Simpson University Transform - Spring 2011

A look at how your investment impacts Simpson University and its students

ransformSpring 2011t

January 1 marked the beginning of a major event in the history of Simpson

University: our 90th anniversary. Simpson Bible Institute was founded in 1921 in Seattle for the purpose of training men and women for cross-cultural missions and church-related ministries. The institution moved to San Francisco in 1955, and the name was changed to Simpson Bible College as bachelor’s degrees were offered for the first time. The name was later changed to Simpson College, particularly as graduate programs were added to the curriculum. In 1989, Simpson College moved to its current location in Redding, and the name was changed to Simpson University in 2004. During the past 21 years in Redding, the institution has experienced most of its growth in terms of students, faculty, staff, academic programs, and campus development. I am so honored to be able to serve as the president of a university with such a rich tradition of serving the Lord through Christ-centered higher education. When I think of this milestone in our history, the well-known hymn “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” immediately comes to mind.

Dear Friend,

transformPresident:

Dr. Larry J. McKinneyVice President for Advancement:

Gordon FlinnEditor & Layout: Candace Brown Dyar

Staff Writer: Elise Wilson ‘08

Photographer: Ryan Belong

The Transform is a quarterly newsletter designed to inform friends of Simpson

University about how their gifts are making a difference.

For more information about giving to Simpson University, call 1-800-598-2239 or visit

simpsonu.edu/giving.

On the Cover: English student Tyler Shuster (see p. 4)

Photo by Ryan Belong

2 TRANSFORM Spring 2011

IN THIS ISSUE

Celebrating 90 years of Christ-centered higher education

4 Student Focus

6 Meet the Faculty

9 Student Service

10 Trustee Profile

11 Scholarship Highlight

12 Campaign Update

Simpson University Mission Statement:

As a Christ-centered learning community, Simpson University

develops students in mind, faith, and character to influence the world through

leadership, scholarship, and service.

Dr. Larry J. McKinney

President

www.simpsonu.edu / 1-888-9-SIMPSON 3

God has certainly demonstrated his faithfulness to Simpson University over the past 90 years as we continue to carry out our mission of developing students in mind, faith, and character to influence the world through leadership, scholarship, and service. He has also proven himself to be faithful through his personal involvement in our lives. God has given us a wonderful group of dedicated faculty and staff and has blessed us with more than 1,200 terrific students. They are living examples of God’s faithfulness. “Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning, great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23). I pray that we are able to testify as Jeremiah did in Lamentations 3 that God’s love and faithfulness are “new every morning.” As we celebrate the 90th anniversary of Simpson University and see how God has worked in the lives of our faculty, staff and students, may we truly be able to say, “Great is Thy faithfulness.” I also want to thank you for your demonstrated faithfulness to Simpson University through your prayers and financial support. Our 2009-10 annual report, which lists all those who donated during that fiscal year, is now available online at simpsonu.edu/annualreport. Please check it out. The Transform is designed to give you a closer look at some of the students, faculty and programs impacted by your generosity. We encourage you to share the newsletter with a family member or friend after you have read it. Thank you for your kindness, and God bless you!

Celebrating 90 years of Christ-centered higher education


STUDENT FOCUSTyler Shuster, senior English major

from Redding, Calif.


When Tyler Shuster puts pen to paper, he sometimes doesn’t look up for hours (once he wrote 10,000 words in one day). He loses himself

in the joy of crafting words that often flow into poetry or characters for a screenplay. This passion prompts him, as a senior English major, to express himself in multiple ways.

“Tyler may be a new breed of English major, or at least of a type less common at Simpson recently,” said Dr. Timothy Carlisle, chair of the English Department. “He is interested in ‘texts’ of all sorts - Internet, film, the written word, and poetry, both oral and written.”

Tyler transferred to Simpson from Shasta College in spring 2009. He said he wanted to be an English major because of his love of reading and writing.

Tyler has been very active on campus during his five semesters at Simpson. He has been involved with the English Department in multiple ways, including being a teacher’s assistant and representing the department in student Senate. He has been involved in the university’s Writing Center as a tutor and designer of a new logo and campus promotional materials.

Another organization Tyler is involved with is Student Activities. He is the marketing director and creates graphics and videos used by Student Activities for promoting events. He also designs promotional materials for other clubs’ events.

His knack for graphic design enabled Tyler to be the layout editor of The Slate, Simpson’s student newspaper. He also writes reviews and occasionally takes pictures for the paper.

Tyler is also a very gifted filmmaker. He has participated in Simpson’s student film festival, Exposure, twice. In 2010, he won Best Picture and Best Editing for his murder mystery film, “Evitarran.” He has submitted it to Redding’s Sundial Film Festival, which is on March 19.

“Through all this, I have learned a great many lessons that have supplemented my education well and have definitely provided experience that will be invaluable for not only future employment but also for my life,” he said.

