Here Whitworth honors and remembers those who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of the United States. These Whitworth students were American heroes and deserve to be remembered. To honor these brave men, please take a moment to learn more about each one of our Whitworth heroes. If you wish to know more details, there will be links that you are welcome to follow

Harry Olson:
Harry Olson graduated from Whitworth University in 1918 and was enlisted into the Army's 161st Infantry Division. Olson, was a good and kind-hearted man; he once said, "With malice toward none; with charity for all." Olson had a deep family bond and cared for those around him, he was never afraid to put his faith in God. After the war, his parents kept the letters exchanged between them; they treasured these letters to remember their 22 year old, loving and optimistic son who died for his country in WWI.

Frank L. Tiffany:
A man of many talents and trades. At Whitworth, Tiffany served as an editor for the Whitworthian, a member of the Glee Club, football player, a part of the orchestra, a member of the executive board, an English major, and Sunday school teacher; he graduated in 1924. As chaplain of the military, he was a savior to many. Tiffany counseled and ministered to thousands of Americans and Philippines in the Japanese prison camps of WWII. He served in Bataan and built an underground organization to get many needed supplies for his fellow prisoners. When the Japanese Secret Police found out, he was tortured and added to the list of prisoners to be sent to Japan. The ship was torpedoed on the way and sank. 9 out of 1770 prisoners survived, Frank Tiffany was not one of them. Tiffany lives on through his wife and daughter who lived and live in Cheney, WA.

Tom Sachi Haji:
Tom Haji was a Japanese-American who was loved by many friends and was involved with many things at Whitworth. He majored in pre-engineering at Whitworth College. After Pearl Harbor, Haji was debating on if he should go to school or not. His ethnicity has never haltered him before this moment. His friends eagerly coaxed him into coming back to school. He was expected to graduate in 1947. Later that year, Haji and his family were forced into an American Japanese camp in Idaho. It was here that he joined the army as part of the 442nd. Haji was part of the Italian Campaign and the spring 1945 offensive in Italy. His Japanese ethnicity did not stop him from becoming an American hero, he died in the offensive at 20 years old.

Forrest P. Ewens:
Forrest Ewens was one of the few kinds of people that his smile would seemingly light up the room. He had courage and faced things head on with unwavering determination, the good and the ugly. At Whitworth he was a loved to many, an athlete and a History major. Fellow Whitworthians praised him for his leadership and unwavering determination as the Track team's captain. Ewens was in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom when an Improved Explosive Device (IED) hit his truck. The blow was a fatal one to Ewens and one other comrade. Forrest died at 25 years old, he lives through his loving wife and identical twin, Oaken Ewens.

Ralph Goodsell
Ralph Goodsell attended Whitworth from 1939-1943. He was well-known among students and involved with the Whitworthian and with school plays. Ralph Goodsell participated in the Whitworth Players, which were a small group of actors. During his time working with the Whitworthian, he worked as a reporter. The next year , Goodsell worked as the VP of the French club. After that, he served as an ASWC (Associated Students of Whitworth College) social committee member and as an assistant Business manager for Natsihi.

Ralph Goodsell served in the Army Air Corps. In-route from Colorado Springs to Reno, eleven airmen, including himself died when they struck a mountain about 36 miles west of Austin, Nevada.

Paul Okert
Paul Okert grew up in Spokane and attended Lewis and Clark High School before coming to Whitworth

Paul Okert served in the Army; he was a part of the 21st Armored Infantry Battalion which was within the 11th Armored Division. One of the significant places that they served was the Battle of the Bulge, and which was when Paul Okert died on January 14, 1925.

The Battle of the Bulge was one of the biggest turning points for the Allied invasion of Nazi Germany. US troops dug into the Ardennes forest that covers Belgium and Luxembourg, held off the largest Nazi counterattack and opened the way to Germany. The long battle started on December 16, 1944 and lasted until January 25, 1945.

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Although it is commonly known as “The Loop”, the green space that is considered the centerpiece of Whitworth's campus is in fact rectangular. From an aerial view, it is obvious that this part of campus is a natural landscape of pine trees and grassy lawns that is not circular, as its name suggests.

Established in 1914, the original section of “The Loop” that is recognized today was in fact a road that "looped" around the interior of the campus. By the 1970s, the road was removed thus making it a much more inviting green space. Since then, The Loop has become the connecting point between much of campus. The Loop’s rectangular and diagonal walkways directly connect a plethora of buildings on campus, including: McMillian, Ballard and Warren Halls, the Hixon Union Building, Harriet Cheney Cowles Memorial Library, Lindaman Center, Weyerhaeuser Hall, Seeley G. Mudd Chapel, Dixon Hall, Cowles Auditorium and McEachran Hall.

Within “The Loop,” students throw Frisbees, set up hammocks and participate in annual events such as Spring Fest which is a festival where students and the Spokane community are invited to purchase food from local food trucks, play in various athletic events and jump in gigantic bouncy houses. Various guest artists conclude the festival every year with an evening concert in front of The Campanile. The Campanile is the lone structure contained within “The Loop” that rivals the heights of the neighboring Ponderosas. Italian for “bell tower”, the Campanile was unveiled in 1955.

“The Loop” has been a part of many noteworthy events throughout Whitworth’s history. In 1916, students performed Shakespeare’s As You Like It in “The Loop”, honoring the three-hundredth anniversary of his death. In May of 1970, a Whitworth anti-Vietnam War protest erupted on campus after the Kent State shooting. “The Loop” provided a venue for three hundred and fifty student protesters, who listened for three hours to speakers who condemned the Vietnam War. In recent years, the Spokane Windstorm of 2015 greatly impacted “The Loop”. The infamous storm knocked down over 120 trees on Whitworth’s campus. A number of these trees were uprooted in The Loop, destroying the landscape and damaging nearby buildings. Harriet Cheney Cowles Memorial Library and Lindaman Center were the two buildings connected with “The Loop” that were hit by Ponderosas. It was a miracle that nobody on campus was injured during the storm.

“The Loop” continues to be the centerpiece of Whitworth University. The exterior Hello Walk provides a welcoming space where students and staff alike add to the experience of being known at Whitworth. The Loop’s interior still contains tall Ponderosa Pines that stand over students, employees and visitors as they utilize the open space to study, protest, relax, pray, and play.

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The post-World War II decades were good ones for Whitworth College, which saw great expansion and growth. In particular, student enrollment vastly increased, due to the GI Bill and a greater sense of optimism, freedom, and prosperity. To serve this vast influx of students, Whitworth underwent several large construction projects, including three major residence halls.

One of these three residence halls was Warren Hall. Financed with approximately $400,000 in U.S. government loans, the building was designed by architects Funk, Molander, and Johnson. Construction began in November 1952; it was completed in September 1953. The hall, originally built as a women’s dormitory, consisted of two interconnected wings, East Warren and West Warren (each with three floors), which together housed 124 students. Privately dedicated in October 1953, Warren Hall received an official dedication ceremony in mid-November 1953 with Homecoming festivities. The women of Warren Hall, and specifically Thai medical student Janie Ko (Class of ‘55), composed the litany which accompanied the dedications. In 1963, South Warren—an additional three-floor wing which housed 75 students—was added to the hall. From its beginnings, Warren Hall became quickly integrated into the Whitworth community, its residents participating in a variety of different campus events and activities. Since 1953, Warren Hall has been home to many Whitworth students; a haven of laughter, learning, and life.

