Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Pre-COVID-19, Friendship Family participants gather for a dessert reception in Reid Ballroom.

 

After a pandemic-forced hiatus, International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) has resumed its Friendship Family Program activities. More than 30 international students are now benefiting from the meaningful experience the program provides. 

 

The program is a non-residential opportunity to connect international students with a local family who can introduce them to the local community and support their experience at Whitman while enjoying the opportunity for cultural exchange. Friendship Families provide mentorship and warmth for students whose families are often very far away, and play an important part in helping them adjust to Whitman and the United States. Host families and students establish and define a relationship that works for both parties. Many families and students get together once a month and over breaks. See this flyer for more information.

 

More international students now recognize the value of this program and to accommodate them we need more host individuals and families! Applications are open to all individuals and families in Walla Walla. Whitman College community members are especially welcome to participate. To register as a Friendship Family, please complete this online application. 

 

Please note that we will only accept applications from families who are fully vaccinated.

 

For more information, please contact Greg Lecki, ISSS director. 

Welcome to Whitman

In February, we welcomed the following new employees to Whitman:

• Cassandre Beccai, director of equity and compliance/Title IX coordinator in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
• Sally Bormann, adjunct assistant professor of general studies.
• Cindy Draper, Lock Shop administrative assistant in the Physical Plant. 
• Christina Khail, nurse in Welty Student Health Center.
• Walt Prock, carpenter general maintenance technician in the Physical Plant.
• Charlotte Scott, CARE coordinator in the Office of the Dean of Students.

The Division of Diversity and Inclusion, with support from Student Affairs and Human Resources, is offering two sessions tomorrow to build skills that enhance organizational inclusivity efforts. Contact diversity@whitman.edu for more information.

 

Student Session: a special on-campus dine and dialogue session on Student Leadership, Community Healing, and Campus Culture. This session will provide insights and strategies to help develop and sustain functioning student organizations, create collaborations with other groups and infuse joy and wellness into your experience as a student leader.

 

Supervisor Session: a special presentation and dialogue session on Inclusive Supervision. This session will provide insights and strategies for effective supervision across difference, including preparing for performance evaluations, developing skills to reduce staff departures and improving employee retention.

Students, apply to be a program leader or executive leader of Whitman’s Community Engagement (CE) programs, which include Adopt-A-Grandparent, the Buddy Program, the Food Justice Project, StoryTime and the Whitman Friends Program.

 

Program leaders manage volunteer recruiting, orientation and event coordination.

Executive leaders oversee all aspects of CE programming to support initiative integration of data and research, professional development and diversity, equity and inclusion. This is an opportunity for those who have been involved with the CE program for more than two years.

All these incredible leadership positions will help you develop strong communications, project management and organizational skills. They also get you off-campus and alongside community partners on a regular basis. 

Applications must be submitted in Handshake by midnight on March 7.

Please note the recent change to the direction of traffic flow in the parking lot behind Harper Joy Theatre/Hall of Science. Additionally, there are new parking spots reserved specifically for specialty loading areas.

Positive COVID-19 cases in our campus community are noted in Whitman Today in compliance with state regulations. We also update the data in our COVID-19 Dashboard every Monday.

 

In accordance with Washington state Labor & Industries employer requirements, we are notifying the campus community that in the past 24 hours, a person with Whitman access was confirmed positive for COVID-19. This person is now in isolation 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. 

Have an event you'd like to share with campus? Submit the information to the Events Calendar.

“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.

 

Previous issues of Whitman Today are archived on our website.