Willamette University Theatre Presents “The Diviners”

Willamette University Theatre presents "The Diviners" by Jim Leonard Jr., directed by Guest Director Michael Griggs with Guest Artist Ted deChatelet.

The production begins with a preview on Thursday, Oct. 3, at 8 p.m. The show will run Oct. 4 and 5 and Oct 10 through 12 at 8 p.m. Matinees run Oct. 6 and 13 at 2 p.m. and Oct. 10 at 11 a.m.

The play takes place in rural Zion, Indiana, during the depression of the 1930's. It brings together a disturbed young man and an itinerant preacher disenchanted with the hollowness of pious religiosity. Both men struggle with events from their past, until the inner turmoil of one life is fused with the childhood trauma of the other in the play's climax … "The Diviners is a splendid drama by a playwright with poetic as well as human feeling" - Variety Tickets are $10 for evening shows and $8 for Sunday matinees. Student and senior tickets are $6 for all shows. Preview is half price.

For ticket reservations please contact the Box Office at 503-370-6221. For additional information, contact Alyssa Bradac, Willamette University Theatre publicity manager, 503-370-6222.

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Free Film Presentation At Willamette University

The film, “Journey to Enlightenment,” the story of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, teacher of the Dalai Lama, will be shown at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art Wednesday, Oct. 2, at 4 p.m. The film is free and open to the public.

The film’s producer, Gabriella Martinelli, will discuss the movie.

The Department of Japanese/Chinese and the Asian Studies Program at Willamette University will sponsor the event through a grant from the Luce Foundation.

The Museum is located at the corner of State and Cottage streets on the Willamette campus.

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Bruce Babbitt Gives Dempsey Lecture at Willamette

Bruce Babbitt, former Secretary of the Interior, will deliver the 2002 Dempsey Lecture at Willamette University Wednesday, Sept. 25, at 8 p.m. in the Mary Stuart Rogers Music Center. The lecture, "Reflections on the Environment and National Policy," is free and open to the public.

After brief service as special assistant to the director of VISTA in Washington, D.C., Babbitt returned to Arizona and joined the law firm of Brown and Bain in Phoenix. He was elected Arizona Attorney General in 1974 and earned a national reputation in that office as a legal scholar and writer.

Babbitt was appointed by President Jimmy Carter to investigate the 1979 Three-Mile Island nuclear power plant accident and later consulted the president on additional environmental issues.

Following a distinguished career as governor of Arizona from 1978-87, President Bill Clinton named Babbitt Secretary of the Interior in 1993. During his tenure, he drafted plans to restore the Florida Everglades, helped enact the massive California Desert Protection Act, and negotiated the largest land swap in the history of the lower 48 states in order to protect the new Grand-Staircase monument and other parks in Utah.

Babbitt received his undergraduate degree in geology from Notre Dame University. As a Marshall Scholar, he later earned his master's degree in geophysics at the University of Newcastle, England, and his J.D. degree at Harvard University's Law School in 1965.

The lecture is sponsored by the Dempsey Foundation. Seating is limited.

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Anniversary Concert at Willamette University

Alumnae of Willamette University's renowned vocal jazz group, "The Willamette Singers," return to their alma mater for a 20-year anniversary concert Friday, Sept. 27, at 8:30 p.m. in Smith Auditorium. The concert is free and open to the public.

In celebration of "The Willamette Singers" 20th year under the direction of Dr. Wallace Long, 65 alumnae of the group, representing the classes of 1984 through 2002, return to campus as part of this year’s Homecoming weekend.

Long began directing the group in the fall of 1983. The singers had been known primarily as a madrigal ensemble, but responding to the jazz "explosion" in the Pacific Northwest, the singers evolved into a vocal jazz ensemble. Because Long's primary discipline is classical music, he was committed to the concept that vocal musicians could sing jazz in an authentic style, while maintaining their vocal integrity.

The International Association of Jazz Educators, the Music Educator’s National Conference, and the American Choral Directors Association with invitational performances in New Orleans, Chicago, Indianapolis and Boston have honored the resultant group. Other invitational performances include Tokyo and Hawaii. This spring they will travel to New York City for an honorific performance at the American Choral Directors Association's National Convention.

Of the reunion concert, Long says, “Many remarkable musicians have performed in the group during the past 20 years. It will be wonderful to work with them again".

