Whitworth College

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Whitworth College

Whitworth College Seal
Motto An Education of Mind and Heart
Established 1890
Type Private liberal arts college
President William P. Robinson
Students 2,504 students
(Fall 2006)
Location Spokane, Washington, USA
Campus 200 acres
Nickname Pirates
Affiliations Presbyterian Church (USA)
Website www.whitworth.edu

Whitworth College is a private Christian liberal arts college located in Spokane, Washington that offers bachelor's and master's degrees in a variety of academic disciplines. It is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA).

Founded in 1883 in Sumner, Washington by George Whitworth as the Sumner Academy, it became Whitworth College in 1890. In 1899, Whitworth moved from Sumner to Tacoma, and in 1914, it moved from Tacoma to Spokane.

Whitworth offers 40 undergraduate majors, and six graduate programs. The current president is William P. Robinson.

Whitworth's fall 2006 enrollment of 2,504 students is an all-time high. The 89-percent freshman-sophomore retention rate and 74-percent six-year graduation rate are also at or near record highs. The student-faculty ratio is 14/1.

Undergraduate programs currently offered include accounting (B.A.), American studies (B.A.), applied physics (B.A.), areas of concentration (B.A./B.S.), art (B.A.) arts administration (B.A.), athletic training (B.A.), bachelor of liberal studies (B.L.S.), biology (B.A., B.S.), business management (B.A.), chemistry (B.A., B.S.), communication (B.A.), community arts, community engagement and transformation, computer science (B.A., B.S.), cross-cultural studies (B.A.) dance, economics (B.A.) education, incl. elementary, secondary, special education (B.A.), engineering (3-2), English (B.A.), French (B.A.) German, health/fitness/physical education (B.A.), history (B.A.), international business (B.A.), international studies (B.A.), journalism and mass communication (B.A.), leadership studies, marketing (B.A.), mathematics (B.A., B.S.), medieval and early modern studies, music (B.A.) music education (B.A.), nursing (B.S.) organizational management (B.A.) peace studies (B.A.), philosophy (B.A., physics (B.A., B.S.) political science (B.A.), pre-dental, pre-law, pre-medicine, pre-physical therapy, psychology (B.A.) quantitative analysis (B.A.), sociology (B.A.), Spanish (B.A.), speech communication (B.A.), theatre (B.A.), theology (B.A.) visual communication, women's studies. Graduate programs currently offered include master in teaching, master of arts in teaching, master of education (elementary or secondary), master of education in guidance and counseling, master of education in school administration, master of international management, master of business administration

Whitworth's board of trustees voted to change the institution's official name to Whitworth University effective July 1, 2007[1].

Contents

[edit] Media

Whitworth has three major student-run media outlets that serve the campus:

[edit] Student Life

Whitworth offers students many opportunities to enjoy college life. Every Thursday at 9:30 p.m., ASWC offers free entertainment, known as "Half Past 9." Recent Half Past 9s have included concerts, film showings, and comedy shows. ASWC also offers campus-wide programs each year such as Pirate Idol and Relay for Life. Students enjoy the many intramural sports offered, such as ultimate, basketball, indoor soccer, and volleyball. Whitworth offers many clubs that present various activities throughout the year, such as the Hawaiian Club and its Spring Luau.

The over-arching goal of Whitworth Student Life is to build a warm and supportive residential community where students have multiple points of contact – with roommates and other residents, with their student leaders and with the resident directors.

The editor of Reslife.net, an online magazine serving student-life professionals nationwide, heard about Whitworth’s approach to residence hall staffing and programming and asked the college's associate dean of students to write an article outlining his philosophy. The article recently was re-printed for the Association of College and University Housing Officers International.

The article points out the fact that Whitworth’s leadership program, developed in the mid-1980s, employs a greater number and variety of student leaders than is typical at most colleges and universities. In addition to the traditional slate of resident assistants, each Whitworth residence hall has ministry coordinators, health coordinators, and cultural diversity advocates – positions quite unique in nature[2].

