Thursday, July 23, 2026

This year, Whitman College students and alumni were awarded more than 45 competitive grants, fellowships and scholarships to support advanced research, international and graduate study, community-based initiatives, and career exploration in the United States and globally. They join more than 500 fellow Whitties who have earned prestigious fellowships and grants in the past two decades. 

The Fellowships and Grants team in the Career and Community Engagement Center advises Whitman students and alumni in their pursuit of grants, fellowships and scholarships.

“Earning a nationally competitive, merit-based award is one possible outcome of an intellectually and creatively rigorous Whitman College education,” says Dr. Jess Hernandez, Director of Fellowships and Grants. “However, the value of these opportunities goes far beyond the award; applicants gain a deeper self-awareness, clarity about what truly motivates them, and the persistence to keep moving forward regardless of challenges or uncertainty.”

Read the full story to learn more about the many Whitties who were fellowship or grant recipients in the 2025–2026 academic year.

Zahi Zalloua, the Cushing Eells Professor of Philosophy and Literature  and Professor of Indigeneity, Race and Ethnicity Studies, recently published his 10th single-author book, “To Exist as a Problem: Being Black, Being Palestinian.” In the book, Zalloua endeavors to think through the shared Black and Palestinian experience of being racialized as a problem. Both the Black and Palestinian are framed as existential threats that undermine the very structures of white and Zionist dominance. Research for the book was made possible by a Louis B. Perry Research Award with assistance by Faith Crossan ’27, double majoring in English and Indigeneity, Race and Ethnicity.

Whitman College now has a campuswide subscription to Inside Higher Ed, providing news, data, analysis and information for the higher education community. Access is available through the Penrose Library website or through this link. You will need to be on the Whitman network or using a proxied link in order to access all the available content.

As announced earlier this year, for employees whose work at Whitman began on or before Aug. 21, 2026, the college will maintain the current tuition cash grant benefit for legal dependents born or adopted on or before Aug. 21, 2026. To register your qualified legal dependent(s) with the college and protect their access to the legacy tuition cash grant benefit, complete this Qualified Dependent Validation form and attach documentation using this secure link by Monday, Aug. 31. 

As a reminder, the policy allowing Whitman employees and their legal dependents to attend Whitman College and not pay for tuition remains unchanged.

For more information, reference the email delivered to all Whitman employees on June 4.

Yesterday, Jelly Roll and his bandmates warmed up for their Walla Walla concert by shooting some hoops at Sherwood Athletic Center. He met some students and even received his own Whitman jersey.

Noon–1 p.m.

Indoor Soccer: Futsal Game

Sherwood Athletic Center, Multipurpose Gym

7:30–9 p.m.

Stanton Sports: Sand Volleyball & Lawn Games

Near Stanton Hall

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Whitman Today is emailed to Whitman College staff, faculty and students each weekday during the academic year and twice a week during breaks. An archive of previous issues is available online.

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