Because We Love Whitman

February 2, 2022

Dear alumni & friends,

We are writing to share several important updates about the aftermath of last spring’s Financial Sustainability Review (FSR) cuts, which so many of you fought to prevent.

Nearly a year since we all came together as Because We Love Whitman (BWLW), the College appears to be moving in a more positive direction, but challenges remain.

Whitman released an optimistic budget forecast.

It remains unanswered whether the FSR cuts will be a short-lived response to a crisis (as Whitman’s leaders implied when justifying them to the community) or will persist into future budget years (as the Board hinted in their March 2021 decision to support and amend the cuts). Unfortunately, the administration and the now-former Board Chair declined to answer any of our questions on this and other critical issues.

The College continues to be opaque on these matters, even after the community’s outpouring of concern last spring in response to the lack of transparency that accompanied the FSR. Shortly after the cuts were approved, the College quietly posted a surprisingly optimistic multi-year budget forecast predicting budget surpluses and growing enrollments in the near future, raising questions about whether the FSR cuts were necessary in the first place. The rushed FSR process was complete before the College announced its largest-ever incoming class, and questions about whether the cuts were still necessary in light of that went largely unanswered. In the prospectus for the presidential search, the College advertised Whitman’s strong financial position, including its endowment, which increased sharply from $561 million in July 2020 to $813 million in July 2021, not counting farm assets.

A new financial audit pushes for transparency.

With these questions as a backdrop, in December, the Whitman College chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) commissioned an external review of the College’s finances following the 2020-21 FSR. The initiative met its $5,000 crowdfunding target within days, underscoring the extent of the community’s remaining questions about the cuts. According to Prof. Matthew Reynolds, the faculty initiated the audit out of a desire to “more accurately understand the college's finances and how we might move forward as a better informed community.” We look forward to seeing the completed report early in 2022. For more details, see this article in the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin.

A new President brings cautious optimism.

Despite these questions, we are encouraged by the change of leadership in the Board of Trustees and the refreshingly collaborative tone of the new Chair, Joe Davis. We are also optimistic that Sarah Bolton, Whitman’s newly announced President, will restore trust and transparency between Whitman’s leaders and its community. Dr. Bolton recently served as the President of the College of Wooster after a tenure as Professor of Physics and later Dean of the College at Williams College. Her experience teaching at and leading renowned peer institutions, and her strong statements in support of the liberal arts, give reason for hope that she may revitalize Whitman’s academic programs, integrating rigor in technical subjects with commitment to a broad curriculum focused on building the whole student.

What you can do for Environmental Humanities.

In another positive development, Environmental Humanities alumni have been working with Whitman Development officer Alison Wallisch to raise money for an endowed professorship in EH following Don Snow's retirement this spring.

Next academic year, Whitman will hire a visiting professor on a one-year contract, and we are hopeful that a permanent position can be endowed. Whitman and EH alumni are pursuing large donations to close the gap of $400,000 remaining out of $1.5 million needed. Learn how you can support the EH Endowment fundraiser.

Looking to the future, we remain grateful for the BWLW community that came together, in the middle of a pandemic, to protect and promote the liberal arts at Whitman College. We will maintain our website and continue our advocacy as forever-Whitties, in solidarity with Whitman students, staff, and faculty. As always, we look forward to hearing your thoughts, suggestions, concerns, and ideas. 

Because we love Whitman,

Emily, Jens, Anna, Natalie, Camila and Mercer

For those interested in learning from Professor Snow, he is giving an alumni lecture on February 17

The Meaning and Value of Nature with Don Snow

Chair of Environmental Humanities Don Snow reflects on the growth and accomplishments of the major during his time at Whitman.

Thu, Feb 17, 2022

4:00 PM PST

Save your spot →