theatre, and freshman Jordan Kingma earned third place in classical voice.

Scott Miller, director of voice studies and assistant professor at Whitworth, serves as the NATS audition chair.

“In addition to the Whitworth students who were recognized with awards, we had many who set goals for themselves heading into the auditions that they were successful in reaching, which is equally important and rewarding,” Miller said. “The best part is seeing students achieve that kind of personal and artistic growth, whether they ‘win’ or not. It’s an honor to teach such bright, talented, intellectually mature students. They represented the university very well.”

Miller credited Whitworth's strong performance at the competition to the students, voice faculty and pianists. He described the students involved in NATS as talented, hard-working, dedicated and receptive. The Whitworth voice faculty features excellent teachers who use their professional experience to help students, he says. And the pianists, who had to perform about 30 songs apiece, collaborated well with their students and essentially represented half of every performance.

The singers were students of Whitworth voice professors Patricia Blankenship-Mortier, Marjory Halvorson and Scott Miller, and were accompanied by staff pianists David Brewster, Beverly Rhodes and Mary Trotter.

The National Association of Teachers of Singing Inc. was founded in 1944 and is now the largest association of teachers of singing in the world. Today, NATS boasts more than 6,500 members in more than 25 other countries around the world. NATS offers a variety of lifelong learning experiences to its members, such as workshops, intern programs, master classes, and conferences, all beginning at the chapter level and progressing to national events.

Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The university, which has an enrollment of 2,700 students, offers 55 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

Contacts:

Scott Miller, NATS audition chair, director of voice studies and assistant professor, Whitworth University, (509) 777-3382 or smiller@whitworth.edu.

Emily Proffitt, public information officer, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or eproffitt@whitworth.edu.

Whitworth choirs to present 2009 Christmas Festival Concert, "Ye Shall Have a Song"

2009-11-18T10:03:00.000-08:00

The 2009 Whitworth University Christmas Festival Concert, "Ye Shall Have a Song," will take place in Bellevue, Seattle and Spokane, featuring the Whitworth Choir, the Whitworth Women's Choir, and, for the first time, the Whitworth Men’s Chorus. The production, built around themes of pilgrimage and song, will involve 110 student singers, accompanists and instrumentalists. For more information, please call (509) 777-3280.

The concert will include its title piece, Randall Thompson’s “Ye Shall Have a Song,” from The Peaceable Kingdom. The Whitworth Choir will sing the featured work of the program, John Rutter’s “Gloria,” which is accompanied by brass, organ, timpani and percussion. Other concert selections include “Cantate Domino,” by Jackson Berkey, Healey Willan’s “The Three Kings,” “Pilgrims’ Hymn,” by Stephen Paulus, Peter Louis Van Dijk’s, “Susa Ninna,” and “There is No Rose of Such Virtue,” a setting of the 15th-century English text composed specifically for the Whitworth Men’s Chorus and the 2009 Festival Concerts by Marc A. Hafso.

The Whitworth Choir and the Whitworth Men’s Chorus will perform under the direction of Marc A. Hafso, professor of music and director of choral activities. The Whitworth Women's Choir will perform under the direction of Debbie Hansen, associate director of choral activities and chair of the music department. Diana Trotter, professor of theatre, will serve as narrator, and Bonnie Robinson will serve as organist.

Following is concert and ticket information for each performance location:

Bellevue
When: Saturday, Dec. 5, at 7 p.m.
Where: First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue, 1717 Bellevue Way NE

Seattle
When: Sunday, Dec. 6, at 3 p.m.
Where: First Presbyterian Church of Seattle, 1013 8th Ave.

Spokane
When: Friday, Dec. 11, at 8 p.m., and Saturday, Dec. 12, at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Where: First Presbyterian Church of Spokane, 318 S. Cedar St.

Tickets: $18 general admission, $15 for students and seniors 62 and older. Tickets may be purchased by calling (800) 532-4668, online at www.whitworth.edu/musictickets or at the information desk in the Hixson Union Building at Whitworth. A limited number of tickets may also be available for purchase at the door prior to each concert.

Contacts:

Marc A. Hafso, professor of music and director of choral activities, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4589 or mhafso@whitworth.edu.

Joan Lack or Loree Swegle, music department program assistants, Whitworth University, (509) 777-3280 or jlack@whitworth.edu or lswegle@whitworth.edu.

Emily Proffitt, public information officer, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or eproffitt@whitworth.edu.

Whitworth team takes third place in Northwest Regional Ethics Bowl

2009-11-17T09:20:00.000-08:00

A team of Whitworth students took third place at the eighth annual Northwest Regional Ethics Bowl, hosted Nov. 14 by The Avanade Co., in Seattle, Wash. The Whitworth team defeated groups from Central Washington University and Montana State University to advance to the semifinals, where they lost a close match to another team from Central Washington University. This year marks the seventh time in eight years that a Whitworth team has placed in the semifinals or finals.

The Northwest Regional Ethics Bowl was one of 10 regional competitions held this fall as part of the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl (IEB).

