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![[Pacific Lutheran Scene]](img/logo.gif)
In the News
Eastvold
renovation, CLT come to forefront of campaign planning
The Campaign for Pacific Lutheran
University achieved a major milestone in March with the announcement
of a $1 million capstone/completing grant from the M.J. Murdock
Charitable Trust for the Center for Learning and Technology.
The Murdock grant will support construction
of new classrooms, laboratories and offices for the Department
of Computer Science and Computer Engineering in the CLT. The award
is another incentive in the campaign, as the grant is contingent
on PLU raising the balance of the funds to complete construction.
To date $11.5 million of the projected $19 million CLT goal has
been raised. The overall campaign now stands at more than $98
million in commitments.
In other fund-raising news, great
strides continue to be made in planning for the renovation of
Eastvold Auditorium. The Eastvold Restoration and Expansion Leadership
Committee-chaired by Dean Emeritus Dick and Marcia Moe and Kurt
and Pam Mayer-has met several times to establish naming and commemorative
opportunities and to begin developing the case for support for
each of the Eastvold project components. At the last meeting,
two families on the committee, the Moes and Ron '70 and Ingrid
(Knutzen '70) Gintz, stepped forward with leadership gifts to
move the project forward. A separate campus design planning committee
has begun working with Lorig and Associates on the project.
As the new home for the Division
of the Humanities, a retooled Eastvold will reaffirm the central
role of the humanities in PLU's mission. An exciting addition
will be The Gintz Family Theater, a black box theater with movable
chairs and lighting in which the theater department can stage
small performances, rehearsals and classes. The expanded Eastvold
will also feature a refurbished and enlarged Tower Chapel, and
provide updated broadcast facilities for KPLU-FM 88.5.
David Aubrey, vice president for
development and university relations, hailed recent campaign progress,
saying, "We celebrate these generous gifts, but it is also
the gifts of all donors that have brought us ever closer to reaching
our goals for The Campaign for Pacific Lutheran University."
PLU
makes special tribute to the Ben B. Cheney Foundation
Earlier this year, the university
paid a special tribute to a local institution that has been a
longtime, steadfast partner and supporter of PLU.
In March, students and faculty gathered for the annual Ben B.
Cheney Foundation Scholars Luncheon to recognize and thank the
foundation and its Executive Director, past PLU President Dr.
William O. Rieke '53 for helping to provide the best possible
educational and personal growth experience for PLU students.
Since 1976, the foundation has contributed
nearly $1 million to provide merit scholarships for 134 students
and also to supply funding for capital projects, including the
revitalization of Xavier. Its support of PLU's mission to educate
for lives of service is invaluable.
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Paul Menzel
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Provost
Paul Menzel heads back to the classroom
After eight years as the university's
chief academic officer, Provost Paul Menzel will leave his administrative
duties and return to the classroom.
Teaching has always been a priority
for Menzel, a philosophy professor who has taught one course a
year during his term as provost. He is eager to devote himself
full-time to working with students again.
During Menzel's tenure, the university
has expanded international educational opportunities and continually
upgraded technology. He set priorities for faculty and curriculum
and played in central role in establishing PLU as one of the Associated
New American Colleges dedicated to the integration of liberal
arts and professional programs.
"We appreciate Paul's service
to the university and the faculty and his commitment to providing
the highest quality of education," said PLU President Loren
J. Anderson. "Students will benefit from having him in the
classroom more, but the entire university will miss his leadership."
Menzel, who joined the faculty in
1971, was dean of the Division of Humanities and chair of the
philosophy department before becoming provost in 1994. He specializes
in social philosophy and ethics and has become an internationally
known expert in the field of health care ethics and philosophy
of health economics. He has written two books on the subject,
including "Strong Medicine: The Ethical Rationing of Health
Care."
PLU
gains exposure in The Chronicle of Higher Education
PLU made a splash in an important
story in The Chronicle of Higher Education this spring.
The Chronicle featured images from
graduate Charlotte Gogstad's e-portfolio in a March 8 story about
how grads are using multimedia options instead of a standard resume.
Gogstad '01 developed her CD-ROM while she was a senior. It contains
examples of her student work, details about her studies and even
video testimonials from her former employers. She said in the
article that her e-portfolio helped her land a job with a British
telecommunications company.
Student
journalists spark movement to remember reporter
The PLU student chapter of the Society
of Professional Journalists developed a meaningful, evocative
tribute to slain Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl that
drew national attention.
