Whitman College Whitman College is a private liberal arts college located in Walla Walla , Washington . Initially founded as a seminary by a territorial legislative charter in 1859 , the school became a four year degree granting institution in 1883 . Whitman College is accredited by the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges and competes athletically in the NCAA Division III Northwest Conference . The school offers 45 majors and 32 minors in the liberal arts and sciences , and has a student to faculty ratio of 9 : 1 . Whitman was the first college in the Pacific Northwest to install a Phi Beta Kappa chapter , and the first school in the United States to require comprehensive exams for graduation . Whitman was ranked 43rd in the nation in the " U . S . News & World Report " list of Best Liberal Arts Colleges in 2013 . History . Whitman Seminary . In 1859 , soon after the United States military declared that the land east of the Cascade Mountains was open for settlement by American pioneers , Cushing Eells traveled from the Willamette Valley to Waiilatpu , near present - day Walla Walla , where 12 years earlier , Christian missionaries Dr . Marcus Whitman and Narcissa Whitman , along with 12 others were killed by a group of Cayuse Indians during the Whitman Massacre . While at the site , Eells became determined to establish a “ monument ” to his former missionary colleagues in the form of a school for pioneer boys and girls . Eells obtained a charter for Whitman Seminary , a pre - collegiate school , from the territorial legislature . From the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions , he acquired the Whitman mission site . Eells soon moved to the site with his family and began working to establish Whitman Seminary . Despite Eells ’ s desire to locate Whitman Seminary at the Whitman mission site , local pressure and resources provided a way for the school to open in the burgeoning town of Walla Walla . In 1866 , Walla Walla ’ s wealthiest citizen , Dorsey Baker , donated land near his house to the east of downtown . A two - story wood - frame building was quickly erected and classes began later that year . The school ’ s first principal , local Congregational minister Peasly B . Chamberlin , resigned within a year and Cushing Eells was called upon to serve as principal , which he did until 1869 . After Eells ’ s resignation in 1869 , the school struggled — and often failed — to attract students , pay teachers , and stay open for each term . From seminary to college . Whitman ' s trustees decided in 1882 that while their institution could not continue as a prep school , it might survive as the area ' s only college . Alexander Jay Anderson , the former president of the Territorial University ( now the University of Washington ) , came to turn the institution into a college and become its president . After modeling the institution after New England liberal arts colleges , Anderson opened the school on September 4 , 1882 ( Marcus Whitman ' s birthday ) with an enrollment of 60 students and three senior faculty ( Anderson , his wife and son ) . In 1883 , the school received a collegiate charter and began expanding with aid from the Congregational American College and Education Society . Financial turmoil and new leadership . Despite local support for Whitman College and help from the Congregational community , financial troubles set in for the school . After losing favor with some of the school ' s supporters , Anderson left Whitman in 1891 to be replaced by Reverend James Francis Eaton . The continuing recession of the 1890s increased the institution ' s financial worries and lost Eaton his backing , leading to his resignation in 1894 . Reverend Stephen Penrose , an area Congregational minister and former trustee , became president of the college and brought the school back to solvency by establishing Whitman ' s endowment with the aid of D . K . Pearsons , a Chicago philanthropist . By popularizing Marcus Whitman ' s life and accomplishments ( including the suspect claim that the missionary had been pivotal in the annexation by the United States of Oregon Territory ) , Penrose was able to gain support and resources for the college . Under his leadership , the faculty was strengthened and the first masonry buildings , Billings Hall and the Whitman Memorial Building , were constructed . The end of religious affiliation . In 1907 , Penrose began a plan called " Greater Whitman " which sought to transform the college into an advanced technical and science center . To aid fundraising , Penrose abandoned affiliation with the Congregational Church , and became unaffiliated with any denomination . The prep school was closed and fraternities and sororities were introduced to the campus . Ultimately , this program was unable to raise enough capital ; in 1912 , the plan was abandoned and Whitman College returned to being a small liberal arts institution , albeit with increased focus on co - curricular activities . Penrose iterated the school ' s purpose " to be a small college , with a limited number of students to whom it will give the finest quality of education ” . In 1920 Phi Beta Kappa installed a chapter , the first for a Northwest college , and Whitman had its first alum Rhodes Scholar . World War II . During World War II , Whitman was one of 131 colleges and universities nationally that took part in the V - 12 Navy College Training Program which offered students a path to a Navy commission . Campus . Whitman ' s 117 acre campus is located in downtown Walla Walla , Washington . Most of the campus is centered around a quad , which serves as the location for intramural field sports . Around this , Ankeny Field , sits Penrose Library , Olin Hall and Maxey Hall , and two residence halls , Lyman and Jewett . South of Ankeny Field , College Creek meanders through the main campus , filling the artificially created " Lakem Duckum " , the heart of campus and the habitat for many of Whitman ' s beloved ducks . The oldest building on campus is the administrative center , Whitman Memorial Building , commonly referred to as " Mem " . Built in 1899 , the hall , like the college , serves as a memorial to the Dr . Marcus and Narcissa Prentiss Whitman . The building is the tallest on campus , and was placed on the National Historical Register of Historic Places in 1974 . The oldest residence halls on campus , Lyman House and Prentiss Hall , were built in 1924 and 1926 . Over the next fifty years , the college built or purchased several other buildings to house students , including the former Walla Walla Valley General Hospital , which was transformed into North Hall in 1978 . In addition to the nine Residence Halls , many students choose to live in the eleven " Interest Houses , " run for Sophomores , Juniors , and Seniors committed to specific focuses such as community service and French language . These houses , like most of the residential architecture of the Walla Walla are in the Victorian or Craftsman style . In addition to property in Walla Walla , the college also has about of other land holdings - mainly in the form of wheat farms in Eastern Washington and Oregon . Of special note : the Johnston Wilderness Campus , which is used for academic and social retreats . Academics . Whitman College focuses solely on undergraduate studies in the liberal arts . All students must take a two - semester course their first year , Encounters , which examines cultural interactions throughout history and gives students a grounding in the liberal arts . Students choose from courses in 42 major fields and 46 minor fields and have wide flexibility in designing independent study programs , electing special majors , and participating in internships and study - abroad programs . Whitman ' s most popular majors are English , Political Science , and Economics . In addition , Whitman is noted for a strong science program . Degrees are awarded after successful completion of senior " comprehensive exams . " These exams vary depending on the students ' primary focus of study , but commonly include some combination of i ) a senior thesis , ii ) written examination , and iii ) oral examination . The oral examination is either a defense of the student ' s senior thesis , or is one or multiple exams of material the student is expected to have learned during their major . The written exam is either a GRE subject test or a test composed by the department . For students who are interested in foreign policy , Whitman is one of 16 institutions participating in the two - year - old Thomas R . Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship program . The State Department pays for fellows to obtain their master ' s degree at the university of their choice in return for three years of service as a Foreign Service Officer . Whitman has a number of alumni who serve in foreign affairs . Combined Programs . Whitman also offers combined programs in conjunction with several institutions throughout the United States : Off Campus Programs . Whitman offers a " Semester in the West " program , a field study program in environmental studies , focusing on ecological , social , and political issues confronting the American West . During every other fall semester since 2002 , 21 students leave Walla Walla to travel throughout interior West for field meetings with a variety of leading figures in conservation , ecology , environmental writing , and social justice . Since 1982 , " Whitman in China " provides Whitman Alumni the opportunity to teach English at a Northwestern Polytechnical University , Shantou University , or the Yunnan University . Participants receive an immersion experience in urban Chinese culture , where they can witness the rapid modernization of the country . At the same time , Whitman alumni give Chinese university students the rare chance to study with an English native speaker . Admissions . Admission to Whitman is considered " more selective " according to " U . S . News & World Report " . There were 2 , 854 applications for admission to the Class of 2016 : 1 , 388 were admitted ( 48 . 