Having these additional positions means that more students with more diverse skills and interests are able to take advantage of Whitworth’s student-leadership opportunities and to benefit from the personal growth and vocational experiences that they provide. Additionally, the time commitment is relatively low for most positions, so student leaders also can be involved in other extra-curricular activities.

Hiring additional student leaders also results in a ratio of residents to leaders in Whitworth’s residence halls of about ten to one, compared to the 20-to-one ratio at many other institutions, including private liberal-arts colleges.

[edit] Dorm Life

Whitworth offers 10 residence halls for undergraduate students:

Students are strongly encouraged to live on campus for at least two years, and many opt to stay longer to be part of student leadership teams or to live in one of the newer buildings. In addition to the eleven residence halls, Whitworth sponsors several 'theme houses' each year. Some recurring themes include Cross-Country, Swimming, Women's Health and Wellness, and Simplicity in Living.

[edit] Athletics

Whitworth's athletics teams are the Pirates (or, unofficially, the Bucs). The college offers 20 varsity sports and competes in the Northwest Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III. Men can compete in football, basketball, swimming, track and field (indoor and outdoor), golf, tennis, and baseball; women can compete in volleyball, basketball, swimming, track and field (indoor and outdoor), golf, tennis, and softball.

Since moving to the NCAA, Whitworth teams have proven their mettle against teams and individual athletes from much larger schools with exemplary athletics programs.

In 2006, swimmer Samantha Kephart won two national championships – in the 100- and 200-yard butterfly events, respectively – at the 2006 NCAA Division III swim tournament, setting a Division III record in the 200 butterfly. In addition, the Whitworth Men's Swim Team has won 5 consecutive Conference Championships. The 2006 Pirate football team had an 11-1 record, its best ever, finished the season ranked 9th in the nation, and made it to the second round of the NCAA Div. III playoffs. Tight end Michael Allan, a 2005 AFCA DIII All-American and a pre-season 2006 All-America pick, was invited to participate in the 2006 NFL Combine and to play in both the Hula Bowl and the Shrine East-West All-Star Game. He was the only NCAA DIII football athlete invited to all three events. Among his many postseason honors, Allan was named to the Associated Press Little All-America Team and the D3football.com All-America First Team.

In 2005, men's soccer went to the DIII Final Four and finished third in the nation. In that same year, the women's volleyball team set home attendance records while winning the Northwest Conference championship and going on to compete in the regional finals. And the college won the Northwest Conference's McIlroy-Lewis All-Sports Trophy, which measures athletic excellence across all competitive fields.

In 2004, track-and-field star Kristen Shields was named U.S. College-Division Academic All-American of the Year (along with the University of Connecticut's Emeka Okafor). Since 2000, four Whitworth teams have won the NCAA DIII Top Team GPA Award.

The men's 1996 basketball team finished second in the nation in the NAIA. In 2007, the men's basketball team won another NWC title, defeating Lewis and Clark 69-62[3].

Whitworth won a national championship as an NAIA school in 1960, when the baseball team defeated Georgia Southern University, 4-0.

[edit] Notable alumni

  • Ross Anderson, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
  • Charles Boppell, retired president and CEO of Worldwide Restaurant Concepts, Inc.
  • Saisuree Chutikul, secretary-general of Thailand's National Youth Bureau
  • Philip Eaton, president of Seattle Pacific University
  • Sia Figiel, Samoan novelist
  • Frank Hernandez, award-winning opera singer
  • Peter Hunner, internationally acclaimed artist and glassblower
  • Jena Lee, executive director of Blood:Water Mission
  • Ron Leighton, U.S. District Court judge
  • David Myers, social psychologist and author
  • Kyle Orwig, professor and research scientist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
  • Jen Pifer, senior producer, CNN Investigative Unit
  • Anna Schowengerdt, leader of humanitarian relief programs for Catholic Relief Services
  • Gary Stebbins, president of Software Tools & Toys, Inc.

[edit] External links

[edit] References


Northwest Conference
George Fox • Lewis & Clark • Linfield • Pacific • Pacific Lutheran • Puget Sound • Whitman • Whitworth • Willamette
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