In the IEB, a moderator poses questions to teams of three to five students. Questions may concern ethical problems on a wide range of topics. Each team receives a set of ethical issues in advance of the competition, and questions posed to teams at the competition are taken from that set. A panel of judges evaluates answers; rating criteria are intelligibility, focus on ethically relevant considerations, avoidance of ethical irrelevance, and deliberative thoughtfulness.

Prior to the Nov. 14 competition, Whitworth's interdisciplinary ethical-debate team analyzed 10 ethically complex cases pertaining to topics such as the creation of synthetic meat, policies in which women pay higher rates than men for similar types of health insurance, and how Kenya should manage national parks and resources in cases of severe food shortages.

In each round of the competition, a panel of judges posed a question about a topic; the teams prepared responses using reasoning, application of ethical theories, and cogent-policy analysis. The teams gave short presentations on their responses and then fielded questions from the judges.

Members of the Whitworth team include philosophy and theology majors Dan Herve, '10, and Jared Lollar, '11, philosophy and sociology major Benjameen Quarless, '12, philosophy and marketing major Mary Rupert, '10, and speech communications major Michella Sutherland, '12. The team was coached by Mike Ingram, professor of communication studies and associate dean for faculty development and scholarship, and Keith Wyma, associate professor of philosophy.

Organized by the Illinois Institute of Technology's Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions, the IEB develops students' intellectual abilities and capacities, deepens their ethical understanding, and reinforces their sense of ethical commitment. The IEB has received special commendation for excellence and innovation from the American Philosophical Association and won the American Philosophical Association/Philosophy Documentation Center's 2006 prize for Excellence and Innovation in Philosophy Programs. The format, rules, and procedures of the IEB all have been developed to model widely acknowledged best methods of reasoning in practical and professional ethics.

Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The university, which has an enrollment of 2,700 students, offers 55 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

Contacts:

Mike Ingram, professor of communication studies and associate dean for faculty development and scholarship, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4428 or mingram@whitworth.edu.

Emily Proffitt, public information officer, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or eproffitt@whitworth.edu.

Whitworth students stand out in Pacific Northwest Regional Computer Programming Contest

2009-11-16T09:53:00.000-08:00

Three teams of Whitworth computer-science students outmaneuvered their peers and solved a series of complex programming problems during the 34th annual Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Pacific Northwest Regional Computer Programming Contest. Eighty teams from the Western United States and Canada took part in the Nov. 7"battle of the brains" competition at the University of Idaho, in Moscow, Idaho. Four other contest sites in the region also hosted schools, and teams submitted their problems electronically to a central judging location.

The top Whitworth team - seniors Timothy Bull, David Jackson and Josh Simmons - solved five out of 10 problems in 428 minutes to beat 62 other teams and rank 18th. To view complete contest results, please visit http://cm.baylor.edu/public/worldMap/publicStandings.icpc?contestId=558&cid=737.

The second Whitworth team - juniors Ian Thompson and Cole Wardell - solved five problems in 1155 minutes to beat 48 other teams and rank 32nd among their peers. The third Whitworth team – freshman Eric Fode, senior Nathan Sargent, and senior Jason Heide – turned in a strong performance by solving two problems.

The top two Whitworth teams beat out Whitworth's peer schools in the region, as well as many teams from larger schools. The other participating teams at Whitworth's contest site included Gonzaga University, Eastern Washington University, Washington State University and the University of Idaho. Some of the other schools that participated in the regional competition included the University of Washington, the University of Oregon, University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University, Stanford University, and the University of California at Berkeley.

"The standings say a lot about the top-notch caliber of students that Whitworth attracts," says Kent Jones, professor of math and computer science at Whitworth. "Teams who rank well in the regional competition are looked on favorably by recruiters from corporations."

The ACM Pacific Northwest Programming Contest challenges teams of three university students to use their programming skills and rely on their mental endurance to solve complex, real-world problems within a five-hour deadline. The Whitworth contest is a regional competition of the IBM-sponsored ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest, which will gather 6,099 university teams from 82 countries on six continents during its preliminary rounds through December. The top two teams from each regional competition will earn coveted spots at the world finals, to be held in February, in Harbin, China.

The Pacific Region comprises Alaska, Hawaii, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, northern/central California and western Nevada. Because of the large geographic area of the region, the Pacific Northwest contest is held simultaneously at multiple sites: California, Washington/Oregon, Canada and Hawaii. For more information on previous contests, problem sets and last year’s final standings, please visit http://cm.baylor.edu/welcome.icpc.

Contacts:

Kent Jones, professor of math and computer science, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4248 or kjones@whitworth.edu.

Emily Proffitt, public information officer, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or eproffitt@whitworth.edu.

Whitworth Cultural Awareness Week to encourage exploration of diverse perspectives

2009-11-11T15:19:00.000-08:00

Whitworth University is sponsoring Cultural Awareness Week, "Open your Mind: LIVE...LOVE...LEARN...." Nov. 16-20, featuring Whitworth clubs and community groups representing traditions, beliefs and lifestyles of different cultures. The event will promote learning and understanding of various cultures at Whitworth, in the surrounding community and throughout the world.

"We are a multicultural society, and cultural competence is vital in today's world," says Jaquette Easterlin, cultural events coordinator for the Associated Students of Whitworth University. "I hope people walk away from this week with a newfound understanding of something or someone different from themselves."

