Serving as the College’s intellectual hub, Wardman Library offers a welcoming space for individual and collaborative learning. Library staff works to develop the critical thinking and information literacy skills of a diverse campus community with the goal of nurturing a student's intellectual independence and commitment to lifelong learning. To this end, the Library provides traditional and cutting edge information resources, and instructional, media, and technological support in the library as well as in classrooms.
Academic success at Whittier College is based, in part, on an educational partnership between students and faculty. The mission of the Lab will be to empower all Whittier College students to become successful, self-directed, and collaborative lifelong learners. The Lab will support students academically through a number of programs and services, including academic guidance, peer tutoring, workshops, academic life coaching, and student-athlete peer mentoring. Staffed by trained academic coaches and peer associates, The Lab will also provide a welcoming study space and computer lab during day and evening hours.
Endowed naming opportunity available: $5,000,000
The overarching purpose for this life lab will be to provide an equitable learning environment for students with disabilities and to meet their short-term and long-term needs, so they can realize their full academic and life potential. This life lab will provide students with academic freedom by offering appropriate accommodations, assisting them in self-advocacy, and providing academic support and academic counseling during their time at the College and the transition year after graduation.
An endowment naming opportunity is available at the $5,000,000 level.
This life lab will support students working with faculty mentors on various in-house research projects or student research fellowships. Available funds may be used for student supplies, equipment, and conference expenses to present research findings. The life lab will help students identify opportunities for external and internal research fellowships and provide mentoring during the application process. Participants will culminate their work by showcasing their research at Whittier College’s annual Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity (URSCA) conference.
Through partnerships with community-based local, regional, and international organizations, the CEC promotes course-based service learning, for-credit internships, and faculty-student research on issues that address compelling community needs and enhance academic learning. This applied learning emphasis embodies the College’s founding mission to graduate educated citizens primed to make smart decisions and serve communities, locally and globally.
The Center prepares students to transition seamlessly from their academic majors to their ideal careers or post-graduation destinations by connecting them with various employers and alumni mentors. The career team builds and sustains relationships with corporate, nonprofit, and public sector stakeholders who can link students to jobs and various career opportunities in the modern and increasingly global workplace. Using their liberal arts education and equipped with a clear understanding of the workplace and new economy forces, Whittier College students will rapidly adapt and succeed in their chosen career endeavors, and will be highly sought after by employers.
On-campus employment provides students with important paid experiential learning opportunities, skill development under the mentorship of institution leaders, and valuable resume-worthy work experience. This life lab provides students with an opportunity to explore career paths, improve interpersonal & communication skills, enhance professionalism, and gain transferable skill sets while leaving their mark on Whittier through their ideas and vision.
