Whitworth to confer honorary doctorate on president of Oklahoma City health foundation

Whitworth University will confer upon Michael Anderson, Ph.D., president of the Presbyterian Health Foundation, in Oklahoma City, an honorary doctor of divinity in recognition of his long and distinguished service to the Presbyterian Church and his commitment to living out Whitworth's mission to honor God, follow Christ, and serve humanity. The ceremony will take place as part of chapel services, in which Anderson will also present the message, on Thursday, Oct. 8, at 11 a.m. in the Seeley Mudd Chapel at Whitworth.

Since 2000, Anderson has headed up the Presbyterian Health Foundation (PHF), which he helped found and had previously served as a board member for 18 years. PHF seeks to support medical research and commercialization of new therapeutics and innovative diagnostics that save and enhance human life. Since its inception in 1985, it has given nearly $110 million in grants to Oklahoma science institutions, and the PHF research park in which Anderson works is home to more than 35 biotech companies.

As president, Anderson has helped grant more than $65 million toward medical research at the Oklahoma Health Center, an extensive campus in Oklahoma City that houses the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, OU Medical Center and Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. He says he hopes to expand several areas of excellence at the OU Health Center, including ophthalmology, microbiology, cancer research and immunobiology.

Anderson, a Spokane native, graduated from Whitworth in 1956 with bachelor's degrees in psychology and philosophy. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh and an advanced degree from San Francisco Theological Seminary. After receiving his doctorate, he was appointed to the Commission of Public Representation for the National Institutes of Health, which funds $30 billion in bioscience research annually.

A former longtime Presbyterian minister, Anderson demonstrates how one can be both a preacher and a promoter of scientific research.

"The goal of our foundation is to advance the health of human life," he says. "And that's also an aspect of a theological perspective on life."

His experience as a clergyman has helped Anderson stress to health professionals the importance of ethics in modern scientific research, and he has built his life and work around the belief that theology and science complement rather than contradict each other. Among his favorite sayings is a quote from Albert Einstein, who said, "Religion without science is blind; science without religion is lame."

The Rev. Dr. Jim Singleton, vice chair of Whitworth’s board of trustees, wrote in his nomination of Anderson, "In his current role with the Presbyterian Health Foundation, Mike is instilling ethical norms into scientific research in ways that build up and bless the culture. Mike is precisely the kind of graduate Whitworth hopes to inject into the world."

Before joining the PHF, Anderson was senior minister at the 2,600-member Westminster Presbyterian Church, in Oklahoma City, for nearly 25 years. During his years there, he worked with a small group to help launch PHF. Before he moved to Oklahoma, he was managing director of interpretation and stewardship for the worldwide mission of the New York City-based United Presbyterian Church. In this position, he helped raise more than $50 million for the denomination. He also served for five years as pastor of University Place Presbyterian Church, in Tacoma.

Despite his lifelong commitment to the church, Anderson has said he never expected to become a minister before arriving at Whitworth. He came to the school because of its successful basketball program, but while taking several religion courses, he became inspired to preach.

"God works in strange and mysterious ways," he says. "It was at (Whitworth) where I began to encounter all the forces that led me to this ministry."

Michael Le Roy, Whitworth's vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty, says, "The way Michael Anderson has pursued his vocation and life work is deeply connected to the Whitworth ideals of commitment to Christ and the integration of that commitment with intellectual inquiry. On the Presbyterian Health Foundation’s website, Anderson references Michelangelo’s quote 'Ancora Impario' (I am still learning.) This devotion to the advancement of knowledge makes him an alum we are proud to hold high and to encourage our students to emulate."

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:

Emily Proffitt, public information officer, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or eproffitt@whitworth.edu.

Children's author Candace Fleming to lead 26th annual Whitworth Writing Rally Nov. 7

As many as 600 students from the Inland Northwest are expected to participate

WHAT: The 26th annual Whitworth Writing Rally is a family literacy initiative for students in pre-school through 6th grade. The event features presentations by a well-known children's author followed by opportunities for participants to work with area teachers or Whitworth education students to create their own original illustrated book.

WHO: The 2009 rally will feature Candace Fleming, author of critically-acclaimed, bestselling books for children, including the picture books Muncha! Muncha! Muncha! and Boxes for Katje. She also has written nonfiction books for young adults, including The Lincolns, Our Eleanor, and Ben Franklin's Almanac. Two new books, Imogene's Last Stand, and The Great and Only Barnum: the Tremendous, Stupendous Life of Showman P.T. Barnum, are due out later this month.

WHEN: Saturday, Nov. 7. The first session is 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. (with check-in at 8:15 a.m.) The second session is 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. (with check-in at 10:30 a.m.) A parent or guardian must accompany each child participating in the rally. A number of Whitworth students have volunteered to accompany children whose parents/guardians cannot attend. (Parents/guardians who can't accompany their children should call Lisa Laurier at the contact number below.)