Tyler spends time volunteering as a leader at Trinity Alliance Church’s youth group. He also helps with Christian youth-centered community organizations and outreach events, including Redding Transformation/WeR1net, The Crossing, Youth For Christ, and The Lot.

After he graduates in April, Tyler plans on attending Simpson’s School of Education to earn his teaching credential. He hopes to then go to graduate school for English in order to teach at a university.

Tyler receives the Employee Dependent Tuition Grant because his father, Mel Shuster, was a math professor at Simpson for 20 years. This scholarship gives Tyler full tuition as long as he is an undergraduate student.

“I especially would like to thank my father for his time teaching at Simpson and his many discussions with me about Simpson that have been invaluable toward my success,” he said.

We are so grateful for your donations to the Student Scholarship Fund. They make a significant difference in the lives of students like Tyler who hope someday to share the gift of their own education with future students.

— By Elise Wilson ‘08 / Photo by Ryan Belong


MEET THE FACULTYDr. Mardy Philippian Assistant Professor of English


Behind Simpson University’s mission to develop students in mind, faith and character are

professors whose purpose is to impart knowledge and a commitment to learning to the students with whom they interact in and outside their classes each day.

It’s a purpose that drives Dr. Mardy Philippian, assistant professor of English, who came to Simpson in 2003. “I love learning, a school environment, and spending my time with people who read a lot and are terribly curious,” he said. “I didn’t really want to spend time anywhere else. I also wanted to work with students to help them develop their lifelong love of learning.”

Dr. Philippian shares his commitment to learning in multiple ways. One is by developing courses not previously offered at Simpson, including Shakespeare, Shakespeare on Film, The Poetry and Prose of John Milton, Renaissance and Reformation Literature, C.S. Lewis: His Life and Works, World Cinema, Literary Theory, and The Literature of Science.

He also takes an active role in helping students become better writers through directing the university’s Writing Center. He trains a staff of student tutors, giving them the tools they need to help the students who visit. “I love the idea that I can work with students to re-imagine writing as a process,” he said. “We are re-educating students about the value of writing, the single most important skill students will continue to develop while in college.”

Dr. Philippian received his bachelor’s degree in English from California State University, Chico, in 1998. He earned a master’s in English in 2000 and completed his doctorate in 17th century English literature and culture at Purdue University last year. He started teaching as a graduate student at Purdue in 1998 while working on his master’s degree, and he worked in their world-renowned Writing Center for four years, twice serving as its summer director.

Coming from such large universities, Dr. Philippian appreciates the unique learning opportunities that Simpson’s smaller class sizes offer. “I like the close interpersonal interaction with the students,” he said. “It’s really nice to spend a lot of time helping students to develop their ideas in research papers, get published in undergraduate journals, and help with graduate school applications.”

During the years Dr. Philippian has been at


Simpson, the number of English majors has increased from the low 30s to 53 this semester. “Our program is now more comprehensive and rigorous than it once was, and the culture of the major is more diverse,” he said. “It’s a good time to be an English major at Simpson.”

Outside the classroom, Dr. Philippian serves as the faculty advisor for Simpson’s English Club. He was the advisor for the Alpha Chi honor society from 2005-2008. In November, he taught a class on C.S. Lewis for Simpson University for Seniors, a program that offers a series of monthlong courses to people 50 or older. He chose the topic due to its broad appeal and because it allowed him to talk about a public person who was also an intellectual Christian. “I really enjoyed discussing works I have benefited from with people I didn’t have to ‘sell’ the text to,” he said, “and it was wonderful to have rich meaningful discussions.”

His off-campus activities include being an editorial board member for The Oswald Review: An International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Criticism in the Discipline of English (at the University of South Carolina-Aiken). He is also a co-founder and co-chair of the Conference on Renaissance Comparative Prose, which is held annually at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Donors play a key role in helping our faculty to continue their own learning. In 2008, Dr. Philippian received the Dale Faculty Scholar Grant. (The Charles H. Dale Faculty Development Fund was established in 2005 with a generous pledge from a longtime supporter of Simpson University.) He used his funds for a research trip to The Huntington Library related to his dissertation on the subject of early modern methods of devotional reading.

Our Gateway to the Future Campaign includes the Faculty Development and Curriculum Development funds. These are designed specifically to benefit professors who want to pursue certain study topics or develop a class they see as beneficial to students.

“Money that is committed to the English Department makes a huge difference in the quality of education we can offer and the kinds of faculty-student research projects we can plan and schedule,” Dr. Philippian said.

English Department faculty, from left: Dr. Brian Larsen, Dr. Mardy Philippian, Dr. Tim Carlisle, and Professor Alan Rose. / Photos by Ryan Belong


STUDENT SERVICEWriting Centerin the Grubbs Learning Center

I n the 15 years since Simpson University’s Writing Center first opened its doors, thousands of Simpson students have received help with essay

organization, thesis clarity, documentation and other writing-related tasks, such as crafting resumes and job cover letters.

