Friday, May 23, 2025

Commencement weekend is here! Please join us in celebrating the Class of 2025.

Baccalaureate will take place on Saturday, May 24, at 2:30 p.m. in Cordiner Hall. Hosted by the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life, Baccalaureate is an hourlong celebration featuring music from graduating music majors and brief readings, prayers and reflections from a wide range of religious traditions including humanist/non-religious perspectives. The keynote will be given by Elizabeth Knapp, Professor of Earth and Environmental Geoscience at Washington and Lee University, and mother of Whitman alum Jenner Smith ’22 and graduating senior Charlie Smith ’25. A livestream of this event will also be available to watch. 

The 139th Commencement for the Class of 2025 will take place on Sunday, May 25, at 11 a.m. on the lawn in front of Memorial Building. Visitor seating opens on a first-come, first-serve basis beginning at 8:30 a.m. The processional and livestream will begin at 10:50 a.m. The senior speaker will be José Silva ’25, who is majoring in Sociology with minors in Psychology and Politics. The keynote address will be delivered by Chuck Sams, the first Native American to serve as Director of the National Park Service. 

While tickets are not generally required for commencement, seniors are encouraged to reserve up to two Extreme Weather Tickets using an online form by Friday, May 23, at 5 p.m.

All seniors should take the Senior Survey before leaving Whitman College. Responses are due by Monday, May 26. Enter your Whitman ID number to access the survey. This survey is an important way the Whitman administration assesses the overall educational program of the college, and results of this survey will help develop more effective programs and policies to meet the ever-changing needs of Whitman students.

The Whitman College Bookstore is now operating on summer hours:

Cleveland Commons:

Cleveland Espresso:

Reid Market:

Jewett Café will be closed this weekend and will reopen Monday, May 26 on extended summer hours—Monday–Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. (weekend hours to be announced).

Sherwood Athletic Center:

Baker Ferguson Fitness Center:

The Climbing Center is now operating on the following summer schedule:

Starting on Monday, May 26, most campus buildings will be changed to card swipe access for the summer.

Starting next week, Whitman Today will move to the summer distribution schedule. The newsletter will be published on Mondays and Thursdays, with submissions due by noon on the previous business day. Since Monday, May 26, is a staff holiday, the next issue of Whitman Today will be on Thursday, May 29.

Last weekend, graduating Computer Science majors and minors and Data Science minors, along with visiting Computer Science faculty, participated in Whitman’s 10th annual Pledge of the Computing Professional. 

11 a.m.

International Student Graduation Party

Cordiner Hall, North Lawn

7–10 p.m.

Chess Club

Reid Campus Center, Room 207

2:30–3:30 p.m.

Baccalaureate

Cordiner Hall

11 a.m.

Commencement

Memorial Building, Lawn

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

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.

All submissions are welcome! If you have accomplishments to celebrate, an event to publicize or other Whitman content to share, email whitmantoday@whitman.edu. Submissions of 125 words or less are due by noon on the business day prior to publication. 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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