Warren Hall was named in honor of Dr. Frank Furniss Warren, President of Whitworth College from 1940 to 1963. Born in Michigan in 1899 to a family in the Free Methodist tradition, Frank Warren attained a robust education from Seattle Pacific College, New York Biblical Seminary, and Drew University. He married Lucile Secord in 1922, and together they had three children. Warren briefly served as minister of a Presbyterian church in New Jersey between 1924 and 1925, after which he commenced seven years of missionary work in Japan. Warren served as a teacher at the Osaka Biblical Seminary on Honshu until 1928, and then as head of the mission on the Island of Awaji until 1932, where he established ten Protestant churches and worked to make Christianity known to the island’s approximately 250,000 Japanese residents. After returning to the United States, Warren served as head of the Bible Department at his Alma Mater (Seattle Pacific College) from 1933 until 1940. During this time, he also held positions as interim minister of three different Presbyterian churches, most notably, at Reverend Mark Matthews’ First Presbyterian Church of Seattle one of the largest Presbyterian churches in terms of membership in the country.

In 1940, Warren accepted the presidency of Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington, where he served until he passed away from cancer in 1963. As president of Whitworth, Warren led the college through World War II and the early part of the Cold War. When Warren took office, Whitworth had 364 students and 24 faculty members, covering a total of 16 majors. Whitworth also had 5 buildings, an income of $77,235, and less than $247,000 in net assets. By the end of Warren’s administration, Whitworth sported 1,654 students and 67 faculty members, covering a total of 35 majors. Whitworth also owned 25 buildings, an income of $1,714,936, and over $5.5 million in net assets.

During World War II, Warren's experiences as a missionary to Japan influenced his decision to accept approximately 20 Japanese American students into Whitworth as a way for them to escape internment.

Widely known and loved by Whitworth students and faculty, his legacy is perhaps best summed up in a quote from Whitworth’s 1941 Yearbook: “Frank F. Warren, M.A.; President. A hard working prexy, with the good of Whitworth uppermost in his mind always. A ready smile and a willing hand make him capable of dealing with any situation, at any time. His Christian character is an outstanding inspiration to Whitworth students.”

In addition to his role as president of Whitworth, Warren served as a significant spiritual leader in both the Whitworth and Spokane communities. Based on his sermons and diaries, Warren placed great emphasis on serving God, In 1940 (also the year he was ordained into the Presbyterian Church ), Warren started a popular Sunday-morning radio program called the “Whitworth Chapel Hour,” which aired on the Spokane radio station KHQ. and later aired on other radio stations in Seattle, Yakima, Kennewick, and Pasco. A weekly program, Warren maintained it for over twenty years, In addition to his radio program, Warren spoke on Whitworth’s campus, as well as across the United States. Transcripts of his speeches indicate that he firmly believed in the idea of Christian education and Christian values transforming and shaping American culture. Likely, it was from this belief that Warren established the tradition of hiring only Christian faculty. He believed that an exclusively Christian faculty was the best way to express the institution's mission of providing “an education of the mind and heart.” It is arguably his most lasting contribution to Whitworth.

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Arend Hall was named after Albert Arend, who was a member of the Whitworth Board of Trustees beginning in 1925 and served as the chairman for the board from 1958 until 1972. He played a significant role in guiding Whitworth through some of its darkest times.

Construction on the building was completed in 1957, with the intent of housing 152 male students. Later, in 1962 the hall was expanded to hold 18 more men. Arend Hall is located right across from the Hixon Union Building (The HUB).

Albert Arend was born in Spokane on June 5, 1900 and died in 1984. Growing up in Spokane, Arend graduated from North Central High School and served in the United States Army during the First World War. He came back to Spokane and went to the Northwestern Business College for his family had developed a meat business that proved to be successful in the greater Spokane area.

But soon he took a keen interest in Whitworth College most likely because of its mission as a Presbyterian institution. He was asked to join the board of trustees at the young age of 25, and he came on the board at one of its most difficult times—we were graduating only a handful of students and many predicted that the college would fold. There were only 13 faculty and two buildings) But Albert Arend believed in the college and played a key role in Whitworth’s survival and during the Great Depression of the 1930s; he contributed many of his own funds in order to meet the faculty payroll during those difficult years when students often paid tuition in produce, applesauce, and in one student’s case, peanut butter.

Arend was extremely active in Spokane's civic life. Perhaps his most notable accomplishment came with his role in the organization of the Union Gospel Mission in 1951. He also played a major role in the YMCA.

Whitworth was indeed fortunate to benefit from the leadership and philanthropy of Albert Arend.

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Baldwin-Jenkins is a dormitory for first-year students and is named in honor of two individuals who made a significant impact on Whitworth's history: Estella E. Baldwin and Marion R. Jenkins. Estella Baldwin served as registrar from 1935-1970, and Marion R. Jenkins served as Dean of Women from 1931-1963--the longest serving dean in college history.

Estella Baldwin was known throughout the student body for her great heart and strong sense of service. Prior to computerized data, the registrar in colleges like Whitworth touched the lives of every student in a more personal way.

Marion Jenkins served as the Dean of Women for 32 years at Whitworth College. Her role meant that she served as a counselor, house mother and leader of different religious and social activities. When she arrived in 1931, Whitworth was barely surviving with just over 100 students. When she retired in 1963, Whitworth had grown to nearly 1,000 students. She played a major role in the transition to a modern college during those thirty years.

Baldwin Jenkins was built in 1968 and and constructed in 1968 at a cost of $900,000. The dorm was designed by architects Carlson and James. It has capacity for 164 students: 84 in Jenkins and 80 in Baldwin.

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Built in 1984, the Aquatic Center is home to Whitworth's men's and women's swimming teams. The pool consists of six lanes that are forty yards long. The pool has been the host to the 1986 NAIA championship,as well as the Northwest Conference championships on four different occasions,

Plans for the swimming pool had been made as early as the 1960s. . Finally in 1983, a ground breaking ceremony took place. A private donor contributed nearly $1.7 million for just the swimming pool, which led to a successful bid for the 1986 NAIA swimming and diving championships which were co-hosted with Eastern Washington University.

Whitworth has assembled a remarkable swimming tradition under coaches Tom Dodd and Steve Schadt. They have led the Pirates to numerous conference championships and have coached scores of all-Americans.

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Field of Dreams

On the backside of Whitworth University's pine tree covered campus one can find beautiful Merkel Field, home of the Whitworth University baseball team. Merkel Field is named in honor of former head coach, Paul Merkel who coached from 1956-1971 and led the Pirates to their only national championship in any sport in 1960.

Paul Merkel graduated from Whitworth as a student in 1947. He was a talented ballplayer and athlete but attended Whitworth during a time when the college did not compete in baseball. However, Merkel did letter in football, basketball, and tennis. He went on to serve as a graduate assistant from 1946-1948 when baseball returned to Whitworth College. After a stint of coaching high school athletics in his hometown, he returned in 1956 as the head coach. In addition to being the head baseball coach for 15 seasons, he served as the Whitworth Athletic Director from 1958-1972, and assistant football coach from 1972-1987.
When Merkel officially retired in 1989, Whitworth quickly dedicated the baseball field in his honor.

Merkel’s most notable accomplishment was leading the Pirates to the school’s only national championship in any sport. His Pirates in 1960 competed for the NAIA baseball championship. That team was led by ace Ray Washburn who later went on to throw a no-hitter for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1964.

Since the Pirates moved to compete in NCAA Division III, they have won two regular season Northwest Conference championships (2012, 2016) and one Northwest Conference tournament championship (2015). All three of those championships resulted in the Pirates making a NCAA regional playoff game. In 2012, Whitworth advanced far enough to play in the NCAA Division III World Series.

The field you see today didn't always look that way. There have been a number of renovations over the past ten seasons that have brought the field to its pristine condition. In 2010 the outfield fence and scoreboard were improved, and in 2014 the new press box was built. The most significant renovation occurred in 2013 when the whole infield, both dugouts, netting, and stands were replaced. A synthetic turf infield along with below ground dugouts, out stretched netting and above ground bleachers were all put in after the Pirates run to the NCAA Division III World Series. The condition of the field now allows for fewer game cancellations and year-round practice even during the dreary Spokane winter months.

