Monday, June 10, 2024

Sharon Alker is not exaggerating when she says she can get absorbed in a book.

“When I was about 8 years old, I was sitting in the kitchen, reading a book in front of the fire,” she says. “At one point, my mother rushed in, saying, ‘Sharon! Sharon! The room is on fire!’ I looked up, and the room was almost full of smoke. A log had rolled out of the fireplace, and I had been so absorbed in my book, I hadn’t even noticed.”

Today, Alker is sharing her passion for reading and researching with Whitman College students as the Mary A. Denny Professor of English and General Studies. Whether she is teaching Introduction to Fiction or spending hours in the archives of a library halfway around the globe, Alker is committed to exploring the power and pleasure of literature.

“To me, books feel more real than real life,” she says. “I feel more alive when I’m inside a book.”

Learn more about how Alker ended up in higher education and how she involves students in research in the full article in Whitman Magazine.

Associate Professor of Sociology Álvaro Santana-Acuña participated in the Nobel Prize Symposium sponsored by the Swedish Academy and the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, Sweden. Santana-Acuña gave a paper on the Nobel Prize’s role in the global consecration of the literary style known as magical realism. 

On Tuesday, June 11, the Harvey Pool will open on a limited summer schedule.

The pool will be closed June 29 through July 6.

Reminder: The east side of Olin Hall will be closed Monday, June 10, through Friday, June 15, due to the replacement of piping. Crews will also replace the sidewalk from the Jewett Parking Lot to the south set of doors at Olin Hall (see map) as part of our campus accessibility improvements.

The first meeting of the Women of Color Collective employee resource group recently took place in downtown Walla Walla. The group plans to meet about once a month, with the next event scheduled for Thursday, June 27 from noon–1 p.m. in Jewett Café. If you would like to learn more about upcoming Women of Color Collective activities, email Kathia Jimenez at jimenezk@whitman.edu. 

The Whitman College calendar is quiet at the moment. If you are looking for something to do in the community, explore the Visit Walla Walla calendar of events.

Would you like to share an event with campus? Submit the information to the Events Calendar.

Produced by the Office of Communications, 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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