In conjunction with Cultural Awareness Week, Whitworth will also hold an event in honor of Native American Awareness Month, which occurs in November. The Four Directions Native Club will host an Alaska Native Night, featuring a traditional Alaskan dinner and arts and crafts, on Wednesday, Nov. 11, at 6 p.m. in the Hixson Union Building's Multipurpose Room.

Following is information about Cultural Awareness Week events (events are free unless otherwise noted):

Monday, Nov. 16: Whitworth's Hawaiian Club will make Spam musabis, which are similar to sushi, at 11:30 a.m. in the HUB Multipurpose Room.

Monday, Nov. 16: The Black Student Union will host a "Bag of Hope" kickoff event at 12 p.m. in the HUB Lied Square. Bag of Hope is a fund-raising event, which will take place at 5 p.m., to assist an alumna from Whitworth who teaches in New Orleans. Her students need new supplies and snacks.

Monday, Nov. 16: Slam poets Shihan and Martin Boston will perform at 7 p.m. in the HUB Multipurpose Room.

Wednesday, Nov. 18: A film, "Born into Brothels," will be shown at 7:30 p.m. in the Robinson Teaching Theatre in Weyerhaeuser Hall.

Thursday, Nov. 19: The Open Conversation: Gay-Straight Association club will present
a screening of the documentary For the Bible Tells Me So at 7 p.m.in the Robinson Teaching Theatre in Weyerhaeuser Hall. For the Bible Tells Me So explores the intersection of homosexuality and Christianity in the U.S., and presents various interpretations of how the Bible addresses homosexuality. It also includes interviews with Christian parents who have raised gay and lesbian children and interviews with those adult children.

Thursday, Nov. 19: A gospel workshop, "The Birth of Gospel," will explore gospel music at 6 p.m. in the ASWU Chambers in the HUB.

Friday, Nov. 20: International Banquet, sponsored by the Whitworth International Club. A buffet dinner will be served at 5 p.m. in the Whitworth University Dining Hall. The dinner will feature an array of specialty foods from countries around the world.

An international fashion show and entertainment program will start at 6:30 p.m. and will feature Whitworth students and groups from the Spokane community. Performances will include a guest speech by Whitworth Professor of Sociology Raja Tanas, as well as Hawaiian dancing, steel drumming, French singing, African dancing, spoken word, and the Whitworth Exceptional Praise Gospel Choir. Tickets for the banquet are $15 general admission, $12 for students and children, and free for children five and under. Tickets can be purchased prior to the event by calling the Whitworth University Information Desk in the HUB at (509) 777-3796. Tickets can also be purchased at the door.

Contacts:

Jaquette Easterlin, ASWU Cultural Events Coordinator and MAC Chair, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4790 or jeasterlin10@whitworth.edu.

Emily Proffitt, public information officer, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or eproffitt@whitworth.edu.

Third annual Whitworth Symposium Nov. 12 to feature speaker from Mukogawa Women's University

2009-11-10T15:39:00.000-08:00

International Education Week also to include student poster presentations, faculty-led roundtable discussions with students from Japan and Whitworth

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In anticipation of International Education Week Nov. 16-20, the Whitworth University School of Education will sponsor a symposium, "Building Bridges and Breaking Down Barriers," featuring a keynote speech by Takashi OTSU, a lecturer at Mukogawa Women's University, in Japan. OTSU will speak on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 6 p.m., in the Hixson Union Building at Whitworth. The symposium also will feature student poster presentations and faculty-led roundtable discussions with students from Japan and Whitworth students, who will discuss the similarities and differences between education in the U.S. and Japan.

Ken Wrye, former director of the United Nations International School, in New York, will present a closing address at the symposium. Wrye, who graduated from Whitworth in 1966, has extensive teaching experience in Afghanistan, Greece and Moscow. Admission to the symposium is free and open to the public. For more information, please call (509) 777-3459.

OTSU's teaching specialties include French and English citizenship education. He received his bachelor of law degree in 1991 and his master’s in education in 1994. He has experience in teaching on the high school level and the university level in Japan. He was on the law faculty at the University of Tokyo, and he also taught master's- and doctoral-level courses in education. Additionally, he was a lecturer at Science University of Tokyo and Chuo Gakuin University.

The education symposium is a collaboration between Whitworth, Mukogawa Women’s University, Mukogawa Fort Wright Institute, Gonzaga University and Eastern University. The first symposium was hosted by Mukogawa Women's University and the Mukogawa Fort Wright Institute. Kaoru Nakatani, a former professor at the Mukogawa Women's University, first conceived the idea.

"The symposium is designed to promote a greater understanding of international issues in teacher education and appreciate of other cultures," says Roberta Wilburn, director of graduate studies in education at Whitworth.

The purpose of International Education Week, which is endorsed by the U.S. Departments of Education and State, is to build international understanding, to encourage programs that prepare Americans for life in a global environment, and to attract future leaders from abroad to study in the United States. The week is celebrated by more than 100 countries worldwide, according to the U.S. Department of Education website.

