Whitman Stories

Four Whitman College students and recent graduates have been accepted into the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, which offers students and young professionals opportunities to teach and conduct research in more than 140 countries.

The 11 graduating Whitman College Class of 2022 studio art majors concluded their studies with a final thesis exhibition at the Sheehan Gallery.

Whitman College’s debate squad is one of the nation’s highest ranked, thanks to practical knowledge and team spirit.

A $10 million gift from the late emeritus professor J. Walter “Walt” Weingart and Kathie Weingart will establish a scholarship endowment to meet the full financial need of students from the state of Washington starting with first-years in the fall of 2023.

Whitman’s 14th president Kathleen M. Murray forged a legacy of prioritizing student learning.

What does "heteroflexible" mean? Associate Professor of Psychology Pavel Blagov discusses how the term, which hasn't yet been studied in terms of the psychology of sexual orientation, is commonly used, and why it's hard to speculate why someone may self-identify as heteroflexible (or bi-curious or "mostly straight"). "The concept seems to have different meanings across individuals and in different corners of popular culture."

A child taking the father’s surname is no longer such an obvious choice for today's parents. Professor of Sociology Michelle Janning explains, "We’re seeing increased diversity of family structures that stem from various global locations where practices differ from Judeo-Christian patriarchal practices... Even our systems are now better set up to include more naming options than in the past.” 

Whitman College Biochemistry, Biophysics & Molecular Biology major Grace Newman is one of only 417 students from across the U.S. selected for this year’s prestigious Goldwater Scholarship.

Whitman College junior Joy Nina Nampaso and sophomore Stacy Mwangi have each been awarded up to $10,000 from the Projects for Peace program, which enables students at partner institutions to develop innovative, community-centered projects addressing critical issues around the world.

Whitman College junior Kainat Ansari and senior Annie Means are the recipients of the 2022 Ben Rabinowitz Award, which supports student-proposed projects or learning opportunities that promote compassion in medicine or politics and enrich the campus community.

Whitman College is partnering with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation to bring this important element of Plateau culture and architecture to Ankeny Field.

In this overview of lab accidents that changed the world, including the invention of Scotchgard, Associate Professor of Sociology and Garrett Fellow Alissa Cordner explains how products with hormone-disrupting PFAS are “pretty much everywhere you look.”