Merkel Field is indeed Whitworth's "Field of Dreams."

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The Scotford Tennis Bubble is a unique feature on the tree covered campus of Whitworth University in the north Spokane area. This dome structure was established in 2005; concealed within the bubble lies the Ross Cutter Tennis Courts, which includes three interior courts. In addition to these all-weather courts are three exterior courts located directly outside for when there isn’t two feet of snow on the ground. These courts all sit beside the university recreation center atop a ridge overlooking the “back 40”, the small ravine north of the campus where power lines have paved a valley of grass. The location of this facility is reason enough to pick a game of tennis here or there.

This athletic facility was named after John Scotford, as was the Scotford Fitness Center, who made numerous contributions large enough to construct both facilities. In fact, “A $1 million donation to Whitworth College is one of the largest ever given to the Presbyterian Church-owned college”. Scotford was originally from Omak, WA before attending and graduating from Whitworth University in 1951 with a bachelors in economics. Upon graduating from Whitworth, it is said that John worked for Boeing Airplane Co. in Seattle, Wash., before moving to Ohio in 1957. In Ohio, “Scotford flew jets for the U.S. Air Force and bought his first auto dealership in 1962. He later added restaurants, a gas and oil company, real estate developments, a bank and nursing homes”. Overall, Scotford was a very successful businessman and prestigious founder of many Whitworth additions that students to this day greatly enjoy, including Omache Field, the Bonnie V. Robinson Endowed Keyboard Scholarship, and of course the tennis bubble.

As mentioned earlier, the Ross Cutter Tennis Courts are located within the Scotford Tennis Bubble. Ross was another man who significantly impacted Whitworth, especially in the field of athletics. He was a beloved professor and coach who came to Whitworth in 1958. Since arriving, he built a legacy around tennis. In fact, “He introduced a popular ritual known fondly by faculty and students as the ‘Ceremonial Opening of the Balls,’ over which a member of the Whitworth community was invited to preside at the beginning of each match”. In his name, the A. Ross Cutter Award was given to an outstanding male tennis player, which began upon his retirement in 1991. In his years at Whitworth, he was inducted into the NAIA Coaches Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Heritage Gallery Hall of Fame in 1934.

Ultimately, this beautiful establishment wouldn’t have been made possible if it had not been for the Merkel-Cutter Endowment, which was established in 1997 and worked to express gratitude towards Cutter and longtime head baseball coach Paul Merkel. This donation is used primarily to maintain and improve existing athletic facilities as well as establish possible new ones, which is exactly what happened leading up to 2005 thanks to the generous contributions of John and his wife Judy.

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The Pine Bowl, tucked away into the southwest corner of the Whitworth campus, hosts the track and field and football sports teams, and, starting in 2019, Whitworth's first women's lacrosse team.

One visit to the Pine Bowl and you can see where the venue gets its name. Like much of the Whitworth campus, the Pine Bowl is surrounded by majestic pine trees that reflect the beauty of the inland Northwest. The Pine Bowl provides visitors with scenic views and a family friendly atmosphere, but on the field, the Bucs have been known to be much less friendly to their foes.

Ever since Whitworth’ moved to Spokane in 1914, the football field has been located in its current location. Records are sketchy, but the Pirates went undefeated in 1916. We believe it may be the oldest continuously used football field in Spokane.

Over the years, Whitworth football teams have competed at the NAIA level and Division III of the NCAA.
Whitworth has won multiple conference championships and produced numerous all-Americans and a handful of players who have played at the professional level.

Major renovations over the last fifty years have continued to improve the field with the most recent one coming in 2017 when the traditional grass surface was replaced with Field Turff. A second renovation is planned for the future with an updated press box and viewing area, as well as new restrooms.

The new renovations serve as an example of the dedication the university has given to athletics and their student-athletes. Whitworth has been the most successful athletic department in all of the Northwest Conference since the turn of the century. Whitworth has won the past eleven Northwest Conference McIlroy-Lewis All-Sports Trophies, further proving the university's dedication to athletics. To go along with the All-Sports trophy, Whitworth's Track and Field team has won the past six NWC championships, with head coach Toby Schwarz winning the past six Coach of the Year awards. While Whitworth is usually known for its commitment to faith and outstanding academics, the Pine Bowl reminds us of the rich tradition within the university's athletic programs.

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Oliver Hall is one of the newest additions to the Whitworth campus.. Construction began in the winter of 2008, and the residence hall was opened in the fall of 2009, costing a total of $11.6 million. Upon its opening, the building was named East ( for lack of a major donor to the project) and described as a "170 bed facility that houses all four class levels in single, double, and triple rooms and it featured unique common rooms, large group and small group meeting areas, study spaces, and a recreational room." Designed by well-respected Spokane developer Dick Vandervert, East Hall was constructed to be eco-friendly. The residence hall is "LEED certified by U.S. green building council, had dual flush toilets to waste less water, and the furniture in the common areas were made of 100% recyclable material."

Originally named "East," the residence hall was renamed "Oliver" in the summer of 2015, in honor of a Board of Trustee and Walter Oliver (Class of '67). Oliver, an African American, graduated from Whitworth University with a degree in psychology. As a student, he was a wrestler, a football player, musician, and an active member of the human relations council. As a wrestler, Oliver helped Whitworth defeat their rivals (the Gonzaga Bulldogs) by pinning his opponent in under "one minute and thirty-one seconds." Oliver was also a champion outside the mat. He served as Chairman of Human Relations Council, a "committee designed to do a meaningful job of educating individuals for involvement in a merging world of reality and life." The efforts of Oliver as chairman were methods to not only strengthen and reinforce Christian doctrines, but also to "afford a genuine witness to the world that Christianity is alive and real in a meaningful context to the situation of the world."

After graduating Whitworth, Oliver attained a Master's Degree at Gonzaga and began working for Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Corporation in 1973. Due to his impressive work experience, Oliver became Vice President of Human Resources at Johnson Controls Inc. in Milwaukee, where he served from 1990-1994. At this company, Oliver was responsible for the "54,000 employees in all parts of the world by representing 8 major industries and achieving a company sales of 6.3 million dollars in sales." After working for Johnson Controls, Oliver moved to a different company, General Dynamics, where he became the Senior Vice President of Human Relations. There, Oliver oversaw the "human resources and administration for a defense and aerospace company. General Dynamics employs 80,000 individuals and $30 billion in sales all over the country and the world."

Walt Oliver was a significant donor for the building of Lied Center for the Visual Arts and the Bryan Oliver Gallery,as well as a donor to many additional projects on campus including the Cowles Music Center.

In addition to his financial contributions, Walt Oliver served as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees from 2008 to 2014. Under his leadership, the University transitioned to a new President--Beck Taylor, and Oliver oversaw major additions to the campus such as: Robinson Science Hall, The Hixon Union Building expansion, the University Recreation Center, and the Lied Center for the Visual Arts."
Oliver demonstrated spiritual leadership during his term as a board member. His plan was to "deepen the institution's commitments to academic excellence, and the integration of Christian faith while equipping graduates to respond to God's call on their lives with intellectual competence, and moral courage." According to current Whitworth President Beck A. Taylor, Oliver's generosity and influence positively affected and changed the community for the better, and the Hall stands as a testimony to his efforts and love for the institution.

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Music filled the halls of the new Whitworth Music Building on February 26th, 1978. At the dedication, then-President Edward Lindaman, Music Professor Dr. Richard Evans, and many others spoke on behalf of the Whitworth community to celebrate the recently completed building. Having spent many years sharing space with other programs, the Music Department was ready to grow into a new space and benefit from practice rooms, a recital hall, rehearsal spaces, and teaching studios.

