Quaker Roots

Whittier College was founded by the Religious Society of Friends in 1887 as Whittier Academy, serving the surrounding township of Whittier. Gaining its charter from the State of California in 1901, the College remained affiliated with the Quaker church for another three decades, guided in both curricula and community by Quaker religious principles. In the 1930s, however, the College formally separated from the Quaker church in an effort to expand and grow, and to meet the academic, social, and other practical needs of its new and future generations of scholars.

Today, students of all denominations make up our welcoming multicultural community, although Whittier College's roots in Quaker values are still very much in evidence. Key among Quaker tenets is the belief that the divine spark lies within each person and from this central pillar stems the Quaker respect for the individual, commitment to equality, and the promise to engage in "fair-dealings."

These values are deeply embedded here, and are woven into our community. Respect for the individual, commitment to a diverse student body and faculty, freedom of conscience, and respect for human differences are in evidence in every classroom, laboratory, and all across campus. Volunteerism and community involvement are central pillars of the student experience here. And while the Quakers of old were committed to women's rights and anti-slavery movements, the sentiment behind these noble goals is today mirrored in the significant political consciousness of the student body and instructors, as well as the multitude of campus groups committed to improving the human condition.