Whitworth requires all students to take a cross-cultural studies course as a component of their graduation requirements and offers dozens of international study tours and exchange programs that take students to the far reaches of the globe. A few years ago, the university launched its School of Global Commerce & Management, reflecting the growing international focus of Whitworth's undergraduate and graduate programs in accounting, economics and management.

Contacts:

Whitworth Graduate Studies in Education office, (509) 777-3228.

Roberta Wilburn, director of graduate studies in education, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4603 or rwilburn@whitworth.edu.

Emily Proffitt, public information officer, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or eproffitt@whitworth.edu.

Whitworth to mark ground-breaking on $32 million science building Nov. 12

2009-11-09T14:27:00.000-08:00

Critically needed science facility expected to open fall 2011

Whitworth University is taking a major step forward in ensuring the continued success of its thriving science program as construction begins on a new $32 million biology/chemistry building this month. The science center will be the first phase of a planned $53 million project to revamp the university's science facilities in response to a 50 percent increase in the number of science majors in recent years.

A ground-breaking ceremony, which will be open to the public, will be held on Thursday, Nov. 12, at 1 p.m. at the project site, which is located on the north end of campus, just west of the Eric Johnston Science Center. State and local officials, representatives from Spokane-area businesses, and friends and supporters of the university are expected to attend.

The three-story, 63,000-square-foot structure, which primarily will house Whitworth's biology and chemistry departments, will be the most expensive building in school history. It will feature state-of-the-art laboratories and instrumentation, animal-research facilities, and classrooms that can be converted to labs to meet the university's science and classroom needs for the next 20 years.

By implementing a number of sustainable practices in the construction and operation of the building, Whitworth has designed the facility to meet the Green Building Council's LEED Silver Certification. An example of the design’s green emphasis is a skylight that will flood the building, including the circulation atrium, with maximum natural light. Other sustainable options include rainwater collection for landscape irrigation, steam or geothermal heating, energy-efficient air-handling, and the use of locally produced building materials.

Spokane-based Bouten Construction Co. is the contractor for the project, which was designed by Seattle-based Miller Hull Partnership LLP. The project will have an estimated economic impact of $100 million on the Spokane area at a time when a number of other big construction projects in the community have been put on hold due to the slumping economy. The building is slated to open in late summer or early fall 2011.

Plans call for an estimated $16 million second phase of the project, which would involve building a 16,000-square-foot addition to the north end of the Eric Johnston Science Center. The rest of the building also would be remodeled.

Whitworth's biology, chemistry and physics departments currently are housed in the Johnston Center, which opened in 1966. The physics department will remain in the Johnston Center after the new building is completed, and the math and computer science department, which is currently in the Lindaman Center, will move in to the vacated space in Johnston, as will the health sciences department.

Whitworth is pursuing this substantial project partly because recent enrollment growth in its science programs has put significant strain on its science infrastructure. The number of science majors has grown from 420 to 632 in the last decade. Completion of the project also will enable Whitworth to continue to compete for high-caliber students against regional peers that have built new science facilities within the past 10 years.

In a larger context, by investing in its science programs, Whitworth seeks to help meet increasingly urgent local, regional, and national demands for graduates in science, engineering and education fields.

Locally, the continued strength of Spokane's economy depends on a highly trained and adaptive workforce, and the city is investing in institutions that will inspire a new wave of science and engineering entrepreneurs. In Washington state, employers are having to import graduates with science degrees because the state isn't producing enough of them. As a result, state leaders are calling for 8,000 more in-state graduates in science-related fields by 2010 and 10,000 more by 2020 to fill the jobs that are driving its economy. And on a national scale, the U.S. must make major investments in its science infrastructure to be able to continue to compete in the global economy.

Two weeks ago, President Obama signed into law the Energy and Water Appropriations Bill, in which U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris-Rogers was able to secure $300,000 for the new science building. Also, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell is supporting a pending $100,000 appropriation in the Senate's fiscal year 2010 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill.

"We're enormously grateful for the support of our congressional delegation in securing a federal appropriation for this project, which is critically important for Whitworth and also for our region, state and nation," says Whitworth Vice President for Finance and Administration Brian Benzel. "Our nation's role in the global economy depends on expanding the pipeline of scientists and engineers to sustain a fertile environment for innovation, discovery and service. Representative McMorris-Rodgers and Senator Cantwell recognize that Whitworth is meeting this need by educating a growing number of qualified and urgently needed doctors, nurses, scientists, engineers and science educators."

Whitworth is paying for the project through a combination of donations, government funds, and a bond issue. The university has raised $3.6 million so far and needs to raise additional funds in excess of $5 million before fund-raising for phase one is completed. To learn more about the project and to make a donation, please visit http://www.whitworth.edu/scienceinitiative/.

Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The university, which has an enrollment of 2,700 students, offers 55 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

Contacts:

Nancy Rau, associate director of donor relations & special events, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4250 or nrau@whitworth.edu.

Greg Orwig, director of university communications, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4580 or gorwig@whitworth.edu.

Professor of English receives esteemed Chawton House Fellowship

2009-11-05T16:51:00.000-08:00

This spring, Pamela Corpron Parker, '81, professor of English and department chair at Whitworth, will travel to the village in England where Jane Austen wrote several of her celebrated works, thanks to the Chawton House Fellowship she received recently.

