Whitworth Academic Dean to present Founder's Day Convocation address during Heritage Month 2011

Events marking university's 121st anniversary to include film festival, gospel concert, and discussion of "The End of Men"

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Each February, Whitworth commemorates its founding, on Feb. 20, 1890, with a month-long celebration. Heritage Month 2011 will begin with the university's annual Founder's Day Convocation, when students, faculty and staff gather to remember Whitworth's past and dedicate themselves to building upon that legacy in the coming year. On Feb. 8, Whitworth Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty Michael Le Roy will give his first Founder's Day Convocation address. Other focal points of Heritage Month will include the third annual Leonard A. Oakland Film Festival, Feb. 17-19, a Gospel Explosion performance Feb. 11, and a Feb. 15 Dean's Dialogue discussion on "The End of Men: How Women are Taking Control of Everything," referring to the cover story in a recent issue of Atlantic Monthly.

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):

• Through Feb. 11
  
  Art exhibit, "Bridges," by Roger Feldman
  Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday from10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
  Bryan Oliver Gallery, Ernst F. Lied Center for the Visual Arts
  Feldman is a renowned Northwest artist whose works invite viewer participation.
• Tuesday, Feb. 8
  
  Founder's Day Convocation
  11 a.m., Fieldhouse
  Each semester begins with opening convocation, which features music and worship, faculty in academic regalia, and an opportunity to honor top students. President Beck Taylor, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Michael Le Roy and Campus Historian and Professor of History Dale Soden will speak.
  
  Costa Rica Center Presentation
  7 p.m., Robinson Teaching Theatre in Weyerhaeuser Hall
  Join Program Director Lindy Scott and students who participated in the fall 2010 inaugural semester at Whitworth's new Costa Rica Center as they share photos and stories, introducing the Whitworth community to their experiences in Costa Rica.
• Friday, Feb. 11
  
  Fourteenth annual Gospel Explosion
  7 p.m., Seeley Mudd Chapel
  Join Whitworth students and choirs from throughout Spokane for this annual campus celebration of Black History Month, sponsored by the Black Student Union.
• Tuesday, Feb. 15
  
  Dean's Dialogue
  7 p.m., Robinson Teaching Theatre in Weyerhaeuser Hall
  A panel of faculty members will discuss "The End of Men: How Women are Taking Control of Everything," sparked by the cover story in the July/August 2010 Atlantic Monthly.
• Feb. 17-19: Third annual Leonard A. Oakland Film Festival, which pays tribute to Oakland, a professor of English who has taught at Whitworth for 45 years and moved into a half-time faculty position in 2009. Oakland has 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.
  
  Thursday, Feb. 17
  Movie No. 1: Favela Rising7 p.m., Robinson Teaching Theatre in Weyerhaeuser Hall
  The event will open with the short film Five Feet High and Rising.
  
  Friday, Feb. 18
  Movie No. 2: I've Loved You So Long
  7 p.m., Robinson Teaching Theatre in Weyerhaeuser Hall
  The evening will open with the short film Tackle Box.
  
  Saturday, Feb. 19
  Movie No. 3: Norman, which was filmed in Spokane; this is the movie's regional premiere, and the filmmakers will be on hand for a post-viewing discussion.
  7 p.m., Robinson Teaching Theatre in Weyerhaeuser Hall
  The program will open with the announcement of winners of Whitworth's second annual student-made short-film contest and a showing of their films.
• Friday, Feb. 18
  
  David Kuraya, '10, Magician
  9 p.m., Hixson Union Building's Multipurpose Room
  Join Whitworth alumnus Kuraya as he performs his magic.
• Tuesday, Feb. 22
  
  Art exhibit and lecture by Kent Anderson Butler, a Los Angeles-based artist working in a variety of mediums including video installation, performance and photography.
  Opening reception: 5-6 p.m.; lecture by artist Kent Anderson Butler: 6 p.m.
  Bryan Oliver Gallery, Ernst F. Lied Center for the Visual Arts
  The exhibit will run through April 8. The gallery is closed during university holidays.
• Tuesday, March 1
  
  A lecture and slideshow by Art Wolfe
  7 p.m., Robinson Teaching Theatre in Weyerhaeuser Hall
  Wolfe is an American photographer noted for his color photographs of international wildlife and nature, and for his advocacy of wildlife conservation. He also is host of the popular PBS series Travels to the Edge. This appearance is made possible by the Whitworth University Speakers & Artists Fund and the Floyd and Shirley Daniel Endowment.

Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). The university, which has an enrollment of nearly 3,000 students, offers 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.

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.