"Our students were so shaken
by Pearl's murder they wanted to do something to show solidarity,"
said Joanne Lisosky, a journalism professor. They wore off-white
or pearl-colored ribbons attached with pearl-headed pins on campus
this week. When asked why, they said, "For Daniel Pearl.
Not only soldiers are dying for our freedoms."
The national SPJ was so impressed
with the PLU chapter's efforts, it sent out a press release across
the country. Stories were published in newspapers across the state
and country and on National Public Radio and CBS Radio. The national
chapter called on its members and others to find ways to honor
the life and service of Daniel Pearl and other murdered journalists,
including public ways that serve as a reminder of the essential
role that journalists play in America and around the world.
SPJ President Al Cross, political
reporter and columnist for The (Louisville) Courier-Journal, said
the PLU students' actions add meaning to the words that he and
others have found inadequate in expressing their grief and outrage
about Pearl's murder.
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Sam Amoo (LEFT), University
of Namibia, and Inger Haug, Hedmark College
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Faculty,
students research Nordic approach to democracy
PLU's innovative program to work with
universities in Norway and Namibia to study the Nordic approach
to peace and democracy has already spurred research and travel
opportunities for faculty and students.
A semester-long class at Hedmark
College is being developed, and plans are underway for a course
on PLU's campus as well. At every level, the program will enhance
understanding of cultural differences, politics and human rights
issues by focusing on the relationship between a country's societal
practices and its approach to world issues of democracy and development.
The first of the faculty-student
research teams are engaged in study surrounding the Nordic approach.
Jennifer Hasty, assistant professor of anthropology, and Ruth
Rondema '03, an anthropology student, are conducting work in Namibia
this summer. Ann Kelleher, professor of political science, and
Scandinavian Studies student Kimberly Andre '03 are studying the
work of nonprofit organizations in Norway with a group that works
with agencies in Namibia.
Sam Amoo from the University of Namibia
and Inger Haug of Hedmark College visited PLU this spring to speak
to the university community about the exciting joint venture.
The partnership between the three colleges will "help students
at likeminded universities become citizens of the world,"
Provost Paul Menzel said.
Partnering with the two divergent
universities was a natural for PLU. Namibia and Norway both have
large Lutheran populations and make protecting human rights a
priority.
So far, the program has generated
more than $300,000 in commitments, mostly from the Norwegian community
in Seattle.
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Maurice Skones
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Influential
Choir of the West Director Maurice Skones dies
Former Choir of the West Director
Maurice Skones, who was credited with bringing national attention
to PLU's choral program, died May 2, in Tucson, Ariz.
Skones, 75, came to PLU in 1964 as
chairman of the music department and director of the Choir of
the West. During his 18-year tenure, he achieved a national reputation
for the choir, was instrumental in the fivefold increase in music
majors and encouraged emphasis on contemporary music. While at
PLU, he developed a new type of choral sound, which departed in
some ways from the Lutheran choral tradition of emphasis on sectional
unity. In its place he created a "heterogeneous" choral
formation in which the choir is organized not by sections but
by quartets.
A native of Montana, he graduated
from Concordia College in Minnesota, completed his master's degree
at Montana State University and earned his doctorate from the
University of Arizona. Skones left PLU in 1983 to head choral
activities and graduate programs in conducting at the University
of Arizona.
Memorials can be made to the Dr.
Maurice and Patricia Skones Vocal Music Endowment Scholarship
Fund at PLU.
A memorial service will be held on
the PLU campus in late August. For specifics, email deuane@earthlink.net
Academic
Distinction Commission strives for educational excellence
How will a PLU student be distinguished
from other college graduates? The PLU 2010 Academic Distinction
Commission envisions possibilities that might be reflected in
the experiences of two mythical PLU students:
Allison Tredwell '09 is from Fargo,
N.D., majoring in sociology with a minor in Chinese Studies. As
a junior, she spent the fall semester at Zhongshan University
in Guangzho (Canton), where she studied Chinese and interned with
the World Bank. Already published, Allison's senior capstone project
focuses on research conducted with Professor Greg Guldin on the
use of education as an instrument for reducing poverty and inequality.
Allison has applied for a Fulbright Scholarship in an effort to
return to China and study health and social welfare systems. Her
long-range career goal is to work for the United Nations in Human
Rights.