For more information please contact the Willamette Music Office at (503) 370-6255.

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New Dean Named for College of Liberal Arts

Professor Carol Long, a member of the English Department since 1972, has agreed to serve as Willamette University interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts for the next two years. Her appointment is effective immediately.

"Carol brings significant experience to her new role,” said Willamette University President Lee Pelton. “She is a respected and trusted member of the CLA faculty who understands the College's history and can lead the College in achieving its aspirations.

Long's many leadership roles at Willamette include chair of the Accreditation Steering Committee, 1999-2001; Associate Dean, 1996-99; English Department Chair, 1990-93; Faculty Council, 1987-89; Academic Council, 1979-82; Director of the Oregon Writing Project at Willamette, 1995-present; and faculty representative to the Board of Trustees Executive Committee, 2000-2002.

Pelton said, "One of the primary tasks of the interim dean is to lead the faculty in meaningful and productive deliberations regarding the aspirations of the College of Liberal Arts. These include discussions of the acculturation of junior faculty in the community; teaching, research and service roles and expectations; workload; and the set of qualities that we are looking for in the new dean.

"Because these conversations will require considerable time, energy and focus, I have asked Professor Long to serve a two-year term. We will begin the search process for a permanent dean after the faculty has completed its consideration of these important issues."

Long replaces Dr. Tori Haring-Smith who is now vice president for educational affairs at Willamette.

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Lecture to Focus on Ill Health and Culture

Dr. Cecil Helman, senior lecturer with the Department of Primary Care and Population Sciences at the Royal Free and University College Medical School of London, will discuss “Cross Cultural Concepts of the Body, Mind and Self” Thursday, Sept. 26, at 7 p.m. in Cone Chapel at Willamette University. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Helman will discuss how in different societies “body” and “self” are not necessarily seen as the same thing, how the borders of the body are not only the skin, and how in some groups one can have several “bodies” at the same time. He will also talk about fundamental changes in our body image that have resulted from recent advances in medical and surgical technology.

A native South African, Helman is a primary care physician, noted author, poet and sociologist with a particular interest in medical anthropology. How people from different cultures explain ill health is the focus of his book, “Culture, Health and Illness: An Introduction for Health Professionals.” He also wrote “The Body of Frankenstein’s Monster: Essays in Myth and Medicine” which examines the socio-cultural mythology of the body and disease.

Helman has lectured at more than 60 universities including Harvard, Cambridge and Oxford. His appearance at Willamette University is made possible by support from the Hewlitt Grant and Professor Emeritus Charlie Bowles I.

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Willamette College of Law Receives Record Donation

The Peterson Family Foundation, established by Ken and Claudia Peterson, has donated a $2 million endowed gift to the Willamette University College of Law to establish The Willamette Center for Law and Government. It is the largest single gift from an alumnus in the 119-year history of the law school.

"I have expressed to Ken and Claudia our deepest gratitude for believing in our vision for a center of excellence and for investing in its future,” said College of Law Dean Symeon Symeonides. “They personify the Willamette motto `not unto ourselves alone are we born.’ I am also full of admiration for Ken's meteoric success as a Willamette alumnus, a success that is based solely on hard, honest work and perseverance. His investment in his alma mater reinforces his role as a model for future generations of Willamette students."

Peterson, raised in Hermiston, Oregon, and now a resident of Camas, WA., graduated from the College of Law in 1980. His wife was born and raised in Salem. Ken is CEO of Columbia Ventures Corporation, a private entrepreneurial investment company located in Vancouver, WA., with domestic and international operations primarily in the aluminum and telecommunication industries.

Peterson said, "Given Willamette's proximity to the state capitol and the historic relationship with state government, I thought something with an emphasis on that relationship was particularly relevant. I believe the Center will provide an additional avenue for students to learn about our unique American system of limited government and what makes it so precious in the struggle to maintain liberty in a world that has so often been hostile to freedom."

Symeonides said the center will administer a specialization program in law and government to train students to work effectively in and with government at the national, state, and local levels and provide an impartial forum for the study, discussion and improvement of public policy and the role of government.

The dean added, “The center will also sponsor scholarly research and publications, conferences, distinguished visitors, and a national essay competition on the 10th Amendment which stresses that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.” The 10th Amendment is of particular interest to Ken Peterson.