In the early days of Whitworth’s music program, the department was housed in a small alcove of Graves Gymnasium. Over the next forty years, the program grew significantly to include Concert Band, Choir, Jazz Ensemble, and Community Orchestra. Soon, the limited space available became inadequate to accommodate the 64 music majors and many non-majors in the program. A $1.5 million donation from the Cowles family allowed this need to be fulfilled. In the fall of 1976, construction began on the building, which was designed by the Spokane architectural firm Trogdon, Smith and Grossman. The structure was designed to stylistically match the other campus buildings as well as to be acoustically and energy efficient. Thus, the completion of the project, one and a half years later, was cause for much celebration. The new building not only provided new rehearsal spaces, but also promoted community involvement in the arts and music at Whitworth.

Under the roof of the new Music Building, the Music Department continued to grow. In 2014, an additional donation of $5.75 million from several donors funded an expansion of the existing building. This expansion added 21,481 square feet of space for new rehearsal rooms, practice rooms, and teaching studios to accommodate the department’s significant growth. It also provided a lounge area to create a pleasant and welcoming atmosphere for students and faculty.

Today, the Whitworth University Music Department is a thriving program with more than 20 music ensembles (including the Wind Symphony, Symphony Orchestra, Jazz Ensembles, and Choir), 80 music majors, and roughly 35 faculty members. Several hundred students are involved in the department, both majors and non-majors. Each year, many of Whitworth’s musical groups tour the Pacific Northwest and, occasionally, the world. These groups are also connected to local churches, schools, and symphonies. With the Cowles Music Center as its home, the Whitworth Music Department impacts the region with its graduates, ensembles, and its passion for creativity and knowledge.

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McEachran Hall serves principally as the current administration building at Whitworth University. The building is also home to the office of the university’s president, Beck Taylor. Students come here when they need help with the admissions process, financial aid, or the registrar's office. The building also houses the academic affairs of staff including the provost, Dr. Carol Simon.

Whitworth College in the early 1950’s, passed a proposal for four new buildings and many with new updates. McEachran Hall was lucky enough to be one of those new buildings. McEachran Hall was designed by the architectural firm Funk, Molander, and Johnson and cost $600,000 to build. McEachran was the second building on campus to include some sort of fire-proofing.

On November 7th 1952, the dedication service was held. Trustees decided to name the building after one of their own and selected William L. McEachran who had been a trustee for more than 25 years. He went on to serve for twelve more years until his retirement in 1959. President Frank F. Warren, said, “No words written or spoken can possibly express the deep gratitude that all of us have for W. L. McEachran. A bulwark of strength, a friend of all the presidents and one who put the college and its interests above everything else in his life. It is safe to say that without his leadership these many years, Whitworth would have been hard put to weather the storms of adversity.” It was later announced that McEachran was voted in as Chairman-Emeritus of the Board.

McEachran was known for many contributions but during the 1930s he helped in unusual ways. When salaries for faculty were pitiful and sometimes not paid, McEachran, who owned a chain of 40 food stores, often donated groceries for the dining hall and put bags of groceries together for families of faculty until they could be paid.

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On the spot currently occupied by Weyerhaeuser Hall once stood the Whitworth Dining Hall, which was later named Leavitt Hall. Originally built in 1944 due to the growing student body. Leavitt Hall became the gathering place for all students who lived on campus. Prior to 1944, students went for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the basement of McMillan Hall. Documents in the Whitworth archive state that Whitworth saw a 100% increase in enrollment in the spring semester of 1944 alone, which meant there was a pressing need for a larger dining area. This resulted in the construction of the Whitworth Dining Hall, which was designed by Carlson & James Architects.

In 1961, after having made plans to expand the building, Whitworth received a donation of $50,000, which was over two-thirds of the money needed for the expansion, from Mr. Dave Barnes Leavitt from Berkeley, California. Mr. Leavitt donated this money to Whitworth in 1959 in memory of his late wife Mrs. Aubrey Leavitt. In return, he wanted the building to be renamed after her, to which the college agreed. However, some confusing reports ensued which led Mr. Leavitt to believe that the building would not be renamed after his wife after all. After which, Mr. Leavitt’s father, the Reverend Wade Barnes, sent a rather annoyed letter to Whitworth. As confusion was resolved, and a very apologetic letter submitted by Whitworth President, Dr. Warren, the building was officially renamed Leavitt Hall. The expansion was conducted by architect firm Carlson & James and finished in 1961. There was now space for over 400 students to dine, as well as a large lobby.

Aside from the regular food services that Leavitt hosted for 56 years, it also was a place of many controversies and cultural changes throughout the years. In the 1950's Whitworth students began challenging the dress code which "required men to wear ties and women to wear nylon stockings and dress shoes to dinner," though only on Sundays. Women were also expected to stand at every other chair and wait for a male student to sit by them and help them be seated.

In 1964, Leavitt Hall was subjected to a food protest where five male students set up a large demonstration against the food quality which forced the university to hire SAGA Food Services. A program called Nutrition 1985, conceived by students in 1975 out of want to be conscious about the environment, gained national attention. It was a 10-year program that sought to raise awareness for healthy eating, and being less wasteful. At one point amount of food that students were throwing away was put on display.

Later, in 1983, Whitworth received a $50,000 donation from the SAGA Corporation to renovate the interior and upgrade the serving area in order to provide a more pleasant atmosphere whilst dining. This donation was but one of many donated by SAGA to upgrade and expand Leavitt Hall. A satirical article in the 1976-1977 Whitworthian stated that "rumor had it that Saga intended to buy $40,000 worth of cotton balls and serve them to students to stick in their ears (students without ears could stick them where they wanted). But that idea was scrapped for the more permanent solution to noise." However, this idea did not stick for very long, and so instead they decided to lower the ceiling which was probably a safer decision.

Even though the building was continuously renovated, expanded, and renewed, people were not always happy with how the Whitworth dining services operated and changed. As stated in the 1976-1977 Whitworthian "Students react to the new schedule with respect to when they eat. The 10:00 am lunch is popular among those who miss breakfast and want to avoid the lines. For those who eat lunch at 12:00, lines are still 'a bitch.'" In 2000, after a long debate whether to renovate it or to demolish it and build a new building, Leavitt Hall was torn down to make space for what became Weyerhaeuser Hall and the new dining hall was located in the Hixson Union building.

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McMillan Hall is a residence hall for college students located on the campus of Whitworth University. Mac, as it is more famously known among students and alums, is the oldest building on the Whitworth campus. Constructed in 1914, Mac Hall "combines a rich history, beautiful architecture, and the amenities of a modern residence hall. With its distinctive dormers, steeply pitched roof and brown brick, McMillan Hall is a showcase of the Whitworth campus."

Its location is close to the athletic facilities, Weyerhaeuser Hall,Westminster Hall, Ballard Hall and the Chapel,. This particular dormitory is currently an all-male hall, consisting of four floors. There are living areas and a variety of room sizes, making it unique among the other halls on campus. Most of the other dormitories have double rooms but McMillan consists of singles, doubles, triples, quads, as well as rooms with lofts.

Its origins began in 1912, when the Presbyterians of the Spokane community developed their plan to convince Whitworth trustees to relocate the college from Tacoma to land north of downtown Spokane. After approving the move to Spokane, trustees planned the first building on campus. Originally named the Young Ladies Dormitory, the building was dedicated on August 26, 1914. The building also housed classrooms and offices for the few faculty and administrators.

In 1924, the dormitory was renamed after Reverend Hugh McMillan. Instrumental in assisting the move to Spokane from Tacoma in 1914, McMillan had proven to be an invaluable member of the board of trustees.

