This is the final issue of Linfield Reports for the 2015-16 academic year.
Former journalist McKay to read from book about the Oregon Story
Floyd McKay ’57, renowned Oregon journalist, will read from his new book on Wednesday, May 18, at 7:30 p.m. in the Austin Reading Room in the Nicholson Library.
McKay’s book, “Reporting the Oregon Story: How Activists and Visionaries Transformed a State,” covers the period from 1964 to 1986, often referred to as The Oregon Story because it was a time of great change. From clean rivers and open beaches to mass transit and the Columbia Gorge, those two decades shaped the future of Oregon. As a reporter at the Oregon Statesman (now the Statesman Journal) in Salem and a news analyst at KGW-TV for 17 years in Portland, McKay knew all the major players and rising newcomers that defined this era.
His book describes and analyzes the time, linking the state’s leadership with an emerging corps of activists, many of them women who were on the cusp of taking leadership roles in Oregon politics. It also discusses changes in the Oregon media and is the first to link the environmental gains of the time with the emergence of a Portland renaissance that included MAX, Pioneer Square and the demise of urban freeways.
McKay left full-time journalism in 1986 and spent two years as an assistant to Gov. Neil Goldschmidt. From 1990 to 2004 he taught journalism at Western Washington University, and received his Ph.D. from the University of Washington along the way, specializing in media history, and later writing two books and many academic journal articles on that topic.
The reading, part of the “Readings at the Nick” series, is free, open to the public and sponsored by Nicholson Library and the Linfield College Department of Mass Communications. For more information, contact Susan Barnes Whyte at 503-883-2517 or swhyte@linfield.edu.
Michael Lindblad to deliver Linfield commencement address
More than 640 Linfield College graduates will be honored during commencement exercises Sunday, May 29, at 10 a.m. in the Oak Grove at Linfield.
Michael Lindblad ’94, the 2015 Oregon Teacher of the Year, will deliver the commencement address to the Linfield class of 2016. Margaret Marcuson, an ordained American Baptist minister living and working in Portland, will present the baccalaureate address Saturday, May 28, at 5 p.m. in Ted Wilson Gymnasium, located in the Health, Human Performance and Athletics Building at Linfield College. Learn more about commencement.
Commencement speaker
Lindblad is in his 20th year as a bilingual teacher and coach. He taught for three years at Lakeridge High School and the last 17 at Gresham High School (GHS). He was named Oregon Teacher of the Year by the Oregon Department of Education for his commitment to educational equity and his focus on preparing all students for the rigors of college and the workplace. Lindblad developed his school’s International Baccalaureate history program, and then advocated for intensive outreach to recruit more students of color into the course. The global studies curriculum he developed was based on travel and cultural experiences on four continents. He designed a special history class for English language learners that paired high expectations with an appreciation for their own language and culture.
Lindblad was also named the 2016 OEA/NEA Oregon State Teacher of the Year and has received numerous other honors and awards. In 2013, the Oregon Council of Social Studies recognized him as Oregon Social Studies Teacher of the Year. From 2000 through 2015 he created the Humanitarian Project at GHS and taught the project to regional and national audiences. He developed and led the first-ever Oregon elective proficiency program, and served as a mentor teacher for more than 35 interns at three colleges.
Lindblad graduated from Linfield with degrees in history and mass communication. He participated in the study abroad program in Nottingham, England, while researching Roman ruins in Africa and Europe. He was team captain of the baseball team, all-league pitcher, and Most Inspirational Player four years in a row at Linfield College. After teaching for three years, Lindblad wanted to improve his Spanish language skills, and work more closely with Latino students. He took a Linfield Division of Continuing Education (now Online and Continuing Education) class in Peru, taught by Professor Tom Love, and remained in Peru to continue his language studies. After returning to the U.S., he accepted a position at GHS, which serves students from some 20 countries. He has a master’s degree in teaching from Lewis & Clark College.
His love of baseball and teaching continues on the field. He has been a baseball/pitching coach for 17 years, helping lead teams to state titles, league titles, and giving life lessons to players.
Baccalaureate speaker
Marcuson was a parish pastor for 13 years in Massachusetts and now she speaks and writes on leadership and works with faith leaders nationally as a consultant and coach. Her work focuses on how leaders manage themselves in relation to those they lead. They can challenge those they lead, and nurture their relationship with those they lead, but they cannot will others to change.