“My honors thesis for my bachelor's degree was about liberty and its importance, so you can see it is a topic I have been interested in for a long time,” Peterson said. “I have both participated in and observed government and how the law interacts. I have come to an even greater appreciation for the special genius of the American Constitution and the system of government it set up. I have become more and more concerned about whether and to what extent this system remains as vigilant on behalf of liberty as it once was. The bottom line is that I want to do what I can to help make sure our special American system of government remains vibrant and is one of those things that will be passed along to my children and their children for generations to come.”

The Center for Law and Government is one of three new centers of excellence at Willamette. As funding permits, it will be complemented by the Center for Law and Business and the Center for International and Comparative Legal Studies. These three new programs will be modeled after the existing program in Dispute Resolution, which is ranked among the top five such programs in the country.

“Ken Peterson is an astute and successful entrepreneur,” said Willamette University President Lee Pelton. “The reputation of our College of Law is clearly enhanced when a man with Ken’s level of business acumen commits to this level of investment in Willamette. We are all touched by his and by Claudia’s generosity.”

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Willamette Conference Addresses Future of Northwest Forest Plan

A collection of some of the nation’s most knowledgeable environmentalists and forest policy stakeholders will gather at Willamette University in Salem Wednesday, Sept. 25, for an all-day conference on issues relating to forests in the Pacific Northwest.

The goal of the conference is to examine current forest management policy and how these policies are impacted by science and politics.

Among the luminaries scheduled to speak are Gov. John Kitzhaber; Jack Ward Thomas, former head of the U.S. Forest Service; Bruce Babbitt; former Secretary of the Interior; and Mark Rey, current USDA Under Secretary for Natural Resources and the Environment.

The conference runs from 11 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. in the Cat Cavern on the second floor of the University Center. Registration is required. At 8 p.m., Bruce Babbitt will deliver the 2002 Dempsey Lecture in the Mary Stuart Rogers Music Center at Willamette. The lecture is free and seating is limited.

The conference and lecture are made possible by the Dempsey Foundation and are hosted by the Willamette University Public Policy Research Center and the Department of Earth and Environmental Science.

Conference schedule and list of presenters for Sept. 25:

11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. - Registration and buffet, Cat Cavern, Putnam University Center

11:45 a.m. - Keynote Address: Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber, Cat Cavern

12:45 to 2 p.m. - Main Session: “What is Sustainable Forestry?” Cat Cavern

Panelists: John Beuter, president, Umpqua-Tualatin, Inc.; David Perry, program director, Land Restoration, Malama Kukui Cultural Learning Center (Hawaii); professor emeritus, ecosystem studies and ecosystem management, Department of Forest Science, Oregon State University; Roger Sedjo, natural resources economist, Resources for the Future; Jack Ward Thomas, professor of wildlife conservation, University of Montana; former head of the U.S. Forest Service.

2:15 to 3:30 p.m. - Concurrent Sessions:

"Science and Policymaking," Cat Cavern, Putnam University Center
Panelists: Deborah Brosnan, Ph.D., president of the Sustainable Ecosystems Institute; Ronald Mitchell, professor, political science, University of Oregon; Dan Rohlf, associate professor, Northwestern School of Law, Lewis and Clark College; Fred Swanson, research geologist, USFS Pacific NW Research Station; professor of forest science and geoscience, OSU.

"Endangered Species," Alumni Lounge, Putnam University Center
Panelists: Steve Ackers, wildlife ecologist, Oregon State University; Susan Jane Brown, executive director, Gifford Pinchot Task Force; Stephanie Parent, Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center, Northwestern School of Law, Lewis and Clark College; Richard Stroup, senior associate, PERC-The Center for Free Market Environmentalism.

3:45 to 4:30 p.m. - Closing Panel: “The Future and Challenges of the Northwest Forest Plan,” Cat Cavern, Putnam University Center

Panelists: Bruce Babbitt, former Secretary of the Interior; Mark Rey, USDA Under Secretary for Natural Resources and the Environment; Margaret Shannon, associate professor, University of Buffalo (NY) Law School; Jack Ward Thomas, former head of the USFS and professor, University of Montana, Missoula.

