At Home in the Village: An Investment for Student Life Decades in the Making

When Schroeder, a Biology-Environmental Studies major from Portland, Oregon, was asked to serve as the Stegner Hall Resident Assistant, he says he was inspired by the “empty canvas” opportunity to help shape the culture of a brand-new community. Seeing the plans come to fruition has made all of the work worthwhile. “I loved watching students’ reactions as they walked into their new apartments for the first time,” Schroeder says. “They often let out a big smile or ‘Wow!’”

Reflecting on her experience living in Stegner Hall, Politics major Rosa Sreng ’28, from Mill Valley, California,  emphasizes the location and opportunity to live with friends in community. “The amenities the village offers are wonderful, and I especially appreciate how close it is to both my classes and downtown,” she says. “The opportunity to live together in this new apartment has allowed my friends and me to grow closer and get to know each other even better! My experience is richer than if I had lived off campus.”

Today, the reimagined western edge of campus has evolved from a few homes that housed about a dozen students to a real and beautiful place that Schroeder, Sreng and nearly 200 other Whitman College students call home. Indeed, Nancy Serrurier Village is transforming how all Whitman students live and learn in community. 

The realization of the new village was a project of historic proportions and the largest-ever philanthropic investment in the campus and student life. It’s a story that began decades ago as a bold idea and big dream of college alumni and leaders.

A Long Road to a New Vision

When Jim Robart ’69 became Vice Chair of the Board of Overseers in 1992, he brought his perspective as a former Resident Assistant of Jewett Hall to discussions about the evolving Whitman campus community.

While proud of the rising academic profile of students at the time, Robart thought there were opportunities to strengthen student social and cocurricular life, noting that only about half of students lived on campus. At that rate, “I don’t think we can call ourselves a residential college,” Robart recalls challenging the board and leaders of the college.

It was a challenge that remained open for decades. Following the addition of Douglas Hall (originally New Dorm) in 1971 and later North Hall in 1978, four decades would pass before the Whitman campus saw another significant addition to residential life. 

Things began to change in 2014 when new Board of Trustees Chair Brad McMurchie ’84 appointed a working group to explore investments in residential life, led by Trustee Joe Davis ’80, Overseer Leigh Ann Lucero ’91, and other board members, faculty, staff and students.

“We wanted to more fully realize our mission as a residential college,” McMurchie says, noting the college’s historic commitment to community was at risk. “We also had growing equity concerns with students’ economic status dictating the levels of health and safety of their off-campus housing.”

The committee recommended the addition of Stanton Hall as a home for sophomores, as well as Cleveland Commons as a central dining hall for all students, and began the process to build them. Dedicated in 2018, Stanton Hall and Cleveland Commons helped create a campus hub of shared experience and community, not only for Whitman students but also for faculty and staff.

Building Momentum

Even as Cleveland Commons and Stanton Hall changed the face of Whitman’s campus, student life and the surrounding neighborhoods of Walla Walla continued to evolve. The cost of rental properties in town escalated while a burgeoning local wine and tourism industry took off, leading to students living further from campus, often in properties of questionable quality and safety. 

The growing need for student mental health and wellness support could also be better served with students living in community and with closer access to resources.

These were among the factors compelling former President Kathleen Murray to appoint a new Residence Life Working Group in 2018, co-chaired by Davis, McMurchie and Dean of Students Kazi Joshua. Chief Financial Officer Peter Harvey ’84 had worked to acquire neighborhood properties to the west of campus along Boyer Avenue as the potential ground for the new junior-senior housing community to be explored by the group.

The COVID-19 pandemic brought so many things in the world to a halt, including planning and fundraising for the new village. But President Sarah Bolton’s arrival in 2022 led to a renewed pursuit of both the village project and the Upward Together campaign. 

While Harvey partnered with Joshua to lead a campuswide design committee for the village that fall, he was unaware of a secret project led by Upward Together Chair Nancy Serrurier (Parent ’11) and Vice Chair Aaron Perrine ’99 to name the village’s first building in honor of Harvey’s 34 years of service to the college.

Named “Operation Cherry Tree” for the award-winning weeping cherry on the village grounds, the initiative raised the project’s first $10 million for the naming of Harvey Hall, announced at Harvey’s retirement celebration in May 2023. 

Other significant gifts were announced at the November 2023 Upward Together Seattle launch, resulting in the naming of Robart Hall in honor of the early residential life champion and Western District Court Judge Robart, and again in May 2024 with the naming of Stegner Hall in honor of Idaho Supreme Court Justice John Stegner ’77 and award-winning educator Laurie Stegner ’80.

Breaking Ground 

By the spring of 2024, more than 80 donors had made gifts totaling $24 million, and the new village was underway. In the weeks leading up to its dedication in November 2025, the community was named Nancy Serrurier Village, in honor of the Board Chair Emeritus, Upward Together Chair and lead project donor.

“The realization of this project was years in the making,” says Bolton. “Imagining and realizing Nancy Serrurier Village started well before I came to Whitman. From trustees and donors to campus design committees and Lydig construction crews, there are hundreds of people involved in bringing this incredible project to fruition. I am deeply grateful to the people who gave extraordinary amounts of time, energy and resources to this transformative project, which reshaped our campus and enhanced community now and for future generations of students.”

Community & Sustainability at Its Core

Engineered by Portland-based ZGF Architects—and informed by broad input from the campus community—the village’s design principles center on building community and on sustainability. Rather than a single high-rise structure, the village’s three modern buildings are arranged around a central, parklike commons. 

Today, Nancy Serrurier Village  provides multi­bedroom apartments with attractive kitchens and naturally lit living rooms—many with stunning views of the Blue Mountains or downtown Walla Walla and its remarkable sunsets—as well as inviting indoor and outdoor communal spaces.
 
For example, in Harvey Hall, the warm and spacious McMurchie Lounge allows for student gatherings to spill outdoors onto the Dawson Family Terrace, furnished with Adirondack chairs, gas grills and hammocks overlooking College Creek and the central Keane Family Green.

One of the project’s most striking ecological wins is bringing a buried stretch of College Creek back to the surface. “College Creek imparts a rich character rooted in nature and sustainability, serving as both a visual amenity and a restored riparian habitat,” says ZGF Partner Braulio Baptista. “The presence of water at the heart of the village enhances residents’ sense of well-being and links the village to the core of the campus.”

Whitman senior Sybella Ssewakiryanga, a Davis United World College Scholar from Uganda, says Nancy Serrurier Village has been a “truly great” addition to campus. 

“This space creates a stronger sense of continuity and belonging by bringing juniors and seniors together while also giving us the independence we desire,” says Ssewakiryanga, who graduates in late May with a degree in Brain, Behavior and Cognition. 

Be our guest! Step inside Nancy Serrurier Village with a video tour.