The Experience Magazine - Spring 2006

W a r n e r

P a c i f i c

C o l l e g e

THE EXPERIENCE Spring 2006

CORE KNOWLEDGE Warner Pacific’s Humanities Core Curriculum takes on life’s big questions.

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from our president...

You Have Not Because You Ask Not

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n this issue of “The Experience”, you will read about some very exciting work going on at the College. Warner Pacific is in the best financial position in its 69year history, and for that we celebrate and thank God. We have made significant progress in eradicating our debt, acquiring adjoining properties, and expanding our Adult Degree Program. That’s the good news!

The “not-so-good news” is that financial support from individual donors has fallen off significantly in the last six years. In fact, giving to our Annual Fund has declined by 42%. The Annual Fund pays for financial aid programs, spiritual and personal development activities, faculty enrichment, classroom technology, as well as salaries and facilities.

Just to keep up with the cost of inflation, Warner Pacific must raise $1.6 million in unrestricted funds annually. In the last fiscal year, we received about half that amount. A series of major, million dollar gifts from anonymous donors have Warner Pacific allowed us to pay down our long is engaged in a term debt, and keep the College comprehensive in the black. However, very little of this income has been desigmarket research nated to the annual fund. process that The tendency at a time like is looking to this would be to find fault with past supporters. However, the students, staff, fact is, the fault lies very close faculty, alumni, to home—right here at my desk.

As alumni well attest, Warner pastors, parents, Pacific provides an exceptional, and community President Jay A. Barber Jr. life-changing education to its leaders to tell students. However, many alumni and church constituents say they feel out of touch with us what we are the life of the College. doing well, and To address this, Warner Pacific is engaged in a comprewhere we are hensive market research process that is looking to students, staff, faculty, alumni, pastors, parents, and community coming up short. leaders to tell us what we are doing well, and where we are coming up short. Alumni are being asked to complete a questionnaire regarding their perceptions of Warner Pacific College. I am asking alumni to be candid and truthful with us, no matter how positive or negative the feedback may be.

What we have learned thus far in the process is that we need to communicate more effectively with you, renew our relationships with our alumni and friends, and work toward building your confidence in the important work we are doing to prepare students within a Christian framework for meaningful lives of service and leadership.

In another context, but very comparable to ours, James the brother of Jesus writes in his epistle, “…you want something but don’t get it, you have not because you ask not.”

(James 4: 2). I’m afraid this describes us.

I am writing today to thank you for your support in the past, but again to humbly ask you to give generously and sacrificially to support the day-to-day, ongoing core of our ministry of Christian higher education at Warner Pacific College. The opportunities have never been better and the needs have never been greater.

The Experience

Editor / Photographer / Designer: Scott A. Thompson sthompson@warnerpacific.edu Contributors: Jay A. Barber, Jr. (’64) Troy Hutchinson Joel Kelly (‘88) Printing: Good Impressions Printing

College Administration President Jay A. Barber, Jr. (‘64)

Interim Dean of the Faculty Dr. Cole Dawson Vice President for Institutional Advancement Dr. Andrea Cook Vice President, Treasurer, and COO Wayne Pederson Special Assistant to the President Dr. John Hawthorne The Experience is produced three times a year by the Office of College Communications for alumni and friends of Warner Pacific College.

Warner Pacific is an urban Christian liberal arts college dedicated to providing students from diverse backgrounds an education that prepares them for the spiritual, moral, social, vocational, and technological challenges of the 21st Century.

WPC is affiliated with the Church of God, Anderson, Ind. Warner Pacific College 2219 SE 68th Ave Portland, OR 97215 503-517-1000 www.warnerpacific.edu

How to contact us: Please send comments or story suggestions via e-mail to sthompson@warnerpacific.edu by mail to the above address c/o Editor, The Experience Magazine

With appreciation,

or by phone at 503-517-1123.

You can view current and past issues of The Experience online at www.warnerpacific.edu.

Jay A. Barber, Jr. President Cover photo by Scott A. Thompson

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The Experience

W a r n e r

P a c i f i c

C o l l e g e

THE EXPERIENCE Spring 2006

Inside 4

Harvest Banquets bolster student scholarships

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Olympic Perspective

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Tourney Bound

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Mastering The Art of Product Placement

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Cover Story: Core Knowledge

Fundraisers in Seattle and Portland garner over $225,000 in gifts and pledges, including a $100,000 matching gift from Dale and Marilyn Warman.

Senior Kalen Abbott ‘05 works with top athletes as an intern with the U.S. Olympic Committee in Colorado Springs, Colo.

The men’s and women’s basketball teams capture Cascade Conference championships and automatic births to national tournament play.

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Katey Carpenter ‘05 parlays a marketing internship with software giant Intuit into a promising managerial career.

WPC’s Humanities Core Curriculum takes on life’s big questions

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Goulet’s New Goals

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Cleaning Up After Katrina

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First Person: Keep Stirring the Mashed Potatoes

Former international soccer star Brent Goulet ‘87 uses his new role as a coach in Germany to share his Christian faith.

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Alumni Erin Bignall ‘05 and Charlie Gray ‘62 help New Orleans residents devastated by America’s worst natural disaster.

What my Humanities 410 paper taught me about why we are here.

by Joel Kelly ‘88

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Departments 2

From the President

12 Alumni News

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Community News

14 Class Notes

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Student Life

15 En Memoriam

Spring 2006

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COMMUNITY NEWS

Harvest Banquets bolster scholarships

Fundraisers in Seattle and Portland garner over $225,000 in gifts and pledges, including a $100,000 matching gift from Dale and Marilyn Warman.

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“Each of my professors modified syllabi and coursework so I could complete the requirements and work around my treatment schedule,” Hall said. “Several staff members held me and my family up in prayer. I know I would not have received this type of support—nor have been able to accomplish what I have—in any other environment.”

Following Hall’s presentation, President Jay A. Barber ‘64 announced a $100,000 challenge gift from trustee emeritus Dale ‘52 and Marilyn (Trudgeon) Warman ‘51. The Warmans are the co-founders of Vancouver, WA-based LIVE Ministries and have been long-standing supporters of scholarships at Warner Pacific.

“I believe in compounding investments,” said Dale, who is also a former trustee of the College. “Those [students] are going to go on to help others and it just keeps going around. It’s great to have been blessed and be able to help others. In helping others, we’re helping the cause of Christ multiply.”

Scott Thompson

uests at Warner Pacific’s annual Seattle and Portland Harvest Banquets committed over $225,000 in gifts and pledges toward student scholarships. The Seattle banquet, held November 2, welcomed approximately 70 guests to the Double Tree Hotel in South Seattle, for an evening of music, video, and student testimonials. The Portland banquet, held November 17 at the Oregon Convention Center, featured a similar program with 400 guests in attendance.

A highlight of the Portland program was the testimony of Business Administration major Mary Hall ‘06, an Air Force reservist and mother of two children who enrolled in Warner Pacific three years ago after her husband became disabled with a chronic illness. In early 2005, Hall, 34, was diagnosed with breast cancer. She underwent surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation treatment, all the while working with faculty to keep up on her studies.