4:45 to 5:45 p.m. - Post Conference Events: “People and Forests: Diverse Perspectives on Sustaining Forests in the Pacific Northwest," a presentation by Steve Mital, service learning coordinator, University of Oregon Environmental Studies Program, Alumni Lounge, Putnam University Center

8 p.m. - Dempsey Lecture by Bruce Babbitt in Hudson Hall, Mary Stuart Rogers Music Center. This event is free and open to the public.

Conference registration is required before Sept. 16. Seating is limited. Fees are $5 for students; $40 for the general public and $160 for event supporters with display space. Checks made payable to Willamette University should be mailed to the public Policy Research Center, 321 Smullin Hall, Willamette University, 900 State Street, Salem, OR, 97301. Participants may also register on line or call 503-370-6961.

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Marking the first anniversary of September 11th

A letter from President M. Lee Pelton to campus:

Dear Colleagues,

After conferring with faculty, students, and staff, we have decided to mark the first anniversary of the September 11th tragedy with a day of reflection and remembrance. I invite you to participate in whatever part of this event feels the most appropriate for you.

September 11
7:40 to 7:55 a.m.-- Gather at Jackson Plaza
8 a.m. to noon-- Recite the names of those lost on 9/11-- UC Balcony (Mill Stream side)
8 a.m. to 5 p.m.-- Day-long ringing of the chimes on the Clock Tower
8 a.m. to 5 p.m.-- Cone Chapel open for private meditation and prayer
8 a.m. to 5 p.m.-- Poster paper available for personal notes, thoughts, prayers located at Goudy, the UC and in the Residence Halls
Noon to 1 p.m.-- Public program at the State Capitol, Capitol Mall Plaza
5 to 5:15 p.m.-- Gather at Jackson Plaza for close

September 12
12:45 to 1:35 p.m.-- Convocation at Cone Chapel
What Have We Learned? Faculty panel with Professors Joe Bowersox, Catherine Collins, Sam Hall and David McCreery

Please join us.

Lee Pelton

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A College President Worries About an 'Unreflective' Focus on Ourselves

By Jeffrey R. Young
The Chronicle of Higher Education

Liberal-arts colleges have become laboratories for students and faculty members to attempt to sort through the issues surrounding the terrorist attacks of September 11, says M. Lee Pelton, president of Willamette University and a former dean at Dartmouth College and Colgate University. But much of that discussion has focused inward -- on the United States' identity -- rather than on a search for a better understanding of the rest of the world, he adds.

Q. How has your job as a college president changed as a result of September 11?

A. Well, my priorities have not fundamentally changed. However, I have become more acutely aware of how fragile our educational communities are, and how strong leadership is required during times of crisis or great stress.

Q. A year later, what impact did the attacks have on students at your institution?

A. This is an event that had an impact on an entire generation of students and young people. And I think that these students will remember this day, that it will become a point of reference, a marker. ... And students have had some important conversations around race and gender on campus, and 9/11 has become a point of reference for those discussions. What it has engendered in all these discussions is the need to be open to different points of view, and I guess in a way this catastrophic event has been liberating. ... The legacy of 9/11 is not that it globalized our worldview, but that it has Americanized us, in that we feel we have a greater sense of being American. If you think about it, most of the discussions since 9/11 have been discussions or reflections about self-identity and community more than it has been about the world outside our borders.

Q. Is that a negative thing?

A. It could be, and I think it could result in a very unreflective, patriotic sort of sense of being. ... Having taught a course on fifth-century Athens last year, I see some connections between Athens -- this powerful city-state under threat by all of these lesser powers -- and its response, [which was] similar to America's, which is really to become more nationally conscious. It constructed all these great monuments to reflect and symbolize the greatness of Athens.

Q. Is there anything we can learn from that?

A. Yeah. I think what we need to learn is that, on the one hand, it's certainly important for us to reflect inward on who we are and what we stand for, but it would be a horrible mistake to neglect the world outside of us, and to assume that it doesn't matter -- because it does. I think that foremost that we accept our role as an intellectual community, and it means that it's in an intellectual community that we can explore these tough issues and ask ourselves difficult questions. 9/11 for me has reinforced the value of intellectual communities in times of national crisis or conflict, because we become a kind of laboratory where these difficult issues can be discussed and examined.

www.chronicle.com
Section: Special Report
Volume 49, Issue 2, Page A13

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