The highly-competitive fellowship for British literature scholars will allow Parker to live onsite in Hampshire, England, while she works in the Chawton House Library on her book about British women writers. She will conduct research in Chawton’s British women writers’ special archive. The archive has many materials of first editions and biographical critical materials, specializing in 18th- and 19th-century British women writers.

"As the president of the British Women Writers’ Association, I am very pleased to be able to go and look at this new resource, and to be able to recommend it to other scholars and younger graduate students," Parker says. "It’s an honor to be invited."

Scholars from around the globe compete for the fellowship and a chance to stay at the Chawton House, where they have access to some of the greatest resources of British literary culture. Horse stables on the grounds were converted into apartments for scholars to stay in during their visit, and Parker says she’s looking forward to living in community with the scholars she’ll be working alongside when she stays there in April. The Chawton House is about an hour outside of London.

According to the Chawton House website, the aim of the fellowship is to enable individuals to undertake significant research on the 18th century and projects that focus on women's writing or lives during the period. Fellows are invited to present their work in progress at a seminar during their time at Chawton, and to participate in events organized by the Southampton Centre for Eighteenth-Century Studies.

In 1991, Parker co-founded the Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century British Women Writers Association (BWWA), and currently serves as the organization’s president and chairperson of the board. Last year she received the BWWA’s inaugural Award for Contributions to the Study of British Women Writers.

Parker's recent publications include "Elizabeth Gaskell's Autograph Collections and the Victorian Cult of Personality" in Women and Things: Gendered Material Practices, 1750-1950 (Ashgate, 2009), and "Locating Elizabeth Gaskell: Literary Tourism and Cranford" in Literary Tourism and Nineteenth Century Culture (Palgrave, 2008).

Parker holds a Ph.D. from the University of Oregon, master's degrees from Middlebury College and Eastern Washington University, and a bachelor's degree from Whitworth. She was the recipient of a 2007-2008 Armstrong Browning Fellowship at Baylor University, where, during Jan Term 2009, she conducted research on Elizabeth Barrett Browning for a forthcoming book, Literary Tourism and the Victorian Woman of Letters. The book will focus on how visiting the homes of female writers contributes to the way in which we imagine the authors. In August, Parker will present a lecture at the John Rylands Library at Manchester University, in Manchester, England, as part of their Elizabeth Gaskell Bicentenary Celebration.

Chawton House Library is an independent research library and study center that focuses on women's writing in English from 1600 to 1830. Accommodated in the Elizabethan manor house that once belonged to Jane Austen's brother, in the village of Chawton, in Hampshire, the library's main aim is to promote and facilitate study in the field of early women's writing.

Contacts:

Pamela Corpron Parker, professor of English and department chair, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4204 or pamelaparker@whitworth.edu.

Emily Proffitt, public information officer, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or eproffitt@whitworth.edu.

President of World Vision's U.S. offices to present Nov. 14 lecture at Whitworth

2009-11-04T11:27:00.000-08:00

>> Listen to Podcast

WHAT: A lecture, "The Hole in Our Gospel," by Richard Stearns

WHEN: Saturday, Nov. 14, at 7 p.m.

WHERE: Seeley Mudd Chapel at Whitworth University

COST: Admission is free. For more information, please call (509) 777-4263.

Richard Stearns is president of the U.S. offices of Federal Way, Wash.-based World Vision, an international Christian humanitarian charity organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to help tackle the causes of poverty and injustice. Since Stearns joined the organization in 1998, donations have nearly tripled from $358 million in 1998 to more than $1 billion in 2008, and overhead has decreased by nearly one-third.

As one of his first initiatives as president, Stearns called for focused efforts on increasing awareness of and funding for AIDS programs. His leadership in this area is even more significant given that at the time, the organization's research found that donors had little interest in helping to stop the spread of the disease; donors actually were less interested in helping children orphaned by AIDS than in aiding other disadvantaged children.

Stearns' lecture at Whitworth will be based on his book of the same name, which was published by Thomas Nelson earlier this year. The Hole in Our Gospel follows Stearns' journey from corporate CEO to advocate for those held captive by poverty and injustice, and challenges readers to view the gospel as more than a private transaction between God and individual Christians.

World Vision has more than 1,200 employees in the U.S. and partners with corporations, government agencies, foundations, churches and more than a million donors. It is the largest member of the global World Vision Partnership, which last year reached an estimated 100 million people in nearly 100 countries worldwide.

This year, Stearns was appointed to President Obama's Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. A native of Syracuse, N.Y., he received a B.A. in neurobiology from Cornell University and a master's degree in business administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He has received honorary doctorates from Eastern University and Azusa Pacific University. He launched his career in marketing for several Fortune 500 companies, starting with the Gillette Company. Prior to joining World Vision, he had served as president of Parker Brothers Games and as president and CEO of Lenox Inc.

Stearns' lecture is being sponsored by the Speakers & Artists Series and the Center for Service-Learning and Community Engagement.

Julie Shanholtzer, program assistant, Speakers & Artists Series and psychology department, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4263 or jshanholtzer@whitworth.edu.

Emily Proffitt, public information officer, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or eproffitt@whitworth.edu.