President Jay A. Barber ‘64 addresses the Portland Harvest Banquet audience from the lectern and a large projection screen during the Nov. 17 event at the Oregon Convention Center.

College to launch three new master’s degrees in Fall 2006

Homecoming 2006

Degrees in Education, Biblical and Theological Studies, and Management / Organizational Leadership strengthen college’s graduate-level offerings.

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Scott Thompson

Heather Phillips ‘06 is crowned 2006 Homecoming queen

by Sheila Freeman ‘05, as senior Tyler Caffall ‘06 looks on. The coronation, which also included senior Jeremy Steffensen ‘06 as King, kicked off a busy weekend of activities, February 2-4. Events included the annual Pacific Bible College luncheon, the 2006 Distinguished Alumni banquet (see profiles on page 14), and an indoor children’s parade between basketball games. Visit the alumni links at www.warnerpacific.edu for more photos.

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n late February, Warner Pacific College received approval to add three new master’s programs to its curriculum. Beginning this fall, Warner will offer a Master in Education, a Master of Arts in Biblical and Theological Studies, and a Master of Science in Management / Organizational Leadership. The programs—which have been carefully reviewed by the faculty, the board of trustees, and the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities—are in addition to the Master of Religion degree the College has offered for over 25 years.

“The addition of these three master’s programs gives Warner Pacific an important avenue in expressing its identity as a vibrant, urban, Christian institution with a commitment to academic vitality,” said Dr. John Hawthorne, Assistant to the President.

The Master in Education will provide advanced study to currently licensed classroom teachers, and will involve both summer and evening classes. Contact Dr. Michael Tanner at 503-517-1053 or mtanner@warnerpacific.edu for information.

The Master of Arts in Biblical and Theological Studies allows students to study more deeply areas of Biblical themes, Biblical languages, theology, and Christian ethics. Contact Dr. Bryan Williams at 503-517-1045 or bwilliams@warnerpacific.edu for details.

The Master of Science in Management / Organizational Leadership, available only through the Adult Degree Program, will provide advanced study in how business and social organizations work and the nature of quality moral leadership necessary for their success. Contact ADP at 503-517-1550 for enrollment information.

The Experience

COMMUNITY NEWS

News Notes Kopp chairs NW college conference.

Library Director Sue Kopp served as program chair for the annual conference of the Northwest Association of Private Colleges and Universities (NAPCU), held in Hood River, Ore. Kopp last November The consortium represents 29 libraries in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana.

Mid-Year grads celebrate long journey’s end.

Mid-year graduates like Dan Shattuck and Vickie Cheng (pictured) were all smiles following the December 17, 2005 commencement in McGuire Auditorium.

Friends and family packed the auditorium to hear student speakers and to cheer on a total of 52 graduates, including the first graduate from WPC’s Adult Degree Progam.

Washingon joins Advancement Team as Executive Coordinator.

Alumna Tina Washington ‘88 is the new executive coordinator Washingon of WPC’s Advancement Office. Washington has extensive administrative and management experience, and has operated her own small business.

She is the daughter of the late Reverend John W. Garlington, and a recipient of the scholarship established at WPC in his honor.

In her new role, Washington will conduct donor research, help organize fundraisers, and provide support to Andrea Cook, Vice President for Insitutional Advancement.

Professor’s third book explores more Oregon roads less traveled.

Education professor Steve Arndt has completed the third installment of his travel series, “Oregon: The Roads Less Traveled,” this time featuring north-central Oregon.

His two previous installments explored little known towns found on the backroads of northwest and southwest Oregon. The book on north-central Oregon is due out in March 2006. (Bear Creek Press, $16.95, www.bearcreekpress.com).

Olympic Perspective Senior Kalen Abbott ‘06 works with top athletes as an intern with the U.S. Olympic Committee in Colorado Springs, Colo.

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alen Abbott ‘06 can’t get enough of world-class internships. Fresh off a year-long stint researching genetic links to alcoholism and activity levels at the Oregon National Primate Research Center in Beaverton, Ore., the senior Biology major spent last fall in Colorado Springs, Colo., conducting

Trustee, professor join select panel on civil discourse.

WPC Religion professor Dr. Stephen Carver and WPC Trustee Dr. T. Allen Bethel, senior pastor Dr. Bethel of Portland’s Maranatha Church of God, took part in a project called “Open Spaces: Speaking and Listening Across Political Differences,” hosted by Lewis and Clark College Dr. Carver last September. Dr. Bethel and Dr. Carver joined six other panelists, including former U.S. congresswoman Elizabeth Furse and Rabbi Aryeh Hirschfield of the Jewish congregation P’nai Or, in Portland.

Speaking before an audience of approximately 175 on September 29, the panelists discussed the values that motivated their voting in the 2004 presidential elections, without revealing how they voted. According to Dr. Carver, some panelists were rather nuanced in their positions.

“Hopefully, the panelists were able to say, ‘I’m not a label, I’m a human being who weighed out everything and nuanced it this direction,” said Dr. Carver. “I think that helped people see that this so-called deep division really is not evident in everyone who voted.”

Spring 2006

performance tests on Olympic athletes. As part of an internship with the U.S. Olympic Committee, Abbott worked with a wide range of athletes, from archers to speed skaters, and conducted tests looking at pulmonary function, anaerobic capacity, and lactate thresholds, among others. The results helped athletes and coaches know if any training modifications were in order.

“We would look at physiological markers to see what their potential is, where they are strong, where they are lacking, and how to fix it,” said Abbott.

Abbott worked under the direction of Randy Wilber, Ph.D., FASCN, who has assisted major U.S. athletes like cyclist Lance Armstrong and gold medal-winning swimmer Michael Phelps. Abbott says that even though he had never used some of the expensive equipment found in the lab before, he quickly got up to speed because of the knowledge of physiology he learned at Warner Pacific.

“In three weeks I had the whole lab down,” Abbott said. “I knew what was going on.”

Drama students perform Horton Foote’s touching “A Trip to Bountiful” The Warner Pacific drama department will transport audiences to small town Texas in the 1940’s as it performs Horton Foote’s classic “A Trip to Bountiful.” March 16 - 19. The touching drama follows aging Carrie Watts as she leaves a Houston apartment she shares with her controlling daughter-in-law and henpecked son to revisit Bountiful, Texas, the place she calls home. Performance times will be 7:30 p.m. on March 16, 17, and 18, with 3 p.m. matinees on Saturday, March 18 and Sunday, March 19. Seating will be limited, so buy your tickets early. Reserved tickets are available from the WPC Business Office at 503-517-1207.

Gloria Gaither to speak as part of Western Area Regional Ministerium International recording artist Gloria Gaither will headline the 2006 Western Area Regional Ministerium, hosted by Warner Pacific, April 25-27.

The event is the annual meeting of Church of God ministers from the western United States.

Gaither will speak April Gaither 26 at 7:00 p.m. and Thursday, April 27 at 10:30 a.m. The conference requires registration, however both presentations by Gaither will be free to the public. To register for the conference, contact Milt Culvercall at 562-695-0211 or revculver@whittiercog.org.