6 % ) and 382 enrolled ( an admissions yield of 27 . 5 % ) . Sixty - two percent graduated in the top tenth of their high school class , 89 % graduated in the top quarter , 64 . 0 % had a high school GPA of 3 . 75 and higher , and the middle 50 % range of SAT scores was 610 – 740 for reading , 610 – 700 for math , and 620 – 710 for writing , while the ACT Composite range was 29 – 32 . Student Life . Of the 1 , 539 undergraduate students enrolled in Whitman College in the fall of 2012 , 57 . 4 % were female and 42 . 6 % male . There are over one hundred student activities , many of which focus on student activism and social improvement , such as Whitman Direct Action and Global Medicine . A quarter of the student body participates in some for the college ' s music program , in one of the 15 music groups and ensembles , including three recognized A cappella groups . Greek life is notable on campus ; there is a high percentage of students , around 33 % involved in the Greek system . The four women ' s sororities , ( Kappa Alpha Theta , Delta Gamma , Alpha Phi , and Kappa Kappa Gamma ) are housed in the Prentiss Hall , while the four men ' s fraternities , ( Sigma Chi , Beta Theta Pi , Phi Delta Theta , and Tau Kappa Epsilon ) are housed in fraternity houses north of Isaacs Avenue . The Delta chapter of Phrateres , a non - exclusive , non - profit social - service club , also had a brief existence at Whitman . It was installed there in 1930 , but became inactive before 1950 . Whitman ' s Speech and Debate Program is nationally renowned in both policy ( CEDA - NDT ) and parliamentary ( NPDA - NPTE ) debate , as well as individual events . Each year , 24 to 30 students participate in the program . Students travel to tournaments throughout the west coast as well as nationally . The Parliamentary team has been ranked first in the nation for the past four years . Athletics . Whitman holds membership in the NCAA ' s Northwest Conference ( Division III ) and fields nine varsity teams each for men and women . More than 20 percent of students participate in a varsity sport . In addition , 70 percent of the student body participate in intramural and club sport . These sports include rugby union , waterpolo , lacrosse , dodgeball , and nationally renowned cycling and Ultimate teams . Whitman ' s official mascot , named the ' Fighting Missionary ' after Marcus and Narcissa Whitman , is a source of debate , with many student organizations and athletic teams wishing to change it in order to avoid the implied cultural imperialism . However , many students and alumni are in favor of keeping the unique mascot , which inspired the innuendo - laden cheer " Missionaries , Missionaries , We ' re On Top ! " Current campaigns to change the mascot support the ' Duck ' , named for the many ducks residing in campus creeks and ponds , as a culturally neutral mascot . In addition , the Whitman Cycling team has managed to win DII National Championships for the past two years , and 4 times in the past 6 years , making them the athletic team at Whitman with the most National Championships , despite their club sport status . KWCW 90 . 5 FM . KWCW 90 . 5 FM is a Class A radio station owned and operated by the Whitman Students ' Union , the Associated Students of Whitman College ( ASWC ) . " K - dub " as it is known to students , is located inside the Reid Campus Center on Whitman Campus . Broadcasting at a power of 160 watts , the station ' s range is approximately 15 miles ( 24 km ) as well as online at kwcw . net . College leadership . Whitman College is governed by Trustee s in conjunction with a college President , Overseers and Alumni Board . Alumni board . Whitman College alumni started the Alumni Association in 1895 to relay alumni reaction to college programs back to the Alumni Office . The board is currently chaired by Ryan Hagemann , Portland , with Tom Oldfield , Gig Harbor , as vice chair . Alma mater . Whitman ' s Alma mater is rarely heard today outside of Commencement , other than being sung regularly by the Whitman College Chorale . Dating from 1914 , the " The Whitman Hymn " was written and composed by President Penrose to create school unity and spirit .