Whitworth's student newspaper wins prestigious Pacemaker Award

2009-11-03T13:53:00.000-08:00

Whitworth University's student newspaper, The Whitworthian, has won an Associate Collegiate Press Online Pacemaker Award. Pacemaker awards are considered the most esteemed honors in student journalism.

Roughly 220 schools nationwide participated in the 2009 ACP Online Pacemaker contest. The entries were divided into four categories: four-year daily newspaper, four-year non-daily newspaper, two-year newspaper, and non-newspaper publications. The Whitworthian, which competed against universities as much as four times Whitworth's size, was one of 20 schools named as finalists in the four-year non-daily newspaper category and is the only school from the Pacific Northwest represented in that category. Other finalists for the award included the University of Miami, the University of Missouri, Temple University, Loyola Marymount University and the College of William and Mary.

The Whitworthian also was named a finalist in the print edition category of the awards, making it one of only four non-daily newspapers in the country that was nominated for both the print and online categories. Other print edition finalists included the University of Chicago, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Vanderbilt University, and Ithaca College.

"The Whitworthian has a record of doing excellent work; last year under the leadership of editor-in-chief Joy Bacon and web editor Jasmine Linabary it reached new levels, and this year's staff is picking up right where last year's left off," says Jim McPherson, associate professor of communication studies and The Whitworthian advisor. "As this latest recognition indicates, the online version has been especially noteworthy, combining text and photos with a variety of multimedia tools such as video, slideshows and interactive timelines."

The newspaper's staff includes 18 editors and roughly 40 reporters, columnists, photographers and graphic designers.

"The editors and staff have worked diligently to create an excellent website and stellar print copies," says Morgan Feddes, editor-in-chief of The Whitworthian. "These awards are proof that our work through the years has paid off, especially online. But we can't stay where we are; the bar has been set, so we need to aim higher."

The contest was judged by Ellyn Angelotti, interactivity editor for the Poynter Institute, a leader in online journalism training and education. Angelotti noted that the top sites displayed excellence in integration of multimedia and user-generated content, navigability, breadth of coverage, clean design, and sound news judgment on the home page.

The awards were announced at the Associated Collegiate Press/College Media Advisors National College Media Convention in Austin, Texas, in October.

The Whitworthian website and its print edition also recently were selected to receive Region 10 Mark of Excellence Awards given by the Society of Professional Journalists. In both 2008 and 2007, The Whitworthian took third place in the Best All-Around Non-Daily Student Newspaper category in the Region 10 Mark of Excellence Awards. In fall 2007, The Whitworthian won third place in "Best of Show" in the four-year weekly tabloids category at the 86th annual Associated Collegiate Press/College Media Advisors National College Media Convention. In spring 2007, the newspaper won the top award in the Inland Northwest Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists 2006 Excellence in Journalism Competition.

Contacts:

Jim McPherson, associate professor of communication studies and The Whitworthian advisor, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4429 or jmcpherson@whitworth.edu.

Emily Proffitt, public information officer, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or eproffitt@whitworth.edu.

Whitworth Sustainability Challenge encourages individual awareness, commitment

2009-10-30T09:48:00.000-07:00

Dinner with Bill Robinson, $1,000 donation to Second Harvest, pizza party
up for grabs in friendly competition among students, employees

Whitworth University’s Fall Sustainability Challenge, Nov. 8-14, will offer students, faculty and staff a fun way to learn how individual decisions they make about recycling, food, energy, transportation and water to meet their needs affect the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

"I hope more students become aware of the changes that need to be made on campus and in their own lives in order to be a more eco-friendly school," says Katie Staudinger, a junior peace studies major who is president of the student environmental club Good Deeds for Trees. "I want students to realize how easy it is to make small changes that have big impacts in saving the planet. Additionally, it's our calling as Christians to be stewards of the creation that God made for us."

The challenge pits each of Whitworth’s residence hall communities, off-campus students, and faculty/staff against one another to determine who can do the most to learn about and promote sustainability. Participants can learn how to live more sustainably and win prizes by:

Taking the Whitworth sustainability pledge

Completing an online quiz that details one’s ecological impact

Submitting entries in poster and YouTube video contests promoting activities that make Whitworth a more sustainable campus

Taking part in Prime Time sustainability activities in the residence halls each night of the challenge. Activities will include guest speakers, videos, games, discussions and opportunities to create and view entries in the poster and YouTube video contests.

Details of the sustainability challenge are available on Whitworth’s website at www.whitworth.edu/sustainabilitychallenge.

The group with the highest point total by the end of the week will be able to choose from the following prizes: a formal dinner hosted by Bill Robinson, a pizza party during finals week or a $1,000 donation to Second Harvest food bank made in honor of the winners. The winner of the sustainability poster contest will receive an iPod and the winner of the YouTube video contest will receive a Flip video camera. All of the prizes are provided by Sodexo from savings created when Whitworth’s students voted to remove trays from the dining hall to reduce food waste.