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STUDENT LIFE Jeff Eischen ‘06 catches a lob pass against Corban College.

Tourney

Bound

By Troy Hutchinson Director of Sports Information

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wo teams, two national rankings, and one shared dream: to reach the 2006 NAIA Division II national tournament. The dream became reality as the men’s and women’s basketball teams held their own in the tough Cascade Conference and captured their respective league championships—a first for both squads since athletics were reinstated in 1999.

Along the way, both teams cracked the top-25 rankings, with the men ranked as high as third in the nation and the women twentieth.

Storming to the top After starting the season 5-5, the women found their stride and went 16-2 the rest of the way. The team showed poise and tenacity in close games, including nail-biting victories against Oregon Tech (66-65) and Albertson College of Idaho (61-59). In the Albertson game, Feb 3, the women used a 13-0 run in the last six minutes to steal the victory.

According to coach Katy Steding, the team’s success is due to “senior leadership, a great freshman class and the recruitment of some key transfers.”

Seniors Becky VanTine and Angie Sun, along with junior Nicole Brown, led the team in scoring at 12 points per game. The women play at the NAIA Division II tournament, March 8-14, in Sioux City, Iowa.

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Taking care of business The men’s team turned heads early during a non-conference schedule that included road victories against the likes of the University of Pugent Sound, Central Washington University, and Warner Southern University. The men kept their winning ways in conference play, going 13-5 against a field that featured two other teams ranked in the top20, Southern Oregon University and Oregon Institute of Technology. The Knights split their two games against OIT, but twice beat Southern Oregon, at one point the NAIA’s #1-ranked team.

“We’re the most exciting and athletic team in the conference,” says senior forward Donny Woods.

“We like to get up and down the floor.”

Coach Bart Valentine ‘75 turned to a quicker style of play that proved so versatile that on two occasions, four players each scored over 20 points in the same game.

Freshman Nate Menefee led the team in scoring with 17 points per game, and senior Donny Woods averaged six assets and seven rebounds per game.

“We’ve added several new faces to the team, all of which bring us more athleticism and depth,” said Valentine.

The Knights secured their conference championship by winning their final conference game, 61-57 versus Evergreen State, February 18. The team plays in the NAIA Div. II tournament in Point Lookout, Mo., March 8-14.

The Experience

(Clockwise from top) Becky VanTine ‘06 goes up strong against Corban College. Donny Woods ‘06 drives against Oregon Tech’s Joe Billings.

Silver Pierce ‘06 looks to make an entry pass.

All photos by Scott A. Thompson

Both men and women’s basketball teams capture conference championships and automatic spots in NAIA Div. II tournament play.

STUDENT LIFE

Mastering the art of product placement Katey Carpenter ‘05 parlays a marketing internship with software giant Intuit into a promising managerial career.

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atey Carpenter ’05 turned a successful business internship into a dream job when software giant Intuit hired her as a territory sales manager last October, six months after she had graduated from Warner Pacific with a degree in Business Administration. Carpenter worked as an intern for Intuit during her senior year, overseeing retail displays of the company’s Quickbooks, TurboTax, and Quicken software in Portland-area stores.

Intuit was so impressed with Carpenter’s work that it named her one of its top twelve interns in the nation for 2005. Six months later, she was a first-year sales manager working with five “After doing the interns of her own, and a territory that included 50 stores internship, I realized in Portland and another 50-60 what kind of job I stores in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“It has been an absolute wanted, what kind of blessing,” Carpenter said. people I wanted to “After doing the internship, I realized what kind of job I work with.” wanted, what kind of people I wanted to work with.”

Keeping Intuit displays stocked and organized is only the beginning of Carpenter’s job. The real art is in establishing rapport with store managers in order to place her product in even better locations within a given store.

“I’m a good people person and that’s a huge part of the job,” Carpenter said. “I just love talking to people, persuading people.”

One of Carpenter’s current interns, Warner Pacific senior Nate Magliazzo, is responsible for displays at 19 retail stores in Portland, and is proving to be a quick study. He says it took time for managers to warm up to him, but now the internship is going smoothly.

“Productivity comes out of networking and marketing,” Magliazzo said. “You have to be determined.”

Carpenter credits her former business professors Lois Chapin and Greg Dean for teaching her business know-how, and for demonstrating leadership styles that put students first.

(Above) Intuit territory sales manager Katey Carpenter ‘05 discusses software with Steve Kennedy, General Sales Manager of a CompUSA in S.E. Portland. Carpenter oversees Intuit merchandise and displays in approximately 100 retail stores in Portland and Salt Lake City, Utah, and works with interns like WPC Business Administration major Nate Magliazzo ‘06 (left).

“I built a relationship with them,” Carpenter said. “They knew what was going on in my life.”

Carpenter also can’t say enough about the positive experience she has had working for Intuit. She works from home and meets regularly with her area manager, who lives in West Linn, Ore. She says Intuit’s corporate climate emphasizes integrity, with a healthy dose of fun tossed in. As part of her interview process, Carpenter was flown to Intuit’s Mountain View, Calif. headquarters last spring, along with the eleven other top interns. She was nervous, at first, but Carpenter’s interviewers proved laid back and actually hung out with the interns. For Carpenter, Intuit is the gold standard for how a company should treat its employees.

“I decided I would never work for another company unless it was like Intuit, unless they treat me well, respect me, care about me,” Carpenter said. “It’s amazing.”

Spreading the word about global AIDS crisis According to Christian relief agency World Vision, 8,200 people die of HIV/AIDS each day, and approximately 14 million children have been orphaned by AIDS. In response, Warner Pacific students put on the second annual Acting on AIDS week, Jan 23-28, to raise awareness about the AIDS pandemic through chapel services, concerts, and film screenings.

Students capped off the week by heading to Portland streets and collecting $688 in donations for World Vision from passersby.

“It’s too hard not to be out here,” said sophomore Andrea Blair (pictured right), who held signs quoting AIDS statistics outside a Wild Oats store in N.E. Portland with senior Jeremy Steffensen (left). “It’s so big. We have to do something.”

Campus Ministry Director Jess Bielman ’00 says Acting on AIDS week is a critical way for students to remain mindful of the suffering of others.

“As one of the biggest issues facing humanity on the planet, what I hope it does is give our students a vision of the bridge between human difficulty and suffering and their spirituality,” Bielman said. “To be devoted to God, to be devoted to Christ, there is a sense of responsibility to my fellow man. By doing a week like this, I think we give an opportunity for our students to explore their faith in the context of their hurting world.”

Spring 2006

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COVER STORY

Warner Pacific’s Humanities Core Curriculum takes on life’s big questions.

CORE KNOWLEDGE Story and Photos by Scott A. Thompson

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hen Sarah Martin ’02 arrived at Warner Pacific as a freshman in 1998, she figured she had the smarts to handle anything the college could offer. Then her sophomore year arrived and the room started spinning, due in part to a certain humanities course by the name of War and Peace. With its integration

of philosophy, literature, history, and ethics, the course was unlike any Martin had ever seen. And as the first stop in the College’s Humanities core curriculum, it pushed her to rethink the purpose of her college education.

