Who We Are

The Center for Global Studies serves as a nexus to help faculty, staff, and students access and reflect on existing global learning opportunities at Whitman College. The Center for Global Studies is a hub for creating innovative new communities and global learning opportunities for our campus.

What We Do

The Center for Global Studies assists faculty with the development of innovative curricula, oversees the implementation of Whitman’s concentration in global studies, connects students with global experiences in partnership with Off-Campus Studies, and oversees the O’Donnell Visiting Educator program.

Learn more about how we are bringing Whitman to the world below.

Global Studies Concentration O'Donnell Visiting Educators

Our History

Whitman College has excelled as a center for global relationships for more than a decade. The original Global Studies Initiative launched in 2008 with support from a Mellon Faculty Development Grant. Over the past 10 years, the initiative supported faculty development through an annual symposium, summer workshops and seminars.

The initiative focused on faculty development as a mechanism for generating new team-taught courses that model the multi-dimensional, interdisciplinary approach central to global studies, for infusing global perspective into existing courses and for developing unique O'Donnell lectureships/workshops. The initiative brings professionals and scholars in the global arena to Whitman College to enrich both student and faculty experiences.

The Center for Global Studies centralizes that work and expands it to our entire campus community.

Stories about Global Learning

  • Student Supports Sustainable Agriculture in Madagascar through Internship Grant

    May 3, 2019 • Halfway around the world in Madagascar, subsistence farmers are harvesting silk from silkworms and weaving them into burial shrouds. But it's a student from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington, who is helping turn that fabric into a marketable industry.

  • Visiting Educators Bring Unique Expertise to Whitman

    May 2, 2019 • Each semester, students at Whitman College get the chance to be exposed to ideas from around the globe, thanks to the O’Donnell Visiting Educator program. Managed by the Center for Global Studies, the O’Donnell program funds visitors from around the world, who bring their expertise and perspective to Walla Walla.

  • Video: Dio de los Muertos Festival

    November 2, 2018 • Whitman College students, faculty and community members participated in the 2018 Dio de los Muertos Festival in downtown Walla Walla.

  • Award-Winning Journalist Discusses Climate Change and Border Issues Oct. 18

    October 15, 2018 • Award-winning independent journalist and author Todd Miller visits Whitman as part of the 2018-2019 Henry M. Jackson lecture in international relations, and discusses his book Storming the Wall: Climate Change, Migration and Homeland Security.

  • Andjelkovic Lecture Series Welcomes Indrani Sigamany

    October 9, 2018 • Indrani Sigamany '80 will discuss “Social Justice in a Globalized World: Building a Rights-Based Career” at 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018, in the Hunter Conservatory’s Kimball Theatre as part of the 2018 Sava and Danica Andjelkovic Endowed Lecture.

Chasing Equality

Call it Karma