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 are acts or behaviors motivated by the offender's bias against age, ancestry, color, disability, gender identity or expression, genetic information, military status, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status. These acts do not necessarily rise to the level of a crime. A bias act may contribute to creating an unsafe, negative, or unwelcome community environment.

Reports will be treated as confidentially as possible. If you identify yourself on the form, Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion John Johnson 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. He can also provide you with information about other resources that may be helpful.

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 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.

Faculty and Staff Positions:
Tenure Track search guidelines published in the Faculty Handbook, require that departments develop a Diversity and Inclusion Plan for searches and “participate in a session devoted to strategies known to be effective for developing and maintaining a diverse pool of candidates” facilitated by the Associate Dean for Faculty Development (ADFD) and the Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion.

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. The NW5C hosts many workshops and conferences on a variety of subjects, including best practices regarding individual and organizational change to recruit, support, and retain faculty of color at each of our schools.

The National Registry of Diverse and Strategic Faculty (The REGISTRY) connects institutions of higher education with candidates for faculty positions. With more than 1,700 candidate profiles, The REGISTRY is the premier national database of historically marginalized and underrepresented faculty candidates. Whitman’s subscription to The REGISTRY allows us to post opportunities on The Registry job board and directly invite qualified and desirable candidates to apply for vacancies.

The Office of Human Resources coordinates the Diversity Advocates at Whitman (DAW) initiative. In its initial iteration, the Diversity Advocates program was designed to embed a trained advocate in all searches for staff positions with the purpose of helping search committees develop a diverse pool of candidates, keep the pool as diverse as possible for as long as possible, and contribute to the increase of diversity among staff at Whitman College. In collaboration with the Division of Diversity and Inclusion, HR has begun working on revisions to the advocate program. Without losing the program’s emphasis on disrupting and confronting bias in the search process, future training for advocates will expand to enable the program to advance an inclusive excellence framework. By providing custom DEIA training to search advocates and all committee members, candidates who possess lived experiences, cultural wealth, and value-added competencies for the Whitman community will be recognized, recruited, and retained.

Fostering diversity, inclusion, and respect for all in the Whitman Community is one of the goals of the Intercultural Center. The Center works to strengthen Whitman’s intercultural community and ensure a positive Whitman experience for those from historically under-represented backgrounds. The Center also seeks to enrich the experience of the entire student body and community by providing opportunities to engage and educate the campus as a whole on issues related to diversity. Working together with a variety of campus constituencies, the Intercultural Center facilitates and encourages ongoing dialogue on issues of diversity between students, staff, and faculty.

The Intercultural Center Team provides academic and social support for multicultural and international students. The Center also helps bring diverse perspectives and experiences to the campus by sponsoring various speakers and events; housing a collection of books and videos related to diversity and multicultural issues; and providing information about internship and scholarship opportunities.

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.
https://www.whitman.edu/campus-life/diversity-and-inclusion/programs-and-resources/student-clubs-and-affinity-groups
https://www.whitman.edu/about/diversity-and-inclusion/intercultural-center/student-of-color-and-alumni-coalition

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.