“It knocked my socks off,” said Martin, who is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Kentucky, in Lexington. “I remember doing a three-piece assignment looking at a situation of war and peace in your own life, putting [in] information about strategies of warfare, as well as the study of philosophy, and starting to look at your own story within that lens…It made me rebuild who I was as a person of depth.”

The bigger picture Beginning with the Culture of Western Man curriculum in the mid1970s and continuing today with courses like War and Peace, Science and Technology, and Faith, Living, and Learning, the Humanities core curriculum has served as Warner Pacific’s moral and educational spine for over thirty years. It’s a curriculum that swims upstream in an age of specialization and that asks students from all disciplines to wrestle with age-old questions, forge trust among strangers, and —for most students—explore what it means to be Christians in the larger society.

“We need to ask ourselves why it is important that we have what is considered traditionally a well-rounded education,” said Humanities professor Heidi Owsley. “We are going to go to [voting] booths all of 8

our lives. We are going to be deciding questions of the environment, questions concerning war and peace, questions considering taxation and governmental policy, foreign policy, local property taxes, etc. And all of these have to be engaged on a level broader than simply what my personal interests are. So we are asking what it means to be a citizen of a community and what it means to be a citizen of the world.”

The grand experiment The Humanities core curriculum traces its roots to an ambitious experiment in general studies called the Culture of Western Man, which began in 1974 as part of a $350,000 grant from the Lilly Endowment. Then-president Dr. E. Joe Gilliam ’50 had sought out key advisors, including former U.S. secretary of education Dr. Earl McGrath, to help him explore ways to incorporate Christian thought into more academic disciplines.

“I was trying to go from the perspective that we needed to integrate the Christian world view with everything from philosophy, history, social sciences, to the natural sciences,” said Dr. Gilliam.

Gilliam developed a relationship with the Indiana-based Lilly Endowment, which wanted to support interdisciplinary education. In the spring of 1972, Gilliam tapped his Vice President for Academic

The Experience

LET’S TALK Small group discussion like that between (left to right) Luke Ordway ‘06, Maria Hearing ‘06, Autumn Wilhelm ‘06, and Amanda Lehman ‘06 in Humanties 410 are a hallmark of classes in the Humanities Core program.

“[W]e always wanted to know…how the Christian faith relates to these huge issues about what it means to be a person, what it means to be a citizen, and the problems of our culture.”

Affairs, Dr. Marshall Christensen ’65, to pull together some faculty and write a proposal for a new model of integrated general education.

“Eight of us spent most of the summer hammering out the proposal and the outline to a new approach to general education,” said Christensen, who later served as Warner Pacific’s president from 1981 to 1996. “We were fashioning a world view, and a Christian world view at that, because—and this is critical—we always wanted to know…how the Christian faith relates to these huge issues about what it means to be a person, what it means to be a citizen and the problems of our culture.”

When it finally debuted in the fall of 1974, CWM offered a “great questions” approach to general studies. Eight faculty members from different departments taught as a team, lecturing and leading discussions on such questions as, “Can humans opt out of their responsibility to the earth?” or, “How do leaders obtain and hold on to power?”

CWM absorbed all previous general education classes into a single 36-credit course that spanned the freshman and sophomore years.

“In a given week, students might be reading something from the Bible, something from a novel, something from Kierkegaard, that kind of thing,” said former English professor Arthur Kelly ’65. “It was probably the most formative teaching and learning experience I have ever had. It was an incredible experience. It changed us all.”

Remodeling As innovative as CWM was, faculty realized it required a level of writing and critical thinking that many incoming freshman had yet to develop. The program also proved a frustration for students attempting to transfer to schools that had nothing like an all-in-one CWM program. During the 1980s, faculty reintroduced lower division writing and communications classes, and eventually phased out CWM altogether—save for a remnant that became the Humanities core curriculum of today.

“I think we all began to realize [CWM] demanded a great deal of time and that there were probably some subjects that were not being adequately dealt with at the general studies level that probably needed

a little more attention,” said Kelly. “It was a grand experiment. I would say it achieved what it meant to achieve.”

Why ask the big questions?

While CMW has come and gone, today’s Humanities core curriculum retains the rigor of its forebearer. It continues to take a “big questions” approach involving faith, morality, and civil responsibility.

Faculty argue that it is essential for the College to retain a centerpiece curriculum that expressly engages all students in these broader philosophical questions, in the face of trends that might consider such courses as irrelevant in terms of career preparation.

“Much of the social surroundings that students come from shove them in a direction contrary to where we are trying to take them,” said Humanities professor Terry Baker ’81. “I think society is basically saying, ‘How is this going to cash out?’ And we’re saying that’s not the primary question…The liberal arts college that gets it right has cohesiveness in the sense that those larger, ongoing, philosophical questions of humanity are never far from the surface.”

Critical thinking for 200 The first stop in the Humanities core curriculum for traditional, four-year students is a choice between three sophomore-level courses: War and Peace, Science and Technology, or Earthkeeping. While each has its distinct application, the courses share the goal of understanding classic Western views on human nature by studying philosophers like Plato, Aristotle, and Augustine, as well as more modern writers like Marx, and Freud. Students then incorporate the ides of these thinkers—along with works of fiction like Remarque’s “All Quiet on the Western Front” and Shelly’s “Frankenstein”—into discussions about globalization, armed revolution, protection of endangered species, or cloning, depending on the course.

“The 200 level is really about logic and critical thinking,” said History professor Cole Dawson. “Whether we are talking about war and peace, science and technology, or making peanut butter sandwhiches,

Spring 2006

Continued on page 10

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COVER STORY Core Knowledge / from page 9

the content is slightly secondary to this primary focus on critical thinking. How do you read comprehensively? How do you sort out arguments? How do you find synthetic possibilities, weaving together disparate sources? Those [are] hard, critical thinking edges.”

To clone or not to clone?

In Science and Technology, for example, students not only research the debate surrounding cloning, but they must also write a paper arguing for or against the practice. Humanities professor Dr. Pam Plimpton, who co-teaches the course with religion professor Dr. Bryan Williams, says that having to take a stand forces students to dig more deeply into the research in order to support their position.

“What we hope they will find is that it is difficult to be on one side or the other, because they will have discovered through their research that there are certainly reasons not to [clone cells] and there are certainly reasons to go ahead and do it,” said Plimpton. “They have to explore those.”

Williams says that, like it or not, science is forcing these ethical dilemmas upon society more and more. If Christians, in particular,

through it, and you thought, ‘What am I going to learn from this?’

But religion and Bible and theology only go so far. If I want to step outside of this campus, step outside of my own world, outside of my church, I’m going to need to know how to answer [people’s] questions, and I’m not going to be able to do that without taking classes like [those in] the Humanities core.”