Over the years, this hall has served many purposes. Including: the chapel, the library, classrooms, the basement even doubled as a biology laboratory and dining hall for a time. Eventually McMillan Hall would serve as an all-male dormitory and as such it earned a reputation for having some of the richest traditions on campus. These traditions often became synonymous with Whitworth traditions.

One famous tradition involved the ice bucket challenge in where new Mac residents had to sit in a trough of ice water until they could tell a joke that got the initiators to laugh. In recent years, initiation morphed into Traditiation. At the end of Traditiation, students in Mac and other dorms compete in a Yell Off, where incoming freshmen sing and perform songs to their peers. Another event during Traditiation is known as All Tied Up, everyone gets dressed up and goes to dinner in the HUB. All Tied Up serves as a way for students from different halls to meet each other. Residents from Ballard and MAC (BMAC) often team up with residents from Warren. Other traditions include Milk and Cookies with Ballard, Mac men go over to Ballard and have milk and cookies with the Ballard women and socialize.

McMillan Hall has its own logo. In 1986, a yellow smiley face was printed onto the hall's sweatshirts. Ever since, the men of Mac, colloquially known as "Mac Men", have painted the same smiley face outside the entrance of their hall. The smiley face is still there today.

Mac Hall remains one of the most sought-after dorms at Whitworth to this day.

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Throughout the years, the Lindaman Center has served many purposes at Whitworth University. The building was originally the Music and Arts building and was part of the 1946 Mead Act, which provided Whitworth, as well as several other schools in the area, a number of government buildings. These buildings filled an immediate need for space with the return of significant numbers of veterans who were attending Whitworth with the aid of the G-I Bill.

The building was brought to campus in 1947 and renovated in 1980 with the help of a grant of $600,000 from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust Fund. This renovation added the exterior brick you see today as well as other changes to the building. Currently, the building holds the offices for the departments of Political Science, Sociology, Communications, and Philosophy as well as the Student Success Center.

The Lindaman Center is named after Edward B. Lindaman, who served as the 14th president of Whitworth. He began his tenure in 1970 until he retired in 1979. He is currently the third longest serving president in Whitworth's history.

Lindaman came to Whitworth after working as an executive in aerospace engineering, having worked on the Apollo space program during the 1960's and '70's. Lindaman was a futuristic thinker, concerned with the overall well-being of Whitworth College as well as the community outside of Whitworth. In a 1973 article in the student newspaper, multiple people said that "I think that we hear more about Whitworth College since Lindaman came. . . . He's tremendously community involved, people identify the college more because of him."

Lindaman stressed the importance of applying Christian principles and ethics to contemporary problems such as the environment. He supported the development of a more contemporary approach to Student Development. He approved of Whitworth being known as the "Alternative Christian College" which implied that the college was less conservative than many of its peers.

Lindaman's years in office coincided with some of the most volatile years in American history. For example, the killing of four students at Kent State University in May 1970, spilled onto the Whitworth campus. 350 students gathered in the Loop to debate with one another and request that the administration condemn the war which he ended up doing on a personal level, but he avoided declaring that Whitworth as a whole would take sides during the war.

Beginning in 1984, Whitworth University appoints a professor to what is called the "Lindaman Chair" every four years. The position is a rotational chair that is given to a faculty member who is significantly engaged with regional community and national academic work as well as being engaged in public dialog involving important social issues.

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There is rarely a time when darkness falls onto the Whitworth University Lied Art Center. With clerestory glass windows and a vaulted roofline, light is constantly filtering into the building and onto the artwork. The location of the building allows an abundance of natural northern light in through the windows. The building even incorporated glass from the Whitworth glass program into the window designs. The Lied Art Building’s use of natural light is just one of the qualities that attracts students and artists from across the nation.

Not only is the Lied Art Building a place for the creation of art, but it is also filled to the brim with student and faculty artwork from past and present years. On occasion, there are also traveling exhibits that fill up the space in the Bryan Oliver Gallery. The artwork displayed across the walls and in display cases throughout the building emits a warm and friendly atmosphere, inviting students to express themselves however they please. The exhibition of artwork also provides a spark of inspiration for the students who have the privilege of viewing the pieces.

The Ernest F. Lied Center for the Visual Arts construction began on January 3rd, 2007, and was opened for classes beginning in fall 2008. The facility was dedicated on October 4, 2008, and was funded by a substantial gift from the Lied Foundation. The Lied Foundation was funded by Ernest F. Lied through his significant and successful business career. Bryan Putnam, a Whitworth ’09 graduate, stated that “… the shift from working in a half-buried bunker to an amazing facility facing a beautiful pine forest cannot be understated.” The new building had begun to raise the bar, for students and faculty alike. It seemed as if inspiration seeped through the bricks from which the building had been shaped.

The Bryan Oliver Gallery is dedicated in memory of Bryan Edward Oliver, the son of Walter Oliver ‘67, a Whitworth University Trustee, and Shirley Oliver ‘77. This gallery hosts multiple exhibits per year. It gives students, faculty, and the community a chance to view collections of art that they might not have been exposed to otherwise. These exhibits provide sources of inspiration and motivation, as well as the opportunity to discover something new. One of the exhibits displayed between September and October of 2016, Between the Shadow & the Light, presented the artwork that was produced through a visual arts studio in South Africa. The benefits of hosting a traveling exhibit in the Bryan Oliver Gallery are numerous and they continue to supply endless opportunities for inspiration and creativity. .

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The second phase of the Hixson Union Building, known as the HUB, was completed on October 23, 1998 where it was declared finished by Whitworth’s president, Bill Robinson. The HUB's predecessor existed on the same location from 1957 until 1994. It also was known as the HUB but was named after former dean Francis Hardwick. Building the current HUB consisted of two phases with the first being construc completed in 1995 at a cost of $3,781,948.61, and phase II was finished in 1998 at a cost of $5,100,00.

Naming the building proved somewhat challenging. Eventually the building was named after Ms. Christina Hixson who contributed $2,000,000 to the project. Originally Ms. Hixson agreed to support a fine arts complex. She then decided this facility wasn’t needed most on campus at the time and wanted her donation to go to whatever the university pleased. The university then decided to use this funding to go towards the new campus center, dedicating the building in her name.

The Hixson Union Building serves students in a number of ways. Key functions include a coffee shop--"The Mind and Hearth," the college bookstore, dining hall, multipurpose room, Student Life offices, including the Career and Internship Office, ASWU offices, the college radio station, college newspaper, and yearbook offices.

It is indeed the "HUB" of the campus.

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Hendrick Hall, once a student dormitory, is now the Intercultural Student Center. What is now known as Hendrick Hall, in honor of Eileen “Mom” Hendrick, has experienced several changes throughout its day. Beginning as a dormitory, the building became a college print shop. In the early 1970’s the building went through another change and became the Student Life building which housed the offices of the Student Life staff.

Eileen Hendrick, or “Mom” as many referred to her as, spent 15 years at Whitworth as a resident counselor and an advisor for New Cosmopolitan Officers (a group especially made for foreign exchange students but open to all) along with taking on her title as “Mom” proudly as she spread God’s love to as many students as possible. Mom Hendrick was described as, “outgoing, lovable,” and “a dedicated Christian.” She took on her role as South Warren dormitory's housemother for years and provided great service to her community. Unfortunately, Eileen Hendrick passed away in 1979 and the building was renamed in her honor in 1980. She was a presence that was greatly missed around campus; after her passing, a scholarship was established in her memory.

Eileen Hendrick Hall currently houses the Intercultural Center and the International Education Center. This building provides a safe and welcoming gathering place for all students. A few times a year, the flags of international students’ home countries flank the side of the building. While the building may appear small, it is full of diversity and a helpful and caring staff that are living out the same values that Eileen “Mom” Hendrick had herself.

