There was a moment, an episode, in Shampa Biswas’ life as a graduate student when the center no longer held and the way she considered the world changed, fundamentally and inexorably. It occurred in the space of 432 pages of a book by Edward Said called “Orientalism.” More...

Professor U.J. Sofia: “The kind of students who do well at Whitman are those who question a lot, who have an independent spirit that allows them to take a slightly different path than everyone else, who like to innovate and explore rather than be told what to do. And the faculty who come here are those who are passionate about teaching and dedicated to the students’ learning experiences.” More...

Homer, Sappho, Plato, Shakespeare, Darwin, Nietzsche, Toni Morrison: The “Core” class, a two-semester course requirement for Whitman freshmen called Antiquity and Modernity, is a rigorous, interdisciplinary intellectual exploration of Western philosophy, religion, history, and literature that provides critical thinking and communication skills and a broad intellectual foundation. More...

Meet Matt Schisler from Bellingham, Washington. He’s an athlete, a member of Whitman’s fly fishing club, and a DJ for KWCW 90.5, the college radio station. He’s a serious scholar – a politics and rhetoric and film studies major with a GPA that hovers between 3.8 and 3.9. He’s also a recipient of a President’s Scholarship for debate and a team leader of Whitman’s nationally renowned debate team. More...

“Within the last 10 years, we’ve moved to a digital environment... We are balancing the traditional academic monograph with digital scholarship,” says Library Director Dalia Hagan. It’s a blend of old and new that echoes the inner workings of Penrose as the library, built in 1957, moves forward in the 21st century. More...

Professor Susan Pickett: “I have freedom to conduct my classes as I see fit, which means they are usually highly interactive. I also have the freedom to teach innovative courses, like my course on Women Composers, which is rare for a college of this size.” More...

As they travel from the deserts of New Mexico and Arizona to the grasslands of Hell’s Canyon, Semester in the West students read and write about and discuss the histories and cultures of the communities who live here. “The program taught me to experience places and people, nature and wildlife like never before. To understand issues like water rights, border security, and logging, through the multiple perspectives and raw opinions of the real people who live in the region.” More...

As a youngster growing up in Ho Chi Minh City, Thuy Dao ’07 talked so much and argued so well that her parents thought she ought to be a lawyer. But Dao felt a different chemistry. Now 22, she is a 12-hour-a-day researcher and self-confessed “lab rat” at Whitman College. More...

Daniel Grant: “This is a community where everyone is smart but unassuming. There is a lack of pretentiousness here, a lack of the whole status thing. People are genuine.” More...

Kelsey Krumdieck: “My life at Whitman and Whitman athletics have been completely intertwined, and I would not have it any other way. I love how it keeps my life in balance. If I had to pick the best part of basketball, I would say that it is the support I get from my team – they are some of my closest friends at Whitman.” More...

Kaliswa Brewster ’05: “Whitman expects you to soak in all you can and then come up with your own ideas, your own take on things.” More...

Lindsey Gehrig ’05 describes her Whitman experience as a “series of doors opening in a sort of domino effect.” More...

Scrambles bring together new classmates in weeklong canoeing, backpacking, or climbing adventures, giving them the opportunity to make friends even before their first semester. More....

For Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg ’01, the road to Akili Dada by way of Whitman College had many signposts, all with the same directions. Kamau-Rutenberg founded Akili Dada, an international organization that provides competitive and comprehensive secondary-school scholarships and career mentoring for young Kenyan women. More...

When Bridget Kustin ’05 enrolled at Whitman College in the fall of 2001, her chief goal was “to move beyond my suburban Los Angeles upbringing.” Four years later, the Whitman English major and debate champion had journeyed all the way to Bangladesh as a Fulbright research fellow. More...

Rob Manning ’80, chief engineer with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena: “I didn’t believe that I could really become an engineer until I got to Whitman,” says Manning. But the possibility of completing the Whitman-Caltech 3-2 program (which enabled him to earn a bachelor of arts degree from Whitman and a bachelor of science degree from Caltech in five years) inspired him. More...

“Imagine a lost city, high in the Colorado Mountains, with cool breezes, the smell of pine forests, and spectacular views of the valley below,” writes  Associate Professor of Theatre Thomas Hines. “And if you search long enough, you will find the most spectacularly positioned and well preserved theater I have come across in all my travels.” More...

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