The heart of the matter While the 200-level courses wrestle with philosophy and contemporary topics like stem cells and global warming, Humanities 310—Faith, Living, and Learning—turns the discussion inward, looking expressly at personal ethics and morality. It’s heavy on small and large group discussion and reflection, and for many students, it is one of the most memorable and life-changing classes offered at Warner Pacific. Students read a mixture of fiction and nonfiction texts—including Chaim Potok’s “The Chosen,” Madeline L’Engle’s “A Circle of Quiet,” and Diogenes Allen’s “The Traces of God in a Frequently Hostile World”—and journal extensively. Much of the work is never turned in. It’s a class that essentially pulls over to the

“Where is my place in the suffering of the world?

What is my obligation to the world?

And if that’s my obligation, then how do I live my life?” want a voice in the public debate, they need to understand the language and the ethical dynamics involved. “[Cloning] becomes the touchstone that we keep coming back to [in order] to help us understand who we are and how we should react to difficult problems,” said Williams. “We just want them to fall off the fence and say, ‘I can articulate a stance that will shape this policy and because I am engaged in this policy, I will act into it and make it better.’”

In recalling his experience in Science and Technology, senior Aaron Walton ‘06, a Religion and Christian Studies major, described how his initial reticence toward cloning gave way to a greater appreciation for the complexity of the issue.

“Looking at it through the eyes of different historical figures, it really gave me a lot of respect for it,” Walton said. “That is, in essence, what it gave the whole class. It was hard at first, and it was hard going

Selected Humanities Core Readings “Theories of Human Nature”

by Donald Abel, ed.

“The Chosen”

by Chaim Potok

“Life is a Miracle”

by Wendell Berry

“The Traces of God in a Frequently Hostile World” by Diogenes Allen

“The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization” by Thomas L. Friedman “For the Beauty of The Earth” by Steven Bouma-Prediger

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“A Circle of Quiet”

by Madeline L’engle “Frankenstein”

by Mary Shelly

side of the road and asks students to examine their faith in light of what they’ve learned thus far, and to explore what it really means to see and appreciate the differences in others.

“I’m teaching responsibility in that class,” said music professor Dr. Dennis Plies, who has taught the course since the mid-1990s. “When they can find safety and swim past defenses and they want to share who they are, [they realize] people have passions. It has also taught me about multiple perspectives. I would have thought that, in general, there is not diversity here. Now I have a new understanding. Diversity is everywhere. We have to see it.”

Diversity all around Potok’s “The Chosen,” which has been a staple in Humanities 310 for years, serves as a symbol for the diversity that can exist within the same culture. It tells the story of the unlikely friendship between two Jewish teenagers who live in the same Brooklyn neighborhood at the end of the 1940s, but who come from two completely different worlds.

One is from a strictly Orthodox Hasidic family, and the other from a more liberal Jewish family.

“Here are two boys who are both Jewish, but who might just as well be Catholic and Protestant,” said Baker, who teaches Humanities 310.

“So what do you make of that? We’re all supposedly Christians perhaps sitting in this room, but I can guarantee you that if we scratch the surface deep enough, we’re going to [discover differences]. The beauty of that novel is that, indirectly, it allows our students to experience differences—religious, social, political—and then use those analogies in the novel to ask about their own differences.”

Getting personal Humanities 310 can be a revelation for students, as it gives them permission to share concerns or doubts they may feel are too dangerous to admit in other social circles. When students let down their guard and start to share honestly, the degree of trust and candor that emerges is, for some students, unprecedented in their college experience.

The Experience

COVER STORY LIVING THE QUESTIONS (Right) Philosophy professor Terry Baker ‘81 sees the Humanities Core as critical in helping students consider their role as citizens of the world.

(Below) Music Education major Tiffany Radmacher ‘06 discusses paradox during a session in Humanities 410.

“It helped me realize that there are other Christians that think the same way I do, the kind of things you’re not allowed to say in church,” said Bronwynne Carlsen ’07, a Human Development major from Portland, Ore. “Not bad things, but doubts you have or things that we think. It was emotional [at the end of the semester] because we got to know a lot about each other and we had that bond of sharing those burdens.”

For social work major Heather Phillips ’06, the course often kept her up at night pondering over issues like justice and what role she can play in addressing human suffering. Phillips is set to work with at-risk youth at a Church of God-sponsored outreach in San Francisco after she graduates in May. “I loved the class because it was more than a class,” said Phillips.

“We went in to study the human condition and inherently it became a part of our lives. That class propelled me forward in this journey where I was searching for everything I could because of the questions that had been laid out before me. Where is my place in the suffering of the world? What is my obligation to the world? And if that’s my obligation, then how do I live my life?”

The capstone The Humanities core is designed as a progression. Waiting for seniors in their final course—simply called Humanties 410—is a capstone thesis in which they must address a paradox within the human condition, using research from three separate academic disciplines. Two faculty members serve as primary and secondary readers, and offer guidance and accountability for the paper, which typically ranges between 20 and 30 pages. For Professor Baker, if the core curriculum has done its job, seniors will be up to the challenge.

“Those students who ‘get it’ see it as an opportunity. If we do the curriculum right, there’s gong to be no surprise that by the time they get to 410, this is their baby. And they’re going to actually be telling me to go away.”

In choosing their topics, some students select broad philosophical topics, while others use the project to explore issues more personally

relevant. Former Business Administration major Noel Bosco ’96 wrote his Humanities 410 paper about affirmative action. As the Director of Application Development at Poorman-Douglas, a data processing company located in Beaverton, Ore., Bosco says he still uses his paper as a resource.

“I still talk about it,” said Bosco, who studied in the Degree Completion Program. “I still use the statistics in discussions with politicians.”

Fellow DCP grad T. Scott Harden ’04 investigated the value of employing the learning disabled and mentally retarded. Harden’s brother has a number of learning disabilities, yet lives independently and holds a job.

“He makes a pretty good contribution to society and our expectations of people with his problems are pretty low,” said Harden. “I looked at it not only as a project that I had to get done in order to get my degree, but as an opportunity to look for more options for my brother, as well.”

Living the questions In a more philosophical vane, senior Anna Mahuron ‘06 discussed the paradox of labeling in society. Drawing from cultural anthropology, history, and religion, the Human Development and Family Studies major argued that while labeling provides belonging and recognizes diversity, it also lessens individualism. She wrote that, in spite of what stereotypes would suggest, individuals can often share more in common with people outside their own cultural or social groups than people within it. She said wrestling with the paradox is really what the Humanities 410 project—and the entire Humanities Core, for that matter—is all about. Paradox doesn’t lend itself to easy answers, but, instead, more questions.

“True wisdom is realizing how much you don’t know,” Mahuron said. “And I think that’s what [all of ] this is getting at. What you think you know is thrown off because paradox exists. What Warner wants you to do [is] not find answers to the questions, but to live the questions.”

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ALUMNI NEWS

GOULET’S NEW GOALS Former international soccer star Brent Goulet ‘87 uses his new role as a head coach in Germany’s professional league to share his Christian faith.

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s a former U.S. Olympic athlete and professional soccer player in Europe, Brent Goulet ’87 has lived his dream.

