Gift Bolsters Endowment for Whitman's Varsity Athletic Program

WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- Generous donors who value intercollegiate athletics as an integral part of the liberal arts educational experience at Whitman College have given a $3 million gift to help strengthen the varsity athletics program as it pursues a higher standard of excellence.

George Bridges

The gift supplements the Varsity Athletics Endowment that was created a year ago, and it creates three new endowments to benefit women’s basketball, men’s basketball and men’s baseball.

Dean Snider

"This gift is wonderful news for Whitman student athletes," director of athletics Dean Snider said. "Those of us entrusted with providing our students with the best possible athletic experience are extremely thankful and appreciative."

In gratefully accepting the gifts, Whitman President George Bridges stated:

"The endowments created with this gift will make a critical difference in sustaining our efforts to build varsity athletic programs that achieve the same level of excellence that Whitman has historically maintained in its academic programs. The gifts will provide our students with athletic experiences of the highest quality that align with the mission of the college to build leaders and encourage creativity, character and responsibility."

Whitman's Jenele Peterson

The gifts come on the heels of Whitman’s most successful athletic year since it helped lead other Northwest Conference schools into the ranks of NCAA Division III in the mid-1990s.

"The success of our athletic teams and student athletes, across all sports, during the most recent academic year reached the highest level we’ve seen in more than two decades," Snider said.

In scoring for the 2011 NWC All-Sports Award, Whitman teams earned an average of 11.5 points per team (out of a possible 18 points), which was the third-best percentage in the conference. Whitman finished with a total of 161 points, its best-ever point total.

"Our competitive success has increased by leaps and bounds over the past five years," Snider said. "This is happening as we compete in one of the strongest NCAA Division III conferences in the nation."

Whitman can be proud of its student athletes and the hard work and dedication they invest in their athletic pursuits, Snider said.

"It is not easy to balance rigorous academic study with vigorous athletic competition, but our students show us, over and over again, that they are up to the challenge. Student-athlete academic performance is on a par with all Whitman students, and they graduate at a higher rate."

It is no coincidence, Snider noted, that Whitman’s recent surge in athletic success correlates to  establishment of the W Club five years ago.

Whitman's Justin Weeks

The W Club has grown to include more than 600 alumni, parents and friends whose gifts demonstrate their dedication to building athletic programs on a par with Whitman’s outstanding academic reputation.

"The W Club has been an outstanding partner for the college," Snider said.

"While the college has made significant improvements in our athletic facilities and budgets, the W Club has helped provide assistant coaches and additional resources for our programs and the students they serve. The W Club has also helped spread our fundamental message -- excellence in athletics, like every other Whitman College program."

"That message has been heard and endorsed by alumni as well as the college administration and governing boards," he said. "Our college community is on the same page and moving in the same direction."

In addition to establishing three new sport-specific endowments, the gifts include a substantial allotment for the existing Varsity Athletics Endowment, which will be used to ensure equity across all sports.

The three sport-specific endowments established by the gifts are named in honor of three of Whitman’s finest former athletes:

 

Scotty Cummins

L.W. "Scotty" Cummins Varsity Baseball Endowment -- Named in honor of L.W. "Scotty" Cummins, a 1938 graduate and 2006 inductee into Whitman’s Athletics Hall of Fame. Cummins was a talented presence on the ball field, earning all-conference honors as a hard-hitting catcher.

After turning down professional sports offers in both baseball and football, Cummins taught and coached at the high school level, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and opened Walla Walla’s Scotty Cummins Athletic Supply, which he ran until retirement in 1975 and which continues to bear his name.

Now 95, Cummins is an emeritus member of the Whitman Board of Overseers and lives in Walla Walla.

 

Kim Evanger Raney

Kim Evanger Raney Varsity Women’s Basketball Endowment -- Named in memory of Kim Evanger Raney, a 2002 graduate and basketball player who passed away at age 26 in 2007 bicycling accident.

Evanger Raney enjoyed an outstanding career at Whitman, overcoming chronic knee injuries to lead her team in rebounding in each of her four seasons. She also is remembered for her high standards and exceptional character, and for never wavering in her commitment to her team and her love for the game.

Her leadership and compassion left a lasting impression on the women's basketball program, which launched an annual tournament in her name following her death. 

 

Max Johnson

Max Johnson Varsity Men’s Basketball Endowment -- Named in honor of Max Johnson ’59, who was inducted into the Whitman Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005.

He was an all-conference performer in basketball and has the distinction of being Whitman’s last four-sport letterman. He received 10 letters in all – four each in basketball and baseball, and one each in track & field and football.

He earned Phi Beta Kappa honors at Whitman and won the 1959 Borleske Trophy, given annually to its top male athlete. He enjoyed a long career in the telecommunications industry and served many years on the Whitman governing boards. He and his wife, Margaret Iversen Johnson ’58, live in Bellevue, Wash.

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CONTACT: Dave Holden
Sports Information Director
Whitman College, Walla Walla, Wash.
509 527-5902; holden@whitman.edu