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Graves gym is one of the most important buildings in Whitworth's history. Up until the time it opened in 1942, Whitworth did not have an appropriate gymnasium to play intercollegiate basketball. President Warren, who began his tenure in 1940, indicated that building a new gym would be his first priority. Warren and trustees decided to name it in honor of Spokane developer and entrepreneur, Jay Paul Graves. Graves had been instrumental in donating the land for the Whitworth campus in north Spokane back in 1914.

However, the gymnasium proved difficult to build. Because of World War II, many materials were in short supply. Not to be denied, President Frank Warren did all he could personally to secure nails, sometimes a handful at a time. He reserved a carload of concrete just before the government issued a freeze order, and the project began. Once construction had begun, funds were still in short supply. Warren convinced students that they could help by raising money among local businesses. Students decided on what they called a “Brickskrieg Campaign,” an obvious reference to the German “Blitzkrieg” style of warfare. Students organized the city into 30 districts and on May 5 and 6, 1942, they were let out of class to canvass the city and sell paper facsimiles of bricks for 50 cents apiece. $3,100 was raised and the project generated a remarkable level of student participation.

The construction proceeded, but not without incident; perhaps the most elaborate prank in college history was carried out primarily by a student named Sydney Eaton. Eaton decided that it would be fun to place a rock in the excavation site with a message that he and other students had chiseled into the stone that read: “10 day sence Vige John has feaver 1703.” After construction workers unearthed the rock, word of the discovery spread quickly as Whitworth Professor Al Culverwell, from the department of Sociology, alerted local newspapers. Professors from Eastern Washington came out to the Whitworth campus as well officials from the Eastern Washington State Historical Society. Someone suggested that the rock might have come from the eastern coast of North America through an Indian trade network and may have been placed in or around a grave of a Native American. When it became evident that people were taking it much too seriously, Eaton confessed. Fortunately for Mr. Eaton, enrollment pressures were such that after admitting it was a hoax and apologizing, he was able to remain in school. Once the controversy was settled, construction resumed and while the building was not completely finished, commencement was held in the new gymnasium in June 1942 to much celebration.

Graves gym provided an important boost to student morale and an important escape from the stress of the war. The commons area in the basement was well received and the first intercollegiate basketball game in Graves gymnasium occurred on December 4, 1942 between Whitworth and cross-town rival Gonzaga College. Sadly that first game ended in a loss by a score of 42-41. During that basketball season, Whitworth played its most varied schedule in school history. Pretty much any group that could muster a team played Whitworth, and so the college competed with schools ranging from Lewiston (later known as Lewis-Clark State College). Cheney Junior Varsity (Eastern Washington Normal School), Ephrata, Yakima Junior College. Whitworth played a team from the Navy, a team from the Army Headquarter at Fort Wright, a team from the 2nd Air. Force Bombers, and a team from Geiger Field. Graves gym was a center for college activity out of class as chapel, drama productions and occasional assemblies were all held in the new facility.

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The official announcement came in late July of 1961; Whitworth College was getting a fieldhouse. Dr. Frank F. Warren, president at the time, broke the exciting news to the college after a luncheon in which Mr. C. Davis Weyerhaeuser of Tacoma, WA, a trustee of the school, announced his intent to donate necessary funds for this new facility. C. Davis Weyerhaeuser was the grandson of the timber baron, Frederick Weyerhaeuser. When asked about his donation, Davis said, “I feel that Whitworth College has a unique opportunity of training Christian young people to be coaches and teachers in our schools.” The enthusiasm for this announcement was felt not only by members of the members of the college, but also by many throughout the Spokane community. When making the announcement Dr. Warren said, the Fieldhouse would also “be a great asset in developing and promoting athletics in the entire Spokane area… it could provide an opportunity for high school students in the Spokane area to carry on indoor track meets.”

Construction was finished on the Fieldhouse by October 1962, Davis Weyerhaeuser presented symbolic keys of the building to both Dr. Warren and the Mayor of Spokane, Neal R. Fosseen.

The community welcomed the addition of the new Fieldhouse with enthusiasm. As the years went by more elements were added which included a basketball facility, batting cages for baseball, a golf simulator and a dance studio.

During the past three decades, the men's basketball and women's volleyball teams have had remarkable success. The basketball team has won the conference championship fifteen times since 1990. In 1996, the men finished runner-up in the national championship for Division II of the NAIA. The volleyball team has won the conference championship ten times since 1990.

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Dixon Hall is a familiar building to all Whitworth students, both current and past. It was built as a classroom building and completed in 1957. Containing 18 classrooms, the building has supported the School of Education and the Department of Psychology. While known as simply "The Classroom building" during its construction, by the date of its dedication on March 22,on 1957, it was named after a former member of the board of trustees, Grant Dixon Sr.

Grant Dixon exercised great influence on Whitworth. Dixon gained notoriety and wealth in Spokane as a lumberman with Exchange Lumber Company. Dixon contributed financially to Whitworth many times served on the board of trustees from 1943 until he passed away in 1949. His wife Dorothy Dixon was just as influential in the history of Whitworth, and almost had a building constructed in her name as well. Dorothy Dixon graduated from Whitworth in 1923. After her husband's death, she was elected to the board of trustees to replace her husband as the first woman elected to the board.

In 2000 Dixon Hall was renovated and made to be more environmentally sound as well as one of the first classroom buildings to have all the classrooms situated "with a computer, overhead equipment, and a video projection screen," as well as motion sensor lights.

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Conveniently located just below the Whitworth Pine Bowl and adjacent to the Whitworth Soccer field is Diana Marks field, home of the Whitworth Softball team. This field was made available for use beginning in spring of 2000. Considered to be a state-of-the-art fields in the Northwest Conference, Diana Marks field consists of outdoor batting cages, a clubhouse with changing rooms for both teams, bleachers to accommodate fan seating, a press box, and an extended scoreboard located just behind the fence in right field. The field also includes below-ground dugouts and a three-foot warning track along the edge of the field.

The softball field honors a woman who made a significant impact on women’s athletics at Whitworth and in the region. Diana Marks coached at Whitworth from 1957-1984 and also served as Academic Chair of the Physical Education Department from 1977-1987. Diana Marks is the “winningest” coach in the history of the college. For 18 years, Diana coached volleyball, basketball, and tennis in the same year. One of her basketball teams defeated Washington State in 1968.

Diana Marks was instrumental in changing attitudes towards women’s athletics. At a time when athletic opportunities for women consisted of Play Days and intramurals, Coach Marks worked to provide competitive athletic outlets for Whitworth’s female students. In fact, Whitworth was blackballed by the Western Society of Physical Education for College Women for competitive scheduling that was “too much like varsity.” With superior teams and competitive schedules, Diana proved that women could excel in sports and remain feminine.

Success on the field for the Whitworth Softball team was difficult to come by. However, the 2015, 2016, and 2017 seasons have been the most successful in school history. The Pirates won three consecutive conference championships, all led by head coach Cristal Brown along with assistants Randy Clark and Bob Castle. In 2016, the Pirates received an at-large bid into the NCAA regional tournament, which was hosted at Diana Marks field. In the 2017 season, the Pirates hosted and won the Northwest Conference tournament that gave them an automatic bid into the NCAA regional tournament.

Perhaps the greatest softball player in Whitworth history was Jo Sonnett. In 2016, she was the first Whitworth softball player to enter Whitworth’s Athletics Hall of Fame, the Heritage Gallery. Sonnett holds virtually every school record for pitching in Pirate history. In 2006 Sonnett finished 19-8 in the circle with a 1.94 ERA while averaging 8.7 strikeouts per seven innings. She was a primary reason Whitworth earned it’s first-ever NCAA Division III playoff berth that season.

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The Harriet Cheney Cowles Memorial Library is one of the most important buildings on Whitworth University’s campus. It was named after Harriet Cheney Cowles after she passed away in 1938. To honor her legacy, her husband, William H. Cowles Sr., and her sons gifted [then] Whitworth College with the funds to build the campus’s first real library.