Even now, Goulet, 41, is forging new ground as the sole American head coach in all of European professional soccer. However, Goulet isn’t as interested in talking about his soccer career as he is telling anyone who will listen—players, coaches, journalists, even fans—that none of his accomplishments matter compared to his relationship with Jesus Christ.

“Jesus is my life,” Goulet said by phone from his home in St. Engbert, Germany. “I don’t hide it.”

Pacific] who

Great player, challenging student loved me in Jesus WPC soccer coach Bernie Fagan recruited Goulet out of Tacoma, Christ, and I’m a Wash. in the mid-1980s and he quickly became the scoring leader Christian today on a powerhouse NAIA team that because they took third in the nation in 1984.

Goulet eventually scored 108 goals were faithful.” during his four seasons at WPC. “I thank God I had a coach like Bernie,” Goulet said. “I was proud to be a four-year All-American. If I hadn’t gone to Warner, it wouldn’t have happened.”

As good as Goulet was on the field, he developed a reputation as a cocky student who cared more about playing soccer and goofing off than hitting the books.

“I always did enough to get by,” Goulet says. “I knew what I wanted, so that’s what I did. If I had been a Christian back then, and had I 12

Photo courtesy Brent Goulet

An American in Europe An All-American soccer player at WPC in the mid-1980s, Goulet played for the U.S. National Soccer Team at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. He scored six goals in six qualifying matches en route to the Olympic games, and was named U.S. Soccer’s male athlete of the year for 1987. He played professionally in Oregon for the soccer club F.C. Portland before becoming one of the first Americans to break into the major European soccer leagues in 1990.

Goulet played for first division squads AFC Bournemouth and Crewe Alexandra in England, and later moved to Germany, where he played for a number of second and third division teams before finishing his playing career in 2000 in Elversberg, Germany, near the French border.

Goulet might still be playing today were it not for a freak collision on the field during which he fractured his right leg. Surgery to repair the break didn’t go well, and Goulet’s playing days were over. However, Elversberg hired Goulet as an assistant coach, and then named him head coach in 2004.

“God’s timing was great,” Goulet “There were said. “If I had never broken my leg, I never would have become a coach. people [at Warner I still would be playing.”

AN AMERICAN ABROAD After a leg injury in 2000 ended his European soccer career, Brent Goulet ‘87 soon became the head coach of the third-division German soccer club Elversberg. He is one of only a handful of Americans coaching in the international ranks, and the only American head coach among European clubs.

been more diligent, I would have excelled [in class]. The only thing I excelled in was soccer.”

Goulet says that while he proved a headache for staff and faculty, key people looked past the antics and reached out to him. He fondly remembers attending Bible studies in the home of then vice-president Jay Barber and his wife, Jan, with other sceptical, non-Christian soccer players.

“As much as we tried to provoke them, they welcomed us and loved us unconditionally,” Goulet said.

A transformed life Goulet’s Christian conversion happened quietly during the winter of 1995, when he was playing in Frankfurt, Germany. He was young, famous, wealthy—and miserable. A long-term dating relationship had gone sour, and Goulet turned to a Bible for solace.

“I was so empty in my heart,” Goulet recalls. “I dusted off a Bible and started reading it. I couldn’t put it down. The God that I found in the Bible was awesome. My prayer was, ‘You gave me soccer. I’ll give it up. You can have my family, my job. I cried myself to sleep that night.”

Many of Goulet’s peers found his transformation hard to believe, but Goulet’s convictions didn’t fade. He became active in a local Southern Baptist church and found a spiritual mentor. Today, he is as outspoken as ever about his faith.

“People are fascinated by it,” Goulet said. “The most important thing for people to know is there is a testimony for Jesus Christ crucified. There were people [at Warner Pacific] who loved me in Jesus in Christ, and I’m a Christian today because they were faithful.”

The Experience

ALUMNI NEWS

Cleaning up after Katrina

AMIDST THE RUIN Portland, Ore. resident Erin Bignall ‘05 traveled with a church group to New Orleans, La. last November to help gut houses damaged by flood waters.

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hen Erin Bignall ‘05 learned her church was planning to send a relief team to help hurricane victims in New Orleans last fall, she didn’t hesitate signing up. Bignall joined a 20member team from Portland’s Mosaic Church and spent Thanksgiving week gutting houses damaged by flood water. Relief organization Forward Edge—headquartered in Vancouver, Wash.—hosted the team, which worked in a total of six homes.

“I knew I wanted to do something besides send money,” said Bignall, who teaches second grade at Sweetbriar Elementary, in Troutdale, Ore. Bignall wasn’t the only member of the Warner Pacific alumni to spend time helping flood victims in New Orleans. Retired minister Charlie Gray ‘62 and two other men from Vancouver First Church of God assisted in the ongoing repair of the First Church of God in Metairie, La., just east of New Orleans. The church received six inches of flood water, which ruined the carpeting and spread black mold on the lower parts of walls. Church members had already removed damaged drywall by the time Gray arrived, so his job was to finish putting

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he last thing Doug Beisley ’86 thought he’d ever be was a missionary. Then a short-term missions trip to Costa Rica a few years ago changed everything.

Following the trip, the former high school choir director from St. Helens, Ore., and his wife, fellow teacher Danette (Perry)‘86, became missionaries with Church of God Ministries. In late 2004, the Beisleys and their three children moved to Auckland, New Zealand, where Doug teaches music at a pub-

lic middle school and Danette serves as the children’s pastor at Auckland International Church (AIC).

“We began to seek God’s will and He led us to the [pastor of ] Auckland International Church,” Doug wrote, via The Beisley family in email.

Auckland, New Zealand.

AIC meets at a private girl’s school and currently hosts 45 regular attendees, most of whom hail from China, Korea, and India.

The Beisley children—Alex, 15, Allison, 12, and Robert, 9—attend public schools and

Photo courtesy the Beasleys

Missionary family adjusts to new life in New Zealand

up new sheetrock. While the Metairie church was spared some of the worst damage, Gray says the devastation in the region was staggering.

“The visual image is hopeless, and it’s going to be a long recovery,” Gray said. “I want to go back there. It’s really important that we go down there to help.”

For Bignall, one of the most stark examples of the flood water’s power GOOD AS NEW Retired was in the home of a retired couple minister Charlie Gray ‘62 in Chalmet, La, 40 minutes outside applies mud to new sheetrock New Orleans. Over 41 years worth in the Metairie Church of of belongings were strewn around God, just outside of New haphazardly inside their home, which Orleans, La. Gray spent a week last November with two was caked with mud. other men from First Church “If you put a bunch of furniture and of God in Vancouver, Wash. muck in there and turn the blender helping make repairs on the on puree, that’s what it was like,” church, which had received Bignall said. six inches of floodwater.

In the midst of the mess, team members salvaged the couple’s family Bible and photo albums. After hauling the remainder of moldy furniture and trash to the curb in front of the home, the team prayed with the couple.

“I think it was amazing to know we were the hands and feet of God, doing the work that He wanted us to do,” Bignall said.

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actively help out at church.

