Year in Review
June/July
Faculty, staff and the community join first-years for the summer reading assignment: “Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi. The author later lectured on campus.
The “Accounts of Chemical Research” journal cover features a paper on molecules co-authored by Fred Moore, professor of physics.
August
Patrick Spencer, professor of geology, delivers the Convocation address “Lessons in Stone” to open the 2008-09 year.
National surveys – by the National Science Foundation, The Princeton Review, U.S. News & World Report and Forbes – affirm Whitman’s standing in the top tier of colleges and universities.
September
Alumni and friends join campus community members to dedicate the Fouts Center for Visual Arts, named after Elizabeth “Betty” Fouts van Oppen ’40.
The 2008-09 Visiting Writers Reading Series opens with celebrated author Dagoberto Gilb.
October
An inaugural reunion of Whitman football players from five decades draws 150 alumni and guests and former football coaches to campus.
Seattle Metropolitan magazine ranks Whitman No. 1 of the 39 Northwest colleges and universities.
November
Whitman repatriates a number of American Indian ancestral remains and funerary objects housed in Northwest Museum (in Maxey Hall) to the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation.
Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority’s annual Mr. Whitman pageant raises more than $21,000 to support an orphanage for children of AIDS victims in Uganda.
December
NASA selects Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger ’97 for a March 2010 space shuttle mission.
Jason Pribilsky, associate professor of anthropology, earns the 2008 Hubert Herring Award for outstanding nonfiction on Latin America.
January
President George Bridges is elected to the board of directors of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.
The Peace Corps ranks Whitman No. 20 on its list of top Peace Corps Volunteer Producing Colleges and Universities for 2008.
February
The Whitman Global Studies Initiative hosts its inaugural symposium, “Torture and the Human Body,” featuring renowned experts and authors.
The Board of Trustees approves the plan to create the Glover Alston Center in an historic home at 26 Boyer Ave. (See article.)
March
Currents, the national magazine of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, features an article about the football reunion.
The men’s tennis team wins its second consecutive Northwest Conference championship, and the debate team dominates the NWC debate tournaments.
Ginger Withers and Chris Wallace, associate professors of biology, receive a $225,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health.
April
History Professor David Schmitz is the host for a public conversation with former Ambassador Ryan Crocker ’71 in Cordiner Hall.
Whitman receives a record 3,437 applications for admission from students in 50 states and 70 countries.
The 11th annual Whitman Undergraduate Conference features presentations and performances by more than 150 students.
May
350 students earn diplomas at Commencement, where Crocker delivers the address.
The Whitman cycling and women’s ultimate Frisbee club teams each win national titles.
June/July
23 teams of faculty and students are selected for Perry Summer Research Awards.
Pete Reid ’49 retires – again – after six decades of service to the college.
Timothy Kaufman-Osborn begins his tenure as provost and dean of the faculty.