Whitman Stories

Washington Governor Jay Inslee recently visited Walla Walla and four Whitman students had the opportunity to interview the governor on Whitman’s student-run radio station KWCW 90.5 FM.

Beginning with the 2023-2024 academic year, Whitman College will offer a new multidisciplinary major (Brain, Behavior & Cognition) for students wanting to study the intricacy of neural science.

Whitman College President Sarah R. Bolton announced the appointment of Jeff Hamrick as the college’s new Vice President for Finance and Administration. Hamrick currently serves as the Senior Director of the Data Institute at the University of San Francisco where he is also a member of the faculty.

Associate Art History Professor Lisa Uddin led a student-experience initiative, the intention is “to visualize the shape of and programming for an outdoor education center on 240 acres of newly acquired traditional Nez Perce homelands that includes the 94-acre historic site of the racially-segregated logging town of Maxville, Oregon.”

The New Day Ahead

Gabe Wasserman, a Cross Country and Track student-athlete at Whitman College, represented the USA in the 2022 Maccabiah Games and accomplished his goals despite an Achilles injury. This article also showcases the supportive culture at Whitman College.

Associate Professor Doug Scarborough is an educator and jazz musician who directs Jazz Ensemble 1 and teaches music courses at Whitman College. He has played with jazz legends such as Benny Golson and Louie Bellson. Scarborough’s passion for jazz lies in the genre’s improvisational and free nature. He continues to perform and has recently released his fourth album, “The Color of Angels,” which blends Middle Eastern sound with jazz.

Jessica Palacios, a Whitman College alum from the class of 2016, works at her family bookstore. When it was in danger of closing nearly 20 years ago, Jessica wrote a letter to the local newspaper asking to keep it open. When her family heard about the letter, they decided to take the leap and buy the business. As the the oldest children’s bookstore in the country, the Palacios family worked hard to keep up with a changing world during the COVID-19 pandemic. Once Upon A Time is located in Montrose, California and has been featured in Publisher’s Weekly and on The Kelly Clarkson Show.

Associate Professor of Sociology at Whitman College, Alissa Cordner is an international expert in PFAS, also known as the “forever chemicals” because they can remain in the human body for a lifetime, and in the environment for thousands of years. PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a class of thousands of synthetic chemicals that scientists have linked to myriad health problems, including cancer and fertility issues. They’re used across modern industrial processes and products, including to make items non-stick, waterproof, stain-resistant and fire-retardant. Cordner founded the PFAS Project Lab where she and her students study the topic.

Dr. Sarah Bolton took office leading Whitman College as its 15th president. She also moved into her physical office on the second floor of Memorial Building—a spacious, light-filled room among the trees, with southwest views of Boyer Avenue. President Bolton had a hand in choosing the artwork for the space. She selected pieces from Whitman’s extensive art collection.

Whitman College Professor of Politics Aaron Bobrow-Strain’s award-winning narrative nonfiction book, “The Death and Life of Aida Hernandez,” is on the path to becoming a feature film.

Whit City, the branded student section for all thing Whitman athletics, is back after losing momentum during the pandemic. Whitman student-athletes can now count on boisterous support from the sidelines—of the court, field or pool.