Whitman College

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Whitman College
Image:Whitman_Memorial_Building.gif
Established November 28, 1883
Type Liberal Arts and Science
President George S. Bridges
Faculty 145
Undergraduates 1,450
Location Walla Walla, Washington, U.S. (46.0706922° N 118.3288535° W)
Website http://www.whitman.edu/
This article is about the college in Washington state. For the Princeton University residential college, see Whitman College (Princeton University).

Whitman College is a co-educational, non-sectarian residential liberal arts and sciences undergraduate college in Walla Walla, Washington.

Contents

[edit] History

In 1836 the missionaries Marcus and Narcissa Whitman established a medical mission and a school a few miles from the modern-day city of Walla Walla to serve the Cayuse Indians and immigrants on the Oregon Trail. After the Whitmans were killed in the 1847 Whitman Massacre, the Rev. Cushing Eells resolved to establish a school in their honor. The Washington Territorial Legislature granted a charter to Whitman Seminary on December 20, 1859. On November 28, 1883, the legislature issued a new charter, changing the seminary into a four-year, degree-granting college.

Portrait of Marcus and Narcissa Whitman
Enlarge
Portrait of Marcus and Narcissa Whitman

From its beginning, Whitman College has prized its independence from sectarian and political control. In 1913, Whitman became the first college or university in the nation to require undergraduate students to complete comprehensive oral and written examinations in their major fields. Individual majors also require an extensive project in the form of either a written or multimedia thesis or a presentation or recital. In 1919, a Phi Beta Kappa Chapter was installed, the first for any college in the Pacific Northwest.

[edit] Campus

The campus includes streams, record-holding trees and numerous outdoor sculptures. It is built around Ankeny Field, which provides structure to the architectural layout, but also serves as a popular social destination on warm days. College Creek meanders through the main campus, forming ponds and providing a habitat for Whitman's many ducks.

About 70% of the student body reside in school housing. Two of eight residence halls date to the early 1900’s and several residence buildings are of neoclassical architectural design. There are eleven "Interest House" residences which are mostly of Victorian and classical design. Academic facilities are newer and of more modern design.

Three women's sororities (Delta Gamma, Kappa Alpha Theta, and Kappa Kappa Gamma) are housed in the Prentiss Hall school residence hall and four men's fraternities (Sigma Chi, Beta Theta Pi, Phi Delta Theta, and Tau Kappa Epsilon) are housed in fraternity houses north of Isaacs Avenue. Downtown Walla Walla is a few blocks to the west of the campus. The college also has other land holdings outside the main campus area, one of which is used for academic and social retreats.

[edit] In the News

During the 2006-2007 academic school year, Whitman achieved a small amount of national notoriety due to an Associated Press article dealing with an incident at an off-campus party where two students attended dressed in blackface. AP article It prompted school-wide discussion, culminating in a day in which classes were cancelled in favor of a campus-wide symposium dealing with issues of race on the primarily white campus.

[edit] Academics

About 1450 undergraduate students are enrolled in Whitman College, 56% female to 44% male. School life is notable in the high percentage of students, around 33%, in fraternities and sororities. There are many student activities, many of which focus on student activism and social improvement. Many students also choose to participate in varsity, club, and intramural sports such as rugby, waterpolo, lacrosse, dodgeball, and nationally renowned cycling and Ultimate teams. Special interest housing for foreign language program students is also available.

The college offers approximately 40 fields of study for Bachelor of Arts degrees. There are also approximately 10 additional areas that offer minor studies.

Degrees are awarded after successful completion of senior "comprehensive exams". These exams vary depending on primary focus of study, but commonly include some combination of i) a senior thesis, ii) a written exam, and iii) an oral exam. The oral exam, administered by a board of faculty members from the student's major, is either a defense of the student's senior thesis or an hour-long test of material the student is expected to have learned during their major study. The written exam is either a GRE subject test or a test composed by the department.

Approximately 50 percent of Whitman graduates go on to graduate school within five years and attend some of the best graduate programs. Whitman graduates have won the nation's most prestigious fellowships and awards. Over the last three years Whitman has had one Rhodes Scholar and 18 Fulbright Fellowships. In the last eight years 15 Whitman graduates have won Thomas J. Watson Fellowships. For students who are interested in foreign policy, Whitman is one of 16 institutions participating in the two-year-old Woodrow Wilson Graduate Foreign Affairs Fellowship program. The State Department pays for fellows to obtain their master's degree at the university of their choice in return for three years of service as a Foreign Service Officer.