Jorge Ramirez '10 is a junior from
Tucson, Ariz. He is a computer science and economics double major
concentrating in the study of ethics involved with the integration
technology in underdeveloped nations. Jorge spent the spring semester
in Trinidad and Tobago at the University of the West conducting
research to better understand how the Caribbean culture and society
have been influenced by technology in the 21st Century. Upon his
return to PLU, Jorge plans work in the Center for Learning and
Technology with Professor Ken Blaha developing software systems
for a group of agencies that deliver services to residents in
Tacoma's Hilltop area.
Those student vignettes illustrate
the Academic Distinction Commission's recommendations that a PLU
education focus on the university's international study and undergraduate
research opportunities and more intentionally incorporate the
Lutheran heritage with issues of ethics and service/experiential
learning.
"The journey toward distinctiveness
is an ongoing one. In many wonderful ways, PLU is already distinctive,"
the commission says in its report as part of the PLU 2010 long-term
planning. "We cannot, however, rest on our well-earned laurels;
the higher education landscape promises to be dynamic and potentially
uncertain over the next decade or more."
Study
examines students' technological proficiency
As part of its ongoing commitment
to ensuring technological competence, the Instructional Resources
Committee is studying how well prepared students are for the increasingly
high-tech workforce.
The committee is compiling results
of a survey taken in the spring. The thrust is to get a better
understanding of what technological background students have initially
and how well prepared they are by the time they graduate. The
primary question the committee aims to answer is, "Did students
learn?"
"PLU is working hard to be successful
and have students be technologically literate," said Chris
Hansvick, professor of psychology and IR Committee member.
Students in the PLU class of 2006
are a part of a new generation of learners. Traditional-age freshmen
have grown up in the digital age and will move into a workforce
with a high level of technical expectations waiting for them,
Hansvick said. Many students enter the university with advanced
technological skills, but others have gaps in their computer backgrounds.
Through this study and various university initiatives, PLU will
bridge any gaps and graduate every student with technological
proficiency, said Dean of Information Resources Chris Ferguson.
These resources will supplement an already strong PLU education.
"Technology can enhance education,"
Ferguson said. "It can deepen the teaching-learning experience."
PLU has already taken the initiative
with the use of eCourse, the online class supplement on which
professors post educational materials and students exchange information.
PLU has also significantly increased archives and current information
available at Information Resource and maintains skilled and dedicated
faculty and staff to provide the most up-to-date opportunities
to students.
Former
debaters wanted to participate in reunion
PLU has a strong history of successful
intercollegiate forensics competition, most recently its 2002
Championship at the International Debate Education Association
Tournament in Romania. Now there are plans to recognize the alumni
who made this program the success it is today.
PLU will host its first Forensics
Reunion in the spring of 2003. This event is for all those associated
with or interested in PLU forensics. This will be an opportunity
for graduates to reflect on their experiences with forensics and
support future endeavors. Organizers are compiling a database
of alumni who participated in forensics and planning for the reunion.
"The time has come to weave
together our history as one of the oldest nationally competitive
forensics programs in the country," said Amanda Feller, visiting
assistant professor of communication and co-director of the program.
"The time has come to honor one another, to celebrate success
and to renew friendships of this longstanding program."
Today, participants attend an average of 15 tournaments a year,
including three national tournaments and one international tournament.
For the 2001-2002 academic year, PLU is ranked 9th out of 350
programs in the country in the National Parliamentary Debate Association.
The squad hosts three tournaments
a year: a fall warm-up tournament, the Theodore O.H. Karl Tournament
(the largest high school tournament in the region) and the Betsy
Karl Tournament for college programs.
Roughly 15 core members and 15 students
from courses such as Argumentation and Public Speaking comprise
the current squad. Edward Inch, chair of Communication and Theatre
Department, is also a co-director.
If you would like to receive information
on this event or lend a hand, send an email titled "Reunion"
to Amanda Feller at fellerae@plu.edu.
Moving
tribute to Jim Holloway will go up near music building
One year after the tragic death of
PLU assistant professor of music James Holloway, a memorial is
being crafted to be placed later this year near the Mary Baker
Russell Music Hall, where the beloved teacher created beautiful
music and inspired countless students.
