Whitworth Community Ensembles Join to Present “Renewed by Joy” April 14 at Spokane’s Fox Theater
Whitworth University Expands Business Program for Adult Students with Five New Career-Focused Specializations
Whitworth Alumni Invest in the Future with Endowed Professorships in the School of Business
Kenneth Roberts Endowed Professorship in Finance and Accounting
Ken Roberts ’68 has established an endowed professorship in finance and accounting. After graduating from Whitworth, Roberts received his MBA from Harvard University. Roberts retired from Palouse Capital Management, Inc., an investment advisory company, in 2023 and has had a 53-year investment career.
Roberts has been active with the Whitworth Student Investment Group (WSIG) since its inception and helped establish the Robblee-Roberts Student Investment Fund. This part of the Whitworth University Endowment is managed by WSIG students, providing them with real-life management and investment experience.
Roberts serves as a member of the Whitworth Board of Trustees, the Whitworth Finance Advisory Council, the Whitworth Business Advisory Board and the Whitworth Foundation.
Harry Dixon Endowed Professorship in Economics
The late Harry Dixon taught economics and business at Whitworth for nearly 25 years. Students called him “Mr. Whitworth,” and he was named "most influential professor" by senior classes several times throughout his career.
During his tenure, Dixon helped build a business major within the existing economics department, eventually leading to a major in accounting as well. He also served on the Core 150 team and on numerous committees and councils.
Alumni Tim Cheek ’81 and Sue (Hinkle) Cheek ’80 say Dixon was deeply respected for his economics expertise and his engaging and approachable teaching style in which he expressed genuine interest in students and helped guide many toward successful and rewarding business careers. For these reasons, they have established the Harry Dixon Endowed Professorship in Economics.
Dixon retired from Whitworth in 1984 and passed away in 2011.
“These endowed professorships will help to ensure that finance and economics remain strong areas of focus in the School of Business for years to come,” says Tim Wilkinson, dean of the School of Business. “By providing long-term support for academic excellence, these professorships will contribute to fostering a world-class learning environment for students, further enhancing the school's reputation. The students, staff and faculty greatly appreciate the amazing generosity of Ken Roberts and Tim and Sue Cheek. Their commitment to advancing education and empowering future leaders in the fields of finance and economics is truly commendable, and their support will have a lasting impact on generations of students.”
Endowed professorships play a crucial role in higher education by offering significant resources that support faculty in their research, teaching and professional development. They also attract distinguished scholars who can advance an institution's academic reputation and strengthen its ability to recruit top talent.
About Whitworth University:
Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private, Christian liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian church. The university has an enrollment of about 2,500 students and offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
Contacts:
Trisha Coder, associate director of media relations, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or tcoder@whitworth.edu
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Whitworth and Washington State Universities Expand Partnership to Meet Workforce Needs in Spokane’s Health Industry
Whitworth has had an existing partnership with WSU’s College of Nursing that has greatly benefited both institutions and students. They’re now expanding that relationship to offer students who qualify guaranteed seats in several additional graduate programs.
Under the new enrollment agreements, Whitworth will have 10 percent of its seats in its physical therapy and occupational therapy doctoral programs reserved for qualified WSU applicants. WSU will hold the same number of reserved seats for qualified Whitworth students wanting to enroll in its pharmacy, nutrition, exercise physiology and coordinated dietetics programs. Spots will also be secured for Whitworth students when WSU offers its new master’s degree in nursing in spring 2026.
“These new enrollment agreements build on more than a half-century of Whitworth and WSU partnering academically,” says Mike Ediger, dean of Whitworth’s School of Health Sciences. “They will definitely help to facilitate a smooth transition for more students to our outstanding master’s and doctoral level programs.”
“I am proud to build on this long-standing institutional partnership that supports the growth of our healthcare workforce in Washington,” said Daryll DeWald, executive vice president for WSU Health Sciences and WSU Spokane chancellor. “It is through this kind of collaboration that we can address the gaps in care faced by our communities.”
The institutions have a common goal of creating a generational campaign that begins with the recruitment of high school students and ends with job placements in the region.
“We want to recruit local high school students into our undergraduate majors and then show them there are direct pathways to complete a graduate degree in Spokane,” Ediger says. “Our alumni are going to both graduate and professional programs all over the country, which is great! But we’ve got fantastic graduate programs here in the region as well, and we want more students to be able to take advantage of these opportunities. They don’t have to leave!”
To learn more about Whitworth’s School of Health Sciences, click here.
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About Whitworth University:
Located in Spokane, Wash., Whitworth is a private, Christian liberal arts university affiliated with the Presbyterian church. The university has an enrollment of about 2,500 students and offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate degree programs.
About Washington State University Health Sciences:
WSU Health Sciences comprises the educational, clinical and research activities of Washington State University’s three human health colleges: the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, and the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. Headquartered on the WSU Spokane campus, WSU Health Sciences serves over 1,400 students across 14 undergraduate, professional and graduate programs at five campuses statewide.
Contacts:
Trisha Coder, associate director of media relations, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or tcoder@whitworth.edu.
Chantell Cosner, director of marketing and strategic communications, WSU Spokane, (509) 368-6671 or chantell.cosner@wsu.edu.