Students can take advantage of one of the most loyal alumni networks in the nation through the Career Consultant Network, which includes almost 2,000 alumni who have volunteered to help students with their career search.

Among colleges with enrollments under 5,000, Whitman ranks in the top ten in graduates who serve in the Peace Corps.

Whitman is also renowned for its one of a kind "Semester in the West" program. Semester in the West is a Whitman College field study program in environmental studies, focusing on ecological, social, and political issues confronting the American West. For a full semester, 20 accepted students will travel the West, focusing on issues such as grizzly bear and wolf reintroduction plans, management of national parks and monuments, the booming economy and culture of Las Vegas, environmental justice in New Mexico, and many more. Along the way, they meet with activists, writers, environmentalists, loggers, ranchers, miners, labor organizers, local politicians, land managers, historians, political scientists, geographers, foresters, economists, farmers, Native Americans, biologists, ecologists, and cowboys. As they travel, they read what others have written about the West, and do a great deal of their own writing. The program runs every other year, beginning in 2002. The 2006 "Westies", as they are called, are now travelling the American West. Phil Brick, Professor of politics at Whitman since 1992, created the program and is the facilitator.

[edit] Whitman athletics

Whitman holds membership in the NCAA's Northwest Conference (Division III) and fields nine varsity teams each for men and women. More than 70 percent of the student body participates in intramural sports; more than 20 percent participate in a varsity sport.

Whitman's official mascot, named the 'Missionary' after Marcus and Narcissa Whitman, is a source of debate, with some parties wishing to change it in order to avoid the implied cultural imperialism. Current campaigns to change the mascot support the 'Duck', named for the many ducks residing in campus creeks and ponds, as a culturally neutral mascot. Others are in favor of keeping the unique mascot, which inspired the innuendo-laden cheer "Missionaries, Missionaries, We're On Top!".

[edit] KWCW 90.5 FM

KWCW 90.5 FM is a Class A radio station owned and operated by the Whitman student union, the Associated Students of Whitman College. Each semester students, faculty, staff, and community members can sign up for a weekly 2-hour block on this free-format radio station. Disc jockeys are free to play whatever music they wish, so long as it follows Federal Communications Commission guidelines. In addition, the station has several call-in radio shows to engage listeners from the greater Walla Walla area.

"K-dub" as it is known to students, lives inside the Reid Campus Center on Whitman Campus. Broadcasting at a power of 200 watts, the station's range is approximately 15 miles (24 km). Listeners may also listen online from the KWCW homepage, www.kwcw.net.

[edit] College leadership

Whitman College is governed by Trustees in conjunction with a college President, Overseers and Alumni Board.

[edit] Trustees

  1. John C. Coleman, Jr. (Napa, California)
  2. William K. Deshler (Portland, Oregon)
  3. Lawrence Drake, (Convent Station, New Jersey)
  4. Nancy Bell Evans (Seattle, Washington)
  5. Karen E. Glover (Seattle, Washington) - CHAIR
  6. James K. Hayner (Walla Walla, Washington)
  7. Richard E. Hunter (La Jolla, California)
  8. Kristine Johnson (San Francisco, California)
  9. Valerie Logan Hood (Seattle, Washington)
  10. Thomas H. McCracken (Seattle, Washington)
  11. Michael C. Murr (Rye, New York)
  12. Ralph C. Rittenour, Jr. (Portland, Oregon)
  13. James L. Robart (Seattle, Washington)
  14. John W. Stanton (Bellevue, Washington)
  15. Peter H. van Oppen (Mercer Island, Washington)
  16. Elizabeth Main Welty (Spokane, Washington)
  17. David W. Wyckoff (Grandview, Washington)