Kathryn Sparks, PLU's curator of
visual resources, designed the piece of artwork that will be dedicated
to Holloway's legacy. Inspired by the invitations she designed
for Holloway's wedding to Judy Carr, Sparks brings her close friendship
and respect for his artistry to the tree-shaped sculpture. It
depicts the life of a brilliant and caring teacher, an inspiring
colleague, a trusted friend and a great and gifted servant. Beyond
that, Sparks wants her metal sculpture on a brick base to show
Holloway's many loves, which ranged from music and cooking to
family and the Lord.
A scholarship fund created in Holloway's
memory has grown to more than $100,000, and the first scholarship
in his name was awarded last month.
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Barbara Temple-Thurston
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PLU
selected for initiative to ensure global citizenship
PLU has been selected to participate
in a new initiative–Liberal Education and Global Citizenship:
The Arts of Democracy–a curriculum and faculty development
project sponsored by the Association of American Colleges and
Universities and supported by the Fund for the Improvement of
Post Secondary Education of the U.S. Department of Education.
PLU was one of only 10 schools chosen
from a pool of very competitive applicants to participate in this
national initiative. Applicants had to demonstrate a commitment
to expanding the investigation of global knowledge within the
major, spurring greater civic engagement and social responsibility
and promoting in students and faculty a deeper understanding of,
debate about, and the practice of democracy.
"The three-year project will
support faculty teams as they work to develop curricula, particularly
as related to the university's international study semesters such
as the one in Trinidad," said PLU Provost Paul Menzel. "Team
members will participate in a four-day faculty institute, an online
global seminar and forums at regional and national meetings."
The core team from PLU includes:
Barbara Temple-Thurston, team leader and dean of humanities, who
is a specialist in African and Caribbean literature; Lisa Marcus,
English; Kathryn Breazeale, religion; Jill Whitman, geosciences;
Jeffrey Clapp, theater; and Ione Crandall, director of the Center
for Public Service.
Updates and information about the
project can be found at www.aacu-edu.org.
Donors
create small scholarships to pay big dividends
Several years ago, Don '49, '50 and
Gini '50 Wick decided to do something special to honor their family,
their alma mater and to help students complete a college education.
They decided to create an endowed scholarship, called the Wick
Family Endowed Scholarship, as way to provide financial support
for others and to leave a family legacy at PLU.
Today, their scholarship has grown
in value and contributes several scholarships each year to deserving
students. "We know how difficult it is for so many families
to afford a college education so we felt this was an important
thing for us to do," Gini Wick said. "And each year,
we receive wonderful, moving letters from the students expressing
their thanks and the difference the scholarship has made in their
ability to attend college. It's just wonderful!"
Establishing a scholarship, either
during one's life or through one's estate plans, is a perfect
way to honor or memorialize the life of a loved one, or, like
the Wicks, to show gratitude and encourage lifetime learning.
Once the fund has reached a certain amount, the investment earnings
are used to provide scholarships based on criteria established
by the donors.
At PLU, more than 90 percent of students
receive financial aid, with the average award being $15,000.
PLU
inspires sixth-graders to continue their education at 'I'm Going
to College Day'
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School of Education Dean Lynn Beck, speaking to students
from Naches Trail Elementary School
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Sixth-graders went to college for
a day last month when PLU hosted 135 students from the Bethel
School District. The fifth annual "I'm Going to College Day"
gave the students, many from low-income families, an up-close
look at college life and reassured them that anyone can make it
to college – even if they don't think they can afford it.
"Regardless of what your social
or economic standing is, you can go to college," Financial
Aid Director Kay Soltis said. "There are lots of resources
out there to help."
PLU is the only university in the
state to offer such a program. The university brings about 100
students from a different Bethel elementary school to campus every
year. This year, students from Naches Trail Elementary sat in
on a class prepared specially for them, ate in the university's
dining hall with college students and toured the campus. Each
child received a backpack filled with school supplies and a T-shirt.
Students get an official letter of one-day admittance to PLU and
are encouraged to think about ways to prepare and save for college.
Also attending were the Promise Scholars,
talented students who have been selected by the Bethel Educational
Scholarship Team. If those students continue to do well in school,
they are guaranteed a $500 scholarship when they graduate.
"We are committed to helping
our students find out firsthand just how exciting college can
be, as well as helping them find ways to fund their post-secondary
education," said Bethel School Superintendent Tom Seigel.
"PLU is offering a wonderful opportunity to these sixth graders."
