Newsroom

Alumna chosen to head Colorado's agriculture department

December 21, 2018 Kate Greenberg '09 will serve as the state's first female agriculture commissioner

Harper Joy Theatre Explores Community Impact Of Immigration

December 17, 2018 For the new production, Because You Are Here, Whitman students and faculty interviewed about 35 people in Walla Walla ranging from a recent high school graduate to people in their 60s. Ten of those interviews became the script of the play. They also created a website called Hear Here, Walla Walla to showcase some of the stories.

Whitties Enjoy Memorable Holiday Roadtrip

December 6, 2018 Psychology major Gökay Abacı '20, an international student from Turkey, and his friend Harry Kelso '20, a film and media studies major, took an unforgettable Thanksgiving vacation to California. After making a sign explaining that they were in search of a friendly family with whom to spend the holiday, they wound up invited to Thanksgiving dinner with a merry group of writers and musicians they had never met.

Professor Michelle Janning on Socioeconomic Implications of Smart Homes

November 16, 2018 Raymond and Elsie DeBurgh Chair of Social Sciences and Professor of Sociology Michelle Janning, author of The Stuff of Family Life: How Our Homes Reflect Our Lives, discussed the connotations of high-tech furnishings in so-called smart homes: "Being able to have emptiness in a home, you have to be able to afford this in the first place. Minimalism is only affordable to the affluent," she said.

English Professor Explores Themes of Debut Essay Collection

November 13, 2018 Assistant Professor of English Kisha Lewellyn Schlegel, who teaches creative writing at Whitman, spoke about her new work "Fear Icons," which won the inaugural Gournay Prize at Ohio State University’s Mad Creek Books.

Harmony in the Valley: How Whitman Partners With Local Music Scene

November 12, 2018 As the holidays approach, few traditions are as time-honored as families gathering to enjoy good music together. With annual favorites like the Feast of Carols on the horizon, Walla Walla is the perfect place to do so — and not just now, but all year round, as musicians from the college and community come together in countless ways.

Sociology Professor on "Romantic Marketplace" of Ghostwritten Love Letters

October 16, 2018 In an article on the significance of love letters, Raymond and Elsie DeBurgh Chair of Social Sciences and Professor of Sociology Michelle Janning explained how "paying for a [professionally composed or ghostwritten] love letter shows that people feel pressure to 'prove' their romantic worth to society" through the written word in much the same way as they would by buying a box of chocolates. In Janning's book, Love Letters: Saving Romance in the Digital Age, she found that 88 percent of the more than 800 people surveyed said that they keep the love notes they receive as mementos.

Politics Professor Reacts to State Death Penalty Ruling

October 15, 2018 The Washington State Supreme Court recently became the third high court in the nation to abolish the death penalty, with justices declaring capital punishment "invalid because it is imposed in an arbitrary and racially biased manner." Baker Ferguson Chair of Politics and Leadership Timothy Kaufman-Osborn has studied the death penalty for decades and his research has been cited by the Washington State Supreme Court and U.S. Supreme Court. He shared his expertise with Think Out Loud host Dave Miller.

Herpetologist Kate Jackson on Cannibalism Among Male Cobras

October 3, 2018 The associate professor of biology and snake expert commented on a new study showing that male cobras consume smaller rivals more often than previously thought. She added, "Too much of what is known of the diets of snakes in the wild is based only on lists of prey items obtained from field guides," rather than through observation.

Jessica Cook '00 Stewards Walla Walla Community College Foundation

September 16, 2018 An art history major at Whitman, she now serves as executive director of the Walla Walla Community College Foundation, which generates about $1 million annually for student scholarships and emergency assistance.

Whitman Politics Professor Cited on Midterm Elections

September 3, 2018 According to Associate Professor of Politics Susanne Beechey, both Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) and her challenger, Lisa Brown, are emphasizing their motherhood and femininity in the race, but in different ways.

Whitman Alumni Ranked Among Happiest, Most Successful

August 21, 2018 Whitman was featured in a roundup of Grateful Grads 2018 - 200 Colleges With The Happiest, Most Successful Alumni.

Biology Professor Cited on Scientific Whistleblowing

July 24, 2018 Associate Professor of Biology Tim Parker, who recently published a paper on avoiding questionable research practices in ecology and evolution, discussed the best way to address faulty or misleading information in scientific literature and when a researcher should call for a retraction.

Whitties Top Earning Graduates in Washington State

July 24, 2018 New rankings released by the career search site Zippia, which analyzed mean earnings of graduates a decade after they started college to determine which school in each state graduates the highest earners on average, showed Whitman in the lead for Washington.

Whitman Ranked Among Top LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges

July 12, 2018 Whitman was recognized as a Top LGBTQ-Friendly College for 2018-19 by AffordableCollegesOnline.org. The higher education information, resources, affordability and rankings site lists Whitman as one of the most inclusive campuses in the country for LGBTQ students, faculty and staff.

Whitman sociology professor talks about families and policy in New York Times

June 24, 2018 Professor Michelle Janning, who is also a senior scholar at the Council on Contemporary Families, talks about inequalities in family support in our country

Theatre professor edits expanded Michael Chekhov collection

June 19, 2018 Assistant Professor of Theatre Jessica Cerullo, who also serves on the faculty of The Michael Chekhov Association, edited and introduced the new edition, which supplements the 18 lessons from Chekhov's original book with nine additional lectures from the Chekhov archives. It will be published this summer in English, German and Russian. Born in 1891, Michael Chekhov was an internationally celebrated actor, teacher and director, and nephew of the playwright Anton Chekhov.

Jim Edmunds '78 brings tech jobs to Walla Walla

June 3, 2018 Edmunds, who is the CEO of Seattle-based tech firm Ingeniux, expanded the software company to Walla Walla two years ago. That office has doubled its employment over the last year to 14 people, with 13 of them already residing in the local community. A member of the President's Advisory Board at Whitman, Edmunds scouted locations all over the country before setting on Walla Walla.

Catherine Williams '70 performs at Carnegie Hall

June 1, 2018 A sociology major at Whitman, she sang with the South Sound Classical Choir and 250 other singers from around the world. Carnegie Hall's composer-in-residence, James Maeders, conducted. A lifelong musician who plays the guitar and other instruments, Williams and her friends once earned extra money over the weekends by busking on the streets of Seattle. She later joined a group that performed folk and fiddle tunes.

Professor Don Snow on imagery of the American West

May 25, 2018 Senior Lecturer of Environmental Humanities and General Studies Don Snow gave a three-part interview regarding topics ranging from novelist Wallace Stegner to the Trump Administration's attempts to weaken federal environmental laws, regulations and protections.