[edit] Presidents

  1. Alexander J. Anderson 1882-1891
  2. James F. Eaton in 1891-1894
  3. Stephen B. L. Penrose 1894-1934
  4. Rudolf A. Clemen, 1934-1936
  5. Walter Andrew Bratton, 1936-1942
  6. Winslow S. Anderson, 1942-1948
  7. Chester C. Maxey 1948- 1959
  8. Louis B. Perry 1959-1967
  9. Donald Sheehan, 1968-1974
  10. Robert Allen Skotheim 1975-1988
  11. David Evans Maxwell, 1989-1993
  12. Thomas E. Cronin 1993-2005
  13. George S. Bridges 2005~

[edit] Overseers

  1. Terry P. Abeyta (Yakima, Washington)
  2. Nancy Bratton Anderson (Olympia, Washington)
  3. Vojislav Andjelkovic (Wilton, Connecticut)
  4. Darrell W. Baggs (Menlo Park, California)
  5. Nancy Burton (Lake Forest Park, Washington) - CHAIR
  6. John D. Cadigan (Cashmere, Washington)
  7. Joseph C. Davis (Potomac, Maryland)
  8. Andrew U. Ferrari (Winchester, Virginia)
  9. John J. Flaherty (Bellevue, Washington)
  10. H. Graham Gaiser (Bellevue, Washington)
  11. Julie A. Gaisford (Seattle, Washington)
  12. Lewis J. Hale (Seattle, Washington)
  13. Anna Hernandez (Oakland, California)
  14. Robert F. Hidaka (Glendale, Arizona)
  15. Kay Hodge (Boston, Massachusetts)
  16. Richard A. Johnsen (Issaquah, Washington)
  17. Gordon Keane, Jr. (Portland, Oregon)
  18. Michelle N. Keith (Dallas, Texas)
  19. Fred J. Kimball (Walla Walla, Washington)
  20. C. Nola Kulig (Longmeadow, Massachusetts)
  21. Sally Landauer (Portland, Oregon)
  22. Leigh Ann Lucero (Seattle, Washington)
  23. Michael J. Mahoney (Hillsborough, California)
  24. F. James McCarthy (Walla Walla, Washington)
  25. Alexander C. McGregor (Pullman, Washington)
  26. Bradley M. McMurchie (Portland, Oregon)
  27. Mary V. Metastasio (Seattle, Washington)
  28. Sarah Michelson (Walla Walla, Washington)
  29. Lynn Mickelson (Glen Allen, Virginia)
  30. Esther Milnes (Chatham, New Jersey)
  31. James R. Moore (Salt Lake City, Utah)
  32. William R. Neff (Greenwood Village, Colorado)
  33. D. Peter Newland (Everett, Washington)
  34. Dean Allen Nichols (Woodway, Washington) - CHAIR ELECT
  35. Robert V. Pennington (Darien, Connecticut)
  36. Michael W. Phillips (Rancho Santa Fe, California)
  37. Marc Pitre (Culver City, California)
  38. Wilber E. Pribilsky (Walla Walla, Washington)
  39. Jerry Purcell, Ph.D. (Long Beach, California)
  40. Rand L. Rosenberg (Del Mar, California)
  41. Charles Rosenberry, (Vashon, Washington)
  42. Michelle A. Rubesch, (Seattle, Washington)
  43. Stephen P. Sander, (Seattle, Washington)
  44. M. Denise Savoie, (Palo Alto, California)
  45. Mary Jane Shea, (Spokane, Washington)
  46. E. Michael Stipe, (Hermiston, Oregon)
  47. Norman H. Swick, (Seattle, Washington)
  48. Denise Tabbutt, (Seattle, Washington)
  49. John R. Valaas, (Medina, Washington)
  50. David M. Valdez, (New York, New York)
  51. Tom Whittaker, (Wilsonville, Oregon)

[edit] Alumni Board

Whitman College alumni started the Alumni Association in 1895 to communicate alumni reaction about college programs back to the Alumni Office. The following individuals are current board members:

  1. Nina Beegle (Spokane, Washington)
  2. Linda Brewer (San Francisco, California)
  3. Susan E. Buxton (Boise, Idaho)
  4. Theodora Geokezas (Seattle, Washington)
  5. Cara K. Haskey (Seattle, Washington)- VICE CHAIR
  6. Deanna P. Laidler (Portland, Oregon)
  7. Sara C. Lindsley (Eugene, Oregon)
  8. Charles P. Nelson (Highlands Ranch, Colorado)
  9. Susan Pratt (Tacoma, Washington)
  10. Robert E. Simison (Arlington, Virginia)
  11. Elmer C. Wagner (Lacey, Washington)
  12. Sarah O. Wang (Honolulu, Hawaii) - PRESIDENT
  13. Catherine Williams (Auburn, Washington)