Marcuson is on the faculty of the Leadership in Ministry workshops and is a frequent guest preacher in churches. Her seminar and conference speaking and consulting crosses denominations, including the American Baptist Churches, United Methodist, United Church of Christ, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Church of God (Anderson), Lutheran, Presbyterian, Roman Catholic, Unitarian and Episcopal. She is the author of several books and numerous print and online publications.
She has a Master of Divinity degree from the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, and is a member of the First Baptist Church in Portland. She is the president-elect of the Board of Directors of Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon.
Baccalaureate has existed for centuries in colleges and universities as a time of worship for graduating members of the senior class. College officials, faculty and graduating seniors wear academic dress for the occasion. Linfield’s baccalaureate service is ordered according to the traditions within Protestant Christianity and strives to touch on the universal theme of common humanity that can be found in all of the world’s great religions.
Commencement ceremony guests are encouraged to dress for unpredictable spring weather. For more information, call 503-883-2408 or visit www.linfield.edu/commencement.
Linfield student wins grand prize at Toyama Cup Speech Contest
For the fourth time in five years, a Linfield College student has won the grand prize at the annual Toyama Cup Speech Contest, a competitive Japanese speech contest.
Michaela Duffey ‘17 of Clackamas, a French major and Japanese minor, won first place in Level 2 and was also the winner of the grand prize, a round trip ticket to Japan to serve as a cultural ambassador in Toyama Prefecture this summer. Van Ha ‘15 of Vietnam, a finance major and Japanese minor who graduated in the fall but is currently enrolled in MLJP 485, also competed.
“Michaela is absolutely dedicated to the language,” said Chris Keaveney, professor of Japanese. “She is a French major who is among the strongest students in that program, so Japanese is her second foreign language. She actually completed the equivalent of Japanese 201 on her own while studying in France. I didn’t think that was possible.”
The Toyama Cup Speech Contest, held annually since 1996, is co-sponsored by the Toyama Prefectural Government of Japan and the Japan-America Society of Oregon, and is open to Oregon college students who are studying Japanese. It was held in Portland in April.
Level 2 competitors have studied Japanese at college or university for more than two years and have lived and studied in Japan for more than three months in the last three years. Ha studied abroad at Linfield for four years, but also used her junior year to study at Aoyama Gakuin University in Tokyo. Duffey studied abroad for a semester in France at Aix-en-Provence her sophomore year and spent the fall of her junior year at Kanto Gakuin University in Yokohama, Japan.
There were eight finalists in each level from Linfield College, University of Oregon, Portland State University, Hood Community College, Lewis and Clark College and Willamette University.
Winning the grand prize is quite an accomplishment according to Keaveney, who teaches along with Masayuki Itomitsu at Linfield. “Simply put, it is a big deal,” Keaveney said. “It is like a small market team such as the Trailblazers winning the NBA championship or the Kansas City Royals winning the World Series four out of five years.”
Since this was the 20th anniversary of the contest, former winners were also invited to attend. In attendance were Linfield alumni Lily Niland ’10 and Bryan Takano ’14, both of whom are former grand prize winners.
Community News
Andrea Reinkemeyer, assistant professor of music composition and theory, was commissioned by Rodney Dorsey to write a new work for winds and voices. She set Artis Henderson’s poem, “The Thaw,” for Soprano, Tenor, Mixed Choir and Wind Ensemble and it will receive its world premiere on Saturday, May 28, at 7 p.m. in Eugene’s Hult Center for the Performing Arts. On Thursday, May 26, the Oklahoma Composers Orchestra will perform “Lured by the Horizon” for Orchestra at the Oklahoma City University Bass School of Music.
Hannah Penn, adjunct professor of music and voice, sang the mezzo soprano part of Jo in Eugene Opera’s “Little Women.” http://eugenearttalk.com/
Campus calendar
MONDAY, MAY 16
4:30 p.m.: Linfield Debates in US Foreign Policy: Trump vs. Clinton, Ice Auditorium
TUESDAY, MAY 17
5:15 p.m.: Wildcat Workout, Maxwell Field
7:30 p.m.: Honors recital, Ice Auditorium
WEDNESDAY, MAY 18
Today and tomorrow: Whitworth Last Chance Qualifier at Spokane, Wash.
7:30 p.m.: Floyd McKay ’57 reading, “Reporting the Oregon Story: How Activists and Visionaries Transformed a State,” Nicholson Library
THURSDAY, MAY 19
Noon: Wildcat Workout, Maxwell Field
FRIDAY, MAY 20
Today and tomorrow: Softball at NCAA Super Regionals at Texas-Tyler
11:30 a.m.: Blood Pressure Screening Clinic, Cook Hall lobby
