Langlie lecture
Former U.S. Senator Dan Evans to speak at Whitman

The Langlie Lecture for Northwest History, Politics and Public Service brings Dan Evans, former Washington governor and U.S. senator, to campus for a lecture titled “Where Have All the Moderates Gone?” at 8 p.m. in Chism Recital Hall, Hall of Music The event is free and open to the public. Evans also will join students for lunch on Friday, Nov. 2, and sit in on a class taught by Professor of Politics Phil Brick.

Nicknamed “Straight Arrow,” Evans is a Republican known for his bipartisan efforts in Washington state and Washington, D.C. He served as governor of Washington for 12 years (1965-1977) and as president of The Evergreen State College from 1977 to 1983. He was appointed to the U.S. Senate in 1983 (filling a seat left vacant by the death of U.S. Sen. Henry M. “Scoop” Jackson). He won a special election later that year and served the remainder of Jackson’s unexpired term.

Evans served on the University of Washington Board of Regents from 1993 to 2005. His wife, Nancy Bell Evans ’54, serves on the Board of Trustees at Whitman. Both are active in community and political affairs.

He is the second national figure to give a Langlie Lecture at Whitman. Each year, the Langlie Fund brings a lecturer to campus who is influential in history, politics or public service. The fund was established in honor of Arthur B. Langlie, former mayor of Seattle and the first three-term governor of Washington, by his grandchildren Karin Langlie Glass ’78 and Arthur K. Langlie ’89.

Recap: Staff Breakfast with President Bridges

Speaking to a packed house in Olin 157, President Bridges addressed accreditation, Sherwood Center, safety on campus, Family Weekend, and fundraising at last week’s Staff Breakfast.

He thanked everyone involved in the creation of Whitman’s accreditation report and supplement, citing Associate Dean of the Faculty Tom Callister and Associate Director of Communications Lana Brown in particular for their tireless efforts. Callister wrote the accreditation documents and Brown produced them. “The Accreditation Committee was very pleased with the entire process,” said Bridges. “And they left no stone unturned.” He will attend a “hearing” early next year, after which the results will be released.

Presenting renderings of what is to come, Bridges discussed the Sherwood Athletic Center, which will undergo a major facelift and renovation beginning as early as March or April 2008 and is expected to take up to 24 months to complete.

Campus security continues to be strengthened in response to the Virginia Tech tragedy, Bridges said. Among key measures is a new system that will allow the college to send emergency messages to cell phones. Watch your e-mail for details about this important emergency communications system.

He also reported that Family Weekend was a resounding success. “I only heard very positive remarks,” he said. On the fundraising front, Bridges discussed the shift from buildings to programs and people as the college establishes fundraising priorities.

Save the date!
Mark your calendar

The Whitman College Community Winter Holiday Party is set for Saturday, Dec. 15, from 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. Formal invitations will be sent in November.

Faculty profile: Joy Viveros
Director of Post Baccalaureate Fellowships, Scholarships and Grants

Position: Director, Fellowships and Grants
Birthplace: U.S. Air Force base, Hokkaido, Japan
Education: Ph.D., English (American literature, with a focus on African-American literature and slave narratives)
Years at Whitman: Three months
Favorite book(s): Mark Vonnegut’s “Eden Express,” Primo Levi’s “If This Is a Man” and “The Drowned and The Saved.”
Favorite sculpture(s) on campus: Deborah Butterfield’s “Styx,” a sketch of movement and physicality that lets the world into its body. Also, Jim Dine’s “Carnival,” the human form and a reminder of the sense of possibility in the ’60s.
Best travel experience: Edinburgh: flame jugglers at dusk, a Gothic cathedral cutting a relentlessly moving, cloud-filled sky.
Interests/pleasures: Thrift-shopping in big cities and odd little towns. Handling clothes and other objects that were once new and desire-filled. Thinking about their journeys: the early fascination, the particular path that winds to a loss of interest — the way desire moves and moves.
Recent accomplishment: Learning how to sustain intimacy with my beloveds with only technology (the telephone and a plane ride now and then) to help us.
What people don’t know about me: When I was pregnant, I produced and directed a play in San Francisco based on a book of poems I wrote.
A day in the life/on the job: Think of an Olympic coaching session plus the best therapy session ever. Then think of the day before a wedding when the flowers haven’t yet been delivered and the guests are about to arrive.
Favorite aspect of Whitman: The idealism of the students: Whitties want to change the world, which makes my own work meaningful.
What I’ve learned here: How to help people I’ve never met (alumni, students abroad) write great applications.
Quote: “We need the books that affect us like a disaster, that grieve us deeply, like the death of someone we loved more than ourselves, like being banished into forests far from everyone, like a suicide. A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us.” (Franz Kafka)

Comings and goings

The Whitman community extends a warm welcome to Summer Singer, the new conferences and events coordinator.

Chance to learn about fair trade, products

Alfredo Rayo, a Nicaraguan leader in the youth cooperative movement and a representative of the Cecocafen Cooperative, will visit Whitman to speak about his experiences with fair trade at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 29, in Olin 130. The event is organized by Whitman’s Campus Greens group in partnership with United Students for Fair Trade, a national organization that works to spread awareness of fair trade and environmentalism. October is Fair Trade Month. Campus Greens offers a variety of fair-trade products on campus, including shade-grown coffee. “My hope is that the lecture will give people a better global perspective on what they eat,” said Campus Greens President Brittany Smith.

Admission to all events is free unless otherwise indicated.

Tuesday, Oct. 30
Lecture: Guest speaker T. Sato discusses “The Ecology and Behavior of Cichlid Fishes of Lake Tanganyika and Lake Malawi” at 4 p.m. in Hall of Science 151.

Tuesday, Oct. 30
Film: French-Language Film Series presents “L’Esquive/Games of Love and Chance” at 7 p.m. in Olin Hall 130.

Thursday, Nov. 1
Lecture: The Langlie Lecture for Northwest History, Politics and Public Service brings former Washington governor and U.S. senator Dan Evans to campus for a lecture titled “Where Have All the Moderates Gone?” at 8 p.m. in Chism Recital Hall, Hall of Music.

Monday, Nov. 5
Lecture: The Kimball lecture, “The Universe of Love in The Golden Ass,” will be given by Keith Bradley of the University of Notre Dame at 7 p.m. in Maxey Auditorium.

Monday, Nov. 5
Concert: The Whitman College Flute Choir presents a concert at 7:30 p.m. in Chism Recital Hall, Hall of Music.

Monday, Nov. 5
Lecture: “Economics and Democracy: The Role of Economics in Balancing Individual Interest and the Public Good” will be discussed by Richard B. Norgaard of the University of California, Berkeley, at 7:30 p.m. in Olin Hall 130.

The Fountain is published by the Office of Communications. Send news to Editor Lenel Parish at thefountain@whitman.edu. Photos are accepted. Submissions are due by Tuesday at 5 p.m. for the following week's issue. Editorial Assistant: Marcy Manker ’10. Managing editor: Lana Brown. Director of Communications: Ruth Wardwell. Online: www.whitman.edu/fountain