[edit] Notable Whitman alumni

  1. 1920 - William O. Douglas, BA English-Economics, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
  2. 1922 - Ralph Cordiner, BA Economics-Political Science, CEO and Chairman, General Electric, Corp.
  3. 1924 - Walter Brattain, BA Physics, Physicist, Nobel Prize Winner
  4. 1941 - Lucile Lomen, first woman to serve as a law clerk for a Supreme Court justice
  5. 1951 - Adam West, BA English, Actor, Batman
  6. 1955 - Colleen Seidelhuber Willoughby, BA Speech-Political Science, Philanthropist and founder Washington Women's Foundation
  7. 1958 - Nagle Jackson, BA English-French, Playwright
  8. 1965 - William Ashworth, BA Music, Naturalist and Author
  9. 1967 - Craig Lesley, BA English, Author
  10. 1967 - Dirk Benedict (Niewoehner), BA Dramatic Art, Battlestar Galactica and The A-Team
  11. 1970 - Matthew Ames, BA Chemistry, Director of Research, Mayo Clinic
  12. 1971 - Ryan Crocker, BA English, U.S. Ambassador to many Middle Eastern countries
  13. 1971 - John Markoff, BA Sociology, New York Times journalist and co-author of Takedown
  14. 1972 - Karen E. Glover, BA Philosophy, Managing Partner Preston Gates & Ellis LLP and Director Adaptis Inc.
  15. 1974 - Sarah Ball Teslik, BA Education-History, CEO Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc.
  16. 1977 - Gregory Glenn, BA Biology-Chemistry, Vice-President and Scientific Director Iomai Corporation
  17. 1977 - John Stanton, BA Political Science, Founder and CEO, Western Wireless
  18. 1980 - Mark Cohen, BA Economics, Author
  19. 1980 - Rob Manning, BA Mathematics-Physics, Mars Pathfinder Flight System Chief Engineer Jet Propulsion Laboratory
  20. 1985 - Lance Norris, BA Dramatic Art, Mystic River and Be Cool
  21. 1985 - John Zilly, BA Philosophy, Author
  22. 1986 - Aaron Forsberg, BA History, Author
  23. 1990 - John Fulton, BA English, Author
  24. 1990 - Hunt Holman, BA Dramatic Art, Playwright
  25. 1991 - William Finkbeiner, BA Anthropology, Washington State Senate majority leader 2003-present
  26. 1992 - Annee Hartzell, BA Politics, Teacher of the Blind and Visually Impaired
  27. 1994 - Keith Pohs, BA Geology, Author
  28. 1994 - Ransom J. Bailey, BA English Literature, Attorney
  29. 1997 - Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, BA Geology, NASA Astronaut Candidate
  30. 1997 - Kathrin Ford, BA English, Poet
  31. 1997 - Quentin Dunovant Batjer, BA History, Attorney
  32. 1998 - Shane Johnson, BA Theater, Actor
  33. 2000 - Ingrid Backstrom, Internationally-ranked freeskier.
  34. 2000 - Daniel Baird, BA Chemistry, PhD Cornell University, currently an internationally recognized Molecular Biologist at UCSD
  35. 2002 - Katie Wilson, BA Politics, staff in the office of United States Vice-President Dick Cheney
  36. 2003 - Cris Pace, BA English, novelist, "Destiny's Knights" 2005
  37. 2003 - Rachel C. Smith, BA Bioethics, PhD Candidate, Watson Fellow, Internationally recognized wildland fire consultant/speaker
  38. 2004 - Stephen Beus, BA Music, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Competitor
  39. 2005 - Elizabeth Pearson, BA Political Philosophy, Rhodes Scholar
  40. 2006 - Laura Valaas, BA Mathmatics, Nationally ranked nordic skier.

[edit] External links


Northwest Conference
George Fox • Lewis & Clark • Linfield • Pacific • Pacific Lutheran • Puget Sound • Whitman • Whitworth • Willamette
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