The challenge is organized by the Presidential Planning Commission’s sustainability sub-committee, which was established to identify and prioritize activities that should be undertaken to make the campus more sustainable. The sub-committee has identified short- and long-term goals for education/curriculum, research operations, and external communications/outreach. These goals, as well as sustainability initiatives already undertaken by the university, are outlined on Whitworth’s website at: www.whitworth.edu/sustainability. Recent sustainability initiatives include plans to construct a $31.7 million biology/chemistry building to meet LEED silver requirements for green building and operations, a board endowment committee decision to invest $2.5 million in clean technologies, completion of a comprehensive carbon audit of university operations and sustainability challenges to raise campus awareness.

"The point of the sustainability challenge is to help people see the little things that they can do to make a big difference toward sustainability," says Patrick Van Inwegen, associate professor of political science and co-chair of Whitworth’s sustainability sub-committee. "I hope that by participating in the challenge, people will be more conscious consumers and have a better sense of how their actions affect those around them. Our consumption of natural resources increasingly comes at the expense of the rest of the world. We have a mission of following Christ, whose life exemplified caring for the poor and marginalized in society."

Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The university, which has an enrollment of 2,700 students, offers 55 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

Contacts:

Patrick Van Inwegen, associate professor of political science, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4844 or pvaninwegen@whitworth.edu.

Greg Orwig, director of university communications, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4580 or gorwig@whitworth.edu.

Whitworth senior wins prestigious award for scientific research

2009-10-26T13:02:00.000-07:00

Danjuma Quarless presented research at University of Massachusetts, in Boston

Senior Danjuma Quarless received first place in the 2009 Scientific Poster Presentation this summer while participating in the University of Massachusetts Medical School Summer Research Fellowship Program. Recently, he also was accepted to present his research at the American Society of Cell Biology's annual conference, which will be held in San Diego this December.

Quarless received the award from the University of Massachusetts for his research in deflagellation-induced gene expression in Chlamydomonas. Chlamydomonas is a type of green alga and unicellular flagellates. Flagellate are cells with one or more whip-like organelles called flagella, found in some animals.

"My experience presenting in Boston paled in comparison to the experience of performing the research at UMass Med," says Quarless, who is a resident of Lakewood, Wash. "I was treated as a true grad school student and I carried a major portion of responsibility for the project, which forced me to step up to the plate and provided an opportunity for personal and professional growth."

Funded by the National Institutes of Health, Quarless’s study examined the genetic regulation of flagella growth in the microbe Chlamydomonas. These are similar in structure and function to human cilia, which are cells that create a lashing movement, especially found in free unicellular organisms. Defects in human cilia are linked to kidney disease, male sterility, retinal degeneration and obesity. With help from the Whitman lab’s Jason Brown, Quarless developed an analysis that can be used to measure the extent of flagella gene expression in Chlamydomonas.

All three judges gave Quarless perfect scores for the presentation of his poster in the categories of overall verbal skills, overall poster quality, effectiveness of the verbal presentation, effectiveness of the poster presentation, quality of work and organization. He took first place in the competition for the entire program as best overall poster, presentation, and experiment.

"He is always one of the first students to ask an insightful question, and he is always engaged in the material," says Frank Caccavo, Whitworth professor of biology and Quarless's advisor.

Caccavo adds that Quarless has been instrumental in the development of a new bioinformatics degree at Whitworth. The degree will combine the fields of biology and computer science. Quarless is majoring in mathematics with a concentration in bioinformatics. After graduating in May, Quarless plans to attend graduate school in the field of bioinformatics, mathematical biology or biomedical sciences.

During his sophomore year, Quarless completed a study, "Comparing Beta-globin Gene Clusters Using a Fractal Geometry Visualization Tool." He teamed with Finn Pond, professor of biology, and Kent Jones, professor of mathematics and computer science, to compare human and chimpanzee DNA through a computer program created at Whitworth. Their goal was to create a computer program that could analyze and determine information about genetic sequences acquired from online sources, such as the National Institute for Biotechnology Information, Quarless says.

Outside the lab, Quarless played football for two years and is in his third year as a member of Whitworth’s track and field team. He also is part of the fourth cadre of Act Six, a leadership and scholarship program that equips emerging urban leaders to engage in the college campus and their communities at home. Quarless served as a student representative for ASWU his junior year, and attended two of the national Act Six meetings.

Contacts:

Frank Caccavo, professor of biology, Whitworth University, (509) 777-3454 or fcaccavo@whitworth.edu.

Emily Proffitt, public information officer, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or eproffitt@whitworth.edu.

Whitworth named a top producer of Fulbright students for 2009-10

2009-10-22T15:19:00.000-07:00

The Fulbright Program recently announced that Whitworth was a top producer of students who received Fulbright awards in 2009-10. Whitworth was the only private institution in Washington state to be recognized. The success of the top-producing institutions was highlighted in the Oct. 19 print edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education and in its online edition. Whitworth, which submitted seven applications and had two Fulbright scholars selected, is listed in the master's institutions category, along with 28 other institutions including University of Redlands, Drake University, and Ithaca College. Visit http://chronicle.com/section/Home/5 to view the top-producers list (the list appears below the article).

Whitworth alumnae Kendra Hamilton and Amy Whisenand, both '09, were selected last April to receive Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship grants to teach English as a foreign language in Malaysia and Germany, respectively. This was the second time two Whitworth students had received Fulbright awards in the same year. Since 2000, 10 Whitworth students and four faculty members have been selected as Fulbright scholars, according to John Yoder, Whitworth professor of political science and the university's Fulbright advisor.

