The
PIONEER
Issue 11 | April 24, 2014 | Whitman news since 1896 | Vol. CXXXI
ASWC budget passes with ease
Board of Trustees seeks stronger relationship with campus
by Andy Monserud Staff Reporter
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by HELEN ANGELL Staff Reporter
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ith the search for President Bridges’s successor in full swing, Whitman College students, staff and faculty have been turning their eyes toward the college’s future development. But for the Board of Trustees, the group that will ultimately hire the new college president, looking toward Whitman’s longterm future is a daily practice. The Board of Trustees is the governing body that makes many of the most important decisions regarding Whitman’s future. From how to invest the $450 million endowment to choosing Whitman’s presidential leadership, the Board of Trustees is the highest authority at the college. While the Board of Trustees seeks to elect diverse board members who will effectively engage with and represent students, faculty and staff at Whitman, the board is constantly finding ways to improve its relationship with the Whitman community. There are currently 17 members of the Board of Trustees, some who live as far away as Maryland, Utah and Hawaii. “That diversity in location is an illustration of the increased national scope of the college and the roles its graduates play,” said Peter van Oppen ‘74, the former chair of the Board of Trustees. Most, but not all, of the board members are Whitman alumni. “The trustee group represents a diverse set of ties to the college,” said van Oppen. “The one thing they have in common is an affection for the college. We ask each
prospective trustee if they are comfortable considering Whitman one of their major priorities for time and philanthropy. We want that level of commitment.” “I feel like it’s yet another way that I can try to do whatever I can to help Whitman to be the best educational institution it can be and provide students with the best experience they can have,” said Sarah Wang ‘89, who was elected to the board last year. New trustees are chosen by the board and serve four-year terms. It is customary for a trustee to serve at least two, and no more than three terms on the board. Trustees are chosen largely for their demonstrated commitment to Whitman College and its mission, which can manifest as involvement in alumni associations, financial commitment to the college or other kinds of service to Whitman. But when selecting trustees, the board also looks for specific skills and unique perspectives that an individual can contribute to the board, such as investment management skills or diversity in professional and personal experience. This can include the capacity to provide financial support for the college. “To ensure the longevity of the institution and to provide meaningful financial support to the institution, it’s quite common at Whitman and other institutions that governing board members provide significant financial support in terms of financial contributions to the college,” explained Brad McMurchie ‘84, the newly elected chair of the Board of Trustees.
he Associated Students of Whitman College finalized its 2014-2015 budget with unusual ease on Sunday after just under 20 minutes on the floor with no senators voting against it. The budget, which allocates funds to all ASWC-supported clubs and events, had the advantage of an increased student fee of $360. This helped to create a $5,000 budget surplus, which went toward the ASWC endowment fund for future use. Junior Finance Chair and President-elect Tatiana Kaehler led the committee that created the budget over the course of about a month. Clubs turned in budget requests shortly after spring break, and the finance committee set to work on reviewing them. “We spent a lot of time on the budget,” said Kaehler. “We had a five or six hour meeting during which we decided how much money to allocate to every budget line item on our list.” The finance committee filled about half of all requests in full, and only 11 clubs received less than half the money requested. Most of those deficiencies stem from an unwillingness to jump the gun on funding. “If a club asks for a few thousand dollars to put on some new event that they would like to do next year ... we will rarely fund that during the budgeting process, because we like to see those requests come through travel and student development or the contingency fund,” said Kaehler. “When we’re closer to that event, it’s easier to look at the budget needed for that event and pare things down where necessary. It also ensures that we don’t give clubs money for an event ... that next year’s leadership decides they don’t want to use.” The budget also added $500 to the ASWC president’s executive fund in order to keep it out of the red next year. The increase returns the fund to $2,500, the
Wang explained how board members are willing to work together even when there is a difference of opinion, and that these differences of opinion strengthen the board’s decision-making process. “You’re going to come up with a better solution once you’ve gone through disagreement,” said Wang. According to Wang, McMurchie, and van Oppen, the board’s two most important roles at Whitman are to select the next president of the college and to ensure Whitman’s institutional longevity by growing its endowment. The Now Is The Time Campaign is part of the board’s efforts to ensure resources are available to the college for years to come. “Our goal is to raise $150 million by June 2015,” said McMurchie. “Successfully completing that campaign is a huge priority.” While the next president will ultimately be selected by the board, its decision will be based on the recommendation of the presidential search committee, which includes students, faculty and staff. “We’re ... trying to work in a spirit of shared governance, that means work with faculty and staff and students ... to make Whitman the best place it can be, given the resources we have ... our job is also to figure out how to sustain the college,” said McMurchie. While the Board of Trustees has the duty to think about the college from a long-term perspective, it also has a commitment to represent the interests of current students, faculty and staff
see ASWC, page 3
Psychology major undergoes changes by Daniel Kim Staff Reporter
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see TRUSTEES, page 3
Men’s tennis rides hot streak into postseason by MITCHELL SMITH Staff Reporter
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ne of Whitman’s most successful teams continued its domination of the Northwest Conference this past weekend as the men’s tennis team won all nine games in matches against both Linfield College and Willamette University on its way to an undefeated record in conference play. The Missionaries pride themselves on their quality from top to bottom of the lineup, but the
team rode several strong performances this year to their seventh straight NWC title. In their last year at Whitman, seniors Steven Roston and Andrew La Cava have stood out. Roston got a break for much of the weekend to rest for next weekend’s conference tournament. With a singles record of 11-0, the team has looked to him all year as a reliable winner in the middle of the singles lineup. Roston’s success stems, according to him, from a surprising source: his voice lessons.
“We were warming up for class and [my teacher] just said, ‘breathe and relax,’ and that night I carried that onto the tennis court and saw an improvement in my game, and I’ve been doing it ever since,” said Roston. “I’ve just been loving the way that I’ve been playing tennis.” First-year Jake Dewitt-Hoeger pointed to Roston as someone who has really anchored the team so far. While Roston played No. 4 singles for much of the year, he has played a few matches at the No. 3 position, matching him up
against much stiffer competition. “We’ve moved him around, and that’s a lot easier said than done to win those matches, and he’s done as well as you could with an undefeated season,” said Dewitt-Hoeger. “He’s been unreal.” La Cava won both his singles and doubles matches on Saturday against Willamette after not playing Friday against Linfield, continuing to add to his alltime record for wins by a Whitman men’s tennis player. The previous record of 157 wins see TENNIS, page 5
he psychology department at Whitman College will be implementing new changes to the requirements for a major in psychology. The changes, which will take place in the upcoming academic year, were a response to recommendations from an external review by psychology faculty from other institutions. “The external review team examined our department and curriculum to see how we compare with other contemporary psychology departments. Their goal was to make recommendations for how we might improve our offerings to students while also retaining our existing strengths,” said Associate Professor of Psychology & Ladley Endowed Chair Walter Herbranson. These recommendations, particularly two of them, questioned the requirements for a psychology major. The current changes in the psychology major derived from these recommendations. “One of those recommendations was to consider our senior assessment and whether all the aspects of it were really necessary. The other thing they recommended was that we consider putting a little more structure into the major to make sure everybody saw the entire field of psychology,” said Herbranson. The purpose of these changes is to broaden the requirements that students need to complete. The aim is to require psychology majors to understand fully the psychology sphere and not focus on one area of psychology. “We figured if we reallocated some of those departmental resources that were going exclusively to the senior class to other levels of the curriculum that we would have a better rounded balanced major,” said Herbranson. see PSYCH, page 2