Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Faculty and Staff Invited to Town Hall Meetings to Provide Feedback on Whitworth's Future

Whitworth faculty and staff members are invited and encouraged to attend one of two upcoming town hall meetings to learn about and provide feedback on a draft vision and strategic plan for Whitworth’s future.

The first meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 1, from noon-1:30 p.m., in Weyerhaeuser Hall, Room 111. The second meeting will take place on Thursday, March 10, from 3:30-5 p.m. in Weyerhaeuser Hall’s Robinson Teaching Theatre. Employees, in consultation with their supervisors, may attend one of the meetings as work time. President Beck Taylor will moderate discussion at both meetings and other members of the University Council will be available to field questions.

The plan outlines a vision for what Whitworth will be in the year 2021 and a set of strategic goals and objectives for how to achieve that vision over the next 10 years. Faculty and staff provided valuable input into the planning process through meetings, surveys and discussions with University Council members in the fall. Since then, the University Council has developed a draft plan that is now ready to be shared with Whitworth’s students, staff and faculty, as well as with alumni, parents, donors, community members and other constituencies.

In addition to the town hall meetings, feedback can be provided through University Council members, an online survey that will be available in early March, and by e-mailing Greg Orwig at gorwig@whitworth.edu.

Human Resource Services: CHER February newsletter

Human Resource Service regularly shares information provided to us by recognized organizations who promote health and wellness. Below is a link to the Community Health & Education Resources (CHER) February newsletter.

CHER February Newsletter

Meet Your Colleague: A Q&A with Web Programmer Dallas Crockett

Name: Dallas Crockett

Job title: Web Programmer

Department: University Communications

How long have you worked at Whitworth? One year, four months

What do you like best about your job? Getting to work with the entire campus on various website projects

In what ways do your gifts and abilities help meet the needs of the campus community you serve? A lot of tasks can be made easier to handle and more convenient by making them accessible online. I like to think that much of my job involves making other people’s jobs easier.

Favorite book: The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan

Favorite movie: “Happy Gilmore”

Favorite foods: Shrimp and pizza, but not together

Favorite quote: “Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere.” - Carl Sagan

Favorite music: Depends on my mood

Favorite animals: Real – cats & dogs; fictional – dragons

Guilty pleasure: Video/computer games

Hobbies: Writing, snowboarding, basketball, soccer, Ultimate Frisbee

Best vacation ever: Honeymoon in Hawaii

Birth place: Colville, Wash.

We’d be surprised to know that… I self-published a novel at age 19.

I collect… hockey cards and ninja turtles.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? Ireland

What cartoon character best describes you? Donatello

If you could try anything and not fail, what dream would you attempt? To be a best-selling author

What is your favorite sound? Water, either in the form of rain or a waterfall

What is your life motto? Ecclesiastes 5:15

If the whole world was listening, what would you say? “Hug someone.”

Favorite childhood book: Harold and the Purple Crayon

Favorite childhood TV show: “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”

Least favorite word: Can’t

If you could go on a road trip with anyone (from the past or present), who would you choose and where would you go? I’d take Jesus to a rainforest, because he saw a lot of desert when he was here.

Best high-school class subject: Math

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Meet Your Colleage: A Q&A with Heather Rogers, associate professor of economics & business

Job title: Associate Professor, Department Chair

Department: Economics & Business

How long have you worked at Whitworth? 5+ years

What do you like best about your job? I love working with people, especially students.

In what ways do your gifts and abilities help meet the needs of the campus community you serve? I feel that my organizational skills provide structure to situations that can often feel chaotic. I am goal-oriented and love to work on projects that have a finish.

Favorite movie: “The Shawshank Redemption” (I love that the accountant is the one who figures out how to break out of prison.)

Favorite food: Steak

Favorite quote: “What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal.” – Albert Pine

Favorite music: Contemporary Christian

Favorite animal: Horse

Guilty pleasure: I schedule a massage once a month.

Hobbies: My kids – I love watching their sports

Best vacation ever: Singapore in the summer of 2010 to watch my son compete in the Youth
Olympic Games

Birth place: Lewiston, Idaho

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? I would like to travel around Europe

What cartoon character best describes you? Roadrunner…beep beep

If you could try anything and not fail, what dream would you attempt? To be a professional singer

What is your favorite sound? Rain on the skylight window

Favorite childhood TV shows: “The Brady Bunch” and “Little House on the Prairie”

If you could go on a road trip with anyone (from the past or present), who would you choose and where would you go? After driving to Utah, North Dakota, and Southern Idaho within one month, I can’t even think about another road trip!

Best high school class subject: Math

“A Look at Life in Finance and Administration” on Feb. 18 launches new monthly brown-bag dialogue

Have you ever wondered how Whitworth’s budget is developed, why Datatel seems to rule our lives, or how many employees are working on campus while most of us are asleep? These questions and many others will be answered by Vice President for Finance and Administration Brian Benzel at a brown-bag lunch gathering on Friday, Feb. 18, from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., in Weyerhaeuser Hall, Room 111.

The Feb. 18 event launches the new “A Look at Life in…” monthly brown-bag dialogue, during which cabinet members will provide an overview of their areas of responsibility and then will invite questions and discussion. All staff and faculty members are invited to bring their lunch and join in the conversation.

“We hope Whitworth employees will take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about areas of the university that may be unfamiliar to them,” says President Beck Taylor. “As our community has grown, it has become harder to stay in touch with our colleagues across campus and to know what they are doing on a daily basis to advance our mission. We need to work harder to be accessible and transparent, and we hope this monthly brown-bag dialogue can help in that process.”

The March dialogue will feature “A Look at Life in Admissions and Financial Aid,” with Fred Pfursich, on Monday, March 28, from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., in Weyerhaeuser Hall, Room 111.

Human Resource Services: Free CPR class; EAP website update and tips on dealing with difficult people

CHER to Offer Free CPR Class

Community Health Education & Resources is offering a free CPR training class on Saturday, March 5. Visit Free CPR Class for more information.


Employee Assistance Program

Click on the following links for information on the Employee Assistance Program’s revamped website and for tips on dealing with difficult people.

Employee Assistance Program Website Update


Whitworth offers an employee assistance program for benefits-eligible employees and their household members. The program provides professional support services to help you and your household members with personal and career-related concerns.

Services are confidential and accessible 24 hours a day at no out-of-pocket cost. To speak with an EAP professional or to schedule an appointment, please call 800.999.1077. A link to the Employee Assistance Program website is available on the Whitworth Human Resource Services page. To access the EAP website, please use the company code EAPNOW.

Listen to the Spring 2011 Convocation Address by Michael Le Roy

In his Feb. 8 Whitworth Convocation address, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Michael Le Roy, ’89, challenges us to think deeply about the call of Christ and our mission to love one’s neighbor in a global society. To listen to the address, visit http://www.whitworth.edu/podcast/index.aspx.