On November 10, 1948, the Harriet Cheney Cowles Memorial Library was dedicated by President Frank F. Warren of Whitworth College. William H. Cowles Sr. unfortunately passed away in 1946 before the library was completed and opened, and as a consequence, his son, W. H. Cowles Jr. took over the process of honoring his mother with the library building. President Warren was nothing but grateful to the Cowles family exclaiming in a letter dating June 11, 1948, “Above everything else, Mr. Cowles, thank you again and again for the gift of the library which increasingly is going to be the very heart of our campus.” The library was 8,556 square feet and home to the potential of 100,000 volumes of books.

By 1965, the library needed to expand. Shortly thereafter, the college announced that the library would receive a new wing and that there would be modern improvements to the interior of the structure. The new addition would include the circulation desk, foyer and lobby, a workroom, a staircase that would lead to the upper and lower floors of the library, as well as an elevator. The new area would increase the library space to 27,632 square feet. The Cowles family once again gifted the funds to the college for this renovation. In 1969, the renovations were completed and the library was once again open under President Mark L. Koehler.

The library remained unchanged for nearly 23 years until a third version of the Harriet Cheney Cowles Memorial Library was in the works in 1991. The growing student population was in need of a new and modern library. There was much debate on whether the old library would need to be completely torn down, or if the college would be able to renovate it to match the needs of the campus. The solution was to build a new wing perpendicular to the original building that would match the dimensions of the old building and wing. The third version of the library would offer the latest in library, computer, and audiovisual technology in one central location. The east wing was opened to students in September of 1992 and was dedicated on October 23, 1992 under President Arthur J. De Jong The new renovations cost $4.9 million dollars and increased the space of the library to 53,400 square feet.

President Frank F. Warren said it best when he stated that Harriet Cheney Cowles Memorial Library would be the heart of Whitworth’s campus. Today the building still stands and fulfills the academic and curious-minded needs of the nearly 3,000 students that attend Whitworth University today under President Beck A. Taylor.

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Cowles Auditorium is the university's center of theatrical and performance-based endeavors and is one of three buildings on Whitworth's campus that bears the Cowles family name. Specifically the auditorium is named after William H. Cowles Sr. and was dedicated in February of 1956. The architects of the building were Edwin Molander and Johnson Funk.

William H. Cowles Sr. arrived in Spokane from Chicago in 1890 when he was 23 years old. He had served as a police reporter for the Chicago Tribune. During the panic of 1893, he gained ownership of the Spokesman as well as the Review, the city's two major newspapers. He merged the two into the Spokesman-Review which still serves the city today. Four years later he bought the Chronicle, another newspaper eventually merged that paper into the Spokesman-Review.

Cowles emerged as a civic leader and active voice in Spokane politics. He continued to make various real estate investments and help develop other companies including the Inland Empire Paper Co.

Cowles played a significant role in persuading Whitworth trustees to relocate to Spokane in 1914. He and his family continued to support Whitworth with major contributions to the library and to the music facilities.

Cowles Auditorium holds two stages. The main stage of the auditorium upstairs has 1,100 seats in which Whitworth's esteemed musicals take place. This auditorium also provides a venue for plays, convocation, concerts, and movies. Stage two is in the downstairs area of the building. This stage hosts improvisational theatre and short plays throughout the school year in addition to providing a space for acting, as well as dance recitals. This stage is fashioned after an amphitheater and contains seating for 175. In addition to all of this, the building also houses offices for the Theatre Department and a lobby for displays.

Cowles Auditorium once held a "class" referred to as "Forum". For one-quarter credit, students attended speeches and convocations throughout the year to discuss important issues. Many students enjoyed Forum, but others thought that there was not enough incentive with sometimes only half of the student body attending.

Many famous guest speakers and performers have stood on the stage of Cowles Auditorium, but none more famous than John F. Kennedy. On February 11, 1960, while running for president, Kennedy delivered a campaign speech. The Whitworthian's headlines read "Kennedy appears here." The campus and the students were abuzz with excitement during, and for a significant time after, the visit.

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Much has changed from the original Whitworth University chapel days where attendance was mandatory, knitting could get you reprimanded and a headline in the newspaper, and politics were debated openly. Now home to faculty-guided and student-led spiritual growth events, the Seeley G. Mudd chapel is the site of many religious gatherings as well as classes for students and staff. Named after Dr. Seeley G. Mudd, a practicing doctor, professor and generous philanthropist, the Whitworth Chapel sits at the center of the university’s spiritual life.

Seeley Mudd was a doctor who funded multiple buildings across multiple campuses including: Harvard, Duke, Howard, Princeton, etc. Many of the buildings dedicated to him are science buildings, but Whitworth's chapel is the only chapel dedicated to him. Seeley Mudd was known for his philanthropic work and his desire to promote educational excellence.

This new facility, designed by Adkison Leigh Sims Cuppage Architects, provided housing for Spiritual Life department and a valuable space for student spirituality to flourish. But it was not without controversy: some students believed that it was irresponsible of the university and its donors to use over $140,000 in the outfitting of the chapel due to the fact that both the communications and nutrition departments were getting cut and enrollment was struggling. Additionally, many students were upset with its location between Ballard and Warren Hall and the general disruption of campus life. One student wrote a letter to the editor of the Whitworthian stating, "Why do we need a chapel? It ruined the beauty and flavor of the campus."

Though the chapel may have gotten off to a rocky start, it quickly became a beloved part of campus life when it was officially opened with its dedication on September 9, 1979. It was immediately put to work by hosting art exhibits, Morning Prayer, musical performances, guest speakers, professor and student lectures, and its first chapel service on September 25 of that year. Prior to the completion of the new chapel mandatory attendance had been ended and replaced by mandatory forums. With this, chapel services saw a shift to a more worshipful experience, rather than the previous academic lecture format.

The chapel has also been a place of refuge, reflection, and support following tragedies. Following the attacks of 9/11 students and faculty gathered for a Concert for Prayer to pray, process events, and support one another. Over the past nearly 40 years, the chapel has also held several memorials and vigils for students and faculty who have died. In an effort to meet the needs of students, chapel events were, and still are, shaped by current events. Throughout the years, the chapel has addressed or hosted events on difficult topics such as terrorism, war, gender, civil rights, politics and violence.

Dr. Ron White, who served as Whitworth's chaplain in the 1970s said of the chapel's construction, "the chapel reflects the idea that 'the church is gathered together for worship and scattered for mission and service in the world.'" The chapel has lived this out through providing a sacred place for worship and communion while instilling in students the need to go out and serve and the love others well. Transforming with the student body, chapel is now home to the student led campus worship services Hosanna and AWAKE, biweekly chapel, special events and speakers, and student led spiritual events such as 24 Hours of Prayer.

Most recently in 2018, new offices were added for the Department of Theology and the Office of Church Engagement in what became known as the Beeksma Family Theology Center.

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Ballard Hall is home to about 66 young women, forming part of the historic community with McMillan Hall, known on campus as "BMAC". Ballard is a hall known for its rich history and long standing traditions, as well as a close sisterhood and a tight brother-sister relationship with McMillan Hall. Ballard was the second building built on Whitworth's Spokane campus, with its completion in 1915, Ballard was originally the men's dormitory, along with the science labs and the Dean's apartment. Ballard was named for Captain W.R. Ballard of Seattle, for whom the neighborhood in Seattle was named, in 1924. Captain Ballard served as a long time trustee of the college beginning in 1892.

Whitworth College, after moving from Tacoma, opened in Spokane in September 1914 with the completed Young Ladies' Dormitory, today known as McMillian Hall. "The basement of the Young Men's Dormitory (what would later be known as Ballard) was ready by October for 15 students.

