Tidbits and Briefs

Bhutto Delivers Atkinson Lecture
Benazir Bhutto, the former prime minister of Pakistan and the first woman to head the government of an Islamic state, delivered the Willamette University spring Atkinson Lecture Feb. 18, to a packed audience in Smith Auditorium. Bhutto is the author of Foreign Policy in Perspective (1978) and her autobiography, Daughter of Destiny (1989). She received the Bruno Kreisky Award for Human Rights in 1988 and the Honorary Phi Beta Kappa Award from Radcliffe in 1989.

A Stately Honor
Suresht Renjen Bald, a Willamette University politics professor for 21 years, was named the 2003 Oregon Professor of the Year. Selected by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), Bald is one of 43 professors honored nationally from a pool of 400 nominees. In the last 13 years, the Carnegie Foundation and CASE have named seven Willamette University faculty members Oregon Professor of the Year. (See list below)

Stephen Kirk ’93, a Ph.D. candidate in political science at the University of Chicago, wrote, “Professor Bald has had a major impact on my life. I decided to pursue an academic career largely because of her influence. She strengthened my passion for politics and served as a role model for the kind of career I would like to have. I have focused on public policy analysis, using the tools of political science to address issues of public concern. I hope my dissertation is true to her philosophy.”

The Willamette community will bid farewell to Professor Bald this spring when she retires.

Willamette's Oregon Professors of the Year

• 2003  Suresht Bald, politics
• 1998  William Duvall, history
• 1995  Daniel Montegue, physics
• 1994  Arthur Payton, chemistry
• 1993  Roger Hull, art history
• 1991  Mary Ann Youngren, psychology
• 1990  Frances Chapple, chemistry

Cultural Appreciation
The Willamette University Hallie Ford Museum of Art and museum Director John Olbrantz received a Certificate of Award for outstanding contributions to art education in the mid-Willamette Valley from the Oregon Art Education Association (OAEA) in October.

In nominating the Hallie Ford Museum of Art and Olbrantz, Cathey Philbrick, an art teacher at McNary High School in Salem, Ore., wrote, “Within its five years of operation, the Hallie Ford Museum of Art has significantly improved the cultural depth of visual arts in Salem. Under the leadership of John Olbrantz, the museum has expanded its collection of historic and contemporary art, presented a dynamic array of special exhibitions that have enriched the quality of life in Salem, supported a strong art education program, including lectures, films and school tours, and offered low admission and free admission to school groups.”

The Hallie Ford Museum of Art was founded in 1998 to serve as an artistic, cultural and intellectual resource for Willamette University, the City of Salem, the mid-Willamette Valley and beyond. It includes four permanent galleries and two temporary exhibition spaces. For more information on the museum, visit www.willamette.edu/museum_of_art or call 503-370-6855.

Running the Show
At the start of the new year, Matt McGuirk was named Willamette’s new head coach for men’s and women’s cross country/track & field. Kelly Sullivan ’79, Willamette’s men’s and women’s cross country/track & field coach for the past six years, left Willamette to coach Oregon State University’s women’s cross country/track & field.

McGuirk has a long history competing in cross country and track & field. While at South Eugene High School, McGuirk was the 1981 Oregon Cross Country State Champion. At the University of Oregon he was the 1983 U.S. Junior steeplechase champion and a 1984 All-American in the 3,000m steeplechase. In 1984, McGuirk’s University of Oregon team collected the NCAA team championship, its last to date. McGuirk graduated from the University of Oregon with degrees in finance and marketing.

McGuirk brought his extensive cross country/track & field experience to Willamette in August 1999 as cross country/track & field assistant head coach. In his first four years at Willamette, McGuirk coached three track & field runners to six All-American awards and two individual national championships. “Matt has proven himself as a capable leader who will carry on a great tradition built by Kelly and himself,” said Athletics Director Mark Majeski.

Celebrating MLK
The Rev. James Lawson Jr. and the Harlem Gospel Choir were featured in this year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration at Willamette University in January.

Lawson, referred to as “the teacher of the civil rights movement,” is a former Methodist missionary who became a prominent Christian leader in the American South. A student of the nonviolent protest techniques of Mahatma Gandhi, Lawson later joined forces with Martin Luther King Jr. to become a principal architect of the African American civil rights struggle. Joining Lawson was the Harlem Gospel Choir. The choir, originally founded in 1986, has performed around the world with such notables as U2, Sir Paul McCartney, The Chieftains and Diana Ross.