Whitman Stories

Whitman College student Nishtha Rajbhandari ’24 has been awarded $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.

The 16 graduating studio art majors from Whitman College’s Class of 2023 concluded their studies with a final thesis exhibition at the Sheehan Gallery.

In her first Presidential Address at a Whitman College Commencement Ceremony, President Sarah Bolton spoke to both tradition and community. During Whitman 137th Commencement, the Class of 2023 was congratulated for their commitment to leadership, learning and each other.

Now more than ever, the world needs thinkers, leaders, innovators who can face the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century—with knowledge and tools, vigor and ethics. That’s why an ever-evolving strategic priority for Whitman College is a commitment to the liberal arts and to shaping a dynamic curriculum that can respond to these needs.

In essay by Pat Henry, the Cushing Eells Professor of Philosophy and Literature and Foreign Languages and Literatures (French), Emeritus. In 2005, Henry founded the Matthew Shepard Lecture Series at Whitman College. He shares and reflects on the inspiring stories of three women who “are models for us as we move forward in the struggle against homophobia and racism.”

The artwork of Whitman College alum Roger Amerman ’80, enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, may soon be featured in one of the largest movie and television franchises in the world. Echo is an upcoming Marvel television show about a Choctaw superheroine. Amerman beaded a piece that may end up on Echo’s costume.

Aaron Lefohn ’97 discovered the then-emerging field of computational chemistry and computer science while at Whitman College. He followed that passion and today is the Vice President of Graphics Research at a cutting-edge technology company where he uses the knowledge base and skills he learned at Whitman.

Brit Moss, Associate Professor of Biology and Biochemistry, Biophysics and Molecular Biology (BBMB) at Whitman, conducts student research in the Moss Lab. Moss is a non-traditional, first-generation college student who says she enjoys having a front-row seat to young people discovering their passion for science.

When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Shampa Biswas, the Judge and Mrs. Timothy A. Paul Chair of Political Science and Professor of Politics, knew it was a historic moment in global politics—and she wanted to give students a space to learn, think and talk about it.

In 1947, India was partitioned into India and Pakistan. An exhibition curated by Associate Professor of Art History Krista Gulbransen in the spring of 2023 at Whitman College’s Maxey Museum maps out the historical, political, social and geographical factors and forces at play: “Mapping India: Colonialism, Nationalism, and the Partition of South Asia.”