Whitman College Alumni Office records, 1895-2007

In January 1944, at the suggestion of Whitman President Winslow S. Anderson, the Whitman College Alumni Association established an Alumni Office on campus. The Alumni Office was created to aid and support the Alumni Association, founded in 1895, in accomplishing its purpose of promoting the interests of its members and their Alma Mater.

Since its creation, the office has taken on and developed a large number of programs. The office helps alumni stay connected with each other and the college through the organization of reunions, area events, alumni travel, and the use of the web. In 2006 it created Whitman Online, a web based directory which provides alumni with updated information on Whitman alumni all over the world.

The office also supplies many services for members of the Alumni Association. It offers alumni education programs such as faculty lectures in cities where alumni reside, on campus Alumni Colleges, and both international and domestic faculty-led trips. The Alumni Office also created the Career Consultant Network for alumni to offer employment guidance to students and alumni which is now housed in the Whitman Career Center. Lastly, the office offers Fitness Center access for local alumni and has a guest room available for alumni and parents visiting Walla Walla.

Another program of the Alumni Office is alumni recognition. Beginning with the Alumnus of Merit Award in 1968, the office now gives four annual awards to alumni who exemplify outstanding achievement in their careers, communities, or through service to Whitman College, as well as an award for service to a Whitman faculty member. Recognition awards are chosen by the Alumni Board, a thirteen member advisory group.

In addition to its programs, the Alumni Office has also produced many of the college's publications. Originally the office published The Whitman Alumnus, now the Whitman magazine, and in the 1990s it produced a local newsletter titled Whitty-Gritty. Currently the Alumni Office produces the newsletters Fifty-Plus News, for alumni who graduated over fifty years ago, and Livewire for young alumni, and a monthly e-newsletter, Whittie News.