"The fact that Whitworth students are consistently winning Fulbrights, among the most prestigious academic awards in the U.S., is evidence of the high caliber of our undergraduate programs," Yoder says. "More important, winning a Fulbright opens doors to great academic and professional opportunities for students in the future."

The achievement of having two students receive Fulbright awards in 2009-10 is notable in light of the fact that of the 29 schools in Whitworth's category, only three are smaller than Whitworth, while others, such as Villanova, City College of New York, Rochester Institute of Technology, and Hunter College, have between 10,000 and 20,000 students. Another category of schools receiving multiple Fulbright grants includes top-name research institutions that submitted applications at every level, including numerous proposals for master's or Ph.D. research. For example, the University of Chicago had 128 applications at all levels while Whitworth submitted seven at the bachelor's level. Many of the schools that won more than one award are Ivy League schools and prestigious institutions such as Bryn Mawr and Macalester, according to Yoder.

In October, Whitworth submitted six undergraduate applications for the 2010-11 Fulbright awards: three for English teaching awards in Argentina, Belgium and Malaysia, and three for research awards in Bahrain, El Salvador and Ethiopia. Applicants who make the first cut will be announced in early February; Fulbright recipients will be named in late spring.

Under the Fulbright Program, more than 1,500 American students in more than 100 different fields of study were offered 2009-10 grants to study, teach English, and conduct research in more than 125 countries throughout the world beginning this fall.

Of the roughly 1,500 Fulbrighters, 65 percent are at bachelor’s-degree level, 17 percent are at master's-degree level, and 19 percent are at Ph.D. level. Students receiving awards for this academic year applied through 570 colleges or universities. Lists of Fulbright recipients are available at www.fulbrightonline.org/us.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program equips future American leaders with the skills they need to thrive in an increasingly global environment by providing funding for one academic year of study, research or assistant teaching abroad. Fellows undertake self-designed programs in disciplines ranging from the social sciences, business, communication and performing arts to physical sciences, engineering and education.

Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided approximately 290,000 participants worldwide with the opportunity to observe each others’ political, economic and cultural institutions, exchange ideas and embark on joint ventures of importance to the general welfare of the world’s inhabitants. In the past 61 years, almost 42,000 students from the United States have benefited from the Fulbright experience.

Contacts:

John Yoder, professor of political science and Fulbright advisor, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4432 or johnyoder@whitworth.edu.

Emily Proffitt, public information officer, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or eproffitt@whitworth.edu.

Poet Bruce Guernsey to present Endowed English Reading Nov. 6 at Whitworth

2009-10-21T15:31:00.000-07:00

Award-winning poet Bruce Guernsey is Whitworth's Endowed English Reader for 2009. Guernsey will read from his works on Friday, Nov. 6, at 7 p.m. in the Robinson Teaching Theatre in Weyerhaeuser Hall at Whitworth University. A book sale and reception will follow the reading. Admission is free. For more information, please call (509) 777-3253.

Guernsey is a distinguished professor emeritus at Eastern Illinois University, where he taught creative writing and American literature for 25 years. His poems have appeared in Poetry, The Atlantic, American Scholar, and more diverse publications such as The Journal of Medical Opinion, Cat Fancy, and Yankee. His prose has been published in War, Literature and the Arts, The Virginia Quarterly Review, and Fly Rod & Reel. His essay "The Raven's Gift" won the creative nonfiction award from the journal, Flyway. He also was a featured poet in Ted Kooser's American Life in Poetry.

Guernsey has published three of his own poetry collections, including New England Primer (Cherry Grove Editions, 2008), The Lost Brigade (Water Press and Media, 2005), and January Thaw (University of Pittsburgh Press, 1982). In 2007, he took over as editor of Spoon River Poetry Review.

Guernsey has received fellowships in writing from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Illinois Arts Council and the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference. He was awarded seven faculty excellence awards while at Eastern Illinois University, and in 1992 he received the State of Illinois Board of Governors' Distinguished Professor Award, the highest honored offered by that state. He also was nominated twice for the Carnegie Institute's United States Professor of the Year. He received Fulbright Lectureships to Portugal and Greece, and he has sailed around the world twice with Semester at Sea.

Guernsey taught previously at the College of William and Mary, Johns Hopkins University, the University of New Hampshire, and Virginia Wesleyan College, where he was the poet in residence for four years. He graduated with honors from Colgate University, holds M.A. degrees from the University of Virginia and Johns Hopkins University, and holds a Ph.D. from the University of New Hampshire.

The English Readings Endowment was established to bring nationally recognized writers to the Whitworth campus and the greater Spokane area. During their time on campus and in the community, visiting writers offer classroom visits, workshops, meetings with students and faculty, and literary readings.

Contacts:

Doug Sugano, professor of English, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4212 or dsugano@whitworth.edu.

Annie Stillar, program assistant, English department, Whitworth University, (509) 777-3253 or astillar@whitworth.edu.

Emily Proffitt, public information officer, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or eproffitt@whitworth.edu.