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

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

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

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."

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, 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

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.