Wednesday, February 8, 2023

Feature by Dr. John Johnson, Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion:

Last year, the Division of Diversity and Inclusion handed out a number of awards to faculty, staff and students for their contributions to inclusive excellence. Faculty and staff awards were given out at the final Whitman Inclusion Diversity and Equity committee meeting. We presented student awards at the Student Affairs Leadership Banquet (pictured above). Awards were given to students who participated in searches for staff in the Division that year, organized signature campus programs, and folks who made meaningful contributions to inclusive excellence in a variety of ways.

We are taking steps to formalize our process for the recognition of students, staff and faculty who move us closer to inclusive excellence and help make Whitman a place where people not only feel included and welcomed, but also valued and proud. We will hold the first annual Inclusive Excellence Awards and Recognition Ceremony at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 11 in the Reid Campus Center Young Ballroom. Please save the date. At that special event, we will recognize individuals and student clubs that made important contributions to inclusive excellence during the academic year. We will also announce the recipients of the David Nord Award, Class of 1986 Award, and Nasir Khan Award.

We are currently accepting nominations (including self-nominations) for inclusive excellence awards. Follow this link to learn more about the different awards and submit your nominations. We hope you will join us in May as we establish a new tradition of recognizing and celebrating inclusive excellence at Whitman.

The Whitman College men’s and women’s swimming teams both earned the Scholar All-America Team Award from the College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association of America for their fall semester grade point averages (GPA). The women’s team posted a GPA of 3.77, ranking 2nd among Division III programs and 5th across all divisions. The men’s team posted a fall semester GPA of 3.47, ranking 25th in the nation.

Lydia McDermott, Associate Professor of Rhetoric, Writing, and Public Discourse and Director of the Center for Writing and Speaking, recently published an article, “Developing Midwives, Delivering Development” in Rhetoric Society Quarterly. McDermott’s article examines the rhetoric in “The State of the World's Midwifery” reports published by the United Nations Population Fund, and considers who is being excluded in the narrative.

The Student Activities Office will host Brew Night from 4–7 p.m. tonight at the Reid Campus Center, Café 66. Open to all Whitman community members (ages 21 and up), this event will feature $5 (cash or credit card) brews from Five Dollar Ranch and Quirk Brewing.

The Office of Religious and Spiritual Life and the newly-formed Whitman Zen Club are partnering with the Drama Sangha Zen community of Walla Walla to provide Zen teaching and meditation practice on the second and fourth Wednesday of each month. The first gathering takes place from 7–7:45 p.m. tonight in the All Faiths Room (Reid 110). For more information, contact Interfaith Chaplain Adam Kirtley or Zen Club President Evie Hauksdottir-Neill ’25.

The Visiting Writers Reading Series continues at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 9 in Kimball Theatre. Speaker Lacy M. Johnson, Ph.D., is a Houston-based professor, curator, activist and author. Her books include “The Reckonings” (Scribner, 2018), which was a National Books Critics Circle Award Finalist in Criticism and was named to multiple best books of 2018 lists. Johnson currently teaches creative nonfiction at Rice University and is the Founding Director of the Houston Flood Museum.

Please take two minutes to let us know how often you read Whitman Today! Survey responses are due by Friday, Feb. 10.

In accordance with Washington state Labor & Industries employer requirements, we are notifying the campus community that since yesterday, one person with Whitman access was confirmed positive for COVID-19.

Please continue to follow all our campus COVID-19 protocols to help prevent transmission. If you have any symptoms that may be COVID-19 or know that you may have been exposed to coronavirus, please be tested. Additional masks and rapid test kits are available in the front entryway at the Welty Student Health Center during normal operating hours. 

12:10–12:50 p.m.

Movement That Matters: Stretch & Strength

Sherwood Athletic Center, Multipurpose Gym

4–7 p.m.

Brew Night (21+)

Reid Campus Center, Café 66

7–7:45 p.m.

Dharma Talk and Zen Meditation

Reid Campus Center, All Faiths Room (110)

7:30 p.m.

Queer Coded

Glover Alston Center (The GAC)

8–10 p.m.

Open Kayak

Baker Ferguson Fitness Center, Harvey Pool

Would you like to share an event 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 submissions are welcome! If you have accomplishments to celebrate, an event to publicize or other content to share with the Whitman community, email whitmantoday@whitman.edu. Submissions of 125 words or less are due by noon for the following day’s newsletter. Submissions may be edited and/or held for a later date according to space and editorial needs. Your submission also authorizes use on Whitman's social media unless otherwise specified.

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