On March 8, 1927, disaster struck. A fire was discovered by senior Carl Boppell, who lived on the third floor. Students scrambled to carry out furniture and belongings from the fire, but the building itself could not be saved. While firemen quickly arrived on the scene, they suffered from inadequate equipment and had to stand by as Ballard was enveloped in wind-fueled flames, working instead to save McMillan Hall. Dean Orrin Tiffany's extensive library collection and his wife's doctoral research notes were lost in the fire. As mentioned in Kathryn Bockman's account in the yearbook in 1927, the Whitworth community gathered together to sing the Alma Mater as fire crews worked to put out the fire and Ballard Hall lay in a smoldering heap.

In the aftermath of the fire, classes carried on in McMillan Hall, and the women "doubled up" on the second floor, with the men of Ballard Hall moving onto the third floor, utilizing the fire escapes to enter and exit from their new quarters. After the fire, the college worked hard to rebuild quickly, both physically and in morale. The front page of the Whitworthian from March 30, 1927 contains several articles pertaining to the rebuilding of Ballard Hall. "A donation of five thousand dollars by Miss Sarah Beaty of Center, Ohio, is the latest encouragement received by President W. A. Stevenson in his planning of a new Ballard Hall. Construction began to rebuild Ballard in June 1927, and construction was completed in December. Ballard remained home to the men of the college until the late 1930's when Ballard Hall was converted into an additional women's dormitory. The difference of the old and new Ballard is that the front is extended out while the main wings of the building is receded back.

World War Two dramatically reduced enrollment at Whitworth College. However, in the wake of Pearl Harbor, people of Japanese descent across the west coast were forced to enter internment camps or move inland. Several Japanese families came to Spokane, and "in 1944, ten percent of the student body was Japanese American, including nearly half of the basketball team." Several Japanese-American women lived in Ballard Hall at this time, and their picture hangs over the fireplace in memory of their inclusion into the Whitworth community at a time when those of Japanese descent were seen as the enemy.

In the 2000's, Ballard reinvented itself as a strong sisterhood with an equally strong connection to McMillan Hall. As a tight community housed in the oldest buildings on campus, the two halls filled the roles of sorority and fraternity, providing a place for students to feel at home and connected. Emilee Bosh, a four-year Ballard Alum from the class of 2009, explained how Ballard came to be defined in her last years as the most desired dorm to live in on campus. In the early 2000's, many of the traditions that continue today were established or reinstated, such as Milk and Cookies every Wednesday. These traditions and the strong community feel are strong components of Ballard today, and the close knit "family" is what draws many residents to Ballard each year. Today, a highlight of Ballard traditions is the Ballard Tea. This tradition involved the men of McMillan Hall putting on a talent show and serving tea and cookies to the ladies of Ballard who come to the chapel beautifully dressed up. Every year on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, the entire BMAC community gathers together around a long table set up through the first floor of McMillan Hall to share a meal together, ending with singing carols gathered around the piano in the lounge. This tradition in particular showcases the strong bond between the two residence halls, as well as the sense of family fostered by their residents.

The Fire (3:06)
Dorothy and I awoke suddenly in what seemed to be the middle of the night. But we heard voices, people running through the halls, girls calling to each other, footsteps running outside. This was no proper mode of action in the middle of the night or early morning! I called to Dorothy, as she sat up in bed, I heard her gasp and try to speak, but speech would not come. The windows were red with a strange light, the kind of light that is seen through icing-glass in stoves. Up we jumped out of bed to the window. Ballard Hall was aflame! Boys were running and calling to each other. Some were carrying bedding and all sorts of property to all parts of the already strewn campus. Most of them were running around half dressed. As we looked, several came out of Ballard Hall with arms loaded while others were re-entering the building. Not being able to see the full extent of the fire I rushed to the other window, the side window. With a jerk of the blind which sent it flying upward, the whole scene burst upon me. Ballard Hall was one mass of flames. I did not need to look long: it was not necessary, the awfulness of its grandeur was appalling. With another glance, I turned away; there were other things to be done. Rushing out into the hall we found that the other girls were gathering together as many of their belongings as possible. Returning to our room, we hastily dressed, and did the same. A queer procession it was as we with hands and arms loaded, trundled down the stairs and across the campus. The morning was bitter cold, and the wind, which was blowing terrifically, acted as if desirous of blowing us away. Sparks from the burning building rained upon us and burned various articles strewn about the campus before the conflagration was noticed. The fire engine soon arrived, but it was impossible to save Ballard Hall, so all attention was turned to saving McMillan Hall. The wind blew sparks directly towards our dormitory, and this, added to the proximity of the two buildings, made the danger very great indeed. But water was turned to our roof, soon freezing and making a coat of ice, and the danger gradually lessened. The time came when there was little left to do but watch. With varied emotions we looked upon the ruins of Ballard Hall. How greedily the flames lived every available surface, and relentless and awesome as they were, they nevertheless seemed to grip us with an awful fascination. It was a dejected looking group that gathered in the "Rec" room. Sleepy and tired, numb and cold, most of the boys half dressed, we looked like a refugees' camp. But it was when we sent our "Alma Mater" ringing out, that a hard lump filled our throats and a mist spread before our eyes. Never before not never since have I heard our college song sung with suck vim and meaning, for a deeper realization of what Whitworth meant to each one of us and thankfulness that the tragedy had been no worse filled our hearts to overflowing. Then when at chapel, Dr. Tiffany read the telegram from President Stevenson, "We will rebuild Whitworth bigger and better," the student body stood as it ever will stand, ready to take up our share of bringing about that bigger and better Whitworth. - Kathryn Bockman, '30.

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Hidden in the eastern corner of Whitworth campus, located behind the HUB where the parking lot currently is, stood a collection of residences once known as College Homes. These apartments came to be given the sardonic name of Ball and Chain Lane because the apartments were restricted to married students who were finishing their schooling at Whitworth. Ball and Chain Lane was comprised of an assortment of six old army barracks that Whitworth acquired after the Second World War, so they were far from comfortable. Mrs. Jim Doherty, a resident of Ball and Chain Lane in 1952, claimed the building contained all the conveniences including, "air conditioning in the winter and a heater in the summer," Clearly, Ball and Chain Lane was the height of luxury at Whitworth.

The college acquired the buildings for Ball and Chain Lane through the Mead Act, which was a post-war act that donated military buildings to schools around Washington State. Sixteen buildings were previously located at Baxter General Hospital and Port Orchard. Whitworth College received these buildings for free. Other buildings acquired for Whitworth through the Mead Act included: faculty apartments, Grieve Hall, Social Science Hall, the Tiffany Memorial Chapel, Music Building, Lancaster Hall, Goodsell Hall, Staff House, Nason Hall and Science Hall.

An important part of Ball and Chain Lane was the community. The wives of the Lane formed an association called the Wives' Club. Meeting monthly, the club provided a place for the women of Ball and Chain Lane to foster relationships through potluck dinners, playdates with the kids, and baking. The men also sought to foster community among themselves by forming a baseball team so that they could compete in intramurals against other dormitories.

In 1961,Whitworth campaigned to remodel the apartments from the picture of army luxury into modern cottages, with a cost of $9,000 per unit. The campaign fell flat on its face with the college unable to raise the funds necessary to revitalize Ball and Chain Lane. The Lane clung to life, however, and survived for nearly another two decades until 1978. With students complaining about moldy walls and lack of security at night, the maintenance director of Whitworth decided that a complete overhaul of married housing was required in order to keep it as a feasible living option. Otherwise, the housing should be eliminated. With that in mind, the Board of Trustees decided, in 1980, to phase out Ball and Chain Lane. Just like that, Ball and Chain Lane passed into the annals of Whitworth history not with a bang, but with a whimper.

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