Prof. Bob Withycombe. Whitman College photo.

Bob Withycombe, a 29-year veteran Whitman College teacher and former debate coach, is the 2009 Washington Professor of the Year, award organizers announced today.

The U.S. Professors of the Year program, sponsored by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), salutes extraordinary dedication to teaching as illustrated by involvement with students, scholarly approach to teaching and learning, contribution to education at the institution, and support from colleagues and current and former students. Only 38 such teachers were selected from across the country this year.

Withycombe is in Washington, D.C. today to receive his award and participate in an evening congressional reception sponsored by Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest academic honor society.

The Whitman news site has a full story about Withycombe and his work at the college.

Faculty members from Independent Colleges of Washington member institutions have won the last three Washington Professor of the Year Awards, and five of the last eight. We think that’s a result of the colleges’ emphasis on teaching. ICW member institutions share a commitment to high-quality, academically rigorous learning and to an education that emphasizes critical thinking, lifelong learning, ethics, leadership, and community service.

Congratulations to Withycombe, and thanks to all of the great professors who give great value to independent higher education.

Quarless and his poster

Whitworth University recently posted this news item about senior Danjuma Quarless, who received a prestigious award from the University of Massachusetts for his scientific research and has been invited to present his findings at the annual conference of the American Society of Cell Biology. Quarless did some pretty brainy work on deflagellation-induced gene expression in Chlamydomonas. (Chlamydomonas is a type of green alga and unicellular flagellates. Flagellate are cells with one or more whip-like organelles called flagella, found in some animals. It says so in the Whitworth story!)

Near the end of the story, it’s noted that Quarless is part of Act Six, a leadership and scholarship program at Whitworth and several other Independent Colleges of Washington member institutions. Quarless received the ICW Board of Directors Scholarship this year. By coincidence, we interviewed him for the video below before we knew about his scientific awards.

Quarless provides proof of the power of financial aid. Already an award-winning scientist, Quarless plans to pursue a medical career. Without the help of financial aid and scholarships, he may never have been able to attend college at all. Scholarships help unlock the potential in many a capable student. That’s why we’re always encouraging everyone to Invest in Washington… One student at a time.

Yesterday’s Seattle Times has an excellent article by Linda Shaw about Rainier Scholars, a nonprofit Seattle program aimed at helping low-income students of color succeed in school. The seven-year-old organization has just seen its first cohort of students graduate from high school, and all 40 of them are headed off to four-year colleges in the fall.

We’re pleased to note that six of the Rainier Scholars will be attending Independent Colleges of Washington member institutions, and many others will be attending top-notch private colleges around the country.

Rodney Proctor

The story calls to mind an opinion piece written by ICW board member Rodney Proctor and published last month by the Puget Sound Business Journal. (The article is here, though you need a PSBJ subscription to read it.) Proctor’s contention is that low-income students of color are likely going to be better off at private colleges, and the reasons are the same as those that have led to success for the Rainier Scholars: small classes, academic rigor, and plenty of support. The students bring to the table the smarts that it takes, and the schools don’t let them fall through the cracks.

The results show. All students, regardless of ethnicity, are as likely to graduate from an independent college in four years as they are from a public college in six.

Congratulations to the Rainier Scholars for what you’ve accomplished so far, and best of luck to the first cohort headed for college.