Whitman College
PA-7: Support for Underrepresented Groups

Whitman College has a strong commitment to the principle of nondiscrimination in all its forms. In its admission, educational and employment practices, programs, and activities, Whitman College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex (including pregnancy and parenting status), gender, gender identity or expression, genetic information, sexual orientation, religion, age, marital status, national origin, disability, veteran's status, or any other basis prohibited by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and applicable federal, state, or local laws.

https://www.whitman.edu/campus-life/diversity/nondiscrimination-policy

Whitman College is committed to building a campus community that is diverse, equitable and inclusive of all students, staff and faculty. Bias incidents—that cause hurt or discomfort based on individual characteristics such as race, gender, religion or sexual orientation—disrupt these goals and can cause harm to individuals and our community. Reports will be treated as confidentially as possible. If you identify yourself on the form, Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Thomas Witherspoon will either contact you directly or designate an appropriate member of Whitman staff to discuss details of the incident and work with you to reach a timely resolution. If you have experienced or witnessed bias in the Whitman College community, you can report this using our online incident reporting form.

https://www.whitman.edu/campus-life/diversity/bias-reporting-and-response

Students:
The institution has allocated resources within our budget to increasing the diversity of student population. This includes access to scholarships for first-generation students and other non-traditional students. As part of this program we actively recruit international students and specifically target recruitment from underrepresented populations. We recently eliminated standardized testing requirements in order to eliminate some socioeconomic bias from our admissions process. Additionally we have peer to peer programs that promote recruitment across underrepresented groups. The campus actively sends campus leadership to institutions around the world to recruit underrepresented groups. Currently the campus is evaluating ways to enhance our efforts. This are being headed up by our newly hired Student Affairs VP and our institutions VP of Diversity.

Faculty and Staff Positions:
Training is provided for search committees on getting a diverse pool of candidates. This includes requirements related to publishing advertisements in diversity associations, personalized outreach of the hiring chair. This includes recruitment from Ph.D. programs with underrepresented populations. Committees are required to receive training on bias. All search committees are recommended to have the presence of diversity advocates on search committees. Whitman is a member of The Northwest 5 Consortium (NW5C) comprised of five premier liberal arts colleges in Oregon and Washington: Reed, Willamette, University of Puget Sound, Lewis and Clark and Whitman. In 2015, the administrators and faculty from each of the NW5C schools convened a workshop to provide support, networking, and to share best practices regarding individual and organizational change to recruit, support, and retain faculty of color at each of our schools.

FUBU (For Us, By Us) is an affinity organization created by and for students, faculty and staff of color at Whitman College. The purpose of the group is to provide informal mentoring as well as a safe and supportive environment for self-identifying people of color to organize around issues of concern. Our counseling center provides peer listening program for all students. Additionally our campus Intercultural center encompasses a wide range of programs and support for underrepresented groups.

While no specific program exists, the Intercultural Center Team directly provides programs for underrepresented student groups. Additionally, through the Office of Fellowships and Grants, there are resources and opportunities specifically for the following three underrepresented groups: International Students, Undocumented students and LGBTQIA+ students. While no faculty pipeline exists, there are resources for students who express interest in careers as faculty members through the Student Engagement Center, and based on the area of study students are interested in, there are opportunities for underrepresented students to receive nationally recognized Major Fellowships, Scholarships and Grants to continue work in graduate schools and academia, including faculty and student summer research programs at Whitman.