WHERE: Cowles Memorial Auditorium at Whitworth University, 300 W. Hawthorne Road.

HOW TO REGISTER: Details are available by calling the Whitworth School of Education at (509) 777-3263; leave your name, phone number, and mailing address. A registration packet will be mailed to you.

The Whitworth Writing Rally is an opportunity for children to develop their reading and writing skills with assistance from a professional author and trained educators. As many as 600 students from the Inland Northwest are expected to participate in the 2009 rally. Fleming will talk about where she gets her ideas and will show examples from her many books. A Whitworth improvisational theatre troupe also will perform.

After each session, children are invited to attend a punch-and-cookies reception in the Multipurpose Room of the Hixson Union Building, where they will have the opportunity to share the books they have created. They can also meet Fleming during the reception and get her autograph.

Contacts:

Lisa Laurier, Whitworth Writing Rally director and associate professor of education, Whitworth University, (509) 777-3263 or llaurier@whitworth.edu.

Emily Proffitt, public information officer, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or eproffitt@whitworth.edu.

This fall, Ali Jackson, best known in the jazz world as a drummer for Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, conducted a jazz music workshop for Whitworth and other Spokane-area college and high school students.

Students from Whitworth, Gonzaga University, Eastern Washington University and several local high schools attended the free clinic, which was held Sept. 16 in the music building at Whitworth.

Dan Keberle, professor of music and director of the award-winning Whitworth Jazz Ensemble, described the clinic as educational, inspiring, motivating and entertaining.

“It's often very inspiring for students when they learn first-hand about the educational and musical background of a world-class jazz musician," Keberle says. "They find parallels between the musician's life and their own, and they're motivated to work hard to achieve their goals."

One of Whitworth’s student jazz combos performed a song for Jackson, who gave them suggestions for making the piece more exciting and interesting, Keberle says. He says the students had to be courageous to perform in front of such a jazz great and to be critiqued in front of their peers, and he says that they both played and presented Whitworth’s music program very well.

Other prominent jazz musicians who have come to Whitworth in recent years include Kenny Garret, Eric Reed, Nicholas Payton, Steve Turre, Byron Stripling and Bob Mintzer. In November, legendary jazz master Lee Konitz will perform with the Jazz Ensemble at the Fox Theatre, in downtown Spokane. The concert will be part of a weekend of events celebrating the 20th anniversary of Whitworth's highly-acclaimed jazz program.

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, director of the Whitworth Jazz Ensemble and professor of music, (509) 777- 4582 ormailto:dkeberle@whitworth.edu.

Emily Proffitt, public information officer, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703 or eproffitt@whitworth.edu.

Whitworth Theatre to stage Pierre Corneille's "The Illusion"

Professor of English Leonard Oakland to make special guest appearance

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The Whitworth Theatre Department will present its fall production, "The Illusion," Oct. 16, 17, 23, and 24 at 8 p.m., and Oct. 18 at 2 p.m., in Cowles Memorial Auditorium on the Whitworth campus. General admission is $7; students and seniors pay $5. Tickets may be purchased online at www.whitworth.edu/theatretickets. For more information, please call (509) 777-3707.

Adapted by Pulitzer Prize winner Tony Kushner, "The Illusion" is a 17th-century tale of loss and redemption that explores the most real illusion of all – love. Nothing is as it seems in the play. An old man comes to a magician's cave desperate for news of his estranged son. The magician conjures scenes from the boy's life, but what begins as a swashbuckling romantic adventure turns to heartbreak…or does it? The play is filled with rich poetic language, ironic humor, and profound insight into the nature of love. Special guest performer Leonard Oakland, longtime professor of English at Whitworth, joins the cast as Pridamant, the bitter old man searching for his son.

"Kushner's adaptation takes a traditional tale of adventure and romance from the 17th century and explores the situations from a modern point of view, stripping away the illusion of ‘happily ever after’ while affirming the power of love and forgiveness to change our hearts and our world," says Diana Trotter, the play's director and a professor of theatre at Whitworth. "What really appeals to me about this play is that at its core, it's about the painful cost of love, and a redemption that isn’t easy or cheap."

Trotter says she has wanted to direct this play for years, but that it's very challenging because the roles are incredibly complex for young actors, the technical needs are substantial, and the role of Pridamant, the Father, needs to be played by an older adult. Trotter says she has always wanted Oakland in the role, and she was delighted he agreed to take it on.

A veteran of film and radio, Oakland is well known to Spokane audiences for his cameo appearances in such films as White Men Can’t Jump, his 20 years as producer and host of a classical music program for KPBX radio, and his frequent appearances on NPR’s popular Movies 101.

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:

Jennifer Toulouse-Lee, theatre department program assistant, Whitworth University, (509) 777-3707 or jtoulouse-lee@whitworth.edu.

Emily Proffitt, public information officer, Whitworth University, (509) 777-4703, or eproffitt@whitworth.edu.