PLU People
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Deborah Miranda
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Deborah Miranda,
assistant professor of English, recently had her poetry and essays
included in several anthologies. Her work can be found in "The
Dirt is Red Here: Contemporary Native California Poetry and Art,"
edited by Malcolm Margolin, Hey Day Books, June 2002; "This
Bridge We Call Home: 20 Years After This Bridge Called My Back,"
edited by Gloria Anzaldua and AnaLouise Keating, forward by Cherrie
Moraga, Summer 2002.
An article will appear in the women's
studies journal Frontiers this summer. The same article is also
included in a critical anthology, "Toward a Native American
Women's Studies: Critical/Creative Representations," edited
by Ines Hernandez-Avila, Fall 2002.
Miranda also delivered two papers
at the SW/TX Regional American Popular Culture Association Conference
in Albuquerque, N.M., in February, and read her poetry on KUOW-
Seattle, last month.
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Chuck Bergman
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Chuck Bergman
(English) attended the Steering Committee meeting of Second Nature;
a group organizing a network of West Coast colleges and universities
focused on the greening of college campuses. The network includes
Stanford, UC Berkeley, University of Oregon, and Lewis and Clark.
PLU has been invited be one of the universities on the network's
Steering Committee. He also presented a paper at the Annual Convention
of the Modern Language Association in December in New Orleans.
The paper's title was: "Wild Lives: Narrative, Subjectivity,
and the Possibility of Biography in Wild Animals." Bergman
also presented a slide lecture at the University of Wisconsin
Whitewater called "Writing the Lives of Endangered Animals."
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Susan Mann
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Susan Mann,
director of Human Resources, was an invited participant at the
Oxford Round Table on Civil Rights held at Oxford University in
England in March. She made a presentation titled "Sexual
Orientation: Creating Institutional Inclusiveness."
Three recent
graduates have won prestigious Fulbright scholarships.
Whitney Dolman '01 of Olympia,
Wash., won a teaching fellowship in Germany. Berit
Olsen '02 of Seattle will study in Norway, and Lia
Ossiander '02 of Chugiak, Alaska, will study in Germany.
They bring the total number of PLU Fulbright scholars to 56, significantly
more than other comparable universities. The Fulbright award is
the U.S. government's premier scholarship program, created after
the end of World War II to foster mutual understanding among nations.
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Whitney Dolman
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Berit Olsen
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Lia Ossiander
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The PLU Archives
led by Kerstin Ringdahl, together with 13 other archives
in the Pacific Northwest, received a $350,000 grant from the National
Endowment for the Humanities to form the Internet-accessible Northwest
Digital Archives. Participating institutions will produce electronic
finding aids for their rich collections, forming a searchable
database maintained at Washington State University.
The Northwest Digital Archives will
enable PLU students and faculty to access primary source materials
that document the political, cultural, and natural history of
the region. Participating institutions are: University of Idaho,
Montana Historical Society, University of Montana, Oregon Historical
Society, Oregon State University, University of Oregon, Center
for Pacific Northwest Studies, Pacific Lutheran University, Seattle
Municipal Archives, University of Washington, Washington State
Archives, Washington State University, Western Washington University
and Whitworth College.
2001 Faculty Retirees
Barbara Ahna,
Assistant Professor of Business; began at PLU on Sept. 1, 1980.
Bachelor of Arts, University of Oklahoma, 1967; J.D., University
of Puget; Sound School
of Law, 1978.
Myra J. Baughman,
Professor of Education; began at PLU on Sept. 1, 1970.
Bachelor of Arts, PLU, 1962; Master’s of Education, Western
Washington University,
1969; Ed.D, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, 1975.
Paul Benton,
Associate Professor of English; began at PLU on Sept. 1, 1969.
Bachelor of Arts, Whitworth College, 1965; Ph.D., Princeton University,
1970
Dixie Matthias,
Adjunct Professor of Biology ; began at PLU on Sept. 11, 1975.
Bachelor of Science, Pacific Lutheran University, 1962; Master
of Science, University
of Washington, 1965
Donald Wentworth,
Professor of Economics; began at PLU on Sept. 1, 1972.
Bachelor of Science, University of Minnesota, 1965; Master of
Arts, University of Minnesota,
1970; Master of Arts, University of Illinois, 1971; Ph.D., University
of Minnesota,
1972
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Paul Benton
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Dixie Matthias
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Donald Wentworth
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