“We have involved our kids in the process right from the beginning,” Doug wrote. “They all know why we are here and fully support this work. They’ve been troopers in all of this.”

Doug enjoys his teaching, but hopes How can help? to work full-time at theyou church when he and Danette are able to raise full support.

As for lifestyle adjustments, Danette says it is hard to be so far away from family and friends, and that driving on the left side of the road and learning the metric system has been an adventure. The Beisleys aren’t sure how long they will be in New Zealand, but they do consider themselves career missionaries now.

“We will stay in New Zealand as long as God makes it clear that He wants us here,” Doug wrote.

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Photo courtesy Dale Clark

Jess Strickland

Alumni Erin Bignall (‘05) and Charlie Gray (‘62) help New Orleans residents devastated by hurricane’s wrath.

ALUMNI NEWS

40’s Mitchell ’46 and Margaret (Heiner) Scrivner ‘46 are retired and living in Scappoose, Ore. Margaret plays piano and organ at Chapman Community Church, and Mitchell writes music.

Distinguished Alumni 2006 Alumni Legacy Award

Young Alumni Award

50’s Jerry ’52 and Mary “Margie” (Curl) Wilson ‘52 have moved into The Village Retirement Center in Gresham, Ore., and attend Lynchwood Church of God, in S.E. Portland.

Lois (Kegley) Smith ‘53 lives in Hood River, Ore. with her husband, Russ. The Smiths are occupying and renovating the home in which Lois grew up before attending Pacific Bible College in 1952.

Lois teaches a weekly Bible study at Hawks Ridge Assisted Living, and hosts a Bible study in her home.

60’s

Rev. Richard ’50 and Marian (Jacobs) Lander ‘49

Joel Stuart ‘89

Rev. Lander pastored Churches of God in Washington and California for fourteen years before starting a 23-year social work career in Washington State.

Marian was active in children’s ministry and the Women of the Church of God. They count six members of their extended family as Warner Pacific alumni.

Joel has worked as an elementary school principal for seven years, since the age of 31. He has served as a principal in Oregon’s North Clackamas School District, first at Campbell Elementary and currently at Happy Valley Elementary. He has also taught as an adjunct instructor of Education at Warner Pacific College and Portland State University.

Alumni Award for Service

Alumni Award for Ministry

Herb Lewis ’61 is a retired school teacher.

His wife, Leta (Moore) Lewis ’58 is a retired vice president of U. S. Bank. The couple lives in S.E. Portland.

80’s Kim Lewis ’80 is an administrative assistant in the corporate office for Mario’s for Men and Mario’s for Women. She has worked at Mario’s for over 16 years.

Dr. Rick “Josh” Walston ’82, M.Rel. ’87 is the founder and president of Columbia Evangelical Seminary, in Buckley, Wash., near Tacoma. He also is the author of five books, the most recent being, “Something Happened On The Way To ‘Happily Ever After’: A Biblical View of Marriage, Divorce & Remarriage,” published in January 2006 by Wipf & Stock Publishers. More info is available at www.columbiaseminary. edu/aboutus/president/.

The Portland Timbers soccer club named Chris Agnello ’87 their head coach and general manager in December. Most recently, Agnello served as an assistant coach with Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer.

90’s Al Zimmerman ’90 recently accepted appointment as Director of Planned Giving for George Fox University in Newberg, Ore. He most recently held a similar role at the Oregon Health Sciences University Foundation. At GFU, he will be dedicated to building long-term support for the university through planned gifts, bequests, scholarships, and endowment programs.

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Charles ’74 and Amelia (Schmidt) Patrie ’75

Having devoted their careers to helping needy children and youth, the Patries currently work together at Grace Children’s Home, a 25-bed residential facility that provides foster care and counseling services to children in Henderson, Neb.

Kelly (Hembree) ’97 and Jeff Wilson ’96 had their second son, Noah Joseph, May 19, 2005. Noah joins big brother, Aaron, who is three years old. Jeff is the Director of Bands at Rex Putnam High School, in Milwaukie, Ore., where Kelly is a half-time elementary school teacher.

Christi (Hermansen) ‘99 and Jeff Kurtz ‘99 received a surprise when their second son, Caden Jeffrey, was born November 27, 2005, four weeks early. He weighed six pounds, six ounces, and was 18.5 inches long. Caden joins big brother Max, who is one and a half years old. Jeff is the program director at Camp Redwood Glen, in Scotts Valley, Calif.

Dr. Ysu Umbalo ’99 and his wife, Therese, welcomed the birth of their daughter, and first child, Keilah Yvette, on November 10, 2005. Umbalo operates the medical clinic Centre de Sante M. SOMA, in Lubumbashi, Katanga, Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Experience

Rev. Curtis Nielsen ’53

Rev. Nielsen (with wife Lorrine) served Churches of God in South Dakota, Minnesota, and Illinois during a thirty-seven-year pastoral career. Nielsen has also been active with a number of ministerial associations and national committees of the Church of God.

00’s Jerod Brown ’00 was installed as co-pastor of River Street Church of God, in Newberg, Ore., on January 29, 2006. He will serve alongside current pastor Ron Palmer ’66, who has served at the church for 15 years. Jerod previously served as youth pastor at Holladay Park Church of God in Portland, Ore. Rebecca ’01 and Dan Doyle ‘04 welcomed their second child, Isaiah Benjamin, on September 20, 2005. Isaiah weighed 8 pounds and 4 ounces, and was 21.5 inches long. He joins older brother Andrew, who is almost two years old. The Doyles live in Lynnwood, Wash., where Dan works in management at Goodwill Industries and recently began working part-time as a youth pastor at the Church of the Good Shepherd.

Richard LaMar ‘01 pastor of College Park Community Church in North Bend, Ore.

ALUMNI NEWS

Scott Thompson

Kim (Brookins) Sandstom ‘86 and her husband adopted their granddaugher, Julia Brookins, following the death of their daughter, Diana Brookins, in 2004.

Joy born out of tragedy

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he last two years have brought intense sadness and a spirit of new beginnings for Kim (Brookins) Sandstrom ‘86, her former husband, Jerry Brookins ’87, and their families. In 2004, their 25-year-old daughter, Diana Brookins, died a week after giving birth to her first child, Julia.

Diana had suffered a series of complications and infections following gall bladder surgery when she was four months pregnant. As ill as she was, Diana was determined to survive long enough for Julia to be born. A year later, Sandstrom and her current husband, John, adopted Julia and moved from Oregon to Florida, in order to raise Julia near Jerry Brookins and his two sons.

“There is a providence that I’m beginning to accept, but things should have turned out differently,” said Sandstrom.

Sandstrom attended Warner Pacific in the mid-1980s with Jerry Brookins and their three young children: Diana, Jeremy (now 26), and Jonathan, (now 20). Brookins was a Religion and Christian Ministries major, and Sandstrom studied English and Communications. Sandstrom was also active in drama and even shared the stage with Diana when she performed as Anne Sullivan in “The Miracle Worker” and Diana played a supporting role as a blind girl.

Sandsrom and Brookins divorced in 1988, and Sandsrom married John Sandsrom in 1989. Together they founded the Hillsboro (Ore.) Artists Regional Theatre in 1994, where Diana performed in many plays as a teenager.

In April 2005, Oregon Right To Life posthumously honored Diana for her commitment to seeing Julia born.

“She saved her daughter’s life,” Sandstrom said.

En Memoriam Lucretia (Koehler) Bloyd ‘52 died on January 14, 2006 at the age of 85. She received her BA Degree in Christian Education from Pacific Bible College (now Warner Pacific College). Later she received her BS degree at the University of Minn. Survivors include her sister Idell (Koehler) Shaffer ‘48; a brother, and sister-in-law Merle (Brannon) Koehler ‘49, among others.

Lorena B. (Farmer) Cowdrey ‘50, of Wichita, Kan., died on August 16, 2005, at the age of 86. She was born on the family farm in Stevens County, Kan., on August 11, 1919.

After graduating from high school, she earned a teaching certificate and taught in one room schools in Hugoton. Later, she graduated from Pacific Bible College in 1950, and earned her teaching degree in 1960 from Friends University in Wichita, Kan. She was involved in fulltime church work at First Church of God in Wichita, Kan., which later became Central Community Church. From 1967 to 1977, she ran Dawn’s Child Care Center in Wichita, which was named for her developmentally disabled daughter.

Rev. Neal E. Higgins ‘76 died October 18, 2005, in Santa Cruz, Calif. at the age of 63. Rev. Higgins served in the U.S. Air Force as a communications center specialist until he was honorably discharged in 1964.

After working for several years as a department store manager, he received a B.A. degree fromWarner Pacific College in 1976, and a doctorate in theology from the International Bible Institute and Seminary in Orlando, Fla. in 1979.

An ordained minister of the Church of God, Higgins served as senior pastor of congregations in Washington, Oregon, and California. He also recorded gospel albums for Angelus Records during the 1970s, and conducted gospel concerts in numerous churches.

Higgins is survived by his wife Maxine (Thomas) Higgins, two sons, one daughter, four grandchildren, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Evalyn (Brown) Hinkle ’40 died on Saturday May 28, 2005, at the age of 87. She was born on December 24, 1917 in Hartselle, Ala. She was one of

Spring 2006

the College’s earliest graduates.

In the 1940s, Hinkle moved to Chico, Calif., where she worked at the Church of God as the pastor’s assistant. In 1947, she married Stanley W. Hinkle.

After raising two girls, Hinkle graduated from Chico State University in 1965 with a teaching credential. She taught first grade for ten years. She was also very active in church ministry. Survivors include two daughters, Cathleen Eckelbarger-Hinkle of Red Bluff and Valerie (Hinkle) Strieby ‘70 of Merrimack, New Hampshire; two brothers, four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Warner Pacific lost a great friend and long time volunteer when Gloria (Elias) Law ‘46 passed away peacefully on December, 30, 2005, in Whittier, Calif.

She was 79 years old.

Gloria was born in 1926 in Los Angeles, Calif. She earned a certificate in Christian Education from Pacific Bible College (Warner Pacific College) in 1946; a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology and education from Whittier College; and a master’s degree in counseling from Los Angeles State University.

Gloria taught and counseled for thirtynine years in the Montebellow (Calif.)

School District.

After retiring from public education, Gloria volunteered at Warner Pacific College for fourteen years, in the late 1980s and 1990s. She eventually was named an honorary member of the faculty. She was a recipient of the State of Oregon Governor’s Award for volunteers. In 2005, Warner Pacific established the Gloria Law Legacy Award, which is given to members of the Warner Pacific community for their servanthood and volunteerism.

Rev. Glenn “Buzzy” Miller ‘57 passed away on December 2, 2005, in Mesa, Ariz., at the age of 75. Rev. Miller attended schools in Spokane, Wash. and then served in the U.S. Air Force. He graduated from Warner Pacific College in 1957 and went on to hold pastorates in Churches of God in Washington, Idaho, New Mexico, California, and Arizona. Survivors include his wife of 50 years, Shirley (Cutshall) Miller ‘57, a son and two daughters, a brother and a sister, and seven grandchildren.

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first person

Guilt, redemption, and mashed potatoes What Humanities 410 taught me about why we are here.

by Joel Kelly ‘88

I

n the movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Richard Dreyfus’s character finds himself beset by strange visions.

In one memorable scene he tries to sculpt a plate of mashed potatoes into a shape he is haunted by as his horrified family looks on. As he realizes the strangeness of his actions, the best, frustrated explanation he can muster is, “This means something!” It is not adequate to reassure him or his family.

I imagine some of my classmates felt similarly in the first Humanities 410 class in the fall of 1987. Professor Lou Foltz gave us the guidelines for this new process: take some aspect of the human condition, relate it to an area of our major field of study, and explore the ramifications. Oh, yes, and then on top of that, produce some kind of related artistic statement. No sweat.

The safety net was that because we were the first to participate, we could not earn less than a “B” grade. You might think this would allow us to relax—that’s how I felt about it. My favorite educational experiences have always been non-linear, focused on finding the connections between many sources (that’s why I stink at math). I looked forward to the challenge.

As an English Lit major, my theme was “Guilt and Redemption in Relation to the Theater”. With some recommendations from faculty advisors, I was off and running. I took a kitchen sink approach. My paper included references to Freud, Sophocles, Shakespeare, Jacques Ellul, Tennessee Williams, T.S. Eliot, and Pink Floyd. I wrote and rewrote for hours at a time and loved it.

I realized I was more alone in this enjoyment than I thought as others in my class began coming to me for advice. Some were totally lost in the assignment; others wanted to figure out the

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magic path to getting an “A”. Some had the same look on their faces that I must have had when rappelling over a cliff backwards during Psychology of Religion class—utter terror. The seeming lack of structure was driving them crazy. They were stirring the mashed potatoes looking for something they knew had to be there.

They just didn’t know what it was.

What I believe now is the point of the assignment was, in fact, to stir the mashed potatoes. The digging, the thinking, the imagining was not to find THE ANSWER. It was, instead, to take all the pieces and see how they related to each other, to deepen our understanding and reveal further pieces for us to grapple with.

My paper came up with no great, world-shaking conclusions that changed the course of Western thought (much to my dismay).

In the end, all I could essentially do was say, “Here is the problem as I see it; what then shall we do?” The issue became more complicated as I stirred. I knew it ultimately “meant something”—but in the end, I still didn’t know exactly what.

We all turned our papers in, and we all got A’s and B’s. Still, I know some were disappointed and even disheartened. But if my experience is any indication at all, eighteen years later, I’m betting we are all still thinking about the issues we explored. Humanities 410 is a great example of the goal of higher education—an attempt, never perfect, to begin a lifelong dialogue (if only with ourselves) about who we are, what things mean, and why we are here. I’m glad to have had the opportunity.

Joel Kelly ‘88 is Annual Fund Director for Christiana Care Health Systems in Wilmington, Del. He has one son, Andrew, 15.

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