Thursday, January 13, 2022

Students present in William Bares's grant-supported Intelligent User Interfaces class.

 

Supported by the Office of Grants & Foundation Relations, Whitman faculty and staff submit about thirty external grant proposals per year for a variety of institutional priorities and faculty projects. These grants provide student research opportunities and stimulate the launch of innovative new programs, enriching student learning and contributing to an overall enhancement of Whitman’s academic program. The following external grants were awarded to Whitman College in 2021.

• National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship to Patrick Frierson, professor of philosophy, to continue his scholarly work on the early 20th-century educational philosopher Maria Montessori. The fellowship supported an eight-month leave in spring 2021 to complete a book titled “The Moral Philosophy of Maria Montessori: Moral Agency and Ethical Life.” 
• National Science Foundation (NSF) research grant for Arielle Cooley, associate professor of biology, in collaboration with John Stratton, assistant professor of computer science. Together with colleagues at the College of William and Mary, the team is using mathematical modeling, computational approaches and molecular genetic techniques to understand how spatially complex patterns evolve and develop, using the monkeyflower (Mimulus) as a model system.
• M.J. Murdock Trust research grant for Tim Machonkin, associate professor of chemistry, to investigate the structure and activity of a key enzyme that could be helpful in breaking down organic compounds that are persistent environmental pollutants.
• American Chemical Society research grant and M.J. Murdock Trust research grant for Mark Hendricks, assistant professor of chemistry. Both interdisciplinary projects examine aspects of nanocrystal synthesis, introducing students to organic and inorganic chemistry, physical chemistry and materials chemistry.
• Interfaith Youth Corps grant for Adam Kirtley, interfaith chaplain, to help install a labyrinth on campus and host a day of spiritual renewal.
• Two Washington State Library grants for Ben Murphy, college archivist, to help diversify the voices available within the archives. The grants support the Listeners Project: Queremos Escucharte, a bilingual community interviewing and story collecting project, and enable student research and presentation of oral history and other archival materials.
• Teach Access pedagogy grant for William Bares, associate professor of computer science, to develop and test new course modules for his Fall 2021 Intelligent User Interfaces course.
• Washington State Health Care Authority grant (a subaward through Washington State University), to establish a regional network of collegiate recovery centers, which help college students thrive after recovery from substance abuse. Thanks to this grant, a new Wellness Interest House opened this past fall.
• Johnston-Fix Foundation grant to support the college’s DEI efforts. Part of the grant will support the upcoming Third Space Speaker Series, which will feature speakers whose work helps to advance inclusive excellence at Whitman. Another portion will support the Power & Privilege Symposium.
• NSF research grant for Alissa Cordner, associate professor of sociology, to continue her research collaboration with colleagues at Northeastern University to create a PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) governance database.
• Two Joseph L. Stubblefield Trust grants to support community engagement programs in the Career and Community Engagement Center and to support a community partnership course in the Dance Program.

Announcements

Form Your Team for the Spring Escape Room League

Looking for a fun activity to do with your friends or colleagues? Form a team for the Spring Escape Room League. Teams of five will compete throughout the spring semester (at team arranged times) to solve a monthly escape room in the fastest time. There will be monthly prizes as well as a prize for the semester’s top team. All are welcome to participate. Gather your four besties, four smarties, four colleagues, four friends, four section mates or four randos and compete in Whitman's inaugural Escape Room League. Sign up today!  

Noteworthy

Leise Published on Black Spaces in Whitehead Novels

Christopher Leise, associate professor of English, has published an essay called "The Tropological Infrastructure of Colson Whitehead's Black Midwest" in the most recent issue of the peer-reviewed journal Studies in the Novel. Arguing that Whitehead’s award-winning contemporary novels encourage new ways of acknowledging the disfranchisement of Black people from developing their own spaces for flourishing in the 19th-century Midwest, this essay also helps to explain Whitehead's distinctive aesthetic approach to reading the built environment as a vital site of Black history.

Lino Named NWC Men’s Basketball SAOW

Sophomore Xzavier Lino was named the Northwest Conference's Men's Basketball Student Athlete of the Week following a game-high 21 points to lead Whitman to a 71-69 win over No. 13 Whitworth on Jan. 8. Lino also led the Blues with 7 rebounds and shot 9-14 from the field.

In accordance with Washington state Labor & Industries employer requirements, we are notifying the campus community that in the past 24 hours, four people with Whitman access were confirmed positive for COVID-19. These people are now in isolation for 10 days in accordance with our campus and CDC guidelines. Though the likelihood of transmission is low due to our campus COVID-19 protocols, it is possible that others may have been exposed to COVID-19. There is nothing you need to do at this time aside from following our campus COVID-19 protocols. Anyone identified through the contact tracing process as a close contact (within 6 ft. for at least 15 minutes over 24 hours) will be personally notified. 

Happening Today

“Whitman Today” is produced by the Office of Communications and is emailed Monday through Friday to Whitman College staff, faculty and students. All times are listed in Pacific Daylight Time. 

 

Submissions are welcome! If you have a professional or personal accomplishment to celebrate, an event to publicize or other content to share with the Whitman community, email whitmantoday@whitman.edu. Submissions should be 125 words or less. The deadline for submissions is noon for the following day's newsletter, though submissions may be held for a later date according to space and editorial needs. By submitting to Whitman Today you also authorize use on Whitman's social media unless otherwise specified.

 

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