“The purpose of the Writing Center is to provide one-on-one writing assistance to students at various stages in the writing process,” said Amy Zellman, senior biology major and student manager of the Writing Center. “Our goal is to produce better writers, not simply better papers.”

In the past five years the Writing Center has become accessible to a wider variety of students and moved to a more central location on the second floor of the Grubbs Center. The Writing Center is open 30-40 hours a week. The student tutoring staff helps about 300 students per semester.

“Our well-trained staff focuses on meeting the needs of Simpson’s entire student population,” said Dr. Mardy Philippian, director of the Writing Center and assistant professor of English.

One way the Writing Center staff helps adult students in the School of Continuing Studies (ASPIRE program) is through a new form of online tutoring that uses Skype software to reproduce online the experience of a traditional face-to-face tutorial. This allows staff to accommodate ASPIRE students’ schedules.

The Writing Center staff is made up of 10 student tutors and a student manager in training who have met the requirements to be tutors and are enrolled in a Writing Center Internship course. They spend two weeks learning tutoring techniques, followed by evaluations and ongoing instruction from Dr. Philippian.

“There is a strong sense of camaraderie among the tutoring staff,” said Amy. “Although we come from a broad range of personal and academic backgrounds, we share a common purpose as well as a common interest in helping students improve their writing.”

— By Elise Wilson ‘08/Photo by Ryan Belong

Simpson senior Amy Zellman, manager of the Writing Center, left,

helps tutor another student.

Writing tutors help classmates


Aretired Air Force lieutenant colonel, Simpson University board member Mike Fitzpatrick wears several hats. He recently retired from private

law practice -- where he specialized in estate planning, family law and real estate law -- but continues to represent public entities, including the cities of Anderson and Corning in Northern California.

He also is part-time pastor of a Mien Nazarene congregation in Redding and serves on a district advisory board for that denomination. He and his wife, Merlynn (an ESL instructor with a doctoral degree who teaches overseas when time permits), have four grown children and five grandchildren.

For about the past five years, Mike has invested his time and resources serving on the board of Simpson University. “I consider Simpson an institution which God can use effectively to impact many, many lives as he draws people to him through the message of the Gospel,” he said. “It provides a unique opportunity for those of us in the local community to be a part of that wonderful, God-given adventure.”

Mike’s initial tie to Simpson was through his brother-in-law, Dr. Mel Shuster, who taught in the university’s math department for many years. He first was asked to help with the Simpson University Foundation, eventually serving as chair for several years. “I was then invited to join the Board of Trustees and have enjoyed participating in decision-making for the university in this new capacity,” he said.

Simpson’s curriculum development -- including a new nursing major and master’s degree in counseling psychology -- encourages Mike, as does the dedication of students reaching out to serve others. “I’m encouraged by the unity of our administration, professors and support staff at all levels as we work together as a team during difficult economic times,” he said.

As someone involved throughout the community, he knows that Simpson has a positive reputation in the area and strong partnerships with

TRUSTEE PROFILEMike FitzpatrickRedding, Calif.

“I want my life to reflect the love of Jesus

through the love and compassion

I share with others.”


local governmental and health care organizations. “There’s a lot to be encouraged about,” he said. “God is truly blessing our people.”

On his wish list for Simpson, Mike would like to see efforts continue to strengthen the university’s financial base so it can develop a broader range of classes. He also would like to see a greater emphasis toward online education (Simpson just launched its first online-only major through the ASPIRE program) and continued efforts to reach out to students from other countries and cultures.

Would you join Mike in his prayer for Simpson students? “My prayer would be that students coming to Simpson would draw so close to Jesus that they would all graduate with a great passion to boldly proclaim the good news, both in the neighborhoods in which they settle and globally wherever technology allows them,” he said.

Highlighting the Michael S. and Caroline S. Gower Scholarship

A memorial service was held Jan. 22, 2011, in the Heritage Student Life Center on cam-pus for Mike Gower, who served Simpson University in Redding for several years as senior resident director, associ-ate dean of student life, and a coach. Mike passed away on Dec. 29, 2010. He and his

wife, Caroline, who served as the president’s secretary, mentored, counseled and discipled many Simpson students. They served in churches and in pastoral ministry together for 29 years. In 2009, the Gowers received “Honorary Alumni” awards in recognition of their many contributions to Simpson University.

Hundreds attended the service for Mike, which was followed by a reception and evening sharing time.

Mike’s family requested that memorial contributions be desig-nated to the Michael S. and Caroline S. Gower Scholarship, which was established when Mike retired in 2003. It is awarded to students who participate in student government, sports, and other leadership activities. You can give to this scholarship online at simpsonu.edu/giving.

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Simpson University Transform - Spring 2011